英语常用30种修辞

1、34/34.IRhetoricalDevices1.1AlliterationTheword“alliteration”derivesfromLatin,meaning“repeatingandplayinguponthesameletter”.Itistherepetitionofinitialconsonantintwoormorewords.(1)Thegreatandgooddonotdieeveninthisworld.(-CompanionshipofBooks)(2)Loveme,lovemydog.(-CompanionshipofBooks)(3)Thepreacherpre

2、achedawonderfulrhythmicalsermon,allmoansandshoutsandlonelycriesanddirepicturesofhell,andthenhesangasongabouttheninetyandninesafeinthefold,butonelittlelambwasleftoutinthecold.(-Salvation)Inthethreesentence,“good”and“great”，“love”and“love”,and“preacher”and“preached”allhaveinitialconsonants;thatmeansth

3、eyaretherepetitionsofinitialconsonantsintwowords,sothesoundrhymesaremadeinthethreesentences.Allinall,thealliterationsareusedinthesethreesentences.1.2Assonance.Assonanceistherepetitionorresemblanceofvowelsoundsinthestressedsyllablesofasequenceofwords,precededandfollowedbydifferentconsonants.Assonance

4、alsoreferstothelikenessofsoundinaseriesofwords.(1)Myaunttoldmethatwhenyouweresavedyousawalight,andsomethinghappenedtoyouinside!AndJesuscameintoyourlife!(-Salvation)(2)Italsoenshrinesthegermsofaction,forgoodwordsalmostalwaysinspiretogoodworks.(-CompanionshipofBooks)(1)Inthefirstsentence,inthe“light”,

5、the“inside”,andthe“life”,thevowelsound“Iai”inthestressedsyllablesisrepeated,sotheeuphonyiscreatedandalsoitisfollowedbydifferentconsonants,sotheassonanceisapplied.(2)Inthesecondsentence,the“words”andthe“works”havethelikenessofsoundw?,thepartialrhymeismade,sothefigureofspeechofthissentenceisassonance.

6、1.3ConsonanceConsonancecomesfromLatin,meaning“toharmonize”.Itreferstotherepetition.ofthefinalandidenticalconsonantswhoseprecedingvowelsaredifferent.(1)MyStrokeofLuck.(-MyStrokeofLuck.)(2)Yetitisoftenmisunderstoodandmisinterpreted,forlanguageisaverycomplicatedmechanismwithagreatdealofmagnitudes.(-Gen

7、derBiasinLanguage)(3)Almostwithoutfailthemasculineexample,Mr.andMrs.,hisandhers,queens,brothersandsisters,guyscommonplaceintodayssociety.wordisputbeforethefeminineword.Forboysandgirls,menandwomen,kingsandanddollsandhostandhostessareall(-GenderBiasinLanguage)Inthefirstphrase,thesoundsof“ke”and“k”ares

8、ame;inthesecondsentence,thesoundsofthe“d”arerepeated;inthelastsentence,thesoundsofthe“s”arethesame.Theconsonancesareusedinthephraseandthetwosentencestomakethemmoremetrical.1.4PunPunis,innature,awordplay.Apuninvolvestheuseofapolysemouswordto.suggesttwoormoremeanings,commonlyliteralmeaningversusfigura

9、tivemeaning,orinvolvestheuseofhomonyms.(1)ForIwasthenhisvision,asIamstillhisrighthand.Literally,Iwas(whatheoftencalledme)theappleofhiseye.Hesawnature-hesawbooksthroughme.(-JaneEyre)(2)Ifwedonothangtogether,weshallsurelyhangseparately.(-BenjaminFranklin)(1)Inthefirstsentence,thesounds“I”andthe“eye”ar

10、ethesame.Literally,Ihelphimseesomething,butfiguratively,Iamhiseyes,andIamtheappleinhiseyeIamveryimportant,sothepunisusedandproducesawittyeffectfromthejuxtapositionofmeanings.(2)Inthesecondsentence,thefirst“hang”means“unit”,butthelatter“hang”means“beingkilled”-onewordsuggeststwomeanings.Thepunisuseda

