ElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard赏析.docx

ElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard赏析.docx

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ElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard赏析

ElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard

ByThomasGray（1716-1771）

1.TypeofWork

"ElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard"is—asthetitleindicates—anelegy.Suchapoemcentersonthedeathofapersonorpersonsandis,therefore,somberintone.Anelegyislyricalratherthannarrative—thatis,itsprimarypurposeistoexpressfeelingsandinsightsaboutitssubjectratherthantotellastory.Typically,anelegyexpressesfeelingsoflossandsorrowwhilealsopraisingthedeceasedandcommentingonthemeaningofthedeceased'stimeonearth.Gray'spoemreflectsonthelivesofhumbleandunheralded未为人所知的peopleburiedinthecemetery墓地ofachurch.

2.Setting（timeandplace）

Thetimeisthemid1700s,aboutadecadebeforetheIndustrialRevolutionbeganinEngland.Theplaceisthecemeteryofachurch.EvidenceindicatesthatthechurchisSt.Giles,inthesmalltownofStokePoges,Buckinghamshire,insouthernEngland.Grayhimselfisburiedinthatcemetery.WilliamPenn,thefounderofPennsylvania,oncemaintainedamanor领地houseatStogePoges.

3.YearsofCompositionandPublication

Graybeganwritingtheelegyin1742,putitasideforawhile,andfinisheditin1750.RobertDodsleypublishedthepoeminLondonin1751.Revisedoralteredversionsofthepoemappearedin1753,1758,1768,and1775.CopiesofthevariousversionsareontheThomasGrayArchiveatOxfordUniversity.

4.Meter节拍andRhyme韵律Scheme

Graywrotethepoeminfour-linestanzas（quatrains）.Eachlineisiniambicpentameter,meaningthefollowing:

1.Eachlinehasfivepairsofsyllablesforatotaloftensyllables.

2.Ineachpair,thefirstsyllableisunstressed（orunaccented）,andthesecondisstressed（oraccented）,asinthetwolinesthatopenthepoem:

TheCURfewTOLLStheKNELLofPARTingDAY

TheLOWingHERDwindSLOWlyO'ERtheLEA

Ineachstanza,thefirstlinerhymeswiththethirdandthesecondlinerhymeswiththefourth（abab）,asfollows:

aThecurfewtollstheknellofpartingday, 

bThelowingherdwindslowlyo'erthelea,

aTheplowmanhomewardplodshiswearyway, 

bAndleavestheworldtodarknessandtome.

晚钟响起来一阵阵给白昼报丧，

牛群在草原上迂回，吼声起落，

耕地人累了，回家走，脚步踉跄，

把整个世界给了黄昏与我。

5.StanzaForm:

HeroicQuatrain英雄体四行诗

Astanzawiththeabove-mentionedcharacteristics—fourlines,iambicpentameter,andanababrhymescheme—isoftenreferredtoasaheroicquatrain.（QuatrainisderivedfromtheLatinwordquattuor,meaningfour.）WilliamShakespeareandJohnDrydenhadearlierusedthisstanzaform.AfterGray'spoembecamefamous,writersandcriticsalsobeganreferringtotheheroicquatrainasanelegiacstanza.

6.CompletePoemWithExplanatoryNotes

Stanza1

1.Thecurfewtollstheknellofpartingday,

2.Thelowingherdwindslowlyo'erthelea,

3.Theplowmanhomewardplodshiswearyway,

4.Andleavestheworldtodarknessandtome.

Notes

（1）Curfew:

ringingbellintheeveningthatremindedpeopleinEnglishtownsofGray’stimetoputoutfiresandgotobed.

（2）Knell:

mournfulsound.

（3）Partingday:

day'send;dyingday;twilight;dusk.

（4）Lowing:

mooing.

（5）O'er:

contractionforover.（6）Lea:

meadow.

