A Free Talk on Rhetoric in Senior English Textbooks (英语论文).doc

A Free Talk on Rhetoric in Senior English Textbooks Nowadays you can see rhetoric phenomena existing everywhere in the Senior English textbooks in circulation. Generally, grammar tells what is correct; rhetoric tells what is effective and pleasing. Just as Brooks Warren say (Modern Rhetoric), “Rhetoric is the art of using language effectively”. Hence, it’s the most important stage for middle school students to master secondary English and form fundamental linguistic qualities. If anyone who knows English knows about some rhetoric styles, it’s not only of great help to distinguish all kinds of rhetoric phenomena of this language, but also good to improve the ability of analyzing representing skills in language and efficiently applying the language. Therefore, I’d love to give a brief talk about some common figures of speech here. 1．Simile The simile came from a Latin word similes which means like. It is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements having at least one quality or feature in common. In comparison, words like as, as...as, as if, like, seem and the pattern A …to B as C…to D, etc. are used to change the quality or feature that we combine with one to the other. For instance, Living?without?an?aim?is?like?sailing?without?a?compass. Some additional examples: The?first?time?I?read?an?excellent?book,?it?is?to?me?as?if?I?had?gained?a?new?friend. It was like stepping into a secret art museum, in which we were the only visitors. Mercy falls like the gentle rain from the sky upon the earth. And there exit so many structures in English as follows: (as)?firm?as?a?rock; (as)?light?as?a?feather; (as)?mute?as?a?fish; (as)?strong?as?a?horse?; (as) clear as crystal, etc. 2. metaphor The metaphor, referred as condensed simile, is like a simile, also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike a simile, it’s implied rather than stated, such as He?really?has?a?heart?of?gold. In front of me was a wall of animals. Some book