11、ndbothofthehumorouseffectandwittyeffectarecreated.1.5RepetitionRepetitionisapowerfulrhetoricaldevicewhichcreatesgoodrhythmandparallelismtomakethelanguagemusical,emphatic,attractiveandmemorable.(1)Thenhesaid:Wontyoucome?WontyoucometoJesus?Younglambs,wontyoucome?(-Salvation)(2)AndIkeptwaitingserenelyf

12、orJesus,waiting,waitingbuthedidntcome.(-Salvation)(3)Iwantedtoseehim,butnothinghappenedtome.Nothing!Iwantedsomethingtohappentome,butnothinghappened.(-Salvation)Inthefirstsentence,the“Wontyoucome?”isrepeatedforthreetimes;inthesecondsentence,“waiting”isalsorepeatedforthreetimestoshowtheanxiousnessofth

13、eauthor;inthethirdsentence,the“nothing”isrepeatedforthreetimestoexpressthattheauthorsirritationorcomplains.Therepetitionsareusedinthethreesentencesandcreategoodrhymestomakethelanguagemoreemphatic,attractiveandmemorable.1.6AnaphoraTheword“anaphora”originatesfromGreek,meaning“carryingback”.Itisapopula

14、rfigureofspeechinvolvingtherepetitionofthesamewordatthebeginning.ofsuccessiveclauses,sentencesorverses.(1)Doyourespectplantlife?Doyoustopanyonefromcarvinginthebarkoftrees?Doyouavoidwalkingonfreshgrass?Doyouconservewaterandenergy?(-BecomingAChildOfNature：ItsATwofoldTaskofParentsandChildren)(2)Ilovedl

15、ife,andIlovedbeingalive.(-TheLightofDepression)(3)Hetaughtmetohatehypocrisyandpiousmouthingofunctuouswords.Hetaughtmethatbeneathgruffnesstheremaybekindness,andthatkindnessisthesweetestthingintheworld,andgoodnessisthebestthingintheworld.Hetaughtmetodespisemoneygrubbing.(-ADebttoDickens)(4)Ihaveadream

16、thatonedaythisnationwillriseupandliveoutthetruemeaningofitscreed:Weholdthesetruthstobeself-evident,thatallmenarecreatedequal.IhaveadreamthatonedayontheredhillsofGeorgia,thesonsofformerslavesandthesonsofformerslaveownerswillbeabletositdowntogetheratthetableofbrotherhood.Ihaveadreamthatonedayeventhest

17、ateofMississippi,astateswelteringwiththeheatofinjustice,swelteringwiththeheatofoppression,willbetransformedintoanoasisoffreedomandjustice.Ihaveadreamthatmy.fourlittlechildrenwillonedayliveinanationwheretheywillnotbejudgedbythecoloroftheirskinbutbythecontentoftheircharacter.Ihaveadreamtoday!Ihaveadre

18、amthatoneday,downinAlabama,withitsviciousracists,withitsgovernorhavinghislipsdrippingwiththewordsofinterpositionandnullification-onedayrightthereinAlabamalittleblackboysandblackgirlswillbeabletojoinhandswithlittlewhiteboysandwhitegirlsassistersandbrothers.Ihaveadreamtoday!Ihaveadreamthatonedayeveryv

19、alleyshallbeexaltedandeveryhillandmountainshallbemadelow,theroughplaceswillbemadeplain,andthecrookedplaceswillbemadestraightandthegloryoftheLordshallberevealedandallfleshshallseeittogether.?（-IHaveADream）Inthethreesentences,thebeginningwordsofthesuccessivesentencesareallrepeated：“doyou”,“Iloved”,“he

20、taught”，and“Ihaveadream”areallthebeginningwordsofthesuccessivesentencesandareallrepeated.Therefore,theanaphorasareusedandstrengthenthetoneofthelanguagetomakethetextmorepersuasive.1.7EpiphoraEpiphoraistheoppositeofanaphora.Itistherepetitionofthesamewordsorphrasesattheendofsuccessivelines,clausesorsen

