How a Metaphor Works · 隐喻如何运作
| English | 中文 | Pinyin · 拼音 |
|---|---|---|
| metaphor/ˈmetəfɔː/ | 隐喻 | yǐn yù |
Metaphor implies rather than states
- A metaphor 隐喻 implies similarities between two (usually unrelated) concepts or objects in order to reveal or emphasize something about one of them.
- Usually unrelated is the working part: the further apart the two are, the more the comparison does.
- And a metaphor has the same two roles as a simile — main subject and comparison subject.
When a poem calls time a thief, it is asking for interpretation, not a police report.
隐喻是暗示,而不是陈述
- 隐喻(metaphor)暗示两个(通常不相关的)概念或物体之间的相似性,以揭示或强调其中之一的某些方面。
- 通常不相关是起作用的部分:两者相距越远,这个比喻做的工作就越多。
- 而隐喻拥有与明喻相同的两个角色——主体与喻体。
诗把时间叫作小偷，是请你解释这个比喻，不是让你去报案。
The differences may be revealing too
- The CED adds something students almost never use: the differences between the two may also be revealing.
- A metaphor claims a likeness, and the reader silently notes where the likeness fails.
- That failure is often the sharpest thing in the poem.
差异同样可能富有启示
- CED 补充了一点,而学生几乎从不使用它:两者之间的差异同样可能富有启示。
- 隐喻宣称一种相似,而读者会默默注意到这种相似在哪里失效。
- 这一失效之处,往往是全诗中最锋利的地方。
The CED says that in a metaphor, the differences between the two things... · CED表示，在隐喻中，两件事之间的差异……
The place where the likeness breaks down is often the sharpest thing in the poem. · 相似性破裂的地方往往是诗歌中最尖锐的部分。
Comparisons draw on the reader
- Comparisons draw on the experiences and associations readers already have with those objects and concepts.
- So a metaphor is a transaction with the reader, not a property of the page.
- A comparison to something the reader has no associations with does nothing at all.
比喻依赖读者
- 比喻依赖读者对这些物体和概念已有的经验与联想。
- 因此隐喻是与读者之间的一次交易,而不是纸面上的一项属性。
- 把某物比作读者毫无联想的东西,什么作用也起不了。
Comparisons draw on the experiences and ____ readers already have. · 比较依赖于读者已有的经验和____。
So a metaphor is a transaction with the reader, not a property of the page. · 因此，隐喻是与读者的交易，而非页面的属性。
Match each term to its role. · 将每个术语与其作用匹配。
The first two roles are shared with the simile; the third is what makes readings differ. · 前两个角色与明喻共享；第三个角色使解读产生差异。
The differences between the two things may also be revealing. Most answers stop at what the two share. Asking where the likeness breaks down — and whether the poem knows it breaks down — is what separates an adequate reading from a sophisticated one.
**两者之间的差异同样可能富有启示。**多数答案止步于两者的共同之处。去问这种相似在哪里瓦解——以及这首诗是否知道它瓦解了——正是把及格的解读与深刻的解读区分开来的地方。
Shared, different, or context? · 共有、不同，还是语境？
Sort each observation about grief is a country. · 对grief is a country的每个观察结果进行分类。
The same metaphor in two different poems must mean the same thing. · 同一隐喻在两首不同的诗中必须意味着同样的东西。
Interpretation may depend on the context of its use — what is happening decides what transfers. · 解释可能取决于其使用的上下文——正在发生的事情决定了什么会发生转移。
Context decides what transfers
- Interpretation of a metaphor may depend on the context of its use — what is happening in the text may determine what is transferred.
- The same metaphor in two poems can mean opposite things.
- So never analyse a metaphor from the metaphor alone; read the lines that surround it.
语境决定转移什么
- 对隐喻的阐释可能取决于其使用的语境——文本中正在发生的事,可能决定了什么被转移。
- 同一个隐喻出现在两首诗里,可以有相反的含义。
- 因此绝不要只凭隐喻本身来分析它;要读它周围的诗行。
Select all · 所有 the steps of the metaphor pass. · 选择所有隐喻步骤。
The third step is where the marks usually are. · 第三步通常是得分点所在。
A metaphor pass
- Name both subjects. Say what quality the context transfers.
- Then ask where the likeness fails, and whether the poem uses that failure.
- Two answers instead of one, and the second is where the marks usually are.
隐喻检查
- 说出两个主体。说出语境转移了哪种品质。
- 然后问这种相似在哪里失效,以及这首诗是否利用了这一失效。
- 得到两个答案而不是一个,而分数通常在第二个里。
Grief is a country. Shared: it has borders, and you can be inside it. Different: you can leave a country, and the poem's next line — "no one is issued papers" — reaches for exactly that difference. The failure of the likeness is the point.
悲伤是一个国家。共同之处:它有边界,而你可以身在其中。不同之处:国家是可以离开的,而这首诗的下一行——"没有人被发给证件"——伸手够的正是这一差异。相似的失效之处,才是要点。
A metaphor implies similarities between two usually unrelated things — with a main subject and a comparison subject, as a simile has. The differences may also be revealing. Comparisons draw on readers' existing associations, and context determines what is transferred.
隐喻暗示两个通常不相关之物之间的相似性——与明喻一样,有主体与喻体。差异同样可能富有启示。比喻依赖读者已有的联想,而语境决定什么被转移。