英语诗歌中修辞手法的艺术效果之欣赏_以_西风颂_为例_英文_

语言风格

中国校外教育教学方法

英语诗歌中修辞手法的艺术效果之欣赏

)))以5西风颂6为例

s

邢亦平

傅超波

(福建农林大学人文社会科学学院外语系)

Abstract:ThispapercentersontherhetoricaldevicesinEnglishpoems,studyingthecaseofOdetotheWestWind.Thepredominantrhetoricaldevicesdiscussedinthisclassicalpoemaredividedintothreecataloguesinthisthesis:lexicalstylisticdevices,syntacticalstylisticdevicesandphoneticstylisticdevices.Throughthea2nalysisofvariousrhetoricaldevicesinOdetotheWestWindindetai,lthethesisprobesintotheuseandimportanceofrhetoricaldevicesinEnglishpoems.FinallythethesisattemptstoputforwardbeneficialadvicetohelpappreciatetherhetoricaldevicesinEnglishpoems.KeyWords:rhetoricaldevicesEnglishpoems

1.Introduction

Poemsarehighlycondensedandusedtoconveyrichmeaninginlimitedlines,rhetoricaldevicesarefoundmostfrequentlyandmosttypicallyinpoems,asEmilyDickinsonsaid,

thepoets'workisto"tellallthetruth,buttellit

slan.t"Basedonthisunderstanding,thispaperwillfocusontheusageandim2portanceofrhetoricaldevicesinEnglishpoems,bystudyingtherhetoricalde2vicesinodetothewestwindasacase.

2.RhetoricaldevicesinEnglishpoemswithOdetotheWestWindasacasestudy

2.1LexicalStylisticDevices

AccordingtoFengCuihua,poetssometimesfinditnecessarytoclarify,qualify,oramplifyanimageorafeelingforemphasis.Atothertimes,theymaywishtosaysomethingasanafterthough,torinsertsomerandomobservationinapoem.Todothis,theymayresorttolexicalstyledevices(2004.09:45).Also,HuangZhongyingredeemthatpoetsusenumerouslexicaldevicessoastorenderanexperienceindirectlyandimaginatively(2007.06:13).

2.1.1Simile

SimilesareusedfrequentlyinOdetotheWestWind,thefollowingsaretheexamples:

/Thou,fromwhoseunseenpresencetheleavesdeadAredriven,

likeghostsfromanenchanterfleeing,0

Thesimileisstrikinglysharp.Shelleyoncesaidthat/theWestWind0wastempestuouswind,whosetemperaturewasatoncemildandanimating.Natural2ly,oncethedeadleavescameacrossthehighwind,theywhirledaroundfas.tFurthermore;thewindblewinaforestatduskwiththunderandstorm.Howweirdoccasionitwouldbe!Therefore,comparing"theleavesdead"to"ghosts"thatfleefromsomethingpanicsthem,and"thewestwind"to"anenchanter",givesthereader"inwardeyes"towatchthewindscatteringleaves,andachievestheeffectthatthereaderfeelsasifheorshehadbeeninsuchascene.Thesimi2lesuggeststhatlikeasorcerermightfrightenawayspirits,thewinddrivesleav2es,whichcreatesthemightyandmajesticimageofthewestwindandthepower2lessnessofthesinisterleavesdead.

2.1.2Metaphor

Ametaphorisanotablefeatureofpoeticlanguage(JiaYanme,i2007).Accordingtoitsstructure,metaphorcanbedividedintotwocategories:thevisi2bleandtheinvisible.

Metaphoristhebasicrhetoricaldeviceinpoetry,aswellasinOdetotheWestWind.

"ThineazuresisteroftheSpringshallblowHerclarionoe'rthedreamingearth"

Beingasafigurativeformoflanguage,metaphormakeslanguagecolorful

OdetotheWestWind

andvivid(JiaYanme,i2007).Thefirstmetaphorisinvisible,whichrequiresgreatabilityonthepartofthereadertoperceivethehiddenassociationbetween"Herclarion"http://paringthesoundofspringwindtoClarion,akindofmelodioustrumpet-cal,limpliesthatthespringwindbringsjoyandexuberance;furthermore,"clarion"appliesfortheneedtowakeup"thedreamingearth"asaclear,loud,andshrilltrumpe.tThus,theimageofspringwindasanurturerandlife-giverappearssharply.