21、tences.(1)Thatthegovernmentofthepeople,bythepeople,andforthepeople,shallnotperishfromtheearth.(-AbrahamLincoln)(2)Themantakesawayawomansvirginityandawomanloseshervirginity.(-GenderBiasinLanguage)(3)Andslowly,thedesiretolive,thecouragetowanttolive,begantoreturn.(-TheLightofDepression)Inthethreesenten

22、ces,theendingwordsofthesuccessivesentencesareallrepeated：“thepeople”,“virginity”,andthe“tolive”areallrepeated,sothefigureofspeechofthesethreesentencesistheepiphoraandtheepiphoraisusedtomakethespeechortextmoreconvincing.1.8AntithesisTheword“antithesis”comesfromGreekword“antithenai”,meaning“opposition

23、”.Antithesis,favoredbymanyspeakerswhenpersuading,placescontrastingideassidebysideforemphasisandrhythm.(1)Theworldwilllittlenotewhatwesayhere,butitcanneverforgetwhattheydid.here.(-AbrahamLincoln)(2)InAmericanculture,awomanisvaluedfortheattractivenessofherbody,whileamanisvaluedbyhisphysicalstrengthand

24、hisachieves.(-GenderBiasinLanguage)(3)AllenpassivePaceNielsennotesthattherewhilemenareactiveareinstancesandbringwhenwomenthingsareintoseenasbeing.(-GenderBiasinLanguage)(1)Inthefirstsentence,the“littlenote”andthe“neverforgetcontrastingideasinordertoemphasizethatpeoplewillneverforget”arethewhatthesol

25、diersdotheircountry.Clearly,theantithesisisusedtostresstheimportantpartofthesentence.(2)Inthesecondsentence,thedifferencebetweenwomenvaluedforattractivenessandmenvaluedbytheirstrengthandachievementsisdemonstratedtoshowthatthediscriminationtothewomen.Theantithesisisusedtomakethelanguagemoresharporfor

26、ceful.(3)Thetwocontrastingideas:“active”and“passive”areusedtoshowthegenderbiasinthesociety.Theantithesisisappliedtostressthecontradictiontheauthorsintentioncanbeprotruded.1.9ClimaxTheword“climax”derivesfromtheGreekword“klimax”,meaningAsafigureofspeech,climaxisthearrangementofwords,phrases,sentencesi

27、nascendingorderofimportance.“ladder”.clauses,orBut,inalargersense,wecannotdedicate,wecannotconsecrate,wecannothallowthisground.(-AbrahamLincoln)(2)Mencanthink,feelandsympathizewitheachotherthroughtheirfavoriteauthor.(-CompanionshipofBooks)(1)Dedicate,consecrate,hallow,thetoneofthesentenceisgradually

28、increasing,thesummitisthe“hollow”,soclimaxisappliedtoconveytheauthorsthoughtinanascendingorderofforceandintensity.Itcanmakepeopleacceptanideagradually.(2)Inthesecondsentence,firstly,peoplethink,andthenatahigherlevelpeoplefeelwitheachother,andthehighestlevelisthatpeoplesympathizewitheachotherthrought

29、heirfavoriteauthor.Asaresult,theclimaxisusedtoconvinceus.thatbooksareveryimportanttousandtomakeusaccepttheideamoreeasily.1.10AnticlimaxAnticlimaxistheoppositeofclimax.Itisthefigureofspeechthatinvolvesstatingonesthoughtinadescendingorderofsignificanceorintensity,fromthesublimetotheridiculous,fromstro

30、ngtoweak,fromweightytolightorfrivolous.(1)Hegavemethatzest,thatimmensejoyinlifeandinpeople,andintheirvariety.(-ADebttoDickens)(2)Wesympathizewiththem,enjoywiththem,grievewiththem.(-CompanionshipofBooks)(1)Thefirstsentence,lifeisaverybroadconcept,whilethepeopleislessbroadandthepeoplesvarietyisthemost

