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1、 II. Figures of similarity 2.1 Simile 2.1.1definition A simile is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements having at least one quality or characteristic in common. The comparison is purely imaginative, that is, the resemblance between the two unlike things in that one
2、particular aspect exists only in our minds, in our inward eye and not in the nature of the things themselves. To make the comparison, words like as, asso, and like are used to transfer the quality that we associate with one to the other. Sometimes the association is made between unfamiliar and famil
3、iar things, or between abstract and concrete things. The stronger the association that is felt, the greater the force of comparison, The stronger the power of suggestion and The sharper the image produced. And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel and shining morning face, creeping like snail
4、 unwillingly to school. 然后是背着书包，满面红光的学童，像蜗牛一 样慢吞吞地拖着脚步，不情不愿地呜咽着上 学堂。 (an association between the slow pace of the reluctant schoolboy and the snails crawl.) (2) Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean.An association between the ab
5、solute immobility of the becalmed ship on a real ocean and the perfect stillness of a ship in a painting, destined to remain in the same place forever. 2.1.2 Main uses of simile: descriptive, illuminative and illustrative 1) Descriptive Pure description of persons, things, places, natural scenery, a
6、nd action has always been the chief use to which similes have been put. A good descriptive simile can draw sharper pictures in the mind than could possibly be done by any other means, and with much more brevity.Her lips were red, her looks were free自然的,优美的 ， Her locks 头发were yellow as gold. Her skin
7、 was white as leprosy麻风， The nightmare Life-in Death was she Who thicks mans blood with cold. （S. T. Coleridge) 她嘴唇腥红，姿色妖艳， 长长的秀发如金子般耀眼： 皮肤却似麻风病人般苍白， 她是一个死中之生的梦魇， 使人血液凝冻，毛骨悚然。 The young moon, recurved 向后弯 and shining low in the west, was like a slender shaving 刨削下来的薄片thrown up from a bar of gold, an
8、d the Arabian Sea, smooth and cool to the eye like a sheet of glass, extended its perfect level to the perfect circle of a dark horizon. (Joseph Conrad) 2) Illuminative. The descriptive simile attempts to draw images of people, things, etc., through figurative comparison, The illuminative simile tri
9、es to give deeper insight见解 into persons, things, ideas, even problems, through suggestive association; to throw light onto what would be inconceivable to ordinary people. In this sense it is more difficult to understand than descriptive similes, for it is not so easy sometimes to grasp this insight
10、 into persons or things, which is so important to fuller comprehension of character or situation. .there was a secret meanness that clung to him almost like a smell. (Carson McCullers) (The suggestion of an all-prevailing meanness in the man.) He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear
11、 him crow. (George Eliot) 他傲得像只公鸡，以为太阳升起便是为了听 它打鸣。 (The suggestion of overwhelming conceit 自 负 in the man.) I learned a great many new words that day. I do not remember what they all were; but I do know that mother, father, sister, teacher were among them -words that were to make the world blossom f
12、or me like Aarons rod, with flowers. (Helen Keller) 那天我学了非常多的字。我不记得究竟是哪 些，其中的母亲、父亲、妹妹和老师我倒是 记得；这些字让我的世界变成花样美好，就 像摩西的兄长亚伦，拥有的那根长满花叶和 果实的神杖（Aarons rod)。 In the Bible story, God chose Aaron to be his priest by making his rod or stick sprout overnight. “It had budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almond
13、s杏!“) (The suggestion of the magical effect the discovery of language (“words“) had on the blind girl: it opened up a whole new world of knowledge and happiness for her. What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up Like a raisin葡萄干 in the sun? Or fester化脓 like a sore - And then run - Does it sti
14、nk like rotten meat? Or crust 结成硬壳and sugar结成颗粒状 over - Like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags 下垂 Like a heavy load. Or does it explode? (Langston Hughes: A dream deferred) 当美梦延期到达 一切将会怎样？ 会干涸么 就像烈日下干瘪的葡萄一样？ 会痛楚么 然后远远逃开？ 会腐朽么？ 或者伪装坚强 就像水果硬糖一样？ 也许 它只是下陷了 像一段塌陷的公路一样 或者 它会爆炸而消亡？ The suggestion of what
15、 might happen if hopes and dreams are not realized: a. they might just wither and dry up; dry up like a raisin b. they might cause pain and suffering and poison ones whole outlook on life; fester like a sore； stink like rotten meat c. they might remain sweet memories; crust and sugar over Like a syrupy sweet d. they might remain a burden on ones mind, dull and heavy, sags like a heavy load or e. they might foster resentment and ultimately lead to violence and rebellion. explodeHe (Preble) looked at the clock. The big second hand was sweeping down like a guillotine (断头台）. (Pat Frank) The assoc
