The Application of English Rhetoric theory in English Works – a case study of Walden Pond开题报告

Atpresent, there are many researches on metaphor, and metaphor itself hasexisted for a long time. It was born with the birth of literature. Metaphorexists not only as a literary rhetorical device, but also as a cognitive way.Readers can feel the world or understand the author''s inner world throughmetaphor. Moreover, in the context of economic globalization, culturalexchanges between China and foreign countries are becoming more and morefrequent, which inevitably leads to the use of metaphors. In order to makeboth sides of the communication understand each other''s meaning clearly, thetranslation of metaphor needs to be more accurate, and the metaphor needs tobe understood enough.

Therefore,the study of the translation of metaphors from the cross-cultural perspectivehas an important positive impact on cultural communication. In the process ofmetaphor translation, we need to pay attention to the relationship amongtranslation situation, culture and language. Thecorrect translation of metaphor has a positive effect on the dissemination ofculture, which can make the listener understand the meaning of the other sidecorrectly and also make them have a strong interest in foreign culture.

Part1.Introduction

Metaphoris to compare common things to abstract things, and then to separate the truefeatures of analogies through abstract things. In metaphor, the vehicle andthe noumenon are two important parts, and the two parts are different in theoriginal appearance and essence. If the two parts are the same, metaphor cannot be formed.In the process of applying metaphor, generally speaking,compared with ontology and vehicle, the metaphor is more abstract. The mainfunction of ontology is to make it easier for the audience or readers to understandthe content of metaphor, and ontology needs to be more specific. Therefore,the application of metaphor in English and American literature will make thelanguage more vivid and the emotion and meaning more profound.

Part2.According to the thesis of Wang Jiabao, metaphor has the function ofreflecting social reality in culture[1],which means metaphor, based onculture, guides people to have a clearer cognitive value and effectivelyrestrain people’s behabior. For example, in Shakespeare''s tragedies anddramas, he uses a lot of metaphors to express abstract things in simple andeasy to understand language, which makes the works contain profoundphilosophy and makes readers integrate into the context he created. InShakespeare''s storm, when Miranda and petunian first met, they marveled ateach other''s 'elves' and 'are they women on earth?'.[2]Shakespeare not only wants to tell the readers that the two characters areborn beautiful, but also very beautiful in heart and have noble moralcharacter. Combined with the historical background of the Renaissance,Shakespeare also injected humanism into the two vehicles of'spirit' and 'angel'. Shakespeare endowed these two roleswith virtues that human beings should possess, expressing his admiration forhumanism. Therefore, through metaphor, readers can understand the values inanother cultural context clearly.

Culturecontains a lot of content, such as different life styles, values and beliefs,so it will produce different contexts. Therefore, the cultural contentcomposed of various elements provides support for the use of metaphor.

Cohenthinks that an important purpose of using metaphor is to obtain the degree ofcloseness in social communication[3]. Metaphorical discourse, like givinggifts, forms a tacit understanding and sense of belonging among members ofsocial groups. And people can not understand metaphor without context.According to Sperber''s theory, the context of metaphor is dynamic, which willchange and expand with the process of communication[4]. However, Grice oncesaid that this kind of contextual knowledge is about the background knowledgeof the communicator''s social culture, which is owned by the communicator andis static[5].

Conclusion.Therefore, the process of understanding metaphor enables people to improvetheir understanding of Chinese and Western culture, and is also conducive tothe development of Chinese and Western historical and cultural research.