英语专业文体修辞学期末复习资料

➢AphesisDefinition: the omission of an initial part of a word.Example: Thou on whose stream, ’mid the steep sky’s commotion 暴动、暴乱(’mid --amid)➢SyncopeDefinition: the omission of a medial part of a word.Example: A voice so thrilling ne’er was heardIn spring-time from the cuckoo-birdBreaking the silence of the seasAmong the farthest Hebrides(ne’er--never)➢ApocopeDefinition: the omission of a final part of a wordExample: Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear.And the rocks melt wi’ the sunI will love thee still, my dear,While the sands o’ life shall run(a’—all, wi’—with, o’--of)➢GraphologyDefinition: by graphology is meant the encoding of meaning in visual symbols.Example: shape of text; type of print; grammetrics; punctuation; indentation.(Eg of type of print) Me up at doesout of the floorquietly Starea poisoned mousestill who aliveis asking whathave i done thatYou wouldn’t have➢GrammetricsDefinition: By grammetrics is meant the ways in which grammatical units are fitted into metrical units such as lines and stanzasExample:This Is Just to SayI have eatenthe plumsthat were inthe icebox →and whichyou were probablysavingfor breakfast →Forgive methey were deliciousso sweetand so cold(“→→”means a very strong pulling-forward effect; “→”means a less strong pulling-forward effect. “eaten,the, in”all indicate a strong fulling-forward effect. )➢Marked themeDefinition: the literary writer places any of the rest of clause elements in the thematic position in order to achieve certain literary effect.Example: A lone she cuts and binds the grain,And sings a melancholy strain;O listen! for the vale profoundIs overflowing with the sound(“alone” is a fronting of the adjunct that can make the element highly noticeable) ➢AffixationDefinition: affixation is the addition of a prefix or suffix to an item which already exists in the languageExample: there was a balconyful of gentlemen.(“balcony+ful” is a vivid description of the number of people staying on the balcony.) ➢CompoundingDefinition: compounding is the combination of two or more items to make a single compound one.Example: Baby wakeOpen-eyed;Open-eyed:as a verbless adjective clause, express a result➢ConversionDefinition: conversion, described as “zero affixation” is the adaptation of an item to a new grammatical function without changing its form.Example: “Don’t be such a harsh parent, father!”“Don’t father me!”(the noun”father” is changed to a verb to express the annoyance and discontent.) ➢OxymoronDefinition: Oxymoron is the yoking together of two expressions which are incompatible, so that in combination they have no conceivable literal reference to reality.e.g. As the wretched creature mumbled and chuckled in her hideous merriment, the undertaker turned to go away. (Oliver Twist)➢ParadoxDefinition: A Paradox is a statement which is absurd because it is self-evidently false.e.g. It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.➢SynecdocheDefinition: Synecdoche is a type of transference of meaning which involves the substitution of a part for the whole.e.g. Return to her?...No, rather I abjure all roofs and choose…To be a comrade with the wolf and owl.➢MetonymyDefinition: Metonymy is the substitution of a word referring to an attribute of the thing that is meant, rather than the substitution of a part for the whole, or the whole for a part.e.g. Sceptre and CrownMust tumble downAnd in the dust be equal madeWith the poor crooked Scythe and Spade.(Shirley,The Glories of our Blood)Here, Sceptre and Crown represent their power and authority, and metonyms for kings and queens. Scythe and Spade are things used by peasants or farm workers, and are metonyms for peasants.➢Metaphor(重点！)Metaphor: It is associated with particular rule of transference, that is, the figurative meaning is derived from the literal meaning or it is, as it were, the literal meaning.e.g. Life's but a walking shadow, a poor playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the stageAnd then is heard no more: it is a tale( life is like a walking shadow, a poor player .)Five types:A. One type of sensory perception is expressed in terms of anotherB. A non-human referent is given human attributesC. A non-animate referent is given animate characteristicsD. An abstraction is treated as if it were animateE. A human referent is treated either as an inanimate being or an animal or a bird➢OverstatementOverstatement is termed hyperbole in traditional rhetoric. It distorts the truth by great exaggeration. It is usually used to emphasize strong feeling and to create a sentimental, satiric or comic effect.e.g. Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,And the rocks melt wi' the sun!And I will luve thee still, my dear,While the sands o' life shall run.All the seas will never become dry and rocks will unlikely melt with the sun, the hyperbolic expressions here strongly emphasize the promise of undying love.➢UnderstatementUnderstatement: understatement is the opposite of overstatement in that it misrepresents the truth by deliberately understating it as opposed to exaggerating it. e.g. The face wasn't a bad one; It had what they called charm. (Galsworthy)The face wasn't a bad one in this context is a non-committal way of saying: the face was a very good one.➢HomophonyHomophony: words that have the same pronunciation but differ in form and meaning.e.g. When I am dead, I hope it may be said“His sins were scarlet, but his books are read.”The past participle of the verb “read” which relates to his books, and the adjective “red” relating to its hyponym scarlet in the first half of the same line.➢HolysemyPolysemy: the ambiguity of an individual word or phrase that can be used to express two or more different meaningse.g. Ben Battle was a warrior bold,And used to war's alarms;But a cannon-ball took off his legs,So he laid down his arms.In this context, “arms”can refer to the upper limbs of the said warrior as well as the weapons he carries.➢AlliterationAlliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant cluster in stressed syllables. Eg. Cold are the crabs that crawl on yonder hills,Colder the cucumbers that grow beneath…➢RhymeRhyme is the identity of sounds between words or verse lines extending back from the end to the last fully accented vowel and not further.Eg. CandyIs dandy,But liquorIs quicker.➢AssonanceAssonance is the repetition of identical vowel or diphthong in stressed syllables. Eg. Think from how many treesDead leaves are broughtTo earth on seed or wing➢ConsonanceConsonance is the repetition of the final consonat cluster in stressed syllables. Eg. Nothing lovelier than that lonely call,Bare and singular, like a gull,And three notes or four, then that was all.It drew up from the quiet like a well,Waited, sang, and vanishing, was still.➢OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia refers to the use of words formed in imitation of the natural sounds associated with the object or action involved, and it may also be phrased as the recurrence of phonemes in a text unit that suggests certain natural sounds which reinforce the meaning conveyed in that text unit.Eg. Crack came an officer’s club on his forehead.➢IambIamb or Iambic foot is the commonest type of verse foot. It is a pattern in which one stressed syllable alternates with one unstressed syllable, beginning with the unstressed syllable.Eg. In every cry of every manIn every infant’s cry of fear➢TrocheeTrochee or throchaic foot is a pattern in which one stressed syllable alternates with one unstressed syllable, beginning with the stressed syllable.Eg. Men of England, wherefore ploughFor the Lords who lay yellow?➢AnapaestAnapaest or the anapaestic foot is a pattern in which one stressed syllable alternates with two unstressed syllables, beginning with the two unstressed syllables.Eg. The Assy rian came down like the wolf on the fold.➢DactylDactyl or dactylic foot is a pattern in which one stressed syllable alternates with two unstressed syllables, beginning with the stressed syllable.Eg. Sing me a song of a lad that is gone➢DimeterA dimeter is a verse line that has two metrical feet.Eg. One more unfortunateWeary of breathRashly importunate,Gone to her death!➢TetrameterA tetrameter a verse line that has four metrical feet.Eg. Who fought for freedom, more than lifeWho gave up all, to die in strife?➢PentameterA pentameter is a verse line that has five metrical feet.Eg. How like a winter hath my absence beenFrom thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!➢Immediate repetitionImmediate repletion means the repeated unit immediately follows the initial unit. Eg. Do not go gentle into that good night,Old age should burn and rave at close of day,Rage, rage against the dying of light.➢Intermittent repetionEg. O, how that name befits my composition,Old Gaunt indeed, and gaunt in being old.➢Large-scale parallelismBy large-scale parallelism we mean the kind which consists of more than two juxtaposed units.Eg. I came, I saw, I conquered.➢Small-scale parallelismSmall-scale parallelism is the case which consists of only two juxtaposed units.Eg. His fees were high; his lessons were light.。