期末修辞学论文2.docx

期末修辞学论文2.docx

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期末修辞学论文2

TheAnalysisoftheFigureofSpeech

课程实用修辞学

老师李霄垅

姓名吴五梅

单位外国语学院

年级10级一班

学号1015010118

日期2013年7月18日

TheAnalysisoftheFigureofSpeech

AbstractThefigureofspeechplaysanimportantroleintherhetoric.Thefigureofspeechisakindofmeanswhichdeviatesfromthegeneralandthemainmeaningofaword.Forawriter,thetextwillbemorevividlyifheusesthefigureofspeechproperly.Whereas,foranEnglishlearner,heshouldnotonlyunderstandwhatisthefigureofspeech,butalsoshouldremembertheexactspelloftheprofessionallanguage.Thispaperintroducethedefinitionaboutsimile,quasi-simile,metaphor,synecdoche,ironyandpersonificationbysomeanalysisoftherhetoricdeviceinEnglishliterature.Meanwhile,theauthorwilldiscussthewaystoremembertheprofessionallanguageaccordingtoherownpractice.

Keywordsrhetoricthefigureofspeechadvertisementartificialmemory

outline

Ⅰ.Introduction

A.Thedefinitionaboutrhetoric

B.Thedefinitionaboutthefigureofspeech

Ⅱ.Theanalysisofsomerhetoricdevices

A.Simile,Quasi-simile,Metaphor

B.Synecdoche,Irony

C.Parallelism,Personification

Ⅲ.Theartificialmemory

A.Metaphormethod

B.Synecdochemethod

Ⅳ.Conclusion

Ⅰ.Introduction

A.Thedefinitionaboutrhetoric

Rhetoricistheartofdiscourse,anartthataimstoimprovethecapabilityofwritersorspeakersthatattempttoinform,persuade,ormotivateparticularaudiencesinspecificsituations.Asasubjectofformalstudyandaproductivecivicpractice,rhetorichasplayedacentralroleintheWesterntradition.Rhetoricstypicallyprovideheuristicsforunderstanding,discovering,anddevelopingargumentsforparticularsituations,suchasAristotle'sthreepersuasiveaudienceappeals,logos,pathos,andethos.Thefivecanonsofrhetoric,whichtracethetraditionaltasksindesigningapersuasivespeech,werefirstcodifiedinclassicalRome:

invention,arrangement,style,memory,anddelivery.Alongwithgrammarandlogic（ordialectic—seeMartianusCapella）,rhetoricisoneofthethreeancientartsofdiscourse.

B.Thedefinitionaboutthefigureofspeech

Afigureofspeechistheuseofawordoraphrase,whichtranscendsitsliteralinterpretation.Itcanbeaspecialrepetition,arrangementoromissionofwordswithliteralmeaning,oraphrasewithaspecializedmeaningnotbasedontheliteralmeaningofthewordsinit,asinidiom,metaphor,simile,hyperbole,personification,orsynecdoche.Figuresofspeechoftenprovideemphasis,freshnessofexpression,orclarity.However,claritymayalsosufferfromtheiruse,asanyfigureofspeechintroducesanambiguitybetweenliteralandfigurativeinterpretation.Afigureofspeechissometimescalledarhetoricalfigureoralocution.

Ⅱ.Theanalysisofsomerhetoricdevices

A.Simile,Quasi-simile,Metaphor

Wordsusedintheiroriginalmeaningsareusedliterally,whilewordsusedinextendedmeaningsforthepurposeofmakingcomparisonsorcallinguppicturesinthereader'sorlistener'smindareusedfiguratively.Therearevariouswaysofusingwordsfiguratively.Theyarecalledfiguresofspeech.Amongthemostcommonofthemare:

a.Simile

Itisacomparisonbetweentwodistinctlydifferentthingandthecomparisonisindicatedbytheword“as”,“like”and“than”.Forexample,inRobertBurns’linesandotherlines.

Mylove'slikeared,redrose

That’snewlysprunginJune

Thatmancan'tbetrusted.He'sasslipperyasaneel.

Theoldman'shairisaswhiteassnow.

Intheabovethreeexample,peopleandthingsofdifferentcategoriesarecompared.Thefirstoneinwhichthegirlisbeingcomparedtoared,redroseofJune.Awomanandarose,amanandaneel,andhairandsnow.Buteachpairhaveonesimilarity:

loveliness,slipperinessandwhiteness.Thediscrepancybetweenthetwothingscomparedmakestheirsimilarityallthemorestriking.

b.Quasi-simile

Aquasi-simileisacomparisonthatresemblesasimile.Itisoftenrealizedthroughconstructionwhichexpressorimplysimilitude.Aquasi-similewith“asif”and“asthough”oftensuggestamindreachingouttoexplainsomethingunfamiliar.Forexample:

Jukescameoutofitratherhorrified,asthoughhehadescapedsomeunparalleledoutragedirectedathisfeelings.

Theabovesentenceusedthequasi-similetovividlydescribedhowthemanfeltwhenthewindarrived.

c.Metaphor

Afigureofspeechinvolvingcomparisonsbetweenthingsessentiallyunlike,butitisneverthelesspossibletodetectsimilaritybetweenthem.Thecomparisonisusuallyimpliedratherthanovertlyexpressed.TakethelinesofWordsworth:

DearGod!

theveryhousesseemasleep;

Andallthatmightyheartislyingstill!

