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Needless repetition is deadly—no two ways about it[毫无疑问]. It’s the kind of clutter[杂乱] that can put to sleep a circus full of hyperactive children[过动儿]. But not all repetition is bad. Used strategically[战略性地], repetition can wake our readers up and help them to focus on a key idea—or, at times, even raise a smile.
When it came to practicing effective strategies of repetition, rhetoricians[雄辩家] in ancient Greece and Rome had a big bag full of tricks, each with a fancy name. Here are six common strategies.
毫无疑问,不必要的重复是没有出路的。这是一种能让一整个马戏团的过动儿都昏昏欲睡的杂乱。但并不是所有的重复都是不好的。如果运用得当,重复也能唤醒我们的读者,还能帮助他们集中到一个中心思想——或者,偶尔,甚至能博得一笑。
提到应用重复的有效策略,古希腊和罗马的雄辩家们可以抖出一大袋子的技巧来——每一个技巧都有其奇特的名称。来看看以下六种常用策略吧!
Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive[连续的] clauses or verses[诗节].
This memorable[难忘的] device appears most famously throughout Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech. Early in World War II, Winston Churchill relied on anaphora to inspire the British people:
“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender[投降].”
相同的词语或词组重复出现在连续几个从句或诗节的开头。
这个令人难忘的用法贯穿于马丁·路德·金的演讲《我有一个梦想》中,极负盛名。早在第二次世界大战期间,温斯顿·丘吉尔就应用首语重复法来激励英国人民:
“我们决不气馁,我们要坚持到底。我们将在法国作战,我们将在海上和大洋中作战,我们将在空中作战,而且越战越勇,越战越强。我们将不惜任何代价保卫本岛,我们将在海滩上作战,我们将在(敌人的)登陆点作战,我们将在田野和街头作战,我们将在山区作战;我们决不投降。”
Repetition of an idea several times in different words.
If you’re a fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus注1, you probably recall how John Cleese used commoratio beyond the point of absurdity[荒谬] in the Dead Parrot Sketch:
“He’s passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased[停止] to be! He’s expired[期满] and gone to meet his maker! He’s a stiff[死尸]! Bereft[使失去] of life, he rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed him to the perch[栖木], he’d be pushing up the daisies! His metabolic[新陈代谢的] processes are now history! He’s off the twig[小树枝]! He’s kicked the bucket[一命呜呼], he’s shuffled off[摆脱] his mortal coil[尘世], run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir[唱诗班] invisible! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!”
同一个意思,用不同的词语重复几次表达。
如果你是《巨蟒剧团之飞翔的马戏团》的粉丝,那么或许你能回想起在《死鹦鹉短剧》里约翰·克立斯是如何运用极其荒谬的语意重复: “他去世了!这只鹦鹉回不来了!他停止呼吸了!他期满释放,跑去见他的造物者了!他成了一具死尸了!被剥夺了生命,他平静地安息!如果你还没把他钉在栖木上,那么他会把雏菊推起来!他的新陈代谢过程如今已成历史!他离开了小树枝!他一命呜呼,摆脱了人世纷扰。他放下帷幕,加入到泣血的隐形唱诗班中!这是一只前鹦鹉!”
Repetition broken up by one or more intervening[介于中间的] words.
Shel Silverstein注2 used diacope in a delightfully dreadful[可怕的] children’s poem called, naturally, Dreadful:
“Someone ate the baby,
It’s rather sad to say.
Someone ate the baby
So she won’t be out to play.
We’ll never hear her whiny[爱抱怨的] cry
Or have to feel if she is dry.
We’ll never hear her asking, ‘Why?’
Someone ate the baby.”
被一个或多个词语插入分解的重复。
谢尔·希尔弗斯坦在一首欢快又可怕的儿童诗歌——《恐怖》里非常自然地应用了间隔重复:
“有人吃了小孩,
这说起来让人痛心疾首。
有人吃了小孩
所以她不会在外边玩耍了。
我们再也听不到她抱怨的哭声
也无法觉知她是否口渴。
更无缘听她问:‘为什么?’
有人吃了小孩。”
Frequent repetition of a phrase or question; dwelling on[详述] a point.
One of the best known examples of epimone is Travis Bickle’s self-interrogation[审问] in the film Taxi Driver (1976): “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talking…you talking to me? Well I’m the only one here. Who…do you think you’re talking to? Oh yeah? Okay.”