Stanza2

5.Nowfadestheglimm'ringlandscapeonthesight,

6.Andalltheairasolemnstillnessholds,

7.Savewherethebeetlewheelshisdroningflight,

8.Anddrowsytinklingslullthedistantfolds.

Notes

（1）Line5:

Thelandscapebecomeslessandlessvisible.

（2）Sight...solemnstillness...save:

alliteration.（3）Save:

except.

（4）Beetle:

wingedinsectthatoccursinmorethan350,000varieties.Onetypeisthefirefly,orlightningbug.

（5）Wheels:

verbmeaningfliesincircles.

（6）Droning:

humming;buzzing;monotonoussound.

（7）Drowsytinklingslullthedistantfolds:

Thisclauseapparentlyreferstothegentlesoundsmadebyabellaroundtheneckofacastratedmalesheepthatleadsothersheep.Acastratedmalesheepiscalledawether.Suchasheepwithabellarounditsneckiscalledabellwether.Foldsisanounreferringtoflocksofsheep.

（8）Tinklings:

onomatopoeia.

Stanza3

9.Savethatfromyonderivy-mantledtow'r

10.Themopingowldoestothemooncomplain

11.Ofsuch,aswand'ringnearhersecretbow'r,

12.Molestherancientsolitaryreign.

Notes

（1）Save:

except.

（2）Yonder:

distant;remote.

（3）Ivy-mantled:

cloaked,dressed,oradornedwithivy.

（4）Moping:

gloomy;grumbling.

（5）Ofsuch:

ofanythingoranybody.

（6）Bow'r:

bower,anenclosuresurroundedbyplantgrowth—inthiscase,ivy.

（7）Molestherancientsolitaryreign:

bothertheowlwhileitkeepswatchoverthechurchyardandcountryside.

（8）Herancientsolitaryrein:

metaphorcomparingtheowltoaqueen.

Stanza4

13.Beneaththoseruggedelms,thatyew-tree'sshade,

14.Whereheavestheturfinmanyamould'ringheap,

15.Eachinhisnarrowcellforeverlaid,

16.Therudeforefathersofthehamletsleep.

Notes

（1）Whereheavestheturf:

anastrophe,afigureofspeechthatinvertsthenormalwordorder（theturfheaves）.

（2）Mould'ring:

mouldering（British）,moldering（American）,anadjectivemeaningdecaying,crumbling.

（3）Cell:

metaphorcomparingagravetoaprisoncell.

（4）Rude:

robust;sturdy;hearty;stalwart.

（5）Hamlet:

village.

Stanza5

17.Thebreezycallofincense-breathingMorn,

18.Theswallowtwitt'ringfromthestraw-builtshed,

19.Thecock'sshrillclarion,ortheechoinghorn,

20.Nomoreshallrousethemfromtheirlowlybed.

Notes

（1）Breezycallofincense-breathingMorn:

windcarryingthepleasantsmellsofmorning,includingdewygrassandflowers.NoticethatMornisametaphorcomparingittoalivingcreature.（Itcallsandbreathes.）

（2）Swallow:

Insect-eatingsongbirdthatlikestoperch.

（3）Clarion:

cock-a-doodle-doo.

（4）Echoinghorn:

Thewordsmayrefertothesoundmadebyafoxhuntsmanwhoblowsacopperhorntowhichpackhoundsrespond.

Stanza6

21.Forthemnomoretheblazinghearthshallburn,

22.Orbusyhousewifeplyhereveningcare:

23.Nochildrenruntolisptheirsire'sreturn,

24.Orclimbhiskneestheenviedkisstoshare.

Notes

（1）hearth...housewife...her:

alliteration.

（2）Climbhiskneestheenviedkisstoshare:

anastrophe,afigureofspeechthatinvertsthenormalwordorder（tosharetheenviedkiss）.

Stanza7

25.Oftdidtheharvesttotheirsickleyield,

26.Theirfurrowoftthestubbornglebehasbroke;

27.Howjocunddidtheydrivetheirteamafield!

