《英語修辭與寫作》

第四章修辭格或修辭手段

(ChapterFourFiguresofSpeechorRhetoricalDevices)

一、引言

(Introduction)

“修辭”的定義很多。有人認為它是語詞的選擇與修飾，有人力求給以較科

學的界說，把它說成是語言的同義表達形式的探求。當然，這些都是對的。為了

明確易懂，我們不妨把它解釋為“說話的藝術(shù)”。要表達一個思想，可以有多種不

同的方式，而其效果常常差別很大。因此，要使語言的表達更為準確、鮮明、生

動、有力，我們必須講求修辭。古人就曾說過：“言之無文，行而不遠”(《左傳?襄

公二十五年》)。我國梁代劉勰所著的文學批評著作《文心雕龍》和現(xiàn)代陳望道所

著的《修辭學發(fā)凡》都對修辭作了精到的研究。在西方，古希臘人十分重視演講

在政治生活中的作用，他們自然對修辭也下過一番功夫。近年來，修辭學在各國

都有了新的發(fā)展，它已成為大學里的一個專門學科。

修辭和語言三要素——語音、詞匯、語法——密切不可分。風格和文風的形

成都和修辭有關(guān)。因此，它不是孤立的東西。只有在比較堅實的語言基礎上修辭

才能產(chǎn)生效果，而通過修辭，人們又提高了對語言的理解與應用能力。為修辭

而修辭，必然導致言之無物或無病呻吟。有目的的、適量的修辭是說話行文所必

需的。

修辭學的基本內(nèi)容一般包括兩個方面：一是煉字鍛句精心組織語言材料，使

文字明確流暢，平實嚴密；一是隨景應情運用各種修辭手法，使文字具體形象、

新鮮活潑。辭格(Figuresofspeech或譯為：修辭格或修辭方式)是后一方面的主

體。學語言的人必須予以注意，尤其學習文學的人對之更不可忽視。應用修辭格

最多的是詩，因為詩是高度形象化的、表達人們感情的語言，它必須具有強大的

感染力。著名美國詩人羅伯特.弗洛斯脫(RobertFrost,1875—1963)認為真正

的詩的核心是隱喻，不善用隱喻，詩人就很難寫出好詩來。事實上，不僅詩如此,

其它文學品種，甚至科技和哲學著作，也無不賴辭格以說清事理與表達思維精微

之處。在日常生活中，我們也不知不覺地大量應用辭格。俚語之所以有時顯得生

動活潑，也常常在于辭格的巧妙運用。

不確切地或過多地采用辭格，常使文章不必要的趨于藻麗，華而不實。斯威

夫特和海明威等著名作家的語言都很少辭格而以平實精煉、生動有力馳名。相反，

我國的駢體文和英國十六世紀時以約翰.李利（JohnLyly）為代表的艷麗體散

文都只能在文壇上曇花一現(xiàn)而很快地為人們所推棄了。

正確運用辭格并非易事。有些大詩人（如英國的丁尼生）也常常有用得不確

的時候。對于一個初學外國文學的人來說，必要的有關(guān)知識和訓練就更不可少了。

不論是寫文章，還是講話，我們除了要求通順、明白、準確之外，還應該力求精

練、生動、優(yōu)美。

無論是說理、敘事，還是描寫，如果我們適當?shù)剡\用些新鮮而又貼切的比喻、

比擬和夸張，選擇些色彩鮮明、含義豐富的詞語，援引些富有表現(xiàn)力的成語、熟

語，往往能使語言生動、形象，并更具有感染力。這些比喻、比擬和夸張，就是

我們常講的修辭方式或修辭格（Figuresofspeech）（.