2.1.3Personification

InOdetotheWestWind,Shellypoursouthisstrongfeelingandemotionthroughdescribinganinanimatephenomenon.Thus,personificationisindispen2sablypracticed.ThemosttypicaloneisthepersonificationoftheWestWindwhichisthemostvividandintactimagewithenergeticpowerthroughoutthewholepoem.He"chariotesttotheirdarkwintrybed/thewingedseeds"(line6-7),"

dirgeofthedyingyear,towhichthisclosingnight/willbethedome

/Vaultedwithallthycongregatedmight/Ofvapors

"

ofavastsepulcher.

(line23-27),andheis"timeless,andswif,tandproud"(line56).Heisnolongeralifelessstreaminnature,butanomnipresentandomnipotentpersonwithindividuality.

Personificationisutilizedtomeettheneed,whichmakescontex,tasstatedabove,morecomprehended,

2.1.4Hyperbole

Hyperboleisafigureofspeechwhichdeliberatelyexaggeratesthetruth,of2tenusedtoexpresspeoples'strongfeelingorviolentemotionbyremarkableimagi2nationandliteraryextravagance,fortheeffectofstrongimpression,2007.08:97)asitsutilizationinOdetotheWestWind:

"fromwhosesolidatmosphere

Blackrain,andfire,andhailwillburs:tOhear!"

Inthishyperbole,thepoetusestwoadjectives"solid"and"Black"toa2chievetheeffectofexaggeration.Atmosphereissointensivethatitlookslikesol2id,andrainissoheavythatitseemsblack.Withthehyperbole,thepoetem2phasizesthehard,depressionchaoswithturbidstormandwind,sosuffocatingthatitstrikesthereaders'visionreceptorandimpressesthereaderdeeply.

2.2SyntacticalStylisticDevices

Syntacticaldevicesareforcefu.lTheyareusedtoemphasizeapoin,ttoaddclarityandcoherence,andtokeepthetrendofthoughtclear,etc.

2.2.1Parallelism

Parallelismisregularlyemployedinthelistoffacts,ideas,events,etc.,andparallelelementsmayrangefromaminimumoftwotoanynumberrequired,involvingbalancingthestructuralelementsofasentence.Veryoften,repetition

12/2009

ratherthan

tostateafactinitsrightperspective(WangYulong;ZhangYu;ZhangDeyu,

acceptableandarousesresonance.

Inaddition,

personificationmaypolishpoemswithoriginality,vividness,anddynamic.

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语言风格

中国校外教育

isusedalongwithparallelismtoemphasizetheequalimportanceandweightofparallelparts,asthosebelow.

"OwildWestWind,thoubreathofAutumns'being,Thou,fromwhoseunseenpresencetheleavesdeadAredrivenOThou,

WhochariotesttotheirdarkwintrybedThewingedseeds"

Bytheparallelism,thereaderlearnsclearlyandimpressivelythatonewhoisthe"breathofAutumnbeing"isthewestwind,onewhodrivestheleavesisthewestwind,andonewhochariotstheseedsisstillthewestwind.Theaction,themannerandtheroleofthewestwindareportrayedintac,tandthepoets'en2thusiasticadmirationtowardstheWestWindispouredoutlikerunningwater.

2.2.2Repetition

StanzasI,ÒandÓofthepoemOdetotheWestWindallendwith/Oh,hear!0whichemphasizethesoundofthewestwind.AtthebeginningStanzaIdescribesthewind.seffectontheland,andStanzaÒaddressesthewind.sin2fluenceonthesky,whilestanzaÓ

discussesitseffectonthesea.Therefore,

therepetitionemphasizesthatthewindcan.tbeseenanywhere,insteaditislikeaspiritthatcanbeheardeverywhere,moveseverywhere,andaffectsevery2where:onthelandscape,intheskyandalsoontheseascape.Andintherepeti2tion,thepoetseemstobebeggingthepotentforceofnaturetolistentohiscry,whichheightenshismoodandtension.

Repetitioninpoemsincreasessenseofrhyme.Andthemostimportanteffectisthatrepetitionrevealsstrongemotion,intensefeeling,andmeaning,highlightsthemostimportantpoin,tandmakesarrangementofideasclear.

