英语修辞与写作·12.1　Hyperbole

12.1　Hyperbole

12.1A　Hyperbole的含义与形式

1） 运用丰富的想象，在数量、形状或程度上加以渲染以增强表达效果，就是Hyperbole，汉语叫做“夸张”辞格。试比较：

一般表达方式 夸张说法

Thank you. / Thanks. Thanks a million.

John is a good second baseman. John is the greatest second baseman in the world.

They laughed heartily. They almost died laughing.

When she smiled, other people were all gay. Belinda smiled, and all the world was gay.

I'm hungry. I'm starving!

2） 夸张的形式灵活多样，最基本的是下述两种：

一是用语法上的比较级、最高级结构或表示极端意义的词语。例如：

From his mouth flowed speech sweeter than honey.

So great was his splendor in arms that the sun's brilliance seemed dim by comparison.

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Mark Twain's description of a tree after an ice storm：

... it stands there the acme, the climax, the supremest possibility in art or nature, of bewildering, intoxicating, intolerable magnificence. One cannot make the words strong enough.

二是用数量或程度上大得多或小得多的词语。例如：

The two sisters are different in a thousand and one ways.

（On the New England weather） In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.

（Mark Twain）

12.1B　Hyperbole的使用

1） 夸张是一种生动有力的强调形式，能给读者/听者造成深刻的形象或声响概念，因而在文学作品和日常生活中都很常见。例如：

For she was beautiful — her beauty made

The bright world dim, and everything beside

Seemed like the fleeting image of a shade.

雪莱的这些诗句同汉语中“沉鱼落雁之姿，闭月羞花之貌”异曲同工，通过夸张，使诗意极浓，形象极美。又如：

“... A shot from our front trench struck me in the head .... Had it penetrated to the brain I might never have sat on another Royal Commission. Fortunately we have strong heads, we Highcastles. Nothing has ever penetrated to our brains.”

萧伯纳的讽刺喜剧Augustus Does His Bit中的主人公是皇族的代言人。他吹嘘自己家族的脑袋“硬”，子弹也难以穿透。这正如汉语中的“花岗岩脑袋”，是夸张，又是反语，把封建统治者愚蠢而顽固的本质揭露得淋漓尽致。又如：

The Keebler Elves have baked up the lightest, crispest snacks ever to be called crackers, These extra thin bite-size crackers are rippled with zesty seasonings and crunch just like your favorite chips, but they're baked, not fried. They're the perfect snack for munching by the handful.

这是美国一种薄脆饼干Munch'ems的包装盒说明，其中一再使用形容词最高级结构和extra thin, the perfect等表示极端含义的词语，极尽夸张之能事，顾客见了于是都想买盒尝尝。夸张是广告类语言的一个显著特色。

2） 夸张法具有长时期的使用历史，至今仍然得到广泛使用。注意使用时应掌握分寸，不要夸张过分，否则效果会适得其反。例如：

Football is the most magnificent sport ever developed by the mind of man. It tests physical skill, stamina, courage, and intelligence more thoroughly than any other human activity.

One shudders to think what the world would have been like had Shakespeare never written The Tempest.

Only here can you have such jeans of the best quality and the lowest price at downtown!

像上面这样的夸张只会让人发笑，因为即使足球爱好者也不会像这样夸赞足球，而The Tempest虽然是部伟大的剧作，但也不可言过其实。现在有些广告过分夸张，人们一看就腻，以致宣传效果大打折扣，至于那些产品本身不够好，却一味瞎吹，就根本是糟蹋了夸张法。