修辭方式有兩大主要類別和兩小次要類別：在兩大主要類別中，一類是從內(nèi)

容方面著眼，例如比喻、夸張、婉言、反語等等；一類是從語言形式方面（或語

言結(jié)構(gòu)方面）著眼。例如對偶、排比、疊用（重復）等等。這兩類修辭方式雖然

性質(zhì)不同，但彼此相關(guān)，有時很難截然分開。兩小次要類別分別是著眼于語言的

音響效果和語言文字游戲方面。

另外，語言的修辭方式與語言本身的結(jié)構(gòu)有緊密的聯(lián)系。英語和漢語是兩種

截然不同的語言，因而修辭方式也不盡相同。當然其中有許多是英、漢語，也就

是各種發(fā)達的語言所共有的，但有的卻是英語有，漢語中沒有；反過來亦然。英

語的修辭方式非常豐富，常見的就不下兒十余種。為了幫助讀者更好地理解英語

的修辭方式，在此盡量多介紹幾種以供學習參考。

Figuresofspeechareformsofexpressionthatdepartfromnormalwordor

sentenceorderorfromthecommonliteralmeaningsofwords,forthepurposeof

achievingaspecialeffect.

Ineverydayspeechandwritingandinliteraturethechieffunctionsoffiguresof

speechareprobablytoembellish,toemphasizeortoclarify.Theyareusedtogivetone

oratmospheretodiscourse,toprovidevividexamples,tostimulatethoughtbystartling

thereaderorlistener,togivelifetoinanimateobjects,toamuse,ortoornament.

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Figuresofspeecharewaysofmakingourlanguagefigurative.Whenweuse

wordsinotherthantheirordinaryorliteralsensestolendforcetoanidea,toheighten

effect,ortocreatesuggestiveimagery,wearesaidtobespeakingorwriting

figuratively.Forexample,itismorevividandcolorfultosaythatstars^twinklelike

diamondsinthesky“thantosaythatthey“shinebrightlyinthesky.”

Similarly,“Heisapapertiger"isanexpressiondefinitelymoresuggestiveof

outwardferocityandinnerweaknessand,therefore,moreforcefulthantheliteral

statement“Heappearstobestrongbutinwardlyheisweak,“thoughtheideais

essentiallythesame.

Likeadiamondisasimile,andpapertigerisametaphor,andwithhyperbole,

personification,euphemism,andmetonymymakeupascoreormoreoffiguresof

speechmostcommonlyusedtoday.Eachfigurehasitsownformandcharacteristic

features,anditsownwayofachievingeffect.Sometimestwoormorefiguresareused

togethertogivegreatereffect.

Atonetime,figuresofspeechweremainlyassociatedwithpoetryandpoetic

writing,wheretheyarestillmostlavishlyused,butnowtheycanbefoundinanyform

ofwritingprose,drama,andevenscientificwritingandadvertisements.Infact,

effectivewritingofanykindisseldomwithoutafigureortwo,andmostwriters,

whethertheybenovelists,historians,journalistsorscientists,havetheirownwayof

weavingfiguresofspeechintothefabricoftheirworktoformpartoftheir

characteristicstyle.Aknowledgeofthesefiguresandhowtheyachievetheireffectwill,

therefore,beofhelptousnotonlyindeepeningourunderstandingofwhatweread,

butalsoinappreciatingmorefullythefinerpointsofawriter'sstyle.

Figuresofspeechexistinalmostendlessvarietyandmanyarecloselyrelatedor

intricatelyoverlap,hencenocompletelysatisfactorysystemofclassificationhasever

beendevised.Thefollowingmaybeconsideredoneoftheserviceableclassifications

ofthepresentday:

1.Figuresofresemblanceorrelationship.Thesearetheimportant,interesting,

andfrequentfiguresofspeech.

2.Figuresofemphasisorunderstatement.Thechieffunctionoftheseisto

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drawattentiontoanidea.

3.Figuresofsound.

4.Verbalgamesandgymnastics.Someofthesearerareandminorfigures.