Here,theword“heart”referstothecityofLondon.Althoughtheliteralmeaningof“heart”andthatof“London”arequitedifferent,itisnottoodifficultforustodetectcertainlikenessbetweenthem.

heart:

+anorganofthehumanbody,+centralpartofthehumanbody,+themostimportantpartofsomething;

London:

+CapitalofBritain,+centralofBritain,+themostimportantpartofBritain;

Thetwoterms,therefore,sharethemeaningcomponentof”themostimportantpartof…”whichenablesthepoettouseonetermtoexpresstheother.

B.Synecdoche,Irony

a.Synecdoche

Whenapartissubstitutedforthewholeorthewholeissubstitutedforapart,synecdocheisapplied:

　　　Thefarmswereshortofhandsduringtheharvestseason.

　　　Hehadearnhisdailybreadbydoingoddjob.

　　　Thepoorcreaturecouldnolongerendurehersufferings.

Intheabovesentenceshandsstandsformen,breadforfoodorlivingexpense,andcreatureforawoman.

Metonymyandsynecdochearesimilarasbothinvolvesubstitution.Sometimestheycanhardlybedistinguishedfrommetaphor,whichinawayisalsosubstitution.

b.Irony

Itistheuseofwordswhichareclearlyoppositetowhatismeant,inordertoachieveaspecialeffect.Supposeyouplannedanoutingonacertainday,expectingittobefine;butwhenthedaycameitwasrainingheavily.Ifyousaid,"Whatfineweatherforouting!

"youwerespeakingironically.Ifabarbarousactwascalledcivilizedorcultural,ironywasused.

C.Parallelism,Personification

a.Parallelism

Afrequentlyuseddeviceinpoetryand,toalesserdegree,inprose,itcanbedefined,accordingtotheDictionaryofLiteraryTerms，as“consistingofphrasesorsentencesofsimilarconstructionsandmeaningplacedsidebyside,balancingeachother”.Thefunctionsofparallelismaremultiple.Everyparallelismestablishesarelationshipbetweentwoormorelinguisticitems.Thisrelationshipmaybeoneofcontrastorofsimilarity.

Contrast:

Wherewealthaccumulatesandmendecay.（Goldsmith）

Similarity:

Wherewealthdiminishesandmendecay.（parodyofGoldsmith’sline）

Parallelismisalsooftenusedtosetupaconnectionbetweenitemsthatareotherwiseoppositeinmeaning.Forexample,inShakespeare’sfamousline“IkissedtheeereIkilledthee”（Othello）,“kissed”and“killed”seemtogainequalstatus.ThisparallelismfullyexpressionOthello’smixedfeelingsforDesdemona.

Sometimesaseriesofelementsofsimilarconstructionsmaybeplacedinparallelpositionssoastobuildupaclimaxandtoexpressstrongemotions.LookatthefollowinglinesfromShelley’spoem“MenofEngland”,

Sowseed—butletnotyrantreap;

Findwealth—letnoimpostorheap;

Weaverobes—letnottheidlewear;

Forgearms—inyourdefencetobear.

Here,thereader’sexpectationsofaclimaxaresatisfiedbytheparallelismandtheemotiveforceofthelastlineishighlighted.

b.Personification

Itistotreatathingoranideaasifitwerehumanorhadhumanqualities.Inpoetrypersonificationisverycommon:

　　　Youthishotandbold,

　　　Ageisweakandcold,

　　　Youthiswild,andAgeistame.

　　　____WilliamShakespear

IntheselinesYouthandAgearedescribedliketwoperson.

Ⅲ.Theartificialmemory

Accordingtomylearningexperienceoffigureofspeech,manyclassmatesfeelsthatdistinguishtheconceptionabout"Synecdoche","Metaphor"and"Metonymy"arequitedifficult,aswellasIam.ButafterIlookingintothesewords,IfindsomethinginterestingandIgetmyownwaytorememberthem.Thestudyfruitasfollow:

A.Metaphormethod

Actually,mostofusshouldadmitthatthemotorbikehelpsusalot.WecanspeakmetaphorinChineseasmotuofei,followtheconceptofmetaphor,itiscomparisonbetweentwodifferentkindsofsubstance,anditisusedwithoutasorlike.SointheChinesephase,motorandflyaretwoconceptionofmatter,butwhenwedrivingamotorbikespeedywewillfeellikeflyinthesky,atthesametime,weshouldpayattention,Ihaven'tuseasorlikeinthephase.

B.Synecdochemethod

Wecanusethesamewayasthefirstonetounderstandtheword.Firstly,synecdochemeansthatapartissubstitutedforthewholeorthewholeissubstitutedforapart.InChinese,wemaypronounceitlikexiniduoche,xinistandsforSydney,thewholephrasemeansthatinSydney,therearemanymanycars（thetransportisterriblelikeinBeijingorShanghai's）,sothinkmorefurther,itisalsomeansthatincosmopolitancity,aswellasSydney,therearealotofcars.Inthisplace,Sydneyisapartsubstitutedsuchbigandmodernizecity.

C.Metonymymethod

Firstlyweshouldknowtheconceptionoftheword.Itismeansthatsubstitutingthenameofonethingforthatofanotherwithwhichitiscloselyassociated.Secondly,weshouldpronouncethewordinChinese,itissoundslikemotuomini,meansmini-motorcycle.Thekeyisthatminiiscloselyassociatedwithmotorcyclecompar