1、Metaphor 暗喻,Objectives,To know what metaphor is. To know the thinking mode reflected by metaphor. To know the classifications of metaphor. To know the significance of learning metaphor.,Metaphor,1. What is metaphor? Metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things from different domains. Unlike simile,
2、 the comparison is implied rather than clearly expressed.,2 What is metaphor composed of? - the subject (本体) - the reference (喻体) - A is B.,- The world is a stage. - A romance was budding. - The economy is overheating. - She exploded. - The temperature fell to a murderous -40。C. - Embarrassed at our
3、 noisy children, we sheepishly tried to sneak into the dining room, hoping not to be noticed by others.,3 The formula “A is B” - For a better understanding of metaphor,The nouns, verbs, adj.s, or adv.s are used to indicate the reference (喻体). - The romance was a plant. - The economy is a machine. -
4、She is a container. - The temperature was a murderer. - We were sheep.,4. The thinking mode involved A IS B., is a plant.- A romance was budding.- The brilliant founders branched into many areas. is a building.- to cement ones popularity- the shattered foundations of ones life- The theory was totall
5、y based on solid foundation.,4. The thinking mode involved A IS B.,The economy is a machine.- The economy is overheating.- to fine-tune (微调) inflation. The economy is a rocket / an airplane / a space craft.- The economy soared / skyrocketed.- The economy plunged.- In economics, a soft landing is a s
6、ituation in which the economy stops growing but this does not produce a recession (衰退).,4. The thinking mode involved,The nouns: internet stock market stock market bubbles bullet train solar storm Pittsburgh summit (峰会) Only a few would go that far and commit crimes.,The references: net market bubbl
7、es bullet storm summit go that far,.4 The thinking mode involved,abstract what we are unfamiliar with,concrete what we are familiar with,- We use a concept that we are familiar with to describe or understand another concept that we are not so familiar with.,The mind is a machine.,He is still grindin
8、g out a solution. His mind isnt operating today. He is a little rusty today. I cant think; I am running out of steam (losing vigor). How could any man ever understand the workings of a womans mind? The coffee was perfect and by the time I was halfway through my first cup my brain was ticking over mu
9、ch more briskly.,An argument is war.,Your claims are indefensible. He attacked every weak point in my argument. His criticism is right on the target. I demolished his argument. Ive never won an argument with him. If you use that strategy, hell wipe you out. He shot down all of my arguments.,Ideas ar
10、e food.,All this paper has in it are raw facts, half-baked ideas, and warmed-over theories. There are too many facts here for me to digest them all. I just cant swallow that claim. Let me stew over that for a while. Thats food for thought. She devoured the book.,Up & Down Orientational metaphor,More
11、 is up:Speak up, please. Conscious is up:Wake up. Control is up:Im on top of the situation. Happy is up:Im feeling up today.,Less is down:Keep down your voice. Unconscious is down:He sank into a coma. Lack of control is down:He is under my control.Sad is down.He is really low these days.,Up & Down O
12、rientational metaphor,Virtue is up:Shes an upstanding citizen. Rational is up:He could always rise above his emotion.,Lack of virtue is down:That was a low-down thing to do. Nonrational is down:The discussion fell to an emotional level.,Conclusion,Metaphorical language is not arbitrary. Metaphor pla
13、ys a major role in how human beings think. Metaphor has provided us with a better understanding of our language.,5. The classifications of metaphor - nominal (n.) metaphor; - verbal metaphor; - adjective metaphor; - adverbial metaphor; (When the formula A IS B is not available, the n., v., adj., or
14、adv. always helps us to find out what A is.),5.1 Nominal (n.) metaphor,Mother Teresa is part of the chromosome (染色体) of Kolkata. Googles newly developed software could challenge the Seattle giants desktop dominance. Charles Dow put us on the worlds greatest roller coaster. We laugh nervously all the
15、 way up and we scream like hell all the way down. Microsoft is a giant. The stock market is a roller coaster.,5.2 Verbal metaphor,(The following is taken from a piece of sports news.)SINGAPORE: China has delivered a stinging slap in the face to badmintons world governing body by pulling all of its p
16、layers from this months season-ending finale. Chinas pulling its players from the finale is a stinging slap. a slap in the face,5.2 Verbal metaphor,Science often thrives while advancing along circuitous pathways toward unpredictable destinations, propelled primarily by human curiosity. Science is a
17、vehicle.,5.3 Adjective metaphor,This evening when my father burst in, his mood seemed even more thunderous than usual. Starbucks is not immune to competition. the imperial (帝王般的) chief executive unalloyed success My fathers mood is a thunder. Competition is something dangerous. The CEOs are emperors
18、 (帝王). The success is a metal without mixing other types of metal.,5.4 Adverbial metaphor,The idea of becoming a writer had come to me off and on since my childhood, but it wasnt until my third year in high school that the possibility took hold. off and on: from time to time Off and on can be believ
19、ed to describe a light bulb, which is connected to the electrical supply from time to time.,6. The particular sentence structures used in metaphor,6. The particular sentence structures used in metaphor,The latest wave of scandals rocked Wall Street. My ill-considered mountain of real estate tumbled.
