一般而論，語言應(yīng)力求簡潔，避免重復(fù)，因為它不能增加新的信息量，徒增語言的累贅。然而，作為修辭方式的反復(fù)，通過有意識地多次重復(fù)某些詞語、句子，甚至某一章節(jié)，卻可以使文章的感情色彩加倍凝練，主題思想格外突出，從而起到提高語言表達效果的積極作用。
美國著名的黑人運動領(lǐng)袖Martin Luther King在“自由進軍”的黑人集會演講吋，運用反復(fù)句式，將“I have a dream that... ”先后重復(fù)了七次，以逐漸加強的情感把聽眾帶向美好的未來，賦予其演講極強烈的感染力和號召力。多年以后的今天，那鏗鏘有力的“I have a dream”依然回響耳畔。
提到《紅樓夢》中的反復(fù)美，“齡官畫薔”這一出色細(xì)節(jié)，就是一個非常典型的例子：
1) 一面想，一面又看，只見那女孩子還在那里畫呢，畫來畫去，還是個“薔”字。再看，還是個“薔”字。里面的原是早已癡了，畫完一個又畫一個，已經(jīng)畫了有幾千個“薔”外面的不覺也看癡了，兩個眼睛珠兒只管隨著簪子動，......（第三十回）
這一細(xì)節(jié)突出了兩個“癡”：一個是薔薇架里面畫的癡，另一個是薔薇架外面看的癡。而這兩個“癡”情，恰恰是借助反復(fù)這一修辭手法表現(xiàn)的。作者在不太長的篇幅中，接二連三地重復(fù)“畫”字，重復(fù)“癡”字，重復(fù)“還是個‘薔’字”。這種反復(fù)當(dāng)然也感染并感動了讀者。
受到感染和感動的定然也有譯者。我們來看他們是怎樣帶著這樣的感染和感動翻譯這段文字，進而去感染和感動譯文讀者的呢？
楊譯：
He went on watching as the girl went on writing, but she merely repeated the same character. Lost in thought, the girl by the trellis traced one qiang after another until she had written several dozen，while Baoyu watched raptly from the other side， following the movements of the pin with his eyes.
霍譯：
The girl went on writing，and he followed the movements of her hand as before. It was another QIANG. Again she wrote, and again he followed, and again it was a QIANG. It was as though she were under some sort of spell. As soon as she had finished writing one QIANG she began writing another ?
QIANG QIANG QIANG QIANG QIANG QIANG QIANG...
He must have watched her write several dozen QIANG's in succession. He seemed to be as much affected by the spell on his side of the pergola as the girl herself was on hers, for his eyeballs continued to follow her pin long after he bad learned to anticipate its movements.
讀過譯文，我們不免發(fā)出感慨：霍譯在篇幅上比楊譯的兩倍還多！是楊氏太吝惜筆墨，還是霍氏累贅啰嗦？對譯文進一步字斟句酌之后，不難發(fā)現(xiàn)，霍譯如同電影的特寫鏡頭一樣，將人物動作刻畫得至細(xì)至微，惟妙惟肖。楊譯僅用repeated，one...after another, several dozen 表示重復(fù)；霍譯中也有 several dozen，one，another 這 樣的字眼，但是他對 Again...and again...and again...以及 in succession的靈活運用，特別是七個QIANG連用并在行文上另起一行，適應(yīng)了題旨和情境的需要，起到了加強語勢突出語意的作用，收到了很好的修辭效果。應(yīng)該說，作者“畫完一個4薔’又畫一個‘薔’”，譯者也應(yīng)不厭其煩地“畫”，才能不違背原作的精神實質(zhì)。
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