_生命赞歌_赏析_英文_

[作者简介]庞丽娟,女,河南西峡县人,河南农业大学外语学院副教授,研究方向:跨文化交际、语言学。

An Appreci ation of A P salm of L ife

Pang L ij uan

(Schoo l o f Forei g n S t u d ies ,H enan Agricult u ral Un iversit y ,Zhengzhou,H enan,450002)

[A bstract] A P sal m of Life by Am erican ro m anti c poetH enry W ads wo rt h L ong fell ow i s a lyr i c created for deep re

fl ection .It revea l s the opti m istic t heme ti m e is flee ti ng ,

act i n the li v i ng presen t .The poe m appea ls to the readers !

eyes ,ears ,m i nds and emo ti ons and show s the poet !s r ichly endow ed talents for bo t h aest hetics and l anguage m an i pu l a ti on

as we l.l

[K ey words] A P sal

m of Life ; them e ; aest hetic appea ;l language appeal [中图分类号]I106.2 [文献标识码]A [文章编号]1672 8610(2010)01 0003 03

I .Introduction

A P sal m of L i fe by H enry W ads wo rt h Longfe llo w is a l yr ic tha t i s created f o r re flecti on .In this po e m,t he poet !s opti m i stic attitude tow ards life the poe m !s t he m e is easy to recogn i ze .

L ife is rea!l L ife i s earnest !A nd t he grave i s no t its goa.l Le t us ,t hen ,be up and do ing ,W ith a heart for any fate ;Still ach i ev i ng ,still purs u i ng ,Learn to labor and to w ait .T h i s i s the cry of the heart ,?rall y i ng from depression #,ready to a ffir m life ,t o regroup fro m l osses ,to push on despite m o m entary de f ea t .To reveal h is the m e and to m ake h is poe m ap peali ng aesthetica ll y t o the readers ,t he poe t ex tensive l y disp l ays h i s great talent i n m ani pulati ng the l anguag e at a ll leve ls .?.A t the leve l of phonology and grapho l ogy

A P sal m of L i fe is a poe m cons i sti ng of n i ne stanzas rhy m i ng abab ,cdcd ,efe ,f ghgh ,iji,j k l k,l m n m n ,opop ,qrqr w it h t he odd li nes i n t he fe m i n i ne rhym e and the even ones i n the m asculi ne rhy m e .The li ght and strong rhym es ,appear i n rota ti on ,lend p l easure to our ears ,aid m e m or izati on and ach i eve a k i nd o f ba l ance .A s to the rhy t hm ,the poem is ma i n l y i n trocha ic te tra m eter .By apply i ng such a pa ttern o fm e ter ,the poet ,on the one hand ,disc l oses the li ve l y na t ure o f the poem to the read e r ,and on the o t her hand m akes the poe m v i o l ent ,empha tic and challeng i ng i n expression .A ga i nst t he m a j or pattern ,som e m i no r excepti ons are no ti ceab le .F irst ,i n 4,8,9,19,26,the poet uses i amb ,w hich bri ngs a change t o t he sound w it hou t ru i n i ng the m elody .Th is m etr i ca l var i e t y helps create beauty to t he ear and add a certa i n a ir o f se ri ousness to the the m e o f the poem as w e l.l Then i n 23the poe t uses a spondee as a dra m atic emphasis

on the word ?act #,wh i ch fits the theme o f the poem ve ry w el.l

I mm ediate l y afte r tha t ,a pyrrhic is emp l oyed as a ba l ance to a ch i eve a perfect sound e ffect and as a contrast t o g i ve prom inence to t he wo rd ?act #.Besi des ,each trocha ic tetra m ete r i n the even li nes has its fina l unstressed sy ll able o m itted .The cata lec ti c f ea ture adds tre m endous force and sonor ity to t he sound and reveals the poet !s deep e m otions .Such dev i a ti on of nor m i s a var i a ti on on the conditi on o f unity ,he l p i ng m ake the li nes regular yet not m onotonous .It produces a k i nd of beauty i n sound and m akes the poe m mo re artisti ca lly appea li ng to the reader .

