文章最忌「假大空」:假,言不由衷,講出連自己聽了都不好意思的話。大,氣壯山河,大有「天將降大任於斯人」來解放全世界3/4水深火熱老百姓的豪言壯語。空:缺乏具體細節描寫的能力。
我捋了捋頭髮,輕輕仰頭一甩,瀟灑地對學生說,「先把解放全人類的事情放一放。把我剛才捋頭髮甩頭髮的動作準確地描寫出來再說。」
「…………」
我說,「等你能夠寫出『He re-feathers his
hair with his fingers and flicks his bangs back using only his neck
muscles.』之類的句子后,才考慮解放全人類吧!」
具體細節的描寫,要求筆者用詞如狙擊手般精準彈無虛發,僅著一字,盡得風流。
文采,是我教學的核心。如何讓任何題材的寫作活色生香?我要學生們學會熟練自如地運用各種修辭手段:比喻,誇張,諷刺,對比,擬人,委婉,自相矛盾,意外結局,一語雙關等等。
我選擇一些例句,讓學生辨認屬於哪種修辭手段:
It gets so cold in Alaska, some of the
people go to Siberia for the winter. (誇張)
The barber asked me if I had ketchup on my
shirt. I said no. And he dialed 911. (委婉語)
America is the only country where a
housewife hires a woman to do her cleaning so she can do voluntary work at the
day-care centre where the cleaning lady leaves her children. (諷刺)
Even your wisdom teeth are retarded. (自相矛盾)
In a backward country you can』t drink the
water, and in an advanced country you can』t breathe the air. (對比)
Bill Clinton was only a microscopic polyp
in the colon of national politics. (比喻)
She got her good look from her father. He
is a plastic surgeon. (意外結局)
As soon as you find key to success, somebody always changes the lock. (一語雙關)
我希望我的學生寫的文章都是輕舞飛揚,幽默俏皮,而不是一臉舊社會苦大仇深的沉重,或是毫無想象力的刻板。我奉為圭皋的寫作最佳境界是:
庄諧雅謔皆妙句,嬉笑怒罵盡文章。