二、各種修辭格及修辭手段的使用

（2.HowtoUseVariousFiguresofSpeechOrRhetoricalDevices）

I.Figuresofresemblanceorrelationship：

1.Simile（明喻）：Asimilemakesacomparison,butisdifferentfromanordinary

literalcomparison,soitisafigurethatinvolvesanexpressedcomparison,almost

alwaysintroducedbythewords:like,as,asif,asthough,seemas...as,（just）as...

so,similarto,tobeararesemblanceto.Thetwothingscomparedmustbedissimilar

andthebasisofresemblanceisusuallyanabstractquality.

Simile的含義和形式:Simile通常譯作“明喻”,亦稱“直喻”。為了鮮明、

形象地刻畫某一事物，人們常將具有某種共同特征的兩種不同事物加以對比，用

另一種事物比仿所要說明的事物。這種對比在修辭學上叫做明喻。

在明喻里本體（被比的事物）和喻體（用作比較的事物）均清楚地出現(xiàn)在句子

里。通常的格式是：A像B。A代所要說的（本體），B代另外的東西（喻體）。

常用比喻詞把A（本體）與B（喻體）聯(lián)系起來。例如：它是就兩個不同類對象

之間的相似點進行比喻，是直接把一物同某種與其具有同一性質(zhì)或特點的另一物

相比較。例如：

NewChinaislikearedsunrisingintheeast.

（本體）（比喻詞）（喻體）

從結(jié)構(gòu)上看，明喻包括"本體”（subject或tenor）,“喻體"（reference或

vehicle）和“比喻詞"（indicatorofresemblance或similemarker）o本體指被比

喻的對象，喻體指用來做比喻的對象，比喻詞用在本體和喻體之間起連接介紹作

用。

Simile?詞源于拉丁語similis,意義相當于英語介詞like（像），因此明喻中

常用like做比喻詞，此外,用作比喻詞的還有as,seem,asif,asthough,as…as,

（just）as...so,similarto,tobeararesemblanceto等。

Whenwesay“JimlookslikehisbrotherBilly"，wearemakinganordinary

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literalcomparison,for:a)wearecomparingtwolike(同樣的)elementsJimand

Billyarebothhumanbeings;andb)wemeanJimisliterallylikehisbrotherin

appearance.

Butwhenwesay“JimandBillyareaslikeastwopeas”,weareusingasimile,

fbr:a)wearecomparingtwounlike(不，樣的)elementshumanbeingsandpeas;

andb)wedon'tmeanJimandBillyareliterallylikepeas,butonlythattheyhaveone

thingincommonwithpeas:greatsimilarityinappearance.

Asimile,then,isafigureofspeechwhichmakesacomparisonbetweentwo

unlikeelementshavingatleastonequalityorcharacteristicincommon.The

comparisonispurelyimaginative,thatis,resemblancebetweentwounlikethingsin

thatoneparticularaspectexistsonlyinourminds,inour“inwardeye”andnotinthe

natureofthethingsthemselves.Tomakethecomparison,wordslikeas,as...so,like,

seem,andasthough,areusedtotransferthequalityweassociatewithonetotheother.

Sometimestheassociationisbetweenunfamiliarandfamiliarthings,orbetween

abstractandconcreteimages.Thestrongertheassociationthatisfelt,thegreaterthe

forceofthecomparison,thestrongerthepowerofsuggestionandthesharperthe

imageproduced.

E.g.:(1)Andthenthewhiningschoolboy,withhissatchel

Andshiningmorningfece,creepinglikesnail

Unwillinglytoschool,,?

(Shakespeare)

(Anassociationbetweentheslowpaceofthereluctantschoolboyandthe

snaifscrawl.)

(2)Dayafterday,dayafterday,

Westuck,norbreathenormotion;

Asidleasapaintedship

Uponapaintedocean.

(S.T.Coleridge)

(Anassociationbetweentheabsoluteimmobilityofthebecalmedshiponareal

oceanandtheperfectstillnessofastopinapainting,destinedtoremaininthe

sameplaceforever.)

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(3)Recordsfelllikeripeapplesonawindyday.

(E.B.White)

(Anassociationbetweentherapiditywithwhichrecordswerebrokenand

therapidityofripeapplesbeingblowndownonawindyday.)

