Irony 修辭講解

1、IronyDefinition: 1.an important linguistic phenomenon in our daily life or literary works. 2. saying sth but mean the opposite 3. is a figure of speech, in order to bring emphasis to a particulartruth with deliberately use of language that is contrary to the truth. Origin: from Greek word “ eironeia

2、”, means “dissimulation(修飾）”Types: 1. verbal irony-refers to the speakers expression and intention comes apart: when a speaker says one thing but actually means annother, or when a literal meaning is contrary to its intended effect.“great game, Tom.” -when Tom fumbled three times.又如英國的 Gotham 是有名的愚人

3、村 , 卻故意說 : They are almost as wise as the wise men of Gotham .他們 幾乎和愚人村里的愚人一樣聰明2. Situational irony-refers to ones intention and the actions result comes apart: the result of an action is contrary to the expected effect.Situational irony results from recognizing the oddness of a given situation, whi

4、ch can be positive or negative.Situational irony can be also called Circumstantial Irony or Irony of Fate.再例如凱特肖 邦 (Kate Chopin) 的短篇小說 一小時(shí)的故事 ( The Story of anHour) 中 , 路易絲馬拉德 (Louise Mallard) 太太得知丈夫因車禍去世的消息時(shí)表面上一陣號啕大哭 , 內(nèi) 心里卻暗自 高興 , 她早就盼望這一天的到來 , 不禁低聲對自 己說 : “ Free ! Bodyand soul free !” 但正當(dāng)她暗自 得意時(shí)

5、, 丈夫突然出 現(xiàn)在門口 ! 原來他大難不死 , 安然回家 ,而 Mallard 太太卻由于這突如其來的刺激而心臟病發(fā)作 , 不治身亡 。 3. Dramatic Irony is common in novels and plays. In the novel the words and actions of the characters of a work of literature have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the character.“ I hope Tom s better offwhere he

6、 is , ” said Sid , “but if he d been better in some way ”“Sid !” Tom felt the glare of the old lady s eye , though he could not see it . “ Not a word againstmy Tom , now that he s gone !” (Mark Twain : The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)“ 我多 希望湯姆現(xiàn)在在另 外那個世界更舒服些 , ” 席德說 , “ 不過他從前有些地方要是不那么 頑皮 “ 席德 !” 湯姆雖 然看不

7、見 老太太的 眼睛 , 卻感覺到 她向 席德瞪眼睛的神氣 。 “ 現(xiàn)在我的湯姆死了 , 不許說他的壞話 !” 這是湯姆的小伙伴席德和波莉姨媽的談話 。 席德說他希望湯姆在另一個世界更舒服些 , 本是實(shí)話 , 因?yàn)樗詾闇匪懒?。 他說話的對象 波莉姨媽也是這樣想的 。但讀者知道 , 情況正好相反 , 因?yàn)闇凡]有死。二、Irony的變異形式英語修辭格Paradox(似非而是的雋語)、Oxymoron(矛盾修辭法)和Innuendo(暗諷)在使用中都含有Irony的意思,因此在某些英語修辭格的論著中把它們稱為Irony的變異形式。1.Paradox漢語里稱這一辭格為“反論”或“逆論”,即乍聽

8、起來似乎荒誕、有悖常理而實(shí)際上卻含有某種哲理的說法。如“善騎者墮,善泳者溺”,“淹死的都是會水的”等,其中都包含有Irony的意思。(10)More haste,less speed.欲速則不達(dá)。(11)He that is full of himself is very empty.自命萬事通,實(shí)乃腹中空。(12)Cleverness may overreach itself.聰明反被聰明誤。(13)In fact,it appears that some teachers of English teach English so poorly largely because theyteac

9、h grammar so well.事實(shí)上,有些英語老師英語教得太差,看起來主要是他們的語法講的太好。2.Oxymoron英語修辭格Oxymoron和漢語修辭格反映類似,它是通過使用兩個意思正好相反的詞或詞組來揭示一件事物的矛盾性,通常包含Irony的意思,對一些人或事進(jìn)行嘲諷,或造成一種出人意料的、引人入勝的效果。例如:(14)Dudley Field Malone called my conviction a“victorious defeat.” (John Scopes:The TrialThat Rocked the WorldP173BookAdvanced English)杜德理

10、費(fèi)爾德馬倫把審判的結(jié)果稱為一個“勝利的敗仗”3.InnuendoInnuendo漢語稱為“暗諷”、“影射”,是用婉轉(zhuǎn)的口氣講反話,使語言生動活潑,幽默風(fēng)趣,或是旁敲側(cè)擊,含沙射影。例如:(16)After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible. (JacquesDanvoir:Hiroshimathe Liveliest City in JapanP14BookAdvanced English)在日本呆三天后,脊梁骨就會變的特別柔軟靈活。把習(xí)慣于鞠躬說成“脊梁骨靈活”,十分幽默有趣。三、Irony和Sarcasm的聯(lián)系和區(qū)別Irony(反