A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices.docx

A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices.docx

《A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices.docx（47页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

AHandbookofRhetoricalDevices

AHandbookofRhetoricalDevices

RobertA.Harris

VersionDate:

July26,2002

Thisbookcontainsdefinitionsandexamplesofmorethansixtytraditionalrhetoricaldevices,allofwhichcanstillbeusefultodaytoimprovetheeffectiveness,clarity,andenjoymentofyourwriting.Note:

Thisbookwaswrittenin1980,withsomechangessince.Thedevicespresentedarenotinalphabeticalorder.Togodirectlytothediscussionofaparticulardevice,clickonthenamebelow.

Alliteration

Antithesis

Climax

Epizeuxis

Metanoia

Polysyndeton

Allusion

Apophasis

Conduplicatio

Eponym

Metaphor

Procatalepsis

Amplification

Aporia

Diacope

Exemplum

Metonymy

RhetoricalQuestion

Anacoluthon

Aposiopesis

DirimensCopulatio

Expletive

Onomatopoeia

ScesisOnomaton

Anadiplosis

Apostrophe

Distinctio

Hyperbaton

Oxymoron

Sententia

Analogy

Appositive

Enthymeme

Hyperbole

Parallelism

Simile

Anaphora

Assonance

Enumeratio

Hypophora

Parataxis

Symploce

Antanagoge

Asyndeton

Epanalepsis

Hypotaxis

Parenthesis

Synecdoche

Antimetabole

Catachresis

Epistrophe

Litotes

Personification

Understatement

Antiphrasis

Chiasmus

Epithet

Metabasis

Pleonasm

Zeugma

APrefaceofQuotations

Whoeverdesiresforhiswritingsorhimself,whatnonecanreasonablycondemn,thefavorofmankind,mustaddgracetostrength,andmakehisthoughtsagreeableaswellasuseful.Manycomplainofneglectwhonevertriedtoattractregard.Itcannotbeexpectedthatthepatronsofscienceorvirtueshouldbesolicitoustodiscoverexcellencieswhichtheywhopossessthemshadeanddisguise.Fewhaveabilitiessomuchneededbytherestoftheworldastobecaressedontheirownterms;andhethatwillnotcondescendtorecommendhimselfbyexternalembellishmentsmustsubmittothefateofjustsentimentsmeanlyexpressed,andberidiculedandforgottenbeforeheisunderstood.--SamuelJohnson

Menmustbetaughtasifyoutaughtthemnot;Andthingsunknownpropos'dasthingsforgot.--AlexanderPope

Styleinpaintingisthesameasinwriting,apowerovermaterials,whetherwordsorcolors,bywhichconceptionsorsentimentsareconveyed.--SirJoshuaReynolds

Whereas,ifaftersomepreparatorygroundsofspeechbytheircertainformsgotintomemory,theywereledtothepraxisthereofinsomechosenshortbooklessonedthoroughlytothem,theymightthenforthwithproceedtolearnthesubstanceofgoodthings,andartsindueorder,whichwouldbringthewholelanguagequicklyintotheirpower.--JohnMilton

Introduction

Goodwritingdependsuponmorethanmakingacollectionofstatementsworthyofbelief,becausewritingisintendedtobereadbyothers,withmindsdifferentfromyourown.Yourreaderdoesnotmakethesamementalconnectionsyoumake;hedoesnotseetheworldexactlyasyouseeit;heisalreadyfloodeddailywiththousandsofstatementsdemandingassent,yetwhichheknowsorbelievestobefalse,confused,ordeceptive.Ifyourwritingistogetthroughtohim--oreventobereadandconsideredatall--itmustbeinteresting,clear,persuasive,andmemorable,sothathewillpayattentionto,understand,believe,andremembertheideasitcommunicates.Tofulfilltheserequirementssuccessfully,yourworkmusthaveanappropriateandclearthesis,sufficientargumentsandreasonssupportingthethesis,alogicalandprogressivearrangement,and,importantly,aneffectivestyle.

Whilestyleisprobablybestlearnedthroughwidereading,comprehensiveanalysisandthoroughpractice,muchcanbediscoveredabouteffectivewritingthroughthestudyofsomeofthecommonandtraditionaldevicesofstyleandarrangement.Bylearning,practicing,altering,andperfectingthem,andbytestingtheireffectsandnuancesforyourself,thesedeviceswillhelpyoutoexpressyourselfbetterandalsoteachyoutoseetheinterrelatednessofformandmeaning,andthepsychologyofsyntax,metaphor,anddictionbothinyourownwritingandintheworksofothers.

Therhetoricaldevicespresentedheregenerallyfallintothreecategories:

thoseinvolvingemphasis,association,clarification,andfocus;thoseinvolvingphysicalorganization,transition,anddispositionorarrangement;andthoseinvolvingdecorationandvariety.Sometimesagivendeviceortropewillfallmainlyintoasinglecategory,asforexampleanexpletiveisusedmostlyforemphasis;butmoreoftentheeffectsofaparticulardevicearemultiple,andasingleonemayoperateinallthreecategories.Parallelism,forinstance,helpstoorder,clarify,emphasize,andbeautifyathought.Occasionallyadevicehascertaineffectsnotreadilyidentifiableorexplainable,soIhavenotalwaysbeenabletosaywhyorwhencertainonesaregoodorshouldbeused.Myrecommendationistopracticethemallanddevelopthatsenseinyourselfwhichwilltellyouwhenandhowtousethem.

