一般而论，语言应力求简洁，避免重复，因为它不能增加新的信息量，徒增语言的累赘。然而，作为修辞方式的反复，通过有意识地多次重复某些词语、句子，甚至某一章节，却可以使文章的感情色彩加倍凝练，主题思想格外突出，从而起到提高语言表达效果的积极作用。

美国著名的黑人运动领袖Martin Luther King在“自由进军”的黑人集会演讲吋，运用反复句式，将“I have a dream that... ”先后重复了七次，以逐渐加强的情感把听众带向美好的未来，赋予其演讲极强烈的感染力和号召力。多年以后的今天，那铿锵有力的“I have a dream”依然回响耳畔。

提到《红楼梦》中的反复美，“龄官画蔷”这一出色细节，就是一个非常典型的例子：

1) 一面想，一面又看，只见那女孩子还在那里画呢，画来画去，还是个“蔷”字。再看，还是个“蔷”字。里面的原是早已痴了，画完一个又画一个，已经画了有几千个“蔷”外面的不觉也看痴了，两个眼睛珠儿只管随着簪子动，......（第三十回）

这一细节突出了两个“痴”：一个是蔷薇架里面画的痴，另一个是蔷薇架外面看的痴。而这两个“痴”情，恰恰是借助反复这一修辞手法表现的。作者在不太长的篇幅中，接二连三地重复“画”字，重复“痴”字，重复“还是个‘蔷’字”。这种反复当然也感染并感动了读者。

受到感染和感动的定然也有译者。我们来看他们是怎样带着这样的感染和感动翻译这段文字，进而去感染和感动译文读者的呢？

杨译：

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.

霍译：

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.

读过译文，我们不免发出感慨：霍译在篇幅上比杨译的两倍还多！是杨氏太吝惜笔墨，还是霍氏累赘啰嗦？对译文进一步字斟句酌之后，不难发现，霍译如同电影的特写镜头一样，将人物动作刻画得至细至微，惟妙惟肖。杨译仅用repeated，one...after another, several dozen 表示重复；霍译中也有 several dozen，one，another 这 样的字眼，但是他对 Again...and again...and again...以及 in succession的灵活运用，特别是七个QIANG连用并在行文上另起一行，适应了题旨和情境的需要，起到了加强语势突出语意的作用，收到了很好的修辞效果。应该说，作者“画完一个4蔷’又画一个‘蔷’”，译者也应不厌其烦地“画”，才能不违背原作的精神实质。