频繁重复一个词组或问题;详述某个要点。
要点重复最著名的一个例子是特拉维斯·比克尔在电影《出租车司机》(1976年)里的自我审问:“你在和我说话?你在和我说话?你在和我说话?该死的,你在和谁说话……你在和我说话?好吧,这里只有我一个人。你认为你在和……谁说话?喔,是的?好吧。”
Repetition of a word for emphasis (usually with no words in between).
William Shakespeare used epizeuxis to show King Lear’s sadness of his daughter’s death in King Lear:
“All my poor fool is hanged[绞死]! No, no, no life! Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou[你] breath at all? Thou’lt come no more. Never, never, never, never, never!”
重复使用一个词语,以示强调(通常没有词语介入其中)。
威廉·莎士比亚在《李尔王》中使用紧接重复来表现李尔王对爱女之死的悲痛之情:
“我可怜的傻瓜被他们缢死了!没命了,没命了,没命了!为什么一条狗、一匹马、一只耗子,都有它们的生命,你却没有一丝呼吸!你是永不回来了。永远,永远,永远,永远,永远不会回来了。”
Repetition of words derived from the same root but with different endings.
The poet Robert Frost注3 employed polyptoton in a memorable definition. “Love,”he wrote, “is an irresistible[不可抵抗的] desire to be irresistibly desired.”
重复使用衍生自同个词根但不同词尾的词语。
诗人罗伯特·弗罗斯特就用叠叙重复给爱情下了令人难忘的定义。“爱情,”他写道,“是一种无法抑制的渴望,渴望被无法抑制地爱上。”
If you want to write something memorable, to inspire your readers or perhaps entertain them, well then, repeat yourself—imaginatively, forcefully[强有力地], thoughtfully[考虑周到地] and strategically.
如果你想要写出一些令人印象深刻的作品,让你的读者大受鼓舞,或者取悦他们,那么,重复吧——充满想象力地、强有力地、思虑周到地和战略性地重复吧!
注1:《巨蟒剧团之飞翔的马戏团》(1969年)是英国著名电视喜剧节目,以独特的幽默方式开创了一种被全世界广泛效仿和套用的喜剧模式。
注2:谢尔·希尔弗斯坦(1932-1999)是一位享誉世界的艺术天才,集诗人、插画家、剧作家、作曲家、乡村歌手于一身。
注3:罗伯特·弗罗斯特(1874—1963),20世纪最受欢迎的美国诗人,赢得4次普利策奖和许多其他荣誉。
When it came to practicing effective strategies of repetition, rhetoricians[雄辩家] in ancient Greece and Rome had a big bag full of tricks, each with a fancy name. Here are six common strategies.
毫无疑问,不必要的重复是没有出路的。这是一种能让一整个马戏团的过动儿都昏昏欲睡的杂乱。但并不是所有的重复都是不好的。如果运用得当,重复也能唤醒我们的读者,还能帮助他们集中到一个中心思想——或者,偶尔,甚至能博得一笑。
提到应用重复的有效策略,古希腊和罗马的雄辩家们可以抖出一大袋子的技巧来——每一个技巧都有其奇特的名称。来看看以下六种常用策略吧!
Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive[连续的] clauses or verses[诗节].
This memorable[难忘的] device appears most famously throughout Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech. Early in World War II, Winston Churchill relied on anaphora to inspire the British people:
“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender[投降].”
相同的词语或词组重复出现在连续几个从句或诗节的开头。
这个令人难忘的用法贯穿于马丁·路德·金的演讲《我有一个梦想》中,极负盛名。早在第二次世界大战期间,温斯顿·丘吉尔就应用首语重复法来激励英国人民:
“我们决不气馁,我们要坚持到底。我们将在法国作战,我们将在海上和大洋中作战,我们将在空中作战,而且越战越勇,越战越强。我们将不惜任何代价保卫本岛,我们将在海滩上作战,我们将在(敌人的)登陆点作战,我们将在田野和街头作战,我们将在山区作战;我们决不投降。”
Repetition of an idea several times in different words.
If you’re a fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus注1, you probably recall how John Cleese used commoratio beyond the point of absurdity[荒谬] in the Dead Parrot Sketch:
“He’s passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased[停止] to be! He’s expired[期满] and gone to meet his maker! He’s a stiff[死尸]! Bereft[使失去] of life, he rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed him to the perch[栖木], he’d be pushing up the daisies! His metabolic[新陈代谢的] processes are now history! He’s off the twig[小树枝]! He’s kicked the bucket[一命呜呼], he’s shuffled off[摆脱] his mortal coil[尘世], run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir[唱诗班] invisible! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!”