T o ach i eve an i dea l g rapho l og ica l eff ec t ,the poet li kew i se adopts severa lw ays .F i rstl y ,a ll the even li nes i n t he poe m are purpo se l y arranged four letters backwa rd ,thus ,v isua l beauty is crea ted and the possible m ono t ony i n si ght is w e ll avo ided .In 13,18,21,22,23,30,another typographical dev ice can be found .The words ?life #,?ti m e #,?past #,?present #and ?f u ture #are unusua lly typed w it h the ir first letters cap italized for the purpo se o f arousi ng the reader !s attenti on .By do i ng so ,t he poet lays much i m portance on those w ords and makes the m se rve to the g rea test ex tent the purpose o f the t he m e .Th irdly ,T he w ords ?how eve r #,?overhead #,?over #i n 21,24,30are i ntenti onall y typed as ?how e !er #,?o !erhead #and ?o !er #for the very f unc ti on of un iti ng t w o sy llab l es as one to m ee t the need of t he m eter .A nd t he wo rds ?funeral #,?bury its #in 16and 22,though not typed i n a spec i a l w ay ,are pronounced as [fj u :n l],[berits]w it h one o f the three sy ll ables purpose ly om i tted j ust for t he sam e effect .T he poet !s creative arrange m ent o f the wo rds and the li nes brings or i g i nality t o his poem and m akes his the m e prom i nent to t he reader .%.A t the leve l of lexis and syn tax

A s far as the l ex i ca l level is concerned ,the poet !s sk illfu l ness i s ev ident .In the poe m,w ords such as ?life #,?soul #,

3 语文学刊&外语教育教学 2010年第1期

?lives#,?act#,?heart#and?footpr i nt#are repeated echo i ng each othe r.W it h the repe ti tion of such words,the a rti sti c con cepti on of the poe m i s he i ghtened and the connecti v ity bet ween the stanzas is streng thened.In add iti on to t hat,t he poet uses m any antonyms to express a sharp contrast.Fo r exa m ple,?e mp ty#and?real#i n2and5,?l ong#and?flee ti ng#in13,?du m b,dri v en cattle#and?hero#i n19and20,?dead#and ?living#i n22and23.Such co-appearance o f wo rds w ith op posite m eani ngs not on l y helps he i ghten the at m osphere and e m phasize t he m ean i ng,but also he l ps streng then t he coherence of the poe m as an organ ic who l e.Itm akes the poe t!s language v i v id and i m pressive,and his i deas consp i cuous.M oreov er,the po e t!s caref u l cho ice o f words i n the same scale li ke?enjoy m ent# and?sorro w#in9,?tomo rrow#and?today#i n11and12,?past#,?present#,?future#i n21,22and23m akes h is poe m appea li ng artisti ca lly to t he reader bo th in si ght and i n m eani ng. T he poet!s sk illf u lm anipulation of the language a t lex ica l l eve l m akes his li nes eye-catchi ng.M eanwh ile t he poet m akes it clear to t he reader what the negati ve and t he positive a ttitudes to w ards life are and w ha t k i nd o f life is w orth li v i ng.

T o m eet his thema ti c needs,the poet uses many i m perati ve sen tences a t first.In1,19,20,21,22,23,33and36,such sen tence structure appears w it h t he f unc tion as an i nsp ira tion urg i ng the reade r t o be up,to be acti ve i n life,to ach i eve,to pursue rather than be i d le and dr i ven.Besides,one sa m e punc t uation m ark?!#is used m any ti m es i n2,5,19,20,21,22, 23and24f o r emphasis t o w aken t he reader up t o take acti on.In so m e lines,t he repe tition o f the sa m e structure can a lso be found.In5,9,13,1718,24and35,t he para llel construc ti ons like?L ife is rea!l L ife is ea rnest!#?N ot enjoy m en t,and not sorrow#,?A rt i s l ong and T i m e is fleeti ng#,?In t he wo rl d! s broad field o f ba ttle,In t he b i vouac of L ife#,?H eart w it h i n, and G od o!erhead#and?Still achiev i ng,still pursu i ng#help produce a great m o m ent um and buil d up the poe m!s e m otiona l appea l to t he f u l.l In1,6,8,9and19,t he negati ve w ord ?no t#is used and stressed i n sound at the sa m e ti m e to show

d i sti nctl y and conspicuously t h

e poe t!s ind i v i dua l v i ew,the po

e t!s personal a ttitude tow ards life.Each?not#i n those sen tences is de li ve red as a?bo m b#t ha t i s?po w erful#enough to shock t he reader to rea lize t he li m itati on o

f the ti m e and life,and the w ant o f action.

