In the West,the rhetoric is an old and young science,which has a history of 2,300 years.With the emergence of rheto ric,the expression of our language became richer and more various.Meanwhile,the expressing capacity of language became more powerful and dynamic.Therefore,readers can understand what the author wants to express as if they were on the scenes.In the nineteenth-century,critical realism was quite prevalent in Britain.William Makepeace Thackeray was one of the most bril liant stars in this school at that time.His masterpiece Vanity Fair presents us the characteristics of a variety of people in different conditions in detail.The most common figures of speech employed in this novel are irony,satire and humor through which the Vanity Fair can make us laugh,and at the same time,it is thought-provoking.