28.Howbow'dthewoodsbeneaththeirsturdystroke!

Notes

（1）Sickle:

Harvestingtoolwithahandleandacrescent-shapedblade.Fieldhandsswingitfromrighttolefttocutdownplantgrowth.

（2）Furrow:

channelorgroovemadebyaplowforplantingseeds.

（3）Glebe:

earth.

（4）Jocund:

Tomaintainthemeter,Grayusesanadjectivewhenthesyntaxcallforanadverb,jocundly.Jocund（pronouncedJAHKund）meanscheerful.

Stanza8

29.LetnotAmbitionmocktheirusefultoil,

30.Theirhomelyjoys,anddestinyobscure;

31.NorGrandeurhearwithadisdainfulsmile

32.Theshortandsimpleannalsofthepoor.

Notes

（1）Ambition:

Personificationreferringtothedesiretosucceedortoambitiouspeopleseekingloftygoals.

（2）Destinyobscure:

thehumblefateofthecommonpeople;theirunheraldeddeeds.

（3）Lines29-30:

anastrophe,afigureofspeechthatinvertsthenormalwordorder（letnotAmbitionobscuretheirdestinyandhomelyjoys）.

（4）Grandeur:

personificationreferringtopeoplewithwealth,socialstanding,andpower.

（5）Annals:

historicalrecords;story.

Stanza9

33.Theboastofheraldry,thepompofpow'r,

34.Andallthatbeauty,allthatwealthe'ergave,

35.Awaitsaliketh'inevitablehour.

36.Thepathsofgloryleadbuttothegrave.

Notes

（1）Boastofheraldry:

Proudtalkaboutthearistocraticornoblerootsofone'sfamily;snobbery.Heraldrywasasciencethattracedfamilylinesofroyalandnoblepersonagesanddesignedcoatsofarmsforthem.

（2）Pomp:

ceremonies,rituals,andsplendidsurroundingsofnoblesandroyals.

（3）Pompofpow'r:

alliteration.

（4）E'er:

ever.Generalmeaningofstanza:

Everyperson—nomatterhowimportant,powerful,orwealthy—endsupthesame,dead.

Stanza10

37.Noryou,yeproud,imputetothesethefault,

38.IfMem'ryo'ertheirtombnotrophiesraise,

39.Wherethro'thelong-drawnaisleandfrettedvault

40.Thepealinganthemswellsthenoteofpraise.

Notes

（1）Impute:

Assign,ascribe.

（2）Mem'ry:

Memory,apersonificationreferringtomemorials,commemorations,andtributes—includingstatues,headstones,andepitaphs—usedtopreservethememoryofimportantorprivilegedpeople.

（3）Wherethro'...thenoteofpraise:

Referencetotheinteriorofachurchhousingthetombsofimportantpeople.Frettedvaultreferstoacarvedorornamentedarchedrooforceiling.

（4）Pealinganthemmayrefertoloftyorganmusic.

Stanza11

41.Canstoriedurnoranimatedbust

42.Backtoitsmansioncallthefleetingbreath?

43.CanHonour'svoiceprovokethesilentdust,

44.OrFlatt'rysoothethedullcoldearofDeath?

Notes

（1）Storiedurn:

Vaseadornedwithpicturestellingastory.Urnshavesometimesbeenusedtoholdtheashesofacrematedbody.

（2）Bust:

sculptureofthehead,shoulders,andchestofahuman.

（3）Storiedurn...breath?

Canthesoul（fleetingbreath）becalledbacktothebody（mansion）bytheurnorbustback?

Noticethaturnandbustarepersonificationsthatcall.

（4）CanHonour's...Death?

Canhonor（Honour'svoice）attributedtothedeadpersoncausethatperson（silentdust）tocomebacktolife?

Canflatteringwords（Flatt'ry）aboutthedeadpersonmakedeathmore"bearable"?

（5）Gen