同一个意思,用不同的词语重复几次表达。
如果你是《巨蟒剧团之飞翔的马戏团》的粉丝,那么或许你能回想起在《死鹦鹉短剧》里约翰·克立斯是如何运用极其荒谬的语意重复: “他去世了!这只鹦鹉回不来了!他停止呼吸了!他期满释放,跑去见他的造物者了!他成了一具死尸了!被剥夺了生命,他平静地安息!如果你还没把他钉在栖木上,那么他会把雏菊推起来!他的新陈代谢过程如今已成历史!他离开了小树枝!他一命呜呼,摆脱了人世纷扰。他放下帷幕,加入到泣血的隐形唱诗班中!这是一只前鹦鹉!”
Repetition broken up by one or more intervening[介于中间的] words.
Shel Silverstein注2 used diacope in a delightfully dreadful[可怕的] children’s poem called, naturally, Dreadful:
“Someone ate the baby,
It’s rather sad to say.
Someone ate the baby
So she won’t be out to play.
We’ll never hear her whiny[爱抱怨的] cry
Or have to feel if she is dry.
We’ll never hear her asking, ‘Why?’
Someone ate the baby.”
被一个或多个词语插入分解的重复。
谢尔·希尔弗斯坦在一首欢快又可怕的儿童诗歌——《恐怖》里非常自然地应用了间隔重复:
“有人吃了小孩,
这说起来让人痛心疾首。
有人吃了小孩
所以她不会在外边玩耍了。
我们再也听不到她抱怨的哭声
也无法觉知她是否口渴。
更无缘听她问:‘为什么?’
有人吃了小孩。”
Frequent repetition of a phrase or question; dwelling on[详述] a point.
One of the best known examples of epimone is Travis Bickle’s self-interrogation[审问] in the film Taxi Driver (1976): “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talking…you talking to me? Well I’m the only one here. Who…do you think you’re talking to? Oh yeah? Okay.”
频繁重复一个词组或问题;详述某个要点。
要点重复最著名的一个例子是特拉维斯·比克尔在电影《出租车司机》(1976年)里的自我审问:“你在和我说话?你在和我说话?你在和我说话?该死的,你在和谁说话……你在和我说话?好吧,这里只有我一个人。你认为你在和……谁说话?喔,是的?好吧。”
Repetition of a word for emphasis (usually with no words in between).
William Shakespeare used epizeuxis to show King Lear’s sadness of his daughter’s death in King Lear:
“All my poor fool is hanged[绞死]! No, no, no life! Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou[你] breath at all? Thou’lt come no more. Never, never, never, never, never!”
重复使用一个词语,以示强调(通常没有词语介入其中)。
威廉·莎士比亚在《李尔王》中使用紧接重复来表现李尔王对爱女之死的悲痛之情:
“我可怜的傻瓜被他们缢死了!没命了,没命了,没命了!为什么一条狗、一匹马、一只耗子,都有它们的生命,你却没有一丝呼吸!你是永不回来了。永远,永远,永远,永远,永远不会回来了。”
Repetition of words derived from the same root but with different endings.
The poet Robert Frost注3 employed polyptoton in a memorable definition. “Love,”he wrote, “is an irresistible[不可抵抗的] desire to be irresistibly desired.”
重复使用衍生自同个词根但不同词尾的词语。
诗人罗伯特·弗罗斯特就用叠叙重复给爱情下了令人难忘的定义。“爱情,”他写道,“是一种无法抑制的渴望,渴望被无法抑制地爱上。”
If you want to write something memorable, to inspire your readers or perhaps entertain them, well then, repeat yourself—imaginatively, forcefully[强有力地], thoughtfully[考虑周到地] and strategically.
如果你想要写出一些令人印象深刻的作品,让你的读者大受鼓舞,或者取悦他们,那么,重复吧——充满想象力地、强有力地、思虑周到地和战略性地重复吧!
注1:《巨蟒剧团之飞翔的马戏团》(1969年)是英国著名电视喜剧节目,以独特的幽默方式开创了一种被全世界广泛效仿和套用的喜剧模式。
注2:谢尔·希尔弗斯坦(1932-1999)是一位享誉世界的艺术天才,集诗人、插画家、剧作家、作曲家、乡村歌手于一身。
注3:罗伯特·弗罗斯特(1874—1963),20世纪最受欢迎的美国诗人,赢得4次普利策奖和许多其他荣誉。