SAT寫作技巧分析#15：Irony

來自專欄美國學術寫作4 人贊了文章

Irony

Irony is a figure of speech that achieves emphasis by deliberately saying the opposite of what is meant or the reality. The intended meaning of the ironic word is the opposite of its usual sense. Irony is often used in literary works to add humor and sardonic tone to the discourse. It also makes the literary piece more interesting to reader, increasing the level of engagement with the text.

諷刺指的是作者故意運用與其本意相反，或者與事實不符的詞語來傳達作者的某些態度或者情緒。通常，我們需要從文字的反面了解作者的真正意圖。運用諷刺可以為文段增加幽默感或者嘲諷的語氣，增加文本的可讀性。請看以下例子：

It would be a fine thing indeed not knowing what time it was in the morning. （An employee was found late for work by the employer. The employer said）

Well, of course, I knew that gentlemen like you carry only large notes. (A beggar could not afford the bill after enjoying a big meal in a luxurious restaurant. The waitress said)

Yes, she is so beautiful that even the pockmarks on her face are shining brightly. What is ugly about her is the countless wealth.

What a noble illustration of the tender laws of his favored country!—they let the paupers to sleep.

請在實戰片段中檢測自己的實力：

To that essentially aesthetic objection the British establishment has made three replies. The first is, or was, that return of the marbles might set a 「precedent」 that would empty the world』s museum collections. The second is that more people can see the marbles in London. The third is that the Greeks have nowhere to put or display them. The first is easily disposed of: The Greeks don』t want anything else returned to them and indeed hope to have more, rather than less, Greek sculpture displayed in other countries. And there is in existence no court or authority to which appeals on precedent can be made. (Anyway, who exactly would be making such an appeal? The Aztecs? The Babylonians? The Hittites? Greece』s case is a one-off—quite individual and unique.) As to the second: Melina Mercouri』s husband, the late movie director and screenwriter Jules Dassin, told a British parliamentary committee in 2000 that by the standard of mass viewership the sculptures should all be removed from Athens and London and exhibited in Beijing. After these frivolous and boring objections have been dealt with, we are left with the third and serious one, which is what has brought me back to Athens. Where should the treasures be safeguarded and shown?

（節選自Christopher Hitchens，「The Lovely Stones」）

文章講述了帕特農神廟在過去屢遭洗劫，最嚴重的一次英國侵略者偷走了它近半數的建築裝飾物。當國際社會呼籲英國歸還希臘這些財物時，英國政府拒絕並給出了三個理由，前兩個理由被作者無情的諷刺。第一個理由是英國人認為這樣的行為會開先例「precedent」，導致全世界博物館的藏品都被洗劫一空「empty」。作者認為首先沒有法庭會受理這樣的先例，其次除了希臘之外也沒有其他人會有這樣的訴求，難道是已經消亡的「Aztecs」」Babylonians」或者」Hitties」民族的人么？這根本不可能發生。英國人第二個理由，如果這些藏品放在倫敦會有更多的人能夠欣賞它們。作者諷刺說如果考慮觀光遊客數量的話，應該把這些藏品放在北京。好吧，祖國首都無辜躺槍。通過諷刺的語氣，作者想要表現出英國政府給出的理由是多麼荒唐可笑。

注意： 學生經常會分不清irony和sarcasm，通常二者可以作為同義詞相互轉化，但是在修辭學中sarcasm一般強調是惡意的（malicious）諷刺。