英语诗歌导读.docx

1、英语诗歌导读英语诗歌导读 (Introduction to the English Poetry)与用充分多的词句充分地表达内容的散文（prose，即非韵文体）不同，诗歌是语言文学中难度最大的部分，也是最凝练、最精华和最优美的部分，用最少的或限定数量的词句表达尽可能多的内容。英语诗歌常见的一些类型有ballad（歌谣，民谣）、epic（史诗，即叙述英雄事迹的长诗）、lyric（抒情诗）、narrative poem（叙事诗）、ode（颂诗，颂歌）、sonnet（十四行诗）等。下面主要以本单元所选的诗为例，简要介绍英语诗歌的一些入门知识。一、节奏（rhythm）和音步（foot）节奏是音乐的基本

2、要素之一，指的是音的长短和强弱有规律地反复出现。最初，任何语言里大多数诗都是用来歌唱的，或者说诗歌起源于音乐，因此诗歌内在地具有音乐的特性和美感，并传衍至今。与中国古诗有平声仄声之分相似，英诗有重读音节和轻读音节之分。轻重音节按照一定模式进行组合构成音步；音步有规律地反复出现，构成英诗抑扬顿挫、悦耳动听的节奏。根据音步和节奏的要求，有时一些原本重读的音节也要轻读，而一些原本轻读的音节也要重读。最基本的音步类型有两种：（一）抑扬格（iambic）。如果一个音步有两个音节，前轻后重（轻读为“抑”，重读为“扬”），就构成抑扬格音步，这是使用最频繁的音步类型，例如：That floatson high

3、oer valesand hills。（二）扬抑格（trochaic）。如果一个音步有两个音节，前重后轻，就构成扬抑格音步，它的使用较少。例如，Tell menot inmournfulnumbers。二、诗行（verse/line）英语诗歌有时分为若干诗节（stanza），通常每行的首字母都要大写，无论它是不是单独的一句话。有时一行是一句（end-stopped），有时两行或几行是一句甚至一行分属两句，即跨行句（enjambed）。对初学者而言，英诗的跨行句可能是妨碍理解的一个难点所在。英诗诗行长度的计算单位是音步，有一音步（monometer）、二音步（dimeter）、三音步（trime

4、ter）、四音步（tetrameter）、五音步（pentameter）、六音步（hexameter）、七音步（heptameter）和八音步（octameter）等。其中出现最多的是四音步和五音步的诗行。诗行中音步类型和音步数量进行组合，构成诗歌的格律或韵律（meter），音步是格律的基本单位。最常见的格律如下：抑扬格四音步（iambic tetrameter）：I wandered lonely asa cloud抑扬格五音步（iambic pentameter）：Shall Icomparethee toa summers day? 许多英语诗歌要求每行音节数量的一致；类似地，汉语诗歌要

5、求字数相同其实也是音节数的相同。英语诗人为了达到每行音节数量的一致，有时需要对某些词语的拼写进行调整，以减少某些多余的音节，比如because写成 cause，就减少了一个音节。类似的还有：i（in）、oer（over）、oft（often）、reapd（reaped）、whoeer（whoever）等。三、押韵（rhyme）和汉语诗歌一样，英语诗歌一般也押韵。押在诗行最后一个音节上的韵，称为尾韵（end rhyme），又称韵脚，这是英诗最重要的押韵位置。每节诗的尾韵具有押韵格式，简称韵式（rhyme scheme），通常用字母表示。例如Robert Frost的“Stopping by Wo

6、ods on a Snowy Evening”，其四节的韵式分别是aaba（第一、二、三节）和dddd（第四节）。一行诗中间的音节与最后一个音节押韵的，称为行内韵（internal rhyme），如：Spring, the sweet spring, is the years pleasant king。一行诗中的一些词用相同的字母或声韵开头，称为头韵（alliteration），如：The woods are lovely, dark and deep。押韵还有男韵（masculine rhyme）和女韵（feminine rhyme）之分。所押的韵在诗行最后的重读音节上，称为男韵或单韵，其

7、特点是雄壮有力。所押的韵在诗行最后的轻读音节上，称为女韵或双韵，其特点是轻快温婉。也有一些英诗不押韵，称为无韵诗（blank verse），它与压韵诗（rhymed verse）相对。无韵诗虽然不压韵，但有固定的格律，这与自由诗（free verse）不同，因为自由诗既不押韵，也没有固定的格律。四、英诗词汇的一些特点英语诗歌为了达到某种艺术效果（如古朴、典雅、保持每行音节数一致等），有时会使用一些古老词汇或诗歌专用词汇，例如vale（valley）、behold（see）、yon（yonder, there）、hark（listen）、clime（climate）等。读者也需要注意一些具有中古

8、英语拼写方式的词汇。例如thou（you的主格形式）、thee（you的宾格形式）、thy（your）、thine（your，用在以元音字母或h开头的词语之前）、art（are）、hath（has）、dost（do的第二人称现在式）。其中，与dost情形相似的还有莎士比亚第十八首十四行诗中的owst、growst、wanderst等。五、英诗的省略和倒装由于节奏、押韵等方面的需要，英语诗歌有时会在诗行中省略某些词语或句子成分（主语、谓语、宾语等）。例如下面蒲伯的一节诗中，Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,Whose flocks su

9、pply him with attire,Whose trees in summer yield him shade,In winter fire.第一行两个短句中间各省略了supply him；第四行行首省略了Whose trees，fire之前省略了yield him。英语诗歌的句子，有时会使用倒装结构，以达到某种艺术效果，或者使句子压韵。例如：Whose woods these are I think I know，意思是I think I know whose woods these are；every fair from fair sometimes declines，意思是ever