31、narrowconceptamongthethreephrases,sotheanticlimaxisusedandmakesthesentencechangefromastrongtonetoaweakone.(2)Firstlywegrievewiththem,andthenenjoywiththemandintheendwesympathizewiththem,butinthesecondsentencetheorderisreverse,sotheanticlimaxisusedtomakethesentencemorehumorous.1.11SyllepsisTheword“syl

32、lepsis”derivesfromtheGreekword“sullepsis”,meaning“takingtogether”.Itisaconstructioninwhichthewordthatgovernstwoormoreotherwordsmeansdifferentlywhenitiscollocatedwiththesewordsseparately.(1)ForthreedaysIdinedaloneonnothingmorethanhumiliation,shame,andanassortmentofjunkfoodfromamachinestrategicallypla

33、cedoutsidemyroom.（-FreshStart）(2)Sheopenedthedoorandherhearttothehomelessboy.(-ReferenceBook)(1)Inthefirstsentence,“dined”hastwodifferentmeanings:the“dined”withthehumiliationandshameshouldbeinterpreted“suffered”whilethe“dined”withthejunkfoodshouldbetranslatedintothe“ate”,sothefigureofthespeechofthes

34、entenceissyllepsisandthesyllepsismakesthesentencemoreinterestingandattractsmorereaders.(2)Inthesecondsentence,theword“opened”in“openedthedoor”means“disclosedthedoor”,butin“openedherheart”itmeans“embracedtheboy”,sothesyllepsisisusedtointerestthereaders.1.12ZeugmaInGreek,theword“zeugma”means“yoke”.Zeu

35、gmaisafigureofspeechinwhichawordisusedtomodifyorgoverntwoormorewordsalthoughitsuseisnotgrammaticallyorlogicallycorrectwithallofthem.(1)AtmoonMrs.Turpinwouldgetoutofthebedandhumor,putonkimono,airs,andthewatertoboilfoecoffee.(-ReferenceBook)(2)“DuringourwaragainstDutch,”herecalled,“Iwasapacifistbutsti

36、llapatriot.Otherpeoplecarriedguns.Icarriedwords.Wheneverpeoplegathered,IspokeagainsttheDutch.(-ReferenceBook)(1)Thefirstsentence,theverbalphrase“puton”correctlygoverns“kimono”,“airs”inthegrammarandlogic,butitisincorrecttogoverntheword“water”,sothezeugmaisusedtocatchthereadersattention.(2)Inthesecond

37、sentence,“carry”collocatesproperlywith“guns”,butnotproperlywith“words”,sothezeugmaisusedtoattracttheaudience.1.13Chiasmus.Theword“chiasmus”comesfromGreekword“chiasmos”,meaning“crosswide”.Itisaconstructioninvolvingtherepetitionofwordsorsyntacticelementsinreverseorder.(1)TheShepardseeksthesheep,andnot

38、thesheeptheShepard;butIseekmymaster,andmymasterseeksnotme;thereforeIamnosheep.ThesheepforfodderfollowtheShepard,theShepardforfoodfollowsnotthesheep;thouforwagesfollowestthymaster,thymasterforwagesfollowsnotthee;therefore,thouartasheep.Shakespeare(2)Youcanfoolallthepeoplesomeofthetime,andsomepeopleal

39、lthetime,butyoucannotfoolallthepeopleallthetime.(1)Inthispoetry,chiasmusisusedbecausesomewordslike“Shepard”and“sheep”,“I”and“mymaster”etc.arerepeatedinreverseorder.Thechiasmus.makesthesentencemorehumorous.(2)Inthesecondsentence,“all”,and“some”arerepeatedinareverseordertomakethesentencemorehumorous,s

40、othechiasmusisappliedandcreatesasolemnandwittyeffect.1.14SimileTheword“simile”derivesfromLatinword“similis”,meaning“like”.Inrhetoric,simileisafigureofspeechbywhichtwoconceptsortwodissimilarthingsareimaginativelyordescriptivelycomparedbecausetheyhaveatleastonequalityorcharacteristicincommonorinresemb

