《瓦尔登湖》的文体学分析.docx
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《瓦尔登湖》的文体学分析
英语文体学结课论文
对梭罗的《瓦尔登湖》的文体学分析
班级:
英语07-2班
姓名:
李晓璐
学号:
310714010207
Abstract
ThispaperwillintroducethebackgroundofHenryDavidThoreau.HismasterpieceWalden,orLifeintheWoodsishonoredtobeasGreenBible.Thebookembodieshisphilosophyandreflectshisindependentcharacter.Thepaperwilladoptstylisticanalysis,whichwillbehelpfulforustobetterunderstandthethemeandaestheticeffectofthebookandatthesametimethestylisticanalysisofthebookalsohasstrongsocialinfluence.Atpresent,ourChinesemodernconstructioncomestoanewstep,ithassomesimilaritieswithAmericaatthetimeofHenryDavidThoreau,sohowtokeepbalancebetweentheeconomicgrowthandthenaturalprotectionisnotthedesireofcitizens,butalsothedemandsofharmonioussociety.Sotheanalysisofthebookcanbenefitusalot.
KeyWords:
ThoreauH.D;Walden,orLifeintheWoods;StylisticAnalysis
Chapter1Introduction
1.1ThesignificantPlaceofHenryDavidThoreauinAmericanLiterature
HenryDavidThoreau,Americanwriter,philosopher,andnaturalistwhobelievedintheimportanceofindividualism.Whenhewasyoung,heheardaspeechofRalphWaldoEmersonwhichwascalledTheAmericanScholarandthisspeechwasthoughttobetheguideforyoungThoreau,itledhimtothetranscendentalism.Heshowedgreatinterestintranscendentalismandorientalbookswhichwerefullofmysteriousphilosophy.Inacommercial,conservative,expedientsocietythatwasrapidlybecomingurbanandindustrial,heupheldtherighttoself-culture,toanindividuallifeshapedbyinnerprinciple.Hedemandedforallmenthefreedomtofollowuniquelifestyles,tomakepoemsoftheirlivesandlivingitselfanart.Inarestless,expandingsocietydedicatedtopracticalaction,hedemonstratedtheusesandvaluesofleisure,contemplation,andaharmoniousappreciationofandcoexistencewithnature.Becauseofhisprolifictalentsinliterature,hewashonoredtobeasAmericanenvironmentalpioneerandmentalmasterofphilosophy.
Chapter2TheStylisticAnalysisof
Walden,orLifeintheWoods
2.1AGeneralOverviewoftheBook
Waldenwaspublishedin1854,sevenyearsafterHenryDavidThoreauendedhisstayinasmallcabinnearWaldenPond.InWalden,Thoreaucondensedeventsofhistwenty-sixmonthsojournintooneyear,forliterarypurposes.Theeighteenchapterscelebratetheunityofnature,humanity,anddivinity-acentralideaoftranscendentalism-andportrayThoreau’slifeatWaldenPondasanidealmodelforenjoyingthatunity.Thoreauwasverycriticalofmoderncivilization.Hefeltthatmanshouldseektruthdirectlybyhimselfandnotthroughimitationofothers.Thisbookdoesnotattractthecorrespondingattentionatthattime:
Astimegoesby,itbecomeshotterandhotter.Walden,orLifeintheWoodswashonoredoneofthe25masterpieceswhichshapepeople’slife;In1985,itwasbestowedoneof10bookswhichhadtheabilitytoconstructAmerican’scharacter.
2.2StylisticAnalysis
StylisticanalysisofWalden,orLifeintheWoodswillbedividedintofourparts.Theyarelexicallevel,grammaticallevel,figuresandspeech,cohesionandcontext.
2.21LexicalLevel
GeoffreyN.LeechandMichaelH.ShortinStyleinFiction(2001)haveexplainsuchtheorythatthewordsarethebasesofaparagraph,achapter,evenabook.Specialemploymentofspecialwordscangetspecialeffect,forexample,theycanenhancethedescriptionsandprotrudethetheme.Thoreauisaspecialman,sohisthoughts,suchashisaffectionfornatureandlife,hisindependentstyle,hispositiveideas,hisinnocentandnaughtycharacteristicsoftenappearinhisbook.Letusappreciatethemonebyone.
A.EmploymentofAdjectives
Example1:
“BreadIatfirstmadeofpureIndianmealandsalt,genuinehomecakes,whichIbakedbeforemyfireoutofdoorsonashingleortheendofastickoftimbersawedoffinbuildingmyhouse,butitwaswon’ttogetsmokedandtohaveapineflavor”(2004:
52).Inthepassage,hetrieshisbesttomakepureIndianmealandsalt,genuinehomecakes,therearetwoadjectives“pure”and“genuine”,whichcanfullymakeusimaginethat“howdoesthewriterdo?
Wheredoeshedo?
Whathewoulduse?
”andsoaseriesofinterestingquestionswhichcanlargelyenhanceourappreciation.