20、 我因考虑不周而购置的房产猛跌了。 One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. The scandals are a wave. The real estate is a mountain. Poverty is a lonely island; material prosperity is a vast ocean.,7. Comparison & contrast between meta
21、phor and simile,Happiness is like sunshine.,Happiness is sunshine. the sunshine of happiness,Simile only indicates that the two things are comparable, but metaphor also indicates that the two things are ONE.,So, metaphor is regarded as “compressed / condensed simile”.,8. Metaphor in English idioms &
22、 Chinese idioms,to kill two birds with one stone to teach a fish to swim to feather ones nest to cast pearls before swine (把珍珠丢在猪面前) to hold the candle to the devil to cry up wine and sell vinegar,中饱私囊 对牛弹琴 助纣为虐 班门弄斧 挂羊头，卖狗肉 一箭双雕,9. The names of animals used in verbal metaphors,He _ down his breakfa
23、st before it was too late for class. They _ together in a mean hut. Dont _ me! Passengers on the bus _ their heads out of the windows to see what was happening. Tony saw a policeman coming, and _ behind a car.,He wolfed down his breakfast before it was too late for class. They pigged together in a m
24、ean hut. Dont fox me! Passengers on the bus craned their heads out of the windows to see what was happening. Tony saw a policeman coming, and ducked behind a car.,To render your writing more vivid,Plain language I absolutely loved bargains and will take the trouble to find them. Our voices were cove
25、red up by the roars of applause. He shouted loudly to his audiences.,Metaphor thunderedgo a lot out of my waydrowned out,Noun Metaphors(名词性隐喻),1.作主语 1. He narrowed his eyes as the blue lights of the police car filled the cab. Sensing the game was up, he pulled over. 当警车蓝色的灯光照亮那辆出租汽车的内部时，他眯起了眼睛。他感到戏该
26、收场了，于是把车停了下来。 2. The recipe for success in such marriages seems to be that the man should have a career which has absolutely nothing to do with his wifes 在这类婚姻中，成功的处方似乎是男人应该有事业，而这个事业与他妻子的钱财绝对没有任何关系。,Noun Metaphors(名词性隐喻),3.Universities depend less on government grants; a significant slice of their i
27、ncome is from the private sector. 大学对政府拨款的依靠更少了；他们的收入中有一大部分来自私人捐赠。 4. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. 但是我们绝不相信正义的银行已经破产，我们绝不相信，在这个充满机会的国家里，它的巨大金库会资金不足,Noun Metapho
28、rs(名词性隐喻),2. 作表语 5. He is a walking dictionary. 它是一本活字典。 6. Life is a journey. 人生是一次旅行。 7. He is a bag of wind. 他只说不干。 8. He is an old woman. 他是一个婆婆妈妈的人。,Noun Metaphors(名词性隐喻),9：Experience is the mother of wisdom. 经验是智慧之父。 10：All the world is a stage. 整个世界是个大舞台。 11：Praise is not pudding. 恭维不能当饭吃。 12
29、：He is a dog in the manger.He holds on to a post without doing any work. 他占着茅坑不拉屎。,13. She was the apple of his eyes.(He loved her dearly) 她是他的掌上明珠。 14. That is my cup of tea.(That is my favorite occupation) 那是我的爱好。 15. Your case is a horse of another color.(Yours is quite a different case.) 你的情况完全是