41、lance.(1)InthosedaysHollywoodwaslikeamagnet.(-Hollywood)(2)Thegoodandtruethoughtmayintimesoftemptationbeasanangelofmercypurifyingandguidingthesoul.(-CompanionshipofBooks)(3)Nowwhatwillbecomeofyourwearinessifyousuddenlyraiseyoureyesonlytocatchsightofdistantrowoftrees（orjustacoupleofthem）standingthere

42、proudlylikesentries.(1)Inthefirstexamplethe“Hollywood”isthetenorandthe“magnet”isthevehicle;theyhaveonethingincommon:attractiveness;also,onaccountofthecommonestconnective“like”,thefigureofspeechofthissentenceissimileandthesimilegivesusadeeperinsightintotheideathroughtheassociation.(2)Thesecondexample

43、,“bothofthegoodandtruethought”isthetenorandthe“angel”isthevehicle;plusthecommonestconnective“as”,thefigureofspeechofthissentenceissimile,andthesimileexplainsabstractideainsimple,concreteimagery.(3)Asforthethirdexample,thetenoris“thetrees”andthevehicleisthe“sentries”;andthetreesandsentriesallstandver

44、ystraighttheirlikeness;becauseoftheword“like”,simileisusedinthissentencetomakeushaveaclearideaaboutthetreesstanding.1.15MetaphorTheword“metaphor”derivesfromtheGreekword“metaphora”,whichmeans“transference,carryingover”.Itisaverycommonfigureofspeech.Metaphoruseswordstoindicatesomethingdifferentfromthe

45、irliteralmeaningonethingisdescribedintermsofanothersoastosuggestalikenessoranalogybetweenthem.Itislikeasimile,alsomakesacomparisonbetweentwounlikeelements,butunlikeasimile,thiscomparisonisimpliedratherthanstated.(1)Agoodbookisoftenthebesturnofalifeenshriningthebestthatlifecouldthinkabout.(-Companion

46、shipofBooks)(2)Lifeisabigswing,danglingbetweenthedepthsofhappinessandsadness.(3)Butthen,rememberingmyaislemateshandclutchingminewhileIclutchedthehandofthehighschoolstudent,Ifeelstruckbylightningalloveragain:thepointisnottopaybackkindnessbuttopassiton.(-WhentheLightningStruck)(4)Manystudiochiefsweret

47、yrants,determinedtogettheirownwayatallcosts,nomatterhowunscrupulousthemeans.(-Hollywood)(1)Inthefirsttwosentences,thebookisnottheurnandthelifeisnotthewing,sothe“likeness”isimpliedinthesetwosentences;thusthemetaphorisusedinthefirsttwosentencestomaketheabstractidealike“life”moreconcrete.(2)Inthethirds

48、entence,literally,“Iwasstruckbylightning”,butactually,theauthorwantstoexpressthatanideaoccurstomesuddenlyandsharply,justlikebeingstruckthelightning.Themetaphorisused.(3)Inthethirdsentence,themetaphorisappliedbecausethestudiochiefsandthetyrantsarealikeintheirownwaysofdoingthings,andthe“likeness”isimp

49、liedtoillustratethecrueltyofthestudiochiefs.1.16MetonymyTheword“metonymy”derivesfromtheGreekword“metonymia”,whichmeans“changeofname”.Itisafigureofspeechthathastodowiththesubstitutionofthenameofonethingforthatofanother.(1)About80ofallAmericanTVentertainmentcomesfromHollywood.(-Hollywood)(2)Thevirtuew

50、asagreatzestforlife.Ifhesaweverythingblackandwhite,itwasbecauseliferushedoutofhimstrongandclear,fullofloveandhate.(-ADebttoDickens)(1)Inthefirstsentence,thoughHollywoodisaplace,nowadays,peopleareapttoregardHollywoodasasymbolofAmericanmovieindustry.Therefore,theAmericanmovieindustryissubstitutedbythe