(4)Ascoldwaterstoathirstysoul,soisgoodnewsfromafarcountry.

(Proverbs25theBible)

Fromtheaboveexampleswecanseethatthefirstsimileisapt,thesecondis

strikinglysharp;thethirdislivelyandvivid;thefourthisbriefandtothepoint.Inour

readingitistheessentialqualityoftheinnerassociationwefeelbetweenunlikethings

thatwemustlearntograspbeforewecantrulyappreciatetheforceandbeautyofa

goodsimile.

Asimilemaybeasshortastwowordsoraslongasawholeverseorparagraph.A

longsimile,whichnotonlystatesthecomparisonbutalsoelaboratesit,iscalledan

extendedsimile.Extendedsimilesareoftenfoundinpoetry,especiallyclassicalorepic

poetry,andthusaresometimescalledHomericorepicsimiles.Hereisanexample

fromEndymionbyJohnKeats:

Nordowemerelyfeeltheseessences

Foroneshorthour;no,evenasthetrees

Thatwhisperroundatemplebecomesoon

Dearasthetemple'sself,sodoesthemoon???

Simileshavethreemainuses:descriptive,illuminativeandillustrativeones.

Descriptive.用于描寫時，明喻能形象、生動地勾劃出各種不同的形狀、動作或狀

態(tài)等，如形容女孩清瘦，說她“長得像綠豆芽似的”，說某人的行動“慢得像蝸牛

爬一樣”，說天氣“熱得如湯煮”，屋子里“冷得像冰窟窿”等等，十分形象生動，

使人如同耳聞目睹或身臨其境?般。明喻能使人對熟悉的東西感到新意，對陌生

的東西產(chǎn)生熟悉感。

Puredescriptionofpersons,things,places,naturalscenery,andactionhasalways

beenthechiefusetowhichsimileshavebeenput.Agooddescriptivesimilecandraw

sharperpicturesinthemindthancouldpossiblybedonebyanyothermeans,andwith

muchmorebrevity.Forexample:

1.Herlipswerered,herlookswerefree,

Herlockswereyellowasgold.

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Herskinwaswhiteasleprosy.9,,

(S.T.Coleridge)

2.Poplookedsounhappy,almostlikeachildwho'slosthispieceofcandy.

(StefanHeym)

1.???bigblackflieshituslikebombs.

(DavidParks)

4.Theyoungmoon,recurvedandshininglowinthewest,waslikeaslender

shavingthrownupfromabarofgold,andtheArabianSea,smoothandcoolto

theeyelikeasheetofglass,extendeditsperfectleveltotheperfectcircleofa

darkhorizon.

(JosephConrad)

5.Motherwasshortandplumpandpretty.Hereyeswereblue,andherbrownhair

waslikeabird'ssmoothwings

(Wilder)

6.Themothersstayedbackinthekitchenwashinganddrying,puttingthingsway,

recrossingtheirtracelessfootstepslikethelifetimejourneysofbees,measuringout

thedrycocoaforbreakfaste??

(Knoxville)

7「卜面AnnieDillard對黃鼠狼(weasel)的一段描寫：

Hewastenincheslong,thinasacurve,amuscledribbon,brownasfruit-wood,

soft-furred,alert.Hisfacewasfierce,smallandpointedasalizard's;hewouldhave

madeagoodarrowhead.Therewasjustadotofchin,maybetwobrownhair'swidth,

andthenthepurewhitefiirbeganthatspreaddownhisunderside.Hehadtwoblack

eyesIdidn'tsee,anymorethanyouseeawindow.

Illuminative.Whilethedescriptivesimileattemptstodrawimagesofpeople,

things,etc.,throughfigurativecomparison,theilluminativesimiletriestogivedeeper

insightintopersons,things,ideas,evenproblems,throughsuggestiveassociation;to

throwlight,asitwere,ontowhatwouldotherwisebeinconceivabletoordinarypeople.

