A Comparative Study Of The Recreation Of Irony In Two Chinese Translations Of The Age Of Innocence

Irony,as a rhetorical device and writing style,is frequently adopted in fiction and fascinate both authors and readers.The Age of Innocence is filled with Edith Wharton's masterly techniques of irony which links closely with the failure of marriage,the rules of the American society,the change and progress,American culture versus foreign culture,and the innocent versus the experienced.Not only the subjects of irony,but also her detached tone of narration impress critics.Based on the author's attitude toward the victim of irony and the fate of the victim,the thesis classifies the irony into four types: satiric irony,tragic irony,nihilistic irony,and paradoxical irony.It adopts the analytic model of stylistics to compare and contrast the effect of recreated irony in two translations with Leech & Short's checklist of stylistic markers.The thesis finds out that in irony translation,it is crucial for translators to understanding to what degree the author feels satiric and sympathy for the victim.In terms of foregrounding,metaphors,allusion,and hyperboles are largely used by Wharton.In order not to over-translate irony,translators should always keep the author's attitude toward ironize victim in mind.The thematic significance is closely related to what kind of irony the author uses.Satiric irony is mostly used in describing the hypocrisy of the minor characters and “innocence”;tragic irony is in depicting the love triangle among three protagonists;nihilistic irony is in telling readers the conventions of the old New York and paradoxical irony is in the reality versus dream.