51、Hollywood.Themetonymyisused.(2)Ofthesecondsentence,the“black”and“white”referto“evil”and“kind”respectively.Themetonymyisusedtogiveusmorespacetothinkaboutthereferentinasemanticway.1.17Synecdoche.Theword“synecdoche”isfromtheGreekword“syneckdoche”,whichmeans“toreceivetogether”.Itisafigureofspeechbywhich

52、amorecomprehensivetermisusedforalesscomprehensiveorviceversa;aswholeforpartorpartforwhole,genusforspeciesorspeciesforgenus,etc.(1)Tothissmall,isolatedcreaturetherecameonedayanextraordinaryaccident.(-ADebttoDickens)(2)Evennow,backonterrafirma,walkingdownaVermontroad,Isometimeshearanairplaneandlookupa

53、tthatsmall,glintingpieceofmetal.(-WhentheLightningStruck)(1)Thefirstsentence,thecreatureisaverygeneralconcept,buttheretheauthorherselfisaspecificconcept,genusforspecies,sothefigureofspeechofthissentenceissynecdoche.(2)Inthesecondsentence,themetalisthematerialoftheairplane,partforthewhole,sothesynecd

54、ocheisused.1.18PersonificationPersonificationisafigureofspeechwhichattributeshumancharacteristicstoimpersonalthings,suchasanimals,inanimateobjects,orabstractions.1.18.2Examples:(1)Itdoesnotturnitsbackuponusintimesofadversityordistress.(-CompanionshipofBooks)(2)Thosethingsneverdie,nordoesthememoryofa

55、manwhoneverstoppedbeingmyvalentine.(-MyForeverValentine)(3)ClinicaldepressionpaintedmyworldblackwhilescreamingquietlythatIwasworthless.(-TheLightofDepression)Allthethreesentencesattributehumancharacteristicstotheimpersonalthingslikethebook,thosethingsandclinicaldepression:thebookdoesnthavetheability

56、ofturningitsback;thethingsdonthavelifenotmentioningdying;andtheclinicaldepressioncantscream,sothepersonificationsareusedtoaddthevividnessofthesentences.1.19ParodyTheword“parody”derivesfromtheGreekword“paroidia”,meaning“countersong”.Itisseenaskindofimitationwhichborrowsthestyleandtechniquesofa.textor

57、writersidiolectandfitsnewsubjectmattertoit.(1)Thereisanoldproverb,“Loveme,lovemydog.”Butthereismorewisdominthis:“Loveme,lovemybook.”(-CompanionshipofBooks)(2)TOLIEORNOTTOLIETHEDOCTORSDILEMMA.(-TOLIEORNOTTOLIETHEDOCTORSDILEMMA)(1)Theproverbisthe“Loveme,lovemydog.”And“Loveme,lovemybook”borrowsthestyle

58、oftheproverb,soparodyisusedinthissentencetomakethesentencemorehumorous(2)Thesecondsentenceisakindofimitationofthesentence-tobeornottobe,thatsaquestionwrittenbyShakespeare.Theparodyisusedtomakethesentencemorehumorous.1.20TransferredepithetTransferredepithetisafigureofspeechinwhichanadjectiveproperlym

59、odifyingonenounisshiftedtoanothernouninthesamesentence.(1)Memoryanddesire,stirring.Dullrootswithspringrain.Winterkeptuswarm,covering.Earthinforgetfulsnow,feeding.Alittlelifewithdriedtubers.Churchyard)(2)Thecurfewtollstheknellofpartingday,ThelowingherdwindslowlyoertheleaTheploughmanhomewardplodshiswe

60、aryway.(-ElegyWritteninaCountry(-ElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard)(3)Fullmanyaflowrisborntoblushunseen,Andwasteitssweetnessonthedesertair.Somevillage-Hampden,thatwithdauntlessbreastThelittletyrantofhisfieldswithstood;SomemuteingloriousMiltonheremayrest,SomeCromwellguiltlessofhiscountrysblood.(-TheWa