Lecture 7 Figures of Speech 英语专业写作 教学课件.ppt

1. Definition of figure of speech A figure of speech is a word or phrase which is used to create a particular mental image or effect, and which does not have its usual or literal meaning. We are said to be speaking or writing figuratively when we use words in non-literal senses to lend force to an idea, to heighten effect, or to create atmosphere. For example, it is more vivid and colorful to say that stars “twinkly like diamonds” in the sky, than to say simply that they “shine brightly in the sky. Similarly, “Imperialism is a paper tiger” is an expression more suggestive of outward ferocity and inner weakness than the literal statement “Imperialism appears to be strong but inwardly it is weak.” 2. Different figures of speech 1) simile 　 2) metaphor 3) metonymy 4) synecdoche 5) personification 6) euphemism 7) hyperbole 8) irony 9) transferred epithet 10) oxymoron 11) pun 1. simile A simile makes a comparison, but is different from an ordinary, literal comparison. When we say “Jim looks like his brother”, we are making an ordinary literal comparison, for (a) we are comparing two like elements – Jim and his brother are both human beings; and (b) we mean Jim is literally like his brother in appearance. But when we say “Jim and his brother are as like as two peas”, we are using a simile, for (a) we are comparing two unlike elements – human beings and peas; and (b) we don’t mean Jim and Billy are literally like peas, but only that they have one thing in common with peas: great similarity in appearance. Simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are explicitly compared, usually by means of words like, as, or as if. It makes a comparison between two unlike elements having at least one quality or characteristic in common. Characteristics of a simile a. comparative words: like /as; b. tenor; vehicle c. totally different things of different properties. d. one quality in common E.g. They were packed into the bus like sardines. tenor