Chapter9

SyntacticFiguresofSpeech(II)9.1Climax漸升/層進/遞進法ClimaxcomesfromGreekmeaning“l(fā)adder.”Itisthearrangementofwords,phrases,clausesorsentencesinascendingorderofimportance.Ideasarrangedinsuchawaydevelopgradually,likeclimbingaladder,eachideaoutweighingtheprecedingoneuntilreachingthesummit.彼采葛兮，一日不見，如三月兮。彼采蕭兮，一日不見，如三秋兮。彼采艾兮，一日不見，如三歲兮?！对娊?jīng)》Climaxiswidelyemployedbyspeakersandwriters.Inpersuasivespeechorwriting,itisextremelyeffectiveinstirringupfeelingsandemotions:1)ItisanoutragetobindaRomancitizen;toscourge

himisacrime;toputhimtodeathisalmostparricide.(Cicero)2)Wedonotretreat.Wearenotcontenttostandstill.AsAmericans,wegoforward,intheserviceofourcountry,bythewillofGod.(FranklinD.Roosevelt)Aclimaxusuallyconsistsofthreeormorepartsandisusedtogetherwithotherfiguresofspeech.Icame,Isaw,Iconquered.(withanaphora.)Readingmakethafullman;conferenceareadyman;andwritinganexactman.(withparallelism)IwasbornanAmerican;IliveanAmerican;IshalldieanAmerican.(withsimploce)Havingpowermakestotalitarianleadershipisolated;isolationbreedsinsecurity;insecuritybreedssuspicionandfear;suspicionandfearbreedviolence.(withanadiplosis)9.2Anticlimax漸降/層降A(chǔ)nticlimaxinvolvesstatingone’sthoughtinadescendingorderofsignificanceorintensityfromstrongtoweak,fromweightytolight,fromthesublimetotheridiculous.Thebombcompletelydestroyedthecathedral,thenewcinema,severaldozenhousesandmydustbin.“asuddendropfromthedignifiedorimportantthoughtorexpressiontothecommonplaceortrivial,sometimesforhumorouseffect”(Webster’sNewWorldDictionary);1)Weoftenjokedabouthispassionateloveforhisdaughter,hiscatandhisashtray.2)WhereshallIfindhope,happiness,friends,cigarettes?3)Helosthisempire,hisfamilyandhisfountainpen.Anticlimaxsometimesneedsonlytwostepsofdescends,e.g.--Odear!Odear!WhatshallIdo?Ihavelostmybeauandlipsticktoo.Sometimes,itisnottocreatesatirenorridiculenorhumor,butemphasis,e.g.ForGod,forAmerica,andforYale.Religion,creditandtheeyearenottobetouched.(proverb)9.3Syllepsis一語雙敘InGreek,“takingtogether”Itisawayofusingwordsinwhichonewordcollocateswithtwoormoreotherwordsindifferentmeanings—withsomeitisliteralmeaning,withothersitisfigurativemeaning.1)Helosthiscoatandhistemper.2)Yesterday,hehadablueheartandcoat.3)Shedroppedatearandherpockethandkerchief.4)Theysellclothesthatfitfiguresandtimes.1.Oneverb+twoormoreobjects.1)Hecaught

abusandacold.2)Heswallowedbreadandbutterandaspasmofemotion.3)Sheopenedthedoorandherhearttothehomelesschild.2.Oneadjective+twoormorenouns.1)Yesterdayhe

hadablueheartandcoat.(“ablueheart”means“wasunhappy”.)2)Hehadshortcoat-tailsandtemper.3.Oneproposition+twoormoreobjects.1)Hefoughtwithdesperationandastoutclub.2)Shewasservingsoupwithaladleandascowl.3)ThebusinessmenleftinhighspiritsandaCadillac.4.Twonouns+oneverb.1)Atlengthdownwentherheadandoutcamethetruthandtears.2)Histemperwasasshortashiscoattails.Practice:Helosthiscreditcardandhistemper.AtnoonMrs.Turpinwouldgetoutofbedandhumor,putonkimono和服,airs,andthewatertoboilforcoffee.(O.Henry)9.4Zeugma軛式搭配Greek,meaning‘yoke.’Awordisusedtomodifyorgoverntwoormorewordswhileitsuseisgrammaticallyorlogicallyincorrectwithoneofthem.E.g.puton

kimono,airs,andthewatertoboilforcoffeetokillthemanandtheluggage;towagewarandpeace;todisinheritsomebodyofhislandsandofhiscourtesy;etc.1.Oneverb+twonouns1)Weateabunand

aglassofmilk.2)Mrs.Packletidehadalreadyarrangedinhermindthelunch...,withatiger-skinoccupying

mostoftheforeground,andalltheconversation.(Saki)2.Oneadjective+twoormorenouns1)Theywenttothegraveyardwithweepingeyesandhearts.2)Itismuchbettertohaveapatchedjacketthantohaveapatchedcharacter.3.Onepreposition+twoormorenouns.1) Shewasdressedinamaid'scap,apinafore,andabrightsmile.2)Allofhispurchasesofrecentyearshadtobeliquidatedatagreatsacrificebothtohishealthandhispocketbook.Differencebetweenzeugmaandsyllepsis:insyllepsis,thekeywordreferscorrectlytoallthewordsitmodifies;inzeugma,thekeyworddoesnotreferproperlytoallofthem.

9.5Chiasmas交錯配列Greek,“cross-wide”aconstructioninvolvingtherepetitionofwordsorelementsinreverseorder(ab:ba).Beautyistruth,truth(is)beauty.假話全不說，真話不全說?！玖w林君子和而不同，小人同而不和。有德者必有言，有言者不必有德。仁者必有勇，勇者不必有仁。—《論語》今生我是誰?來生誰是我？

生時為誰名？死后名為誰?—網(wǎng)貼Itservesdifferentpurposesindifferentcontexts.Onmanyoccasionsitservesthepurposeofbeingseriousorsolemn,wittyorhumorous.輸家就是贏家——無論他失敗多少次——假如他征服了自己；贏家卻是輸家——無論他贏了多少次——假如他輸給了自己。Twotypesofchiasmus:1.Repetitionofthewords1)Oneshouldeattolive,notlivetoeat.(Moliere)2)Youcanfoolallthepeoplesomeofthetime,andsomeofthepeopleallthetime,butyoucannotfoolallthepeopleallthetime.(AbrahamLincoln)3)Fortyistheoldageofyouth;fiftyistheyouthofold