1、英语修辞学4.4.2 Irony and InnuendoContents I. Irony (反讽）II. Innuendo （暗讽）III. Irony and Innuendo:similarities and differences 从一副漫画说起Dramatic irony(戏剧反讽）Definition: the reader knows what the characters dont know.Examples in Dramatic irony1.不差钱儿（至1分50秒）Analysis苏格兰情调 or 苏格兰调情 Kilt or dress? Man or woman?2.
2、 Dreams under Red Mansions 红楼梦She looked for the way out Ah, yes! There was the door.But there too, to her intense surprise, approaching her fromthe opposite direction a was another old woman, whomshe took to be her old gossip from the village. What? are you here too? she asked her, I suppose youwer
3、e wondering what had become of me these last few days.Well, it was neighbourly to come and look for me. Which ofthe young women brought you in? She noticed, with much amusement, that her old neigh-bours head was covered all over with flowers. 刘姥姥进大观园转身进了个小门，刘姥姥掀帘进去，抬头一看，只见四面墙壁玲珑剔透，琴剑瓶炉皆贴在墙上，锦笼纱罩，金彩珠
4、光，连地下踩的砖皆是碧绿凿花。 想找门出去，却找不到，刚从屏后找到一个门，只见一个老婆子也从外面迎进来。刘姥姥诧异，心中想：莫非是亲家母 ?便问道：“你也来了，想是见我这几日没家去找我来了，哪位姑娘带进来的 ?” 刘姥姥进大观园又见她戴着满头花，便笑道：“你好没见过世面！见这里的花好，你就不顾死活戴了一头。”那老婆子只是笑，也不答言。 刘姥姥便伸手去羞她的脸，一下子摸到那老婆子的脸冰凉挺硬的，把刘姥姥吓了一跳，猛然想起：“常听见富贵人家有种穿衣镜，别是我在镜子里头吗 ?”想毕，又伸手一抹，再细一看，果真是面镜子。Situational IronyDefinition：Situational i
5、rony occurs when there is adiscrepancy or incongruity between what appears,or is believed, to be the case and the real state ofaffairs.Its salient feature is the reversal of the situation.The results often differ from the expectations.Situational irony Examples 1. Are You Digging on My Grave?(Thomas
6、 Hardy） A dead woman is disturbed by a noise on her grave.She guesses her lover, family, foe might come tovisit her. Unexpectedly, its her dog.“Mistress, I dug upon your grave To bury a bone, in case I should be hungry near this spot When passing on my daily trot. I am sorry, but I quite forgot It w
7、as your resting place.”Situational irony 2. King Lear 3. Macbeth 4. Waiting (Ha Jin)Verbal IronyDefinition The intended meaning of the words used is the direct opposite of their usual sense.Verbal irony Examples: 1. How early you get up! 2. What a fine day! 3. This hard-working boy seldom reads more
8、 than one hour per week. 4. It is a universal truth that a man in a good fortune must be in want of a wife.GeoffreyLeech Irony “enables a speaker to be impolitewhile seeming to be polite” and that “weare ironic at someones expense, scoring offothers by politeness that is obviouslyinsincere, as a sub
9、stitute for impoliteness”. (Principles of Pragmatics, 142145)Features: the perception or awareness of discrepancy or incongruity between words and their meanings between actions and their results, between appearance and reality, between expectations and realities. Functions:be impolite in a polite,
10、less dangerous verbal form than direct criticism, insults or counter results;Achieve humor;Show wit and wisdom in the speaker.Innuendo Definition Innuendo is an allusive remark concerning a person or thing,especially of a depreciatory kind. It is a figure of speech in whichmoderate and allusive word
11、s and tone are used to make comments orpass criticisms upon a person or thing. Innuendo, like irony, enables aspeaker to be impolite while seeming to be polite. Different from irony,innuendo does it in a more indirect way. It hints or implies somethinguncomplimentary without plainly saying it. (Zhan
12、g Xiuguo, English Rhetoric, p215)Innuendo Examples 1. My husband has been sober several times inthe past five years. Sober: not drunk(-not affected by alcohol). “he has been often drunk in the past five years. “ “My husband has been a habitual drunkard.nullinnuendo 2. He is the most dependable when
13、you are not in need. 3. He is the last person you can rely on. 4. The tenor sang in tune several times during the evening. 5. After three days in Japan, the spinal column becomes extraordinarilyflexible. Jacques Danvorir. People in Japan bow too often. 6. With friends like him, who needs enemies? (h
14、e is not a friend at all. He is a real enemy.) 7. Bill wanted the news like he wanted a hole in the head. It means: Bill didnt want a hole in the head. So he didnt want the news.Irony and innuendo the intended meaning is clear and explicit. But with innuendo, its intended meaning is implicit and we have to rely upon the context to recognize its meaning.