30、另外一回事。,16. They are birds of a feather.The are people of the same sort. 他们是一丘之貉。 17. He is a bear with a sore head.【He is a hot-tempered 他是个火性子。 18. He is an all-purpose basket. 他是一个多面手。 19. I tell you the past is a bucket of ashes. 我告诉你，往事是一片灰烬。 。,20. Rosemary has been a tower of strength. She like
31、s to stay in the background but she is determined. 罗斯玛丽一直是个可信赖的人， 她不喜欢抛头露面。 21. Habit is a cable, every day we weave a thread, and soon we cannot break it. 习惯乃绳缆，我们每天编进一根线，很快他就结实不断。 22. Beauty is but flower, which winkles will devour. 美丽只是鲜花，皱纹将之吞下。,23. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of
32、 splendid torch which I have got hold of a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generation.生命对于我来说，不是瞬间熄灭的烛，而是耀眼夺目的火炬。手持辉煌（火炬）的一刻，我要让它发出最明亮的光芒，然后再传给下一代。,3. 作宾语 24. I had a lump=a felling of pressurein my throat and a lot of thoughts on my mind. 我喉
33、咙哽咽，愁思连绵。 25. Practice your speech out loud so you can hear what it sounds like and can add color to it by varying your tone of voice. 大声练习你的演讲，这样你就能听出来。这个演讲听起来如何，并能借助改变你的语调使它更生动。,26. American businessmen ask for a level playing field when they compete with foreign companies. 美国商人在与外国商人竞争时要求竞争公平。 27
34、. He had recently escaped the emotional pressure cooker of the communal flat. 最近她已经逃离了公用公寓这个使人情绪压抑的地方。,28. Even more enjoyable is a day trip, giving you a flavor of France in just a few hours.更让人愉快的是一次白天的旅行，它让你在几个小时里就对法国有所领悟。,29. We had been singing all night in the tavern. Next morning I had a frog
35、 in the throat. 我们在酒馆里唱了一整夜的歌，第二天我的嗓子就嘶哑了。 30. There were no more butterflies in my stomach when I opened up an abdomen or a chest. 当我切开病人的腹部或胸腔时，我不再紧张得瑟瑟发抖了。,4.名词（A)+of +名词（B）结构 31. He lives in a palace of a house=He lives in a palace-like house. 他住在宫殿一般的房子里。 32. The boat disappeared in a mountain
36、of wave. 船在一股如山高的大浪中消失了。 33. Who might he be, that black pillar of a man. 那个黑柱般的人，会是谁呢？ 34：Her son is shy of persons; he is a girl of a boy. 她儿子见人就害臊，像个少女似的。,35. She was an angle of a wife. 他是天仙般的妻子。 36. This huge lunatic warren of a London. 这个巨大狂人收容一般的伦敦。,I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed! 我落
37、入生活的荆棘中，我流血！His eyes came out of his head like a prawns, and once more his moustache foam up against his breakwater of nose. 他的眼睛像对虾一样鼓出来，胡子再一次泡沫似地向上翘了起来，抵住他那防波堤般的鼻子。,动词性隐喻,1.来自自然现象的隐喻 43. I was snowed under by work. 我工作忙得不可开交。 44. The corridor was floored with boys and girls. 走廊里挤满了男孩女孩。 45. We bub
38、bled over with questions. 我们提出了一连串的问题。,46：Then, in the last couple of years ,the movement for democracy began to heat up. 然后，在最后的几年内，民主运动开始迅速发展。 47：The star laid his cards on the table yesterday, claiming that hundreds of thousands of pounds of license payers money is being wasted. 昨天那位明星摊了牌，他宣称，成千上
