I take thee to mywedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse,for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, tilldeath do we part, according to God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I light theemy troth.
上段為英美國家教堂婚禮中的結婚誓言,新郎需立下誓言,表示對愛情婚姻的珍重、以及白頭偕老的決心,在此段誓言中,共有三次使用對照手法:better or worse,richer or poorer, in sickness and in health,前兩次用形容詞比較級形成對照、最后一次用名詞短語形成對照,在教堂莊重肅穆的氣氛烘托下,就顯得語氣莊重、態度誠懇、感情真摯。
對照手法在英美文學作品中不乏名段,其中大家最為熟悉的,恐怕就是查爾斯.狄更斯在《雙城記》中的開場白了:It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age ofwisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was theepoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season ofDarkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we hadeverything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct toHeaven, we were all going direct the other way….
《雙城記》的寫作背景是法國大革命,處在這個時期的法國社會,資本主義和封建專制尖銳對立,一方面資本主義經濟獲得發展,而另一面封建統治嚴重制約社會進步,同時等級制度森嚴,導致工人、城市平民和廣大農民生活困苦,強烈要求改變生活狀況,在資產階級啟蒙主義思想影響下,社會各界呼喚社會變革稱為這個時代的主基調。如此復雜的社會背景,查爾斯.狄更斯卻用七個對照句生動形象地展示在讀者面前。其中best/worst, age ofwisdom/age of foolishness, epoch of belief/epoch of incredulity, season oflight/season of darkness, spring of hope/the winter of despair,將形容詞、名詞和短語梯次使用,使得句子由短促轉為綿長,語氣由舒緩轉為緊促,讀來排山倒海、一氣呵成,可謂對照手法的極致。
一些詞組和短語也可以形成對立對照,如are only ready to…butsomewhat reluctant to…[耳海燕3]
例句:很多年輕人愿意和別人通過網絡聊天,卻不愿意進行面對面的交流。
一般英文的寫法:Many youngsters chat viaInternet, but they are not willing to communicate with others face to face.
對照的寫法:Many youngsters are only ready tochat via Internet, but somewhat reluctant to communicate with others face toface.
分析:兩個句子還是在表達相同的意思,但是使用短語,如areonly ready to…, but somewhat reluctant to,配置在chat和communicate的前面,[耳海燕4] 突出了“喜歡聊天,不愿溝通”之間的反差。
3)對照同一事物的兩個對立面
如果寫作的重心是事物,就可以用意義相反的詞匯說明,解釋其對立面,這種情況下,主題就能顯得更突出。
例句:中文:團結起來我們就無往不勝,而一旦分裂,我們就會無所作為
一般英文表達:If we work together, we can winthe victory. But if we separate, we can do nothing at all.
對照的寫法:United, there is little we cannotdo in a host of co-cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do tomeet a powerful challenge.
分析:上述兩個寫法中,一般英文的寫法使用規范的句子結構,語義通常清晰,但是看不出結構和修辭上的考究。相比之下,對照式寫法則將United和Divided形成反差,然后用there is little we cannot和there is little we can do形成句式對稱,寫作效果明顯好于前者。