英语中的明

喻漫谈 崔希兰

摘要英语中的明喻常借以状物、写景、抒情、喻理,使表达形象生动、明白易懂、新鲜有趣、委婉幽默、印象深刻等。本文着重探讨了simile的基本特征、常用的喻词和表达式及需要说明的几个问题。

关键词明喻喻词喻体

中图分类号:H315文献标识码:A

明喻是英语中使用最广泛的修辞格之一。它可借以状物、写景、抒情、喻理,使表达形象生动、明白易懂、新鲜有趣、委婉幽默、印象深刻。本文试从以下几个方面对其进行探讨。

1 明喻的基本特征

明喻的基本特征主要有三个:明喻的本体(或主体)与喻体不属于不同性质或特征的人或事物,并同时出现在句子中;本体(primary term或tenor)与喻体(secondary term或vehicle)必须有一点相似之处(如:形态、性质、习性、原理、功能、动作、声音、颜色等);明喻中要使用喻词(又称联结词或引导词)。如:

(1)He smokes like a chimney. 他烟瘾很大。 (分属不同性质的人和物,其相似之处是“抽烟”的习性和功能。)

(2)My heart is like a singing bird.我的心像一只欢唱的小鸟。 (本句中的my heart与bird分属不同性质的物,其相似点是“心跳”与“欢唱”的动作。)

2明喻中常用的喻词和表达式

2.1 用“本体+like/ as+喻体”

如:(1)Public money is like holy water, everyone helps himself to it. 公款如圣水,人人都想尝一嘴。

(2)Love goes towards love, as school boys from their books; but love from love,towards school with heavy books.赴情人的约会,像学童抛开书一样(兴奋);和情人分别,像学同板着脸上学堂(一样不情愿)。

2.2 用“本体+as if/though+喻体”

如:(1)This woman …made him fetch and carry just as if he was a great Newfoundland dog. 这个女人……叫他拿这做那,简直把他当做纽芬兰大狗。

(2)The stood upon a bleak and desert moor, whose monstrous masses of stone were cost about, as though it were the burial-place of giants.他们站在荒芜人烟的旷野上,哪儿满地都是硕大无朋的岩石,宛如巨人的墓地。

2.3 用“本体+as …as+喻体”结构

如:(1)The police made up their minds to make the criminal case as clear as crystal. 警方决心把这个刑事案件彻底查清。

(2)The musles of his brawny arms are as strong as iron bands.他强壮的手臂上的肌肉像铁铸的带条一样。

2.4 用“本体A…to+本体B+what/as+ 喻体X…to+ 喻体Y”句式

意为“A 对于B,犹/正如X对于Y一样”。如:(1)Regulation is to a school as the law is to a nation. 学校离不开校规,犹如国家离不开法律。

(2)To the Portuguese, the dry salted cod is what pasta is to the Italians. 对葡萄牙人来说,咸鳕鱼干就像面食对意大利人一样不可缺。

2.5 用“(just)as+ 喻体X…喻体Y…,so+本体A…本体B”句式

意为“正如X对于Y, A 对于B 一样”。前句中的just有时可省略;后句有时还可采用倒装结构。如:(1)Just as dark clouds cant long hide the sun, so no lies can cover up the fact. 正如乌云不能久蔽太阳,谎言是掩盖不住事实的。

(2)As a man lives, so he dies. 有生就有死。

(3)As the lion is called the monarch of all beasts, so is the eagle king of birds. 正像狮子称为兽中之王一样,鹰称为鸟中之王。

2.6 用“what+ 喻体X…to +喻体Y,(that)本体A…to+本体B“句式

意为“A 对于B,犹/正如X对于Y 一样”。如:(1)What blood vessel is to a mans body, that railway is to a nation.铁路对于国家,好比血脉对于人体一样。

(2)What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.教育之于心灵,犹如雕刻之于大理石。后句有时还可采用倒装结构。

(3)What the nest is to the bird, that to the man is the house. 房屋对于人类正如巢对于鸟一样。

2.7 用“no more/less+本体+ than+喻体”或“not +本体+any more than+喻体”

意为“如同……一样(不)”。如:A fool can no more see his own folly than he can see his ears. 愚人之不能自知其愚,犹如其不能自见其耳。

(1)Our hometown is no less beautiful than this picture is. 我们家乡像/同这幅画一样美丽。

(2)A student can not obtain knowledge without studying any more than a farmer can get harvest without plowing. 学生不学习不能得到知识,犹如农民不耕种不能收获一样。

