英语习语俚语："Throw into relief"的释义及用法

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Throw into relief：to make it more noticeable, striking, or distinct, often by contrasting it with something else. The phrase comes from visual art and sculpture, where “relief” refers to how much a figure stands out from the background — and by extension, it came to describe anything made prominent through contrast. （使某事更加突出、引人注意或鲜明可见，通常是通过对比来凸显其特征。）

英语习语俚语："Throw into relief"的释义及用法

这个短语源自雕塑术语，"relief" 指的是浮雕，即物体从背景中凸显出来。后来引申为抽象概念上**“突出地表现出”**某种特点、问题或情绪。 常用于文学描写、社会评论、心理学分析等语境中。
E.G.1：The brightness of her smile was thrown into relief by the somber mood of the room.
参考翻译：她明亮的笑容在房间沉闷的氛围中被衬托得更加耀眼。

E.G.2：The economic crisis threw into relief the growing gap between the rich and the poor.
参考翻译：这场经济危机凸显了贫富差距日益扩大的问题。

E.G.3：His quiet competence was thrown into relief by his colleagues’ chaos and bluster.
参考翻译：同事们的混乱和夸张反而衬托出他那种低调而高效的能力。

Throw into relief

“Throw into relief”（使……突出）的最初来源是雕塑术语，尤其指“浮雕”（relief），即在背景板上凸起的立体图案。 在艺术上，通过光影对比，雕塑中的人物或图像显得更加突出、鲜明，这种“凸显”的效果就是“thrown into relief”。在艺术上，通过光影对比，雕塑中的人物或图像显得更加突出、鲜明，这种“凸显”的效果就是“thrown into relief”。

The phrase “throw into relief” originates from the world of sculpture and visual art, particularly from the concept of “relief sculpture”. In relief, figures are carved so they project from a flat background, literally standing out — sometimes just slightly (bas-relief) or dramatically (high relief).

The light and shadow created by this technique make the raised parts more visibly prominent, which is where the metaphor kicks in.

By the 18th to 19th century, especially in English art criticism and literary commentary, people began to apply the term figuratively, meaning:

“To make something more noticeable or striking, often by contrast.”

It became a favorite phrase among Victorian essayists and modernist critics, used to describe emotional contrast, moral clarity, or social disparity made obvious by juxtaposition — much like the sculpture catching the light.

A Juicy Anecdote (with a Literary Twist):

One early figurative use comes from William Hazlitt, the 19th-century English critic known for his sharp tongue. In an essay on Shakespeare’s tragic characters, he remarked how Othello’s nobility is thrown into relief by Iago’s manipulative cruelty — a vivid way of saying:

"You see the hero's virtues more clearly when the villain’s darkness surrounds him."

This style of using contrast to reveal character became a hallmark in Victorian literature, and critics often said that Dickens’ grotesque side characters throw into relief the innocence or integrity of his heroes.

Even Virginia Woolf, writing on the inner lives of women, used the technique subtly — the domestic quiet in To the Lighthouse throws into relief the vastness of the unspoken tensions.

在18—19世纪，尤其是在艺术评论与文学批评中，这一术语被比喻化使用。比如：

“某个角色的高尚品格，因周围环境或其他人的邪恶而愈发明显。”

小趣闻：

19世纪批评家**哈兹利特（William Hazlitt）**评论莎士比亚时提到，伊阿古的邪恶衬托了奥赛罗的高贵，说的就是“thrown into relief”的戏剧性效果。维多利亚时期的批评家也常说，狄更斯笔下那些滑稽而古怪的配角，恰恰衬托出主角的正直与清白。而伍尔夫在小说中对静默与喧嚣的并置，也是“投射-凸显”手法的精妙体现。