2.2.3Polysyndetonandasyndeton

Polysyndetoniscommoninpoetryanditseffectiscumulative,asattentionisdrawntoeachdetai.lTheuseofpolysyndetonmaykeepthephoneticbalance,andlinkupitems,strengthenthetoneandemphasizetheimportantpoin,tasitsuseinOdetotheWestWind.

"Yellow,andblack,andpale,andhecticred,Pestilence-strickenmultitudes:"

Theeffectofpolysyndetonherecomesoutwhenthepassagearereadouta2loud.Thereisaslightpausebeforeevery"and"buttheythemselvesarenotstressed.Theslowregulartempooftherhythmbroughtaboutbytheconstantpauseisimitativeimageofvariousleavesdeadfloodingeverywhereinmasses,anditmakesiteasierforthereadertovisualizetheaeriesituation.

However,asyndetoncanshortentheintervalsbetweenthewordsofkernels,creatingtheeffectofbrevity,coherence,andclarity,thusexpressingthespeakers'feelingmoreeffectively.

ThefollowingisanexampleinOdetotheWestWind."O,

liftmeasawave,alea,facloud!"

Omitting"and"links"awave,""aleaf"and"acloud"closely,shorten2ingtheintervalsamongthethreephrases,thusevincesthepoets'fervencyandeagerness.Hedoesnt'carethewindliftshimasawave,aleaforacloud,ifonlyhecansharetheimpulseofthewind,andpraythewindtobreathenewlifeintohimandhispoeticar:tnolongeranidealisticyoungman,thepoetexperiencedsorrow,pain,andlimitation.

2.3PhoneticStylisticDevices

Alliterationaddstothemusicalqualityofpoem;besideswhich,alliterationissometimesusedtoimitatesomesoundinlifetomakethelanguagemorevividandimpressiveandincreasetherhythmofthelanguage.ThefollowingarepickedupfromOdetotheWestWind.

¥/OwildWestWind,0

References:

¦/Thineazuresisterofspringshallblow,0

教学方法

Thesoundsproducedbyalliterationcanalsoaffectthemoodofapoem.Themmediaterepeated"w"signifiesthewailofthedensei,gruf,fandlongbreathofthewestwind,whereastheintermittentrepeated"s"soundsoundsslow,gentle,andsoftwhileinvigoratingtocommunicatethebreezingofthespringwind.

3.Conclusion

RhetoricaldevicesareimportantintheappreciationofEnglishpoems;therefore,tomastersomerhetoricaldevicesisbeneficialforunderstandingandappreciatingEnglish,especiallyintranslatingandwriting.Onewhocanunder2standtheliteralmeaningofwords,phrases,andsentencesmaynotfigureouttheircontextualmeaning;onewhocanwritegrammaticallywellmaynotsuccess2fullyachievetheeffectivesideofthelanguage;andonewhocantranslatecor2rectlymaynotdoiteffectively.Awordinacontextwrittenbyagoodwritercanmeanmorethanwhatitliterallymeans,withtheaidsofrhetoricaldevicestoaimattheeffectivenesstopersuadeandtoinfluence;therefore,rhetoricaldevicescanmakereadersenjoythebeautyandvivacityoflanguage.Agoodtranslatorshouldremainthisbeautyandvivacityoflanguagewhentranslating(HuaXianfa;ShaoY,i2004:173-175).

Therecommendationinthisthesisistopracticethemallanddevelopthatsensewhichwilltellthelearnerwhenandhowtousethem.Lotsofpracticeandexperimentationarenecessarybeforethelearnerfeelsreallycomfortablewiththesedevices,buttoomuchpracticeinasinglepaperwillmostassuredlybedis2astrous.Whenadevicebecomessecondnaturetothelearner,andwhenitnolongerappearsfalseoraffected-whenindeeditbecomesgenuinelybuiltintothewritingratherthanaddedon-thenitmaymakeitsformalappearanceina

paper.Whatshouldbecaredisthatrhetoricaldevicesareaidstowritingbutnotendsofwriting;furthermore,ifusedcarelesslyorexcessivelyortoofrequently,almostanyoneofthesedeviceswillprobablyseemaffected,dul,lawkward,ormechanica.lButwithalittlecareandskil,ldevelopedbypractice,theycanbemastered,andtheirusewilladdnotjustbeautyandemphasisandeffectivenesstothewriting,butakindoffreedomofthoughtandexpressionneverimaginedpossible.

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