?.A t the leve l of se mantics

A t t h i s l eve l o f poetry,t he poet serves h i s se m anti c purpose by apply i ng som e rhetorica l dev ices.F irst,i n the s i xth stanza, the poet uses three wo rdsw ith t he ir first letters purpo se l y cap ital ized to m ake a s harp co m parison bet ween?the P ast#,?the P res ent#and?the Future#.T he past i s?dead#,t he f uture,though ?pleasan t#,i s unbe li evab le,on l y the present i s?li v ing#,true and rea.l T hrough the contrast,the poet lays e m phasis on the present and su mm ons t he reader to m ake use of t he present,to act fro m no w on,to m ake so m e ach i eve m ents,to a tta i n t he ir goa ls.Second,to m ake h i s poem m ore v iv i d,compressive as w e ll as pe rsuasi v e and f o rce f u,l t he poet also repeatedly uses so m e fi gura tive l anguag es.In15and19,t he poet uses si m ile. In15,t he poet,by creati ng an i m age o f fast bea ti ng dru m, show s t hat w it h t he bea t of our hearts,the ti m e is fleeti ng.T hus he po i nts out that ti m e is li m ited,life i s sho rt and the present is easy to lose;ifw e canno tm ake good use of t he present,noth i ng w ill be ach i eved.L i ke w i se,i n19,he uses ano t her si m ile t o

e mphas i ze the i m po rtance o

f acti on and urges the reader to do,to act,not to be i d le i n lif e li ke a?du mb,dr i ven ca ttl e#.T hen in 2,17,18,28and30,the poet uses several sentences conta i n i n

g m etaphors.Fo r examp l e,i n17and18,the poet co m pa res life to the?b i vouac#,?the fi e l d of battle#;i n28and30,he compares life t o?the sands of ti m e#,?t he so le m n m a i n#. T hroug

h wh ich,the poet

i m plies tha t life is t ough and harsh requ iri ng much labor and hard wo rk from peop l e.So w e should labor a l ong i n life to do som et h i ng usefu,l to con tribute t o the prog ress o f hu m an society.The fi gura ti ve use o f language i n the poe m d isplay s the poe t!s great ta lents i n l anguag e and m eanwh ile m akes the abstract things m ore concrete,li ve l y and easi e r t o un derstand and pe rce i ve.

A fter w e read the poem,the t wo m ost conspicuous feat u res o f the poe m becom e v i sible.In the first place,L ong fell ow w rote A P sal m of L i fe as a b i rd si ngs,w it h natura l grace and m elody.

H i s easy rhy m es and m e ters cli ng to the reade r!sm i nd long after the sense may be forgo tten.In t he second p l ace,the obv ious them e i n the poem sings its w ay i nto the consc i ous ness o f all peo p l e who have read it.A bove a l,l the re is a k i nd o f j oyousness in it,a spir it o f opti m i s m and faith in t he goodness o f life,wh i ch e vokes i m m ediate response in the emo ti ons of h is readers.

(References)

[1]F red M edn i ck.A n Introduc ti on to Am erican L iterature

[M].H enan U niversity P ress,1985.

[2]Car l Bode.H ighli ghts o f Am erican L itera t ure[M].W as h

i ng ton:U n ited States Infor m ati on A gency,1971.

[3]Botong W ang.R ound t he R eal ms of G o l d[M].H enan U n i

versity P ress,1993.

[4]W ang Zuo liang,D i ng W angdao.Introduction to Eng lish

Stylistics[M].Fo re i gn L anguage T eachi ng and R esea rch

P ress,1987.

