英语修辞与写作·10.2　Zoosemy

10.2　Zoosemy

10.2A　Zoosemy的含义与形式

1） Zoosemy译作“拟物法”，同拟人法相反，拟物法是把人当成物来描写，包括描写成动物、植物、无生命物、抽象概念等。例如：

“A lucky dog you are!” exclaimed Jim.

Terribly hungry, the man wolfed down all the cakes.

Children are flowers of our country.

She found in him model and admiration.

2） 拟物法在形式上同明喻、隐喻一样，唯内容局限于把人物化。试比较：

Ill-gotten wealth is like a palace built on the sand. — Simile

Ill-gotten wealth is a palace built on the sand. — Metaphor

Ill-gotten wealth is but an evil friend. — Personification

His spoilt children are （like） ill-gotten goods that'll never prosper. — Zoosemy

为此，有时同一个句子既可以说是用了拟物，也可以说是用了明喻或隐喻。

10.2B　Zoosemy的使用

1） 拟物法往往含褒义或贬义。前者突出美丽、忠贞、勇敢等优秀品质，表示敬仰、热爱等感情色彩。例如：

O, my love is like a red, red rose,

That's newly sprung in June.

O, my love is like the melody,

That's sweetly play'd in tune.

（Burns）

Like a lion he rushed to meet his foe.

（Homer）

Mr. Smith may serve as a good secretary, for he is as close as an oyster.

2） 表示贬义时，则是把人同低等或丑恶的东西相比，以示嘲弄、讽刺、鞭挞等。例如：

He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow.

（George Eliot）

That wretch who daily glides through the middle of the forum like a crested serpent, with curved fangs, poisonous glance, and fierce panting, looking about him on this side and that ....

（Patricia Bizzell）

She lives separate from her husband, and talks on platforms; so she's already singled out from the sheep, and, as far as I can see, hasn't much to lose.

（D. H. Lawrence: Sons and Lovers）

3） 有时拟物法不带明显的感情色彩，只是为了更加生动、形象。例如：

He slept like a log.

They [prostitutes] are nothing but paper toys, played, ruined, torn, and thrown into the garbage can.

（NBC TV Debate, Feb. 9, 1993）