Figurative Speech 英语修辞总结

Figures of Speech/Rhetorical Devices

I. Introduction

By

figures

of

speech

we

refer

here

to

those

rhetorical

devices

termed

tropes

in classical rhetoric. Tropes have to do with the way words are made to

mean

other

than

what

they

would

normally

imply,

and

therefore

involve

deviation

from

the

ordinary

and

literal

meaning

of

words.

They

are

ways

of

making our language figurative.

A knowledge of the figures, and of how they are best used will be of help

to

us

not

only

in

deepening

our

understanding

of

what

we

read,

but

also

in

appreciating more fully the finer points of a writer’s style. In the process, we

might even learn to write better ourselves.

The number of figures ranged from 65 to 200 in classical times. We will

only choose those that are of most universal appeal, and of the greatest practical

value.

II. Simile and metaphor

1.

simile:

It

is

a

comparison

between

two

distinctively

different

things

and

the

comparison is indicated by the word as, like, as if, than. A simile is made up of

three

parts,

the

tenor,

the

vehicle,

and

the

indicator

of

resemblance

or

simile

marker.

A

simile

is

a

figure

of

speech

which

makes

a

comparison

between

two

unlike

elements

having

at

least

one

quality

or

characteristic

in

common.

The

comparison

is

purely

imaginative,

that

is,

the

resemblance

between

the

two

unlike

things

in

that

one

particular

aspect

exists

only

in

our

minds,

in

our

“inward

eye”

and

not

in

the

nature

of

the

things

themselves.

To

make

the

comparison, words like

as, as … as, as … so, like, as if, as though, sim

ilar to,

to bear a resemblance to,

and comparative structure, prepositional phrases, and

other collocations are used to transfer the quality we associate with one to the

other. Sometimes the association is between unfamiliar and familiar things, or

between abstract and concrete images. The stronger the association that is felt,

the

greater

the

force

of

the comparison,

the

stronger

the

power

of

suggestion

and the sharper the image produced.

1) like

a. And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel and shining morning

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face, creeping

like snail

unwillingly to school … (Shakespeare)

b. He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen for him to crow.

c. Records fell

like ripe apples

on a windy day.

d.

Mother

was

short

and plump

and

pretty.

Her

eyes

were

blue,

and her

brown hair was

like a bird’

s smooth wings …

e. Habit may

be likened to a cable; every day we weave a thread, and soon

we cannot break it.

2) as

a. Men fear death, as children fear to go in the dark: and as that natural fear

in children is increased with tales, so is the other.

b. As the lion is king of beasts, so is the eagle king of birds.

3) as if, as though

a.

She

spoke

hurriedly,

as

if

her

heart

had

leaped

into

her

throat

at

the

boy’s words.

b.

He

was

a

beautiful

horse

that

looked

as

though

he

had

come

out

of

a

painting by Velasquez.

4) what

a. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

b.

What

salt

is

to

food,

that

wit

and

humour

are

to

conversation

and

literature.

5) than

a. He has no

more

idea of money

than

a cow.

b. A home without love is no more than a body without a soul.

6) and

a. A word and a stone let go cannot be recalled.

b. Love and cough cannot be hid.

7) with

a.

With

the

quickness

of

a

long

cat,

she

climbed

up

into

the

nest

of

cool-bladed foliage.

2.

metaphor:

It

is

the

use

of

a

word

which

originally

denotes

one

thing

to

refer

to

another with a similar quality. It is also a comparison between two distinctively

different things, but the comparison is implied, not expressed with the word

as

or

like.

Metaphor is also called

Condensed Simile

. Metaphors are used not only

after

verb

to

be,

and

not

only

nouns

can

be

used

metaphorically,

adjectives

,

adverbs

,

verbs can also be used metaphorically.

1) n.

2

a. The parks are

the lungs

of our city.

b. Money is a

lens in a camera

.

2) v.

a. Applications for jobs

flooded

the Employment Agency.

3) adj.

a. The

mountainous

waves swallowed up the ship.

4) of phrase

the bridge of friendship, the valley of despair, a flower of a girl

III. Analogy, allegory, metonymy, synecdoche and allusion

1.

analogy

It

is

also

a

form

of

comparison,

but

unlike

simile

or

metaphor,

which

usually

concentrates

on

one

point

of

resemblance,

analogy

draws

a

parallel

between

two

unlike

things

that

have

several

common

qualities

or

points

of

resemblance. Analogy is chiefly used for the purpose of persuasion or for the

explanation or exposition of an idea. Analogy could be a simile or a metaphor,

it is a combination of different figurative usages.

a.

“The

chess

-board

is

the

world;

the

pieces

are

the

phenomena

of

the

universe; the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature. The

player on the other side is hidden from us. …”

b.

It’s with our judgments as with our watches; none go just alike, yet each

believes his own.

c.