Inthissenseitismoredifficulttounderstandthandescriptivesimiles,foritisnotso

easysometimestograspthisinsightintopersonsorthings,whichissoimportantto

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fullercomprehensionofcharacterorsituation.Letuslookatafewexamples.

1.???therewasasecretmeannessthatclungtohimalmostlikeasmell.

(CarsonMcCullers)

(Thesuggestionofanall-prevailingmeannessintheman.)

2.Hewaslikeacockwhothoughtthesunhadrisentohearhimcrow.

(GeorgeEliot)

(Thesuggestionofoverwhelmingconceitintheman.)

3.Ilearnedagreatmanynewwordsthatday.Idonotrememberwhattheyall

were;butIdoknowthat'mother,father,sister,teacher9wereamongthem

wordsthatweretomaketheworldblossomforme"likeAaron\rod,with

flowers".

(HelenKeller)

(Thesuggestionofthemagicaleffectthediscoveryoflanguage("words")had

ontheblindgirl:itopenedupawholenewworldofknowledgeandhappinessfbrher.

IntheBiblestory,GodchoseAarontobehispriestbymakinghisrodorsticksprout

overnight.taIthadbudded,blossomed,andproducedripealmonds!99)

4.Whathappenstoadreamdeferred?

Doesitdryup

Likearaisininthesun?

Orfesterlikeasore

Andthenrun

Doesitstinklikerottenmeat?

Orcrustandsugarover

Likeasyrupysweet?

Maybeitjustsags

Likeaheavyload.

Ordoesitexplode?

(LangstonHughes)

(Thesuggestionofwhatmighthappenifhopesanddreamsarenotrealized:

a.theymightjustwitheranddryup;

b.theymightcausepainandsufferingandpoisonone'swholeoutlookonlife;

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c.theymightremainsweetmemories;

d.theymightremainaburdenonone'smind,dullandheavy;or

e.theymightfosterresentmentultimatelytoviolenceandrebellion.)

5.He(Preble)lookedattheclock.

Thebigsecondhandwassweepingdownlikeaguillotine.

(PatFrank)

(Theassociationhereisbetweentherapiddownwardmovementofthesecond

handandtherapidandrelentlessmovementdownwardofaguillotineonaman'shead.

Thesuggestionisoftherelentlesspassingawayoftime,everysecondbringingPreble

nearertohismomentofdecision.)

Fromtheseexampleswecanseehowimportantitistograspthehidden

associationbetweenunlikethings,ifwearetofullyunderstandandappreciatean

illuminativesimile.

Illustrative.Comparedwithilluminativesimile,theillustrativesimileisrelatively

easytounderstand.Itsuseissimple:toexplainabstractorcomplicatedideasor

processesinsimple,concreteimagery.

用于說明時，明喻能使深奧的哲理變得淺顯易懂，如把積累知識的艱難比作

針尖取土，把開展批評與自我批評的必要性比作天天需要洗臉和掃地，把個人與

祖國的親密關(guān)系比作孩子與母親，等等；生動、深刻，有很強的啟示和感染作用。

下面一個例子是以細線結(jié)成粗繩索的過程說明人的習慣一旦形成就難以改變的道

理：

Habitmaybelikenedtoacable;everydayweweaveathread,andsoonwe

cannotbreakit.

Thissortofsimileismostoftenfoundindiscursivewriting,orinscientific,

technologicalwriting.

科普文章中常常通過比喻把人們不易認識的自然現(xiàn)象解釋成看得見摸得著

的東西。如果要問激光和普通光束有何區(qū)別?只要想象一下軍訓時正步前進和人群

涌向足球賽球時的混亂情景就有數(shù)了：

1.Toreleasetheenergyofstoresofatomsbybombardingwithsub-atomic

particlesislikeshootingbirdsinthedarkinacountrywheretherearevery

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fewbirds.

