墓畔哀歌赏析.docx

墓畔哀歌赏析.docx

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墓畔哀歌赏析

CommentaryonElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard

Althoughneo-classicismplayedaleadingroleintheliterarysceneinthe18th

Century,thereweremanypoetswhosepoetrymoreorlessdeviatedfromtherules

thatsetdownbyneo-classicistpoets.Thesepoetsshowedgreatdesireforsomething

morenaturalinthoughtandlanguage.Intheirpoetry,emotionsandsentimentshad

beenmoreexpressed.Amongthesepoets,oneoftherepresentativeswasThomas

Gray.Graywasanimportantpoetofneo-classicismandhespentmostofhislifein

Cambridgeonstudyandwork.Hewassoselfcriticalandfearfuloffailurethathe

onlypublished13poemsduringhislifetime.HismasterpiecewasTheElegyWritten

inaCountryChurchyard,whichcosthimeightyearstofinishandhasbeenranked

amongthebestofthe18thcenturyEnglishpoetry.

Gray’sElegy,amodelofsentimentalistpoetry,isregardedasa“bestknown

poemintheEnglishlanguage”,apoemfullofthegentlemelancholywhichmarksall

earlyRomanticpoetry.Withaclassicalprecisionandpolish,thepoemshowsakeen

interestintheEnglishcountrysideandasincerefeelingofthelifeofcommon

people.Inthispoem,thepoetwanderedinthechurchyardandthoughtalotwhenhe

sawtheGravestonesoftheordinarypeople.Thesepeopleareunknowntopublicand

theyworkedforalltheirlivesbuttheywereburiedinsosimpleandcrudechurchyard

aftertheirdeath.Theywereambitiousaswellassomegreatpeoplewhentheywere

Alive.Thepoetexpressedhisgreatsympathytotheordinarypeopleandcriticize

theextravagantanddissipatedbigshots.Besides,heshowedthefactthatdeathwas

inevitableandthateven“thepathsofgloryledbuttothegrave”.

Thepoemcontains32quatrainsofiambicpentameter,witharhymescheme

ofababforeachstanza.Eachlinehasfivepairsofsyllablesforatotaloftensyllables.

Ineachpair,thefirstsyllableisunstressedandthesecondisstressed.Wecanfinditin

thefirsttwolinesofthepoem:

“Thecurfewtollstheknellofpartingday,Thelowing

herdwindsslowlyo'erthelea”.Besides,ineachstanza,thefirstlinerhymeswiththe

thirdandthesecondlinerhymeswiththefourth（abab）,whichwasacharacteristicof

thiskindofpoem.Forexample,“Thecurfewtollstheknellofpartingday,

 The

lowingherdwindslowlyo'erthelea,Theplowmanhomewardplodshisweary

way, Andleavestheworldtodarknessandtome.”Astanzawiththeabove

characteristics—fourlines,iambicpentameter,andanababrhymescheme—isoften

referredtoasaheroicquatrain.

Inthewritingskills,Thomasusedmanymeansofartisticexpressionto

displaythetheme.Personificationisusedinmanysentences.Forexample,theauthorputmanyabstractconceptionstogetheronaspecificpersonwhichmadethelanguagemorelivelyandtouching.Itismuchbetterthanathirdpersontotellthestorydirectly.Inaddition,theauthorusedalotonomatopoeicwords,suchaslowingandtinkling,whichenabledthereadersimaginethevoiceandthecircumstances.Inthisway,thereaderscanunderstandtheauthorbetterandreachagreementwiththeauthorunconsciouslyinemotions.Fromthispointwecanfindthispoemisofrichandbrightcolors.

Inthispoem,thepoetwantedtoexpressseveralmeanings:

Firstly,people

nomattergreatorordinary,willendwithdeath,justasthepoetmentionedinhis

poem:

“Thepathsofgloryleadbuttothegrave.”Manyhumblemenandwomen

buriedinthechurchyardaftertheirdeath.Nograndiosememorialsandnoflattering

wordsaboutthedeadpeoplecanbringhimorherbackfromdeath.Secondly,many

talentedpeopleneverreceivetheopportunitiestheydeservebecauseofpovertyor

otherhandicaps.Nomatterhowhardtheyworked,theycouldnotcatchupwithothers.

Theyarecommonnotbecausetheylackofabilitybutthechancesothershad.Though

thispoint,theauthorexpressedhissympathytotheordinarypeopleandsatiretothe

influentialofficialsfortheirgreedyandinhumanity.Thirdly,intheruralsetting,the

ordinarypeoplearefarfromthetemptations,theylivedapoorbuthappyandvirtuous

life.Inthefollowingsentenceswecanfindit:

”Farfromthemaddingcrowd'signoble

strife, Theirsoberwishesneverlearnedtostray;Alongthecoolsequesteredvaleof

life;Theykeptthenoiselesstenoroftheirway.”However,therichandpowerful

peopleworkedalldayforpower,moneyandrightsbycruelmethods.Theyhadno

timetoenjoylifeandtheyhadtoworrymanythingswhichmaythreatentheir

possessions.That’sall.

参考文献：

1.SelectedReadingsofEnglishPoetry

2.ANewAnthologyofEnglishLiterature

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