Judicious praise is to children what the sun is to flowers.

d.

The inspiration for a story is like “a pull on the line… the outside signal

that has startled or moved the creative mind to complicity and brought the

story to active being…”

Analogy looks like simile in form, but the difference is: analogy provide the

reason for the differences while simile and metaphor remain unexplained.

2.

allegory:

It

is a

milder figurative use than metaphor, it applies concrete images to

illustrate abstract notions, it leads the readers to get to the nature of things or

profound concepts through concrete images and easy facts.

a.

No rose without a thorn.

b.

It’s time to turn swords into ploughs.

Names of books:

Pilgrim’

s Progress

;

Animal Farm

Many

allegories

come

from

classical

myths,

some

English

proverbs

and

idioms are good examples of allegory.

All that glisters is not gold. (from

The Merchant of Venice

)

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3.

metonymy:

It is substituting the name of one thing for that of another with which it is

closely associated. There are four kinds:

1)

the container for things contained (bottle for wine, kettle for water, pot

for soup)

a. The

kettle

is boiling.

2)

the instrument for the agent

(pen

—

writing, gun/sword

—

fighting)

a. The

pen

is stronger than the

sword.

3)

the sign (cradle

—

childhood, crown

—

king, throne

—

king)

a.

He must have been spoilt from

the cradle

.

b.

The

grey hair

should be respected.

c.

What is learned in the

cradle

is carried to the g

rave.

d.

Having finished the law school, he was called to the

Bar.

e.

She has the eye for the fair and the beautiful.

4)

others

Journalists

often

use

metonymy

to

refer

to

all

kinds

of

people

or

things. It is very brief and humorous.

a.

Romeo: lover

b.

Helen: beautiful woman

c.

John Bull: England/ the English people

d.

Downing Street: the British government/cabinet

e.

The Pentagon: the U.S. military establishment

f.

Big apple: New York

4.

synecdoche:

When a part is substituted for the whole or the whole is substituted for a

part, synecdoche is applied. (hand

—

man, bread

—

food, creature

—

woman)

a.

More hands (working men) are needed at the moment.

b.

We had dinner at ten dollars a head (each person).

c.

All the plants in the cold country are turning green in this smiling year (the

spring).

5.

allusion:

It

is

a

brief

reference

to

a

person,

place,

phrase,

or

event

drawn

from

history or literature. Allusions are effective not because of the meaning of the

words themselves but because of the associations or connotations that allusive

words

carry

for

the

intelligent

reader.

The

use

of

allusion

allows

poets

to

reinforce

an

argument

by

illustration,

to

compress

complex

ideas

into

brief

phrases, and to suggest thoughts they may not wish to state directly. Names are

4

the

most

common

forms

of

allusion

and

the

easiest

to

identity.

There

are

different sources of allusions, like nursery rhymes, fairy tales, myths, legends,

fables and literary works, etc.

a.

Cinderella:

pretty

girl,

mistreated

by

stepmother

but

helped

by

fairy

godmother to win her Prince Charming: a rags-to-riches theme.

b.

“Open Sesame”: code word to the treasure cave in story of Ali Baba and

the Forty Thieves; the key to hidden treasures, knowledge, etc.

c.

Sour

Grapes: a fox called the grapes it couldn’t reach sour. When we can’t

get what we want, we often disparage it.

d.

Noah and his Ark

e.

Solomon: a wise

man, who can judge between right and wrong, true and

false.

f.

Judas:

the

disciple

who

betrayed

Christ

to

his

enemies

for

30

pieces

of

silver.

★

Exercises: Identify the figures of speech in the following sentences:

a.

In rivers the water that you touch is the last of that has passed and the first

of that which comes: so with time present. (analogy)

b.

Greece was the cradle of western culture. (metaphor)

c.

Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone. (allegory)

d.

The city has it philharmonic but also its poverty. (metonymy)

e.

I

took

a

last

drowning

look

at

the

title

as

I

gave

the

book

into her

hand.

(metaphor)

f.

He

was

like

a

cock

who

thought

the

sun

had

risen

to

hear

him

crow.

(simile

—

the suggestion of overwhelming conceit in the man)

g.

Then he cut me open and took out the appendix and stitched me up again.

(synecdoche

—

cut his abdomen open)

IV

. Personification, zoosemy and onomatopoeia

1.

personification:

It is to treat a thing (including an animal) or an idea as if it were human or

had human qualities. It is also a kind of figurative usage, esp. a metaphor.

a.

The sun kissed the green fields.

b.

The youth were singing, laughing and playing the music instruments. The

trees and flowers around them danced heartily as if touch by merry mood.

c.

The little goat was so fussy that he often cried for wolf.

d.

Death feeds on his mute voice, and laughs at our despair.

2.

zoosemy

:

It is to treat a person as a thing (including an animal, plant, lifeless thing,

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