Example2:
“IwenttothewoodsbecauseIwishedtolivedeliberately,tofrontonlytheessentialfactsoflifeandseeifIcouldnotlearnwhatithadtoteach,andnot,whenIcametodie,discoverthatIhadnotlived”(2004:
77).Letuspayspecialattentiontotheadjectives“deliberately,essential”,fromwhichwecanseethehardlifeofThoreau,thoughwhenhemeetshisdifficultdays,hedoesnotgiveup.InourChinesehistory,therearesomepeoplewhowouldliketogiveuptheirmoney,theirlands,eventheirlivesinordertoachievetheirpursuits.JustasaChinesemanhasoncesaidthatifapeoplewantstohaveapositioninhistory,hemustknowwhatshouldbegivenupandwhatshouldbestuckto.HenryDavidThoreauhasafirmbeliefintranscendentalism,hethinkthatthepeoplecanhavedirectconnectionwiththenature,soinordertocompletehisbelief,inordertoexperiencethenature,heleavesnoisyworldforthehugofnature,sothesesentencesexpresshispuristfortherealityoflife.
Example3:
“Myresidencewasmorefavorable,notonlytothought,buttoaseriesofreading,thanauniversity,andthoughIwasbeyondtherangeoftheordinarycirculatinglibrary.Ihadmorethanevercomewithintheinfluenceofthosebookswhichcirculatingroundtheworld,whosesentenceswerefirstwrittenonbark,andarenowmerelycopiedfromtimetotimeontolinenpaper”(2004:
85).Asweknow,whenThoreaulivesinWalden,hecomesintohislandwhichheexpectsalotbefore.Helikeshishouse,evenitisonlyahut,becauseasfarasHenryDavidThoreauconcerned,thishutprovidesanidealplaceforhimtolistentothenature,Whenheputshimselfinthenature,hefindsthathecomesintoahugelibrary,thenaturewilltellpeoplewhentogiveseedstolandandhowtoworkwiththelandinordertogetagoodharvest.Thenatureneveradvisespeopletocopybecauseeverydayforitselfisfreshandeveryonehastheabilitytoachievehimself.IthinkthispassagealsoreflectsthebadhabitofcopyinginAmericanliteratureatthattime.Thoughhehastosufferthepovertyoflifeand“solitude”ofspirit,thoughheonlylivesinasimplehut,butintheeyesofhim,thelifeis“favorable”andheisabsorbedinthereadingofnature.Thisadjectiveexhibitsapositiveman.
B.EmploymentofVerbs
AccordingtoGeoffreyN.Leech,StyleinFiction(2001),verbshavestrongexpressiontoshowthestateandatmosphere,theadoptionsofdefiniteverbscanmakethedescriptionsmoreimpressive.Ofcourse,Thoreauisgoodatcomposition,hehasgoodabilitytohandletheverbs.
Example1:
Atthebeginningofthebook,hewrites:
”whenIwrotethefollowingpapers,orratherthebulkofthem,Ilivedalone,inthewoods,amilefromanyneighbor,inahousewhichIhadbuiltmyself,ontheshoreofWaldenpond,inConcord,Massachusetts,andearnedmylivingbythelaborofmyhandsonly.Ilivedtheretwoyearsandtwomonths.Atpresent,Iamasojournerincivilizedlifeagain.Iseeyoungmen,mytownmen,whosemisfortuneistohaveinheritedfarms,houses,barns,cattle,andfarmingtools,forthesearemoreeasilyacquiredthangotridofsomeofyou,weallknow,arepoor,findithardtolive,aresometimes,asitwere,gaspingforbreath”(2004:
21).Fromthesentences,wecanseethewords“wrote,lived,hadbuilt,earned”,whichclearlyshowustwoThoreau:
oneisthepresentandtheotheristhepast.ThepresentThoreaulivesinahutandhehastodoeverythingbyhimself,butheishappy;ThepastThoreaulivesincity,heneedsnottodoeverythingbyhimself,butheisunhappy.Sofromthewordswecanseetheindependentandcompassionatecharacteristicsofhim.
Example2:
“IhavethussurveyedthecountryoneverysidewithinadozenmilesofwhereIlive,inimaginationIhaveboughtallthefarmsinsuccession,forallweretobebought,andIknowtheirprice.Iwalkedovereachfarmer,tastedhiswildapples,discoursedonhusbandrywithhim,tookhisfarmathispriceonit.Itookevery,buthimtosomeextent,Itrust,andwithdrawwhenIhadenjoyeditlongenough,leavinghimtocarryiton”(2004:
69).Inthesentences,“surveyed,tasted,discoursed”exhibithisaffectionforhisresidencestrongly,whenhegoesintothenature,hefindsallthingsbelongstohim,thelands,thefarms,thefruits,sothesewordsdeepenourunderstandingofThoreau.
C.EmploymentofColloquialwords
Becausewhenthewriterwrotethebook,helivedinconcord,avillage,soitisapparentforustoseealotofcolloquialwords,whichmakethelanguagestylefresh.Letusseesomeexamples.
Example1:
“WhenIreturntomyhouseIfindthatvisitorshavebeenthereandlefttheircards,eitherabunchofflowers,orawreathofevergreen,oranameinpencilonayellowwantleaforachip”(2004:
93).
Example2:
“Iplantedabouttwoacresandahalfofupland,anditwasonlyaboutfifteenyearssincethelandwascleared,andImyselfhadgotouttwoorthreecordsofstumps,Ididnotgiveitanymanure”(2004:
138).
Fromthetwoexamples,thecolloquialwords“I,evergreenacre”makethedescriptionofthepassagemorerustic,fromthewholebook,theadoptionoflocallanguageisveryoftenandthestylemakesthefeaturesofthelanguagefresher,moreaccessible.
2.2.2GrammaticalLevel
Thispartisdividedintotwoparts,whichareemploymentofparallelismsentencesandquestio