Common Figures of Speech
1 simile Simile is an expression making a comparison in the
imagination between two things that are esntially
unlike, yet are alike in a certain aspect. A simile is
made up of three parts, namely: (1) the tenor (the thing
described) (2) the vehicle (the thing compared to) and
(3) words such as “as, like, as if, or as though,” and the
structure “of＋noun”ud to show the
relationships of comparison 1.He is as stuborn as a mule.
2.The two brothers look as if of the same cast.
2 metaphor Metaphor is the u of a phra which describes one
thing by stating another thing with which it can be
compared without using the words “ as, like, as if,”. It’s
also a comparison between two things that are
esntially unlike, yet alike in certain aspects. It differs
from simile in that there are no words whatsoever to
show the relation of comparison between the tenor and
the vehicle. 1.All is not gold that gliters.
2.some book are to be tasted, others swallowed, and some few
to be chiwed and digested.
3.Crops cannot grow well without manure, man cannot live
without food.
4.long night of physical slavery/ pink and ink of asrtive
manhood/
5. a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark
yesterday into bright tomorrows”
3 personificatio
n
Personification is a figure of speech which attributes
human qualities and abilites to inanimate objects,
animals, abstractions, and events.
1.The wind whispered in the trees.
2.Never had Mr. Pertonwaithe’s spacious walls beheld such a
spectacles.
3.The grey stones could tell terrible stories of violence and
justice, of intrigue and ambition.
4. A darting tongue of lightening lit up the overcast night sky
for a cond.
5. A jet plane whined its frustration at having to descend to the
runway.
4 irony Irony is the u of language that has an inner meaning
for a privileged audience and an outer meaning for the
persons address or concerned. Irony often brings with
it great significance and interest. For instance, when we
say to a very thin man, “How fat you are!” we were
employing irony.
E.G. 1. “Ｈow much do you want for it?”
“You can have it for four bob.”
Generosity itlf. But I’m not one for bargaining. I could have
got it for less, but I’d rather pay an extra bob than go through
five minues of chinning. ____Alan Sillitoe
(Here “generosity itlf”refers to the ca of the pawn broker
being stingy.)
E.G. 2. Nora flapped her hands. “ Shoo! Shoo!” the bird sprang
one branch higher and screeched again. “ go away your beastly
great thing!” _____M. T. Wadey
(Here the word “great” is ud ironically inmplying the scolding
of the jay that might do harm to blue-tits. Its implication is “You
have the nerve to have grown so large!”
5 parallelism Parallelism, by clarifying the relationship between a
writer’s idea, or between parts of a single, has a
rhetorical effect. The general principle of parallelism is
this: similar ideas are expresd by similar grammatical
forms. When a writer acquires the habit of frequently
expressing himlf in terms of parallel form, he has
taken a major step toward producing coherent essays. (A)1. Galileo studies, thought, and experimented.
2. The young actor was tall, dark, and handsome.
(B) 1. To support his family and to put himlf through college, he worked ven hours a day.
2. He pass his time listening to music and playing chess.
(C)1. A teacher who spends time with his students and who thoughtfully answers their questions will
Almost any kind of ntence element may be placed in a parallel construction (A) single words (B) phras (C) claus
2. I ’m concerned about a better world. I ’m concerned about justice. I ’m concerned about brotherhood. I ’m concerned about truth.
6
antithesis
Antithesis is a contrast of ideas expresd by parallelism of strongly contrasted words, generally for a tunefull rhythem and wisdom of brevity.
< 1. Crafty men condemn studies; simple men admire them; and wi men u them.
< 2. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredibility, it was the ason o f Light, it was the ason of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the otherway. _____A Tale of Two Cities by Ch. Dickens
(The above ntences are examples of antithesis, or an opposition or contrast of ideas, expresd by placing contrasting words in parallel positions in ntences or in two or more contiguous ntences.)
< 3. As long as mind is enslaved, the body can never be free. e.g. 4. Psychological freedom, ….., is the most powerful weapon against long night of physical slavery.