(AlbertEinstein,intheearlyyearsofhisscientificresearch)

(Toillustratethegreatdifficultyofreleasingatomicenergybybombardingwith

sub-atomicparticles)

2.Socomparedwithanyordinarybeamoflight,thelaserbeamisaveryorderly

affairindeed.It'slikeamilitarymarcheveryoneinstep.Inanordinarybeam,the

wavesarelikethepeopleinacrowdgoingtoafootballmatchJostlingandbumping

intooneanother.

(ScientificallySpeaking)

(Toillustratethegreatorderlinessoflightwavesinalaserbeam)

Havingdiscussedthedifferentusesofsimiles,itmightnowbeappropriateto

considerwhatmakesagoodsimile.InthewordsofDr,SamuelJohnson,"Asimile,to

beperfect,mustbothillustrateandennoblethesubject,mustshowittothe

understandinginaclearerviewanddisplayittothefancywithgreaterdignity.^^The

exampleswehavequotedsofarlargelyaccordwithhisideaofaperfectsimile,thatis,

theyhavethequalitiesofclarity,anddignity.ButweneednotagreewithDr.Johnson

thattobeeffectiveasimilemustalwaysennoblethesubject.Especiallytoday,when

socialnormsandlanguagenormsarechanging,anditisconsideredthethingtobe

“shocking"and“permissive“notonlyinmannersbutinstyleofwriting,verybizarre

similesmaybefound.Takethefollowing,forexample:

"Sensitive.Thatkilledme.ThatguyMorrowwasaboutassensitiveasagoddam

toiletseat：'

(J.D.Salinger)

Thissimiledefinitelydoesnotennoblethesubjectbutitisnolesseffective,for

itverypointedlysuggeststhatMorrowhasasmuchsensitivityasacrudetoiletseat,

whichhasnoneatall.

Apartfromclarityanddignity(dignityhereimplyingheighteningofeffect)a

similemustpossessthequalityoffreshnessandoriginalitytoo.Infactthisqualityis

thehardesttoachieveinwritingsimiles,forittakesaverykeeneyeaswellasavery

perceptivemindtoputtogethervariousunrelatedelementsandcomeupwithclever,

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suggestivesimiles.Itwouldbebettertoavoidusingsimilesifwecannotcomeupwith

freshclearcomparisonsthantoproducetriteandhackneyedsimileslike:

ascoldasice;asgoodasgold;asstrongasanox;ascunningasafox;asfreshasa

rose;asbraveasalion;asproudasapeacock,asfatasapig,asblindasahatetc.

許多以如上所述的以as為比喻詞組成的明喻，已成為習語和固定詞組，雖然生

動形象，但因人們用得過多了，天長日久，它們的形象意義已十分淡薄，基本已

失去新鮮感，故上述這些不能稱之為明喻。

Atthesametimewemustalsoavoidclutteringupourwritingwithtoomany

similes,cloggingthemindwithsomanyimagesthatnothingstandsout.

E.g.:Theviewfromthemountaintopwasbeautiful.Talltreestoweredlikepillars

tothesky.whilebelowinthevalleys,riversflowedlikestreamsofjade.Flowers,

givingoffafragranceliketheincenseofthegods,bloomedinamyriadcolors,while

thesingingofthebirdswaslikemusicinheaven.

Similesareornamentsofproseand,likeallornaments,shouldbeusedtastefully

andsparingly.Theyshouldnotbegaudybaublesthatrepel.

Moreexamplesfordetailexplanation:

TheyarelikethemusketeersofDumaswho,althoughtheylivedsidebyside

witheachother,didnotdelveintoeachother'slivesortherecessesoftheirthoughts

andfeelings.

（他們（酒吧間的朋友）像大仲馬小說中的三個火槍手，他們雖然相互提攜，

但并不過問彼此的私事或思想感情。）

這里作者通過like把酒吧間的朋友比作大仲馬"三個火槍手”中的三個親密

的朋友。寥寥數(shù)語形象而生動地道破了他們的友誼的實質(zhì)。

Likesoftywaterylightningwentthewanderingsnakeatthecrowd.