10、y fair sometimes declines from fair。Unit 12 English Poems1. Sonnet 18William ShakespeareShall I compare thee to a summers day? 1Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summers lease hath all too short a date:Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shinesAn

11、d often is his gold complexion dimmed;And every fair from fair sometimes declines;By chance or natures changing course untrimmed;But thy eternal summer shall not fade,Nor lose possession of that fair thou owst;Nor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou growst:

12、So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.Notes: summers lease: the duration of summerdate: timesometime: sometimesthe eye of heaven: the sunevery fair from fair sometimes declines: every beautiful thing sometimes loses its beauty. The first fair me

13、ans a beautiful thing, and the second one means being beautiful.eternal lines: immortal poetryAbout the poet:William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was the most famous of all English writers. He was known as the best playwright in human history, who wrote 37 immortal plays, such as Hamlet and Romeo and Jul

14、iet. His humanistic pursuits, his probation into human nature, and his superb mastery of English can always be found in his plays. His language is rich in meaning, vivid in images, and beautiful in artistic quality. He has been one of the most important influences upon the English language.Also bein

15、g a poet, Shakespeare wrote two long poems and 154 sonnets. The poetic form of sonnet originated from 13th-century Italy, and was introduced into Britain in the early 16th century. It is a poem of 14 lines with a strict rhyme scheme and a sequence of meanings. Shakespearean sonnet consists of three

16、quatrains (four lines) and one couplet (two lines); the couplet usually embodies a sharp turn in theme or image. His famous rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg; and he employed iambic pentameter. Some of his sonnets were devoted to a handsome young man whom he admired, and others to a dark-skinned

17、young lady whom he had a strong passion for.Interpreting the poem:This sonnet portrays the beauty of a young man by comparing him with natural scenes, emphasizing that natures beauty could not match his. The poet made immortal the young man and art (poetry) in this sonnet.In quatrain 1, the speaker

18、compares the young man with a summers day, and believes that he is more beautiful (“Thou art more lovely and more temperate”). In lines 3 and 4, the speaker narrates that the flowers of May can be easily destroyed, and summer is too short.In quatrain 2, the speaker continues to describe the transien

19、ce of natural beauty: the shining, golden sun can be shaded by the cloud; every beautiful thing sometimes diminishes, which is caused by chances or by natures changing course.In quatrain 3, the speaker stresses the young mans eternal existence: his beauty will never vanish and he will never die, bec

20、ause he will live forever in this eternal poem.The couplet comes to the conclusion: so long as man lives on the earth, this poem will live; so long as this poem lives, it will give everlasting life to the young man.In summary, the poet described the eternal beauty of the young man; by doing so he co

21、nveyed a deeper meaning: art (poetry) is immortal. And this sonnet is immortal, too.Comprehension questions: 1. The poet was to describe the young mans beauty, but why did he write about the beauty of nature?2. Why is the beauty of nature transient and that of the art everlasting? Students activitie

22、s:Discuss with your partners: If you were to write about the relation between the beauty of nature and that of a person, what would you think of in your mind? Why?2. I Wandered Lonely as a CloudWilliam WordsworthI wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high oer vales and hills,When all at once I s

23、aw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way,They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousands saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly

24、dance.The waves beside them danced, but theyOut-did the sparkling waves in glee:A poet could not but be gay,In such a jocund company:I gazedand gazedbut little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought.For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhi

25、ch is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils. Notes:jocund: joyousinward eye: eye of the soulAbout the poet:William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was the establisher of the English literary Romantic Movement. He was born in the Lake District, where the lan

26、dscape deeply appealed to him, helped nurture his love of nature, and provided a fountainhead for his poetic creation. Known as a “worshiper of nature,” he always drew inspiration from and wrote about nature and ordinary life, and he integrated his profound thoughts, ingenious poetic gift, love of n

27、ature, and simple language in his poems, as he once said: “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” He was known as one of the Lake Poets, together with Coleridge and Robert Southey. In 1843, he became Poet Laureate. His masterpieces include Lyrical Ballads, “Prelude,” “I W

28、andered Lonely as a Cloud,” “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Titern Abbey,” etc.Interpreting the poem:This is one of the best known English poems. The poet recorded his unexpected seeing of many daffodils during a lonely walk. The daffodils, a symbol of natural beauty, pleased his eyes then and ena

29、bled him to draw spiritual wealth two years later. With his careful choice of images, lovely rhetorical devices, and simple poetic language, he articulated that nature could inspire man when nothing else could. He made an excellent use of the musical quality of poetic language: employing a masculine

30、 rhyme scheme ababcc and writing his lines in iambic tetrameter. In stanza 1, the speaker wandered dully and aimlessly “as a cloud;” then he saw a lot of daffodils dancing in the breeze beside the lake.In stanza 2, he described the daffodils delightful dancing “in never-ending line.” They seemed as

31、joyous and numerous as the shining stars in the sky. In stanza 3, he compared the daffodils with the waves: even the sparkling waves were not as joyous as them. The depressed speaker became cheered up “In such a jocund company”, but did not realize what spiritual wealth the scene brought to him.In s

32、tanza 4, when he was alone much later, he recollected the daffodils; then his soul felt happy and “dances with the daffodils.”There are three major images in the poem: the dancing daffodils, the wandering cloud, and the sparkling lake. The cloud and the daffodils stroke a contrast to make a change (from being depressed to being joyous), while the lake made a comparison with the daffodils in order to give prominence to the