< a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark
yesterday into bright tomorrows ”
7
repetition
For rhetoric effect, sometimes it is necessary to repeat a key word, phra, or even a whole ntence, from one ntence to the next or from ending of one paragraph to the beginning of the next one.
< let this affirmation be our ringing cry ….. Let us remember that there is a ….. let us realize the ark of …..Let us realize …. Let us go out realizing …..(P. 10. Unit 1)
8 Anaphora
(首语重复
发) Anaphora means, in its right n, the repetition of a
word or a phra at the beginning of successive claus,
<1. For through violence you may murder a murderer but you
can’t murder murder; through violence you may murder a liar but
you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a
hater, but can’t murder hate. (p7-8, Unit 1)
9 Epiphora Epiphora, Countrary to anaphora, means the repetition
of a word or a phra at the end of a successive claus,
10 Oxymoron Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which words
expressing contradictary and incongruous ideas are
joined together to produce a pecular rhetorical effect. It
differs from antithesis in that it is a combination in one
expression on contradictary terms, whereas in
antithesis there is a contrast of ideas brought about by
parallele constructions. e.g. He was a wi fool. (难得糊涂)
< As the wretched creature mumbled and chuckled in her hideous merriment, the undertaker turned to go away. ------ Ch. Dickens
< The ven virtues are Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence. Jusdice, Fortitude and Temperance. The ven dealy sins are Pride, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice and Sloth. (The deadly virtues” is a good example of oxymoron)
< I like a smuggler. He is the only honest thie
f.
11 satire Satire is a rhetoric device meaning the u of ridicule,
irony, sarcasm, etc., in a speech or writing to expo or
discourage vice or folly, e.g. e.g. 1. Louisa Mebbin adopted a protective elder-sister attitude towards money in general, irrespective of nationality or denomination. (actually Louisa loved money like her very life. What a satire!)
< you already know how. You don’t need a talent for crying. P. 21, Unit 2)
< 3. he had many clients among “women of morals”, who had an eye for his beautiful head of hair, who know, too, that life is not all ros, and there was something pathetic in the persistency of Tchuk-Tchuk and the way his clothes hung about him like sacks, not was he bad-looking, with his great black eyes, and his
slim, dirty hands. …..by J. Galsworthy (here “women of morals “ refers to tho women whom Tchuk-Tchuk was fooling around every day.)
12
epithet
Epithet is an adjective or descriptive phra, especially of prai or blame ud of a person. Grammatically it plays the function of an attribute or an adverbial. But it differs from grammatical modifiers in that an epithet emphasis rhetorical effect while a grammatical modifier can ’t. sometimes a rhetorical effect epithet has no meaning at all, and is only ud to create a rhetorical effect. Therefore, it is called a transferred epithet, i.e. an epithet shifter from its proper subject to some allied circumstance.
< 1Meanwhile he waited with infinite patience, uncomplaining, thinking about the sand, and the thin hot layer of water over it, in that shy New jery creek.
< 2. Let us be dissatisfied untill the tragic wall that parate the outer city (p.9. Unit 1)
13
Metonymy ( 借代)
Metonumy is also often ud in English. It is such a figure as consists in the u of the name of one thing for the name of another. It express a n association between the thing spoken of and the thing meant ----- the mention of one suggests the other. The most often ud ones (e examples)
The Kettel is boiling. ( water in the kettle) The hall is applauding. (audience in the hall) Grey hair should be respected. (aged people) 14 synecdoche
Synecdoche is the most fundamental rhetorical means of metonymy, means giving the part for the whole or vice versa, using a kind of thing to reprent another big kind or vi versa, and using raw material to reprent the thing made of it. (1)Using a part for the whole: Twenty years late, when he came back to home town, he saw many new faces.// Many hands make light work.
(2)Using the whole for the part: The score is 2 to 1 in favour of China. (Chine team)// The world stands by our side( world
for the people in the world)
(3)Using a kind of thing to reprent another big ing: It is said