39、万镑执照付款人的钱正在被浪费掉。,48. She was bright ,learned languages quickly and sailed through her exams. 她很聪明，语言学得快，轻而易举地通过了考试。 49. Passions which have simmered throughout the year can bubble over. 压抑了整整一年的愤怒情绪有可能喷发出来。,50. The case snowballed into one of the most famous trials in U.S. history. 这个案子像滚雪球似的，最终成了美国
40、历史上最著名的审判之一。51. “The Bible”，he thundered in his sonorous organ tones, “is not going to be driven out of this court by experts who come hundred of miles to testify. “圣经”，他扯开洪亮的嗓音喊道，“是不会被那些千里迢迢赶来作证的专家们赶出法庭的。”,52. There was no explanation of what might be wrong. I went through the roof and slammed down
41、 the phone. 我没有听到任何关于可能出错的说明。我怒火中烧，狠狠地摔下了电话筒。53. She melted into tears. 她感动得留下了眼泪。,2. 来自动物隐喻 55. He wolfed down his supper. 他狼吞虎咽地吃完了晚饭。 56. Dont monkey with the new radio. 不要乱动新收音机。 57. The children pigged together. 孩子们像猪一样地挤在一起。 58. I am still very careful about what I eat but if I do pig out at t
42、he weekend or drink alcohol, I will be careful all the following week. 我对自己吃东西仍然很小心 ，但是，如果我在周末吃得过多或喝了酒，在随后一个星期里我就会始终小心谨慎。,59. Misfortune dogged him at every turn. 灾难老是折磨着他。3. 来自人的名称隐喻 60. His misery beggared description. 他的苦难无法形容。 61. The milk was doctored. 这牛奶已经掺了假。,有时隐喻并不直接借此代彼，而是把原来适用于描写B的词语来描写A。
43、表面上那个B并没有出现，似乎不是比喻，实际上却暗含着一个比喻在内。这种隐喻常和拟人结合在一起，例如：Even with the most educated and the most literate, the Kings English slips and slides in conversation.（Henry Fairlie） 甚至最有教养和最有文化的人，在谈话中也有用词不当的不合乎标准英语规范的时候。句中把Kings English拟人化了，用slips（滑跤），slides（滑倒）来隐喻“说错”。形象、生动、新颖。,The one place not to have dictiona
44、ries is in a sitting room or at a dining table，look the thing up the next morning, but not in the middle of the conversation. Otherwise one will bind the conversation, one will not let it flow freely here and there. (Henry Fairlie）有一个地方不应该带字典，那就是在客厅里或餐桌上。你可以次日早晨再查，但不要在谈话中间去查字典。否则你会把谈话捆住了，使它不能自由舒畅。 句
45、中will bind（将捆住）原是用于描写绳子的，现用以描写谈话中查字典。表面上绳子没有出现，似乎不是比喻，实际上却暗含着一个比喻在内（把“谈话中查字典”比作了“绳子”）。小小的一个will bind意义是这么丰富，把道理又说得这么形象。,Also, he had money in his pocket, and, as in the old days when a payday，he made the money fly.（J. London） 还有，当他钱袋里有钱的时候，像过去发薪的日子一样，他挥金如土。句中用f1y（飞）来隐喻挥霍，钱花得之快。,此外，为了加强语气取得修辞上的特殊效果，有
46、时人们还运用前后不一致的隐语（mixed metaphor）.这种隐语，人们把它称做“美人鱼”，即上半身是人（使人产生一种联想），下半身是鱼（另一种联想）。这类修辞用法在现代英语里亦屡见不鲜。 例如：,He was such a marvelous teacher that whenever he recognized a spark of genius you could be sure hed water it.他是一个了不起的教师，如果他发现了一点天才的火花，你可以相信他一定会把它浇灭。句中a spark of genius (天才的火花）指的是初露锋芒的人才，water （灌浇）原是培
47、育幼苗的意思，但作者却把它与spark（火花）用在了一起。于是真相大白，那位老师原是一个扼杀人才的刽子手。可谓言简意赅。,总的说来，隐喻比明喻简练、含蓄、更有余味，因而表现力比明喻更强，使用得也更多。同样，许多文学作品中创造出来的隐喻性词语，由于广泛使用的结果变成了常用词语，丧失了描绘力。例如：seeds of evil（邪恶的种子），a rooted prejudice （根深蒂固的偏见），a flight of imagination （幻想的飞翔），to burn with desire (燃烧着热望）等等。,To teach a fish to swim.(鲛鱼游泳)班门弄斧 Feather ones nest(往自己巢里铺羽毛)中饱私囊 Bear the lion in his den （狮穴拔须）虎口拔牙 Add insult to injury (伤害后加以侮辱)雪上加霜 Cast pearls before swine (把珍珠丢在猪面前) 对牛弹琴,Hold the candle to the devil (给魔鬼举烛火)、助纣为虐 Cry up wine and sell vinegar (吆喝的是酒卖的是醋)挂羊头卖狗肉 Fish in the air (空中钓鱼)水中捞月,The End Thanks a lot!,