（D.H.Lawrence）

（那條迷了路的蛇像柔軟的帶有雨意的閃電朝人群爬過去。）

Myheartislikeasingingbird

Whosenestisinawater'dshoot;

Myheartislikeanapple-tree

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Whoseboughsarebentwiththick-setfruit???

(Ch.G.Rossetti)

（我的心象一只歌唱的小鳥，

鳥窩在一支澆了水的嫩枝上；

我的心象一棵蘋果樹，

樹枝上果實累累……）

詩人用兩個比喻（likeasingingbird和likeanapple-tree）形象地說明了詩人

內(nèi)心的歡快與充實。

Ithink,comrades,thatself-criticismisasnecessarytousasairorwater.

（Stalin）

（同志們，我想，我們需要自我批評，如同需要空氣或水一樣。）

這個例子是借助比喻來說明事理。通過self-criticism和airorwater的對比，

把道理說得淺近、深刻。

Mybrainwasaspowerfulasadynamo,aspreciseasachemisfsscales,as

penetratingasascalpel.Andthinkofit!1wasonlyeighteen.

（MaxShulman）

（我的頭腦像發(fā)電機那樣強大有力，像藥劑師的天平那樣精確，像外科醫(yī)師

的手術(shù)刀那樣鋒利。你想想看吧！一一我那時還才十八歲。）

這里作者把他的頭腦與三個不同的事物相比，用具體事物來解釋抽象的東西,

形象地說明了他頭腦的有力、精確和敏銳。有一點要注意，不是任何用like或as

連接的比較都是修辭方式，都是明喻。?般地說，同類事物的比較不構(gòu)成修辭格;

只有不同類的事物相比擬，才引起聯(lián)想，構(gòu)成修辭方式。

因此，如果我們拿camel（駱駝）與dromedary（單峰駱駝）相比,就不存

在什么修辭方式；如果我們把camel比作ship（船），把camel稱作theshipofthe

desert（沙漠之舟），那就是修辭方式了。再如，我們拿N叩oleon（拿破侖）與

Alexander（亞歷山大）,或者拿RussianEmpire（俄羅斯帝國）與RomanEmpire

（羅馬帝國）相比，都不構(gòu)成什么修辭方式，因為他們本來就是相同的人物或東

西，是本義的比較。同類事物的比較，沒有任何修辭色彩或形象意義。正是由于

不同類的事物的比擬，才使人產(chǎn)生聯(lián)想，才造成了形象，所以是修辭方式。用具

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體的東西來比擬抽象的思想或東西時，明喻尤其具有表現(xiàn)力。

除上述明喻結(jié)構(gòu)外，有時比較級結(jié)構(gòu)，介詞短語及其他某些詞語搭配也可構(gòu)

成明喻。此外，英語的明喻有時可不用like,as等連詞，而采取其他的對比形式。

或者說還有一些形式在英語里有時也可具有明喻意義。例如：

L形容詞比較級

a）Hehadnomoreideaofmoneythanacow.

（Galsworthy）

（他對金錢像牛對金錢一樣，一無所知。）

句中nomore,??than不是一般的比較,而是一個十分生動的明喻，把he與cow

相比。

b）Therubyshallberedderthanaredrose,andthesapphireshallbeasblueas

thegreatsea.

（O.Wilde）

（紅寶石可以比紅玫瑰還要紅，藍寶石可以同大海一樣藍。）

句中redderthan也不是一般的形容詞比較級，而是把兩個不同的事物ruby

（紅寶石）與redrose（紅玫瑰）相比，用熟悉的（紅玫瑰）來解釋不熟悉的（紅

寶石）。

2.介詞短語

a）Adoctormusthavetheheartofalionandthehandofalady.

（當一個醫(yī)生，必須有獅子般的膽量和仕女般的巧手。）

句中實際上是把doctor與lion和lady相比。形象生動地說明了一個醫(yī)生應

具備的條件。

b）WiththequicknessofaIon殳cat,sheclimbedupintothenestofcool-bladed

foliage.