Lotsofpracticeandexperimentationarenecessarybeforeyouwillfeelreallycomfortablewiththesedevices,buttoomuchpracticeinasinglepaperwillmostassuredlybedisastrous.Ajournalornotebookisthebestplacetoexperiment;whenadevicebecomessecondnaturetoyou,andwhenitnolongerappearsfalseoraffected--whenindeeditbecomesgenuinelybuiltintoyourwritingratherthanaddedon--thenitmaymakeitsformalappearanceinapaper.Rememberthatrhetoricaldevicesareaidstowritingandnotendsofwriting;youhavenoobligationtotossoneintoeveryparagraph.Further,ifusedcarelesslyorexcessivelyortoofrequently,almostanyoneofthesedeviceswillprobablyseemaffected,dull,awkward,ormechanical.Butwithalittlecareandskill,developedbypractice,anyonecanmasterthem,andtheirusewilladdnotjustbeautyandemphasisandeffectivenesstoyourwriting,butakindoffreedomofthoughtandexpressionyouneverimaginedpossible.

Practicethese;trythemout.Donotworryiftheysometimesringfalseatfirst.Playwiththem--learntomanipulateandcontrolyourwordsandideas--andeventuallyyouwillmastertheartofaggressiveinstruction:

keepingthereaderfocusedwithanaphora,emphasizingapointwithanexpletive,explainingtohimwithametaphororsimile,organizingyourworkinhismindwithmetabasis,answeringhisquerieswithhypophoraorprocatalepsis,balancingpossibilitieswithantithesis.Youwillalsohavegonealongwaytowardfulfillingthefourrequirementsmentionedatthebeginning:

thedevicesofdecorationandvarietywillhelpmakeyourreaderpayattention,thedevicesoforganizationandclarificationwillhelphimunderstandyourpoints,thedevicesofassociationandsomelikeprocatalepsiswillhelphimbelieveyou,andthedevicesofemphasis,association,beauty,andorganizationwillhelphimremember.

RhetoricalDevices

1. Expletive（Addedorinsertedinordertofilloutsomething,suchasasentenceorametricalline.附加的或插入的，为了充实诸如一个句子或诗句等东西）isasinglewordorshortphrase,usuallyinterruptingnormalsyntax,usedtolendemphasistothewordsimmediatelyproximatetotheexpletive.（Weemphasizethewordsoneachsideofapauseorinterruptioninordertomaintaincontinuityofthethought.）Compare:

∙ButthelakewasnotdrainedbeforeApril.

∙Butthelakewasnot,infact,drainedbeforeApril.

Expletivesaremostfrequentlyplacednearthebeginningofasentence,whereimportantmaterialhasbeenplaced:

∙Alltruthisnot,indeed,ofequalimportance;butiflittleviolationsareallowed,everyviolationwillintimebethoughtlittle.--SamuelJohnson

Butsometimestheyareplacedattheverybeginningofasentence,therebyservingassignalsthatthewholesentenceisespeciallyimportant.Insuchcasesthesentenceshouldbekeptasshortaspossible:

∙Inshort,thecobblerhadneglectedhissoul.

∙Indeed,thewaterIgivehimwillbecomeinhimaspringofwaterwellinguptoeternallife.--John4:

14（NIV）

Ortheauthormayshowthathedoesnotintendtounderemphasizeanobjectionorargumentherejects:

∙Tobesure,noonedesirestoliveinafoulanddisgustingenvironment.Butneitherdowewanttodesertourcities.

Inafewinstances,especiallywithshortsentences,theexpletivecanbeplacedlast:

∙Itwasahotdayindeed.

∙Haroldwon,ofcourse.

Acommonpracticeissettingofftheexpletivebycommas,whichincreasestheemphasisonthesurroundingwords,thoughinmanycasesthecommasarenecessaryforclarityaswellandcannotbeomitted.Notehowtheexpletiveitselfisalsoemphasized:

∙Hewithoutdoubtcanbetrustedwithacookie.

∙He,withoutdoubt,canbetrustedwithacookie.

Anexpletivecanemphasizeaphrase:

∙TheBradys,clearlyahappyfamily,liveinanoldhousewithsqueakyfloors.

Transitionalphrases,accostives,someadverbs,andotherinterrupterscanbeusedforemphasizingportionsofsentences,andthereforefunctionaskindsofquasi-expletivesinthosecircumstances.

∙Wefindafewpeople,however,unwillingtocome.

∙"Yourlastremark,"hesaid,"isimpertinent."

∙Thereisnothing,Sir,toolittleforsolittleacreatureasman.--SamuelJohnson

Someusefulexpletivesincludethefollowing:

infact,ofcourse,indeed,Ithink,withoutdoubt,tobesure,naturally,itseems,afterall,forallthat,inbrief,onthewhole,inshort,totellthetruth,inanyevent,clearly,Isuppose,Ihope,atleast,assuredly,certainly,remarkably,importantly,definitely.Informalwriting,avoidtheseandsimilarexpletives:

youknow,yousee,huh,getthis.Anditgoeswithoutsayingthatyoushouldavoidtheunprintableones.

2. Asyndeton（Theomissionofconjunctionsfromconstructionsinwhichtheywouldnormallybeused,asin

连词的省略在构造句子成分中经常使用的连词的省略，如：

Areallthyconquests