2.8 用“might as well +动词原形+喻体+as +动词原形+本体”句式

意为 “做…… 就像/正如做……一样”,“正如不能……,也不能……一样”。如:(1)One might as well throw moneyinto the sea as lend it William. 把钱借给威廉,就好象把钱扔到海里一样。

(2)You might as well expect a river to flow backward as hope to move me. 你不能动摇我的心,正如不能使河水倒流一样。这种结构有时可省略后面as所引导的本体部分。如:

(3)He never listens——you might as well talks to a brick. 他根本不听——同他谈话就好象同一堵墙讲话一样。

2.9 用“本体名词+of+喻体名词”或“喻体名词+of+本体名词”

意为“象/如…一般”。如:(1)An electric current of agony surged through him. 一种痛苦像电流一般灼过他的心头。They crowded around the two strangers and the flood of questions came.他们围住两个陌生人,问题如潮水般涌来。

(2)Who is to blame but her tyrant of a father.怪谁呢?只有怪她那暴君般的父亲。

2.10 用“本体+and+喻体”

意为“……像一样……”如:(1)A word and a stone let go cannot be recalled.(=A word let go cannot be recalled just asa stone let go cannot be recalled./A word like a stone let go cannot be recalled.)

说出去的话,仍出去的石。/一言既出,驷马难追。

(2)Love and cough cannot be hid. 爱情像咳嗽一样是掩盖不了的。

2.11 用 “compare/ liken+本体+to+喻体”

意为“把 ……比作/喻为……”如:(1)Shakespeare compared the world to a stage.莎士比亚把人世比作舞台。

(2)One witness likened the enormous ball of fire to a nuclear explosion.有一位目击者把这个巨大的火球比作一核爆炸。

这种句式也可用被动。如:

(3)The parks of the city are often compared to the lungs of the human body.城市的公园常被比作人体的肺。

2.12 用“comparison of+本体+to+喻体”

意为“把 ……比作/喻为……”如:(1)I find the comparison of life to a voyage quite proper. 我觉得把人生喻为航海十分贴切。

(2)The teachers a comparison of the heart to a pump helped the students understand explanation. 老师把心脏比作泵来帮助学生理解。

3 需要说明的几个问题

3.1 本体或喻体可以是一个句子

如:(1)Residents rush to buy provisions as if the city were under siege. 居民们纷纷跑去抢购食品,好像城市被围困一样。

(2)The childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day. (J. Milton) 一个人的童年就好比一天的早晨。

3.2 有时一个比喻句中会出现多重本喻体

一般来说,一个比喻句只有一个本体和喻体。但有时我们发现句子中本体和喻体不止一个。如:(1)He wants it all with a horrible intensity, as the faun wants the nymph. 他非常强烈地渴望着这一切,像农牧之神渴望着林间的仙女一样。(此句含有双重本题与喻体:本体He与喻体faun;本体it与喻体nymph。)

(2)A doctor must have the heart of a lion and the hand of a lady.当一个医生必须有狮子般的胆量和仙女般的巧手。(此句含有双重主体与喻体:本体heart与喻体lion;本体hand与喻体lady。)

3.3 有些习惯表达中包含明喻

如:(1)The solidarity between the nationalities of country is as firm as a rock. 我国各民族之间的团结坚如磐石。

(2)She was like a cat on a hot tin roof/on hot bricks before her examination. 考前她如坐针毡

(3)Death may be as heavy as Mount Tai or as light as a feather. 死或重于泰山,或轻于鸿毛。

(4)Their family has been as poor as a church mouse since his parents were out of work. 自从他的父母下岗之后,他家一贫如洗。

(5)He was dragged home after he was as drunk as a lord at the wedding reception. 在结婚宴会上他喝得烂醉如泥,被人架了回去。

4 比喻与比较之异同

比喻与比较结构相似,作用不同。比喻多用于不同类,用以突出相似的地方,引起人们的联想;比较用于同类事物之间的相比,用以显示其相同、相似或相异。如:

(1)She looks like her mother.(she与her mother同类;显示其相似点,属比较)

She sings like a nightingale.(she与 nightingale不同类;突出声音相似,属比喻)

(2)He is as sly as Brown. (He 与Brown同类;显示其“狡猾” 这一相同点,属比较)

He is as sly as a fox. (He 与fox不同类;突出 “狡猾”这一相似点,属比喻)