（Lawrence）

3.連詞and連接的兩個同等成分

a）Loveandcoughcannotbehid.

（愛情跟咳嗽一樣是掩蓋不了的。）

這里and所連接的是兩個毫不相關(guān)的事物，它是把前者與后者相比；它的作

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用相當于like,因而實際上是一個明喻。這種用法在英語諺語中頗為常見。例如：

b)Awordandastoneletgocannotberecalled.

(Proverb)

(說出去了的話就像拋出去了的石子，是收不回的。)

c)Theprocessofgainingorlosingweightcanbeexplainedbycomparingyour

bodytoyourcar9,,Andjustasyourcarusesmoreenergywhentheengineisracing

thanwhenitisidling,sodoesyourbodyusemoreenergywhenyouareworkinghard

thanyouareresting.

Moreexamplesofsimile:

1.Thewaterlaygrayandwrinkledlikeanelephant'sskin.

2.Myverythoughtswereliketheghostlyrustleofdeadleaves.

3.Hefoughtlikealioninthebattle.

4.Heisasstupidasanass.

5.Hisvoiceislikethunderinthatroom.

6.Themachine-gunshotdowntheenemylikeamowercuttingdowngrass.

7.Shecameintotheroomlikeashipenteringaharborafteratriumphant

voyage.

8.Slimycanalscreptlikegreensnakesbesidetheroad.

9.Hitler'sattackonPolandwaslikelightning.

10.Campaignposterssproutedacrossthelandlikewildflowersafteraspring

rain.

11.Peoplewouldpopoutofseats,likebreadoutofatoaster.

12.JustasDarwindiscoveredthelawofdevelopmentoforganicmatter,soMarx

discoveredthelawofhumanhistory.

13.1couldseethesilhouettesofhumanformsmotionlessinlittlegroups,like

desertplantsinthedark.

14.Moreover,justaslibraries,whicharestorehousesofwisdom,arealso

storehousesofunwisdom,sowillgoodEnglish,beingavailabletoall,be

enlistedinevilcauses.

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15.Themoonislikedasilvercoin.（月亮就像一枚銀幣。）

16.Childhoodislikeaswiftlypassingdream.（童年猶如一場短暫的夢。）

17.Goodnatureisthemostpreciousgiftofheaven,spreadingitselflikeoilover

thetroubledseaofthoughts,andkeepingthemindsmoothandequablein

theroughestweather.

18.Heislikeawolfinsheep'sskin.

19.Theparksofourcityarelikehumanlungs.

20.Moneyislikealensinacamera.

21.Itiswithwordsaswithsunbeamsthemoretheycondensed,thedeeper

theybum.

22.Shespokehurriedly,asifherhearthadleapedintoherthroatattheboy's

words.

23.Lottiestaggeredonthelowestverandahsteplikeabirdfallenoutofthe

nest.

24.Wetorethroughtheblack-and-goldtownlikeapairofscissorstearing

throughbrocade.

25.Mywordsswirledaroundhisheadlikesummerflies.

26.Thedecayofsocietywaspraisedbyartistsasthedecayofacorpseis

praisedbyworms.

27.Avioletbyamossystone

Halfhiddenfromtheeye!

Fairasastar,whenonlyone

Isshininginthesky.

（W.Wordsworth）

2.Metaphor（暗喻）：Ametaphor,likeasimile,alsomakesacomparison

betweentwounlikeelements,butunlikeasimile,thiscomparisonisimpliedrather

thanstated.

Inasimile,thewordslike,as,as???soareusedtomakethecomparison,asin

1）Jimwasascunningasafox.

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2)Theworldislikeastage.

Inametaphor,however,thecomparisonwouldappearsimplyas

1)Jimwasafox.

2)Theworldisastage.

Ametaphor,then,isinasenseacondensedsimile,differingfromthelatteronly

informandartistry.Itisahigherform,though,andrequiresgreaterabilityonthepart

ofthereadertoperc