[5]X u Y ouzh.i Eng lish Sty listics[M].H enan U niversity P ress,

1992.

?生命赞歌+赏析

庞丽娟

(河南农业大学外语学院,河南 郑州 450002)

[摘 要] ?生命赞歌+是美国浪漫主义诗人亨利&华兹华斯&朗费罗创作的一首发人深省的抒情诗歌。它揭示了?珍视生命,抓住现在#这一积极向上的主题,一方面给读者带来视觉、听觉、思想和情感上美的享受,另一4

LI TERATURE Pang L ijuan/An Appreciation o f A P s al m of L i f e

方面也充分展示了诗人非凡的审美才能和语言天赋。

[关键词] 生命赞歌; 主题; 审美魅力; 语言魅力

(附录)

A P sal m of L i fe

T ellm e/not,i n/mourn f u l/nu m be rs, 1

?L ife i s/but an/e mpty/dream!# 2

Fo r t he/soul i s/dead t hat/sl umbers, 3

And things/are no t/what they/seem. 4

L ife is/rea!l/L ife i s/ea rnest! 5

A nd the/grave i s/not its/goa;l 6

?Dust thou/art,to/dust re/turnest,# 7

W as not/spoken/of t he/sou.l 8

N o t en/j oyment,/and no t/sorrow, 9

Is our/desti ned/end o r/way; 10

But to/act,that/each to/-m orro w 11

F i nd us/farther/t han to-/day. 12

A rt i s/long,and/T i m e is/fleeti ng, 13

A nd our/hea rts,though/stout and/brave, 14

Stil,l like/m uffled/dru m,a re/beati ng 15

Funera l/m arches/to t he/g rave. 16

In the/wo rld!s bro ad/fi e l d o f/battle, 17

In the/b i vou/ac o f/L ife, 18 Be no t/li ke du m b,/dr i ven/cattle! 19

Be a/hero/i n t he/strife! 20

T rust no/Fu t ure,/how e!er/p l easant! 21 Le t the/dead P ast/bury its/dead! 22 A ct act/i n the/liv i ng/Present! 23 H eart w i/thi n,and/G od o!er/head! 24

L i ves o f/g reat m an/all re/m ind us 25 W e can/m ake our/lives sub/li m e, 26 A nd,de/parti ng,/leave be/h i nd us 27 F ootpri n ts/on the/sands of/ti m e; 28

F ootprints,/t hat per/haps a/no t her, 29 Sa ili ng/o!e r L ife!s/so l emn/m a i n, 30 A f o r/l o rn and/sh i p w recked/bro t her, 31 See i ng,/sha ll take/hea rt a/ga i n. 32

L et us,/t hen,be/up and/do i ng, 33 W it h a/heart for/any/fate; 34

S till a/ch i ev i ng,/still pur/sui ng, 35 Learn to/labor/and to/w a it. 36

(上接第2页)

正如她的第三任丈夫瑞德&巴特勒评判她的那样:?我之所以爱你,是因为我们俩太像了,我们都是叛逆者,自私、狡猾、能把事情看透,该怎么办就怎么办,绝不虚伪。只要有利可图,可以不择手段,名誉是一文不值的。#[1]在斯佳&奥哈拉的身上,我们看到了从家族遗传到社会影响,从阶级烙印到时代变迁,从外貌特征到内心活动,从语言声调到举止神情都非常典型的、一个活生生的、完整的女性形象,这既符合人情事态,又孕育着极高的艺术真实。(参考文献)

[1]玛格丽特&米切尔.飘[M].崔淑玲,王成云,译.北京中

国致公出版社,2003.

[2]张玉霞.美国通俗小说经典?飘+研究综论[J].深圳大学

学报(人文社会科学版),2009,26(5).

[3]赵亮.?飘+中女性自我价值的实现[J].作家,2009(11).

[4]李照冰.?飘+中的女性价值观[J].考试周刊,2009(38).

[5]徐振忠.试论?飘+对女主人公的性格刻画及其审美功能

[J].黎明职业大学学报,2004(3).

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语文学刊&外语教育教学 2010年第1期

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