Alfred-Tennyson.ppt

1、Alfred Tennyson (1809- 1892) English poet often regarded as the chief representative of the Victorian age in poetry. Tennyson succeeded Wordsworth as Poet Laureate in 1850 Lord Alfred Tennyson Queen Victoria was an ardent admirer of Tennysons work, and in 1884 created him Baron Tennyson, of Aldworth

2、 in the County of Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight. Tennyson initially declined a baronetcy in 1865 and 1868 (when tendered by Disraeli), finally accepting a peerage in 1883 at Gladstones earnest solicitation. He took his seat in the House of Lords on 11 March 1884. Life Alfred, Lord Te

3、nnyson was born on August 5, 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire. His father, George Clayton Tennyson, a clergyman and rector, suffered from depression and was notoriously absentminded. Alfred began to write poetry at an early age in the style of Lord Byron. After spending four unhappy years in school he

4、 was tutored at home. Tennyson then studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he joined the literary club The Apostles and met Arthur Hallam, who became his closest friend. Tennyson published Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, in 1830, which included the popular Mariana. Life and Works His next book, Poems

5、(1833), received unfavorable reviews, and Tennyson ceased to publish for nearly ten years. Hallam died suddenly on the same year in Vienna. It was a heavy blow to Tennyson. He began to write In Memoriam, an elegy for his lost friend - the work took seventeen years. The Lady of Shalott, The Lotus-eat

6、ers Morte dArthur and Ulysses appeared in 1842 in the two-volume Poems and established his reputation as a writer. After marrying Emily Sellwood, the couple settled in Farringford, a house in Freshwater on the Isle of Wight in 1853. From there the family moved in 1869 to Aldworth, Surrey. During the

7、se later years he produced some of his best poems. Life and Works Among Tennysons major poetic achievements is the elegy mourning the death of his friend Arthur Hallam, In Memoriam (1850). The patriotic poem Charge of the Light Brigade, published in Maud (1855), is one of Tennysons best known works.

8、 Although at first Maud was found obscure or morbid by critics ranging from George Eliot to Gladstone. “Enoch Arden” (1864) was based on a true story of a sailor thought drowned at sea who returned home after several years to find that his wife had remarried. Idylls Of The King (1859-1885) dealt wit

9、h the Arthurian theme. In the 1870s Tennyson wrote several plays, among them the poetic dramas Queen Mary (1875) and Harold (1876). In 1884 he was created a baron. Tennyson died at Aldwort on October 6, 1892 and was buried in the Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey. Writing Tennyson used a wide range

10、of subject matter, ranging from medieval legends to classical myths and from domestic situations to observations of nature, as source material for his poetry. The influence of John Keats and other Romantic poets published before and during his childhood is evident from the richness of his imagery an

11、d descriptive writing. Poems: rhythm He also handled rhythm masterfully. The insistent beat of Break, Break, Break emphasizes the relentless sadness of the subject matter. Tennysons use of the musical qualities of words to emphasize his rhythms and meanings is sensitive. The language of I come from

12、haunts of coot and hern lilts and ripples like the brook in the poem and the last two lines of Come down O maid from yonder mountain height illustrate his telling combination of onomatopoeia, alliteration and assonance: The moan of doves in immemorial elms And murmuring of innumerable bees. Tennyson

13、 was a craftsman who polished and revised his manuscripts extensively. Few poets have used such a variety of styles with such an exact understanding of metre; like many Victorian poets, he experimented in adapting the quantitative metres of Greek and Latin poetry to English. He reflects the Victoria

14、n period of his maturity in his feeling for order and his tendency towards moralizing and self-indulgent melancholy. He also reflects a concern common among Victorian writers in being troubled by the conflict between religious faith and expanding scientific knowledge. Like many writers who write a g

15、reat deal over a long time, he can be pompous or banal, but his personality rings throughout all his workswork that reflects a grand and special variability in its quality. Tennyson possessed the strongest poetic power; he put great length into many works, most famous of which are Maud and Idylls of

16、 the King, the latter one of literatures treatments of the legend of King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table. 拍岸曲 浪花飞溅，打在冰冷的灰岩上 啊，大海啊 当思想升腾的时候 我想我应该有所表达 你看，渔民的儿子多么棒 他正在和他妹妹玩耍 你看，海员小伙多么棒 他在海湾的船上歌唱 豪华的游轮次序发出 去它们在山下的海港 但是，哎，再也没有那双手的抚摩 昔日的声音已经凝固 浪花飞溅，打在悬崖的脚下 啊，大海啊 那些柔和的感情皆已碎了 那些日子不再降临 尤利西斯尤利西斯 这太

17、无谓当一个闲散的君主 安居家中，在这个嶙峋的岛国 我与年老的妻子相匹，颁布着 不公的法律，治理野蛮的种族， 他们吃、睡、收藏，而不理解我。 我不能停歇我的跋涉；我决心 饮尽生命之杯。我一生都在 体验巨大的痛苦、巨大的欢乐， 有时与爱我的狄伴一起，有时却 独自一个；不论在岸上或海上， 当带来雨季的毕宿星团催动 激流滚滚，扬起灰暗的海波。 我已经变成这样一个名字，一 由于我如饥似渴地漂泊不止， 我已见识了许多民族的城 及其风气、习俗、枢密院、政府， 而我在他们之中最负盛名； 在遥远而多风的特洛亚战场， 我曾陶醉于与敌手作战的欢欣。 我自己是我全部经历的一部分； 而全部经验，也只是一座拱门， 尚未游

18、历的世界在门外闪光， 而随着我一步一步的前进， 它的边界也不断向后退让。 最单调最沉闷的是停留，是终止， 是蒙尘生锈而不在使用中发亮！ 难道说呼吸就能算是生活？ 几次生命堆起来尚嫌太少， 何况我唯一的生命已余年无多。 唯有从永恒的沉寂之中抢救 每个小时，让每个小时带来 一点新的收获。最可厌的是 把自己长期封存、贮藏起来， 让我灰色的灵魂徒然渴望 在人类思想最远的边界之外 追求知识像追求沉没的星星。 尤利西斯尤利西斯 这是我的儿子忒勒玛科斯， 我给他留下我的岛国和王杖， 他是我所爱的，他有胆有识， 能胜任这一工作；谨慎耐心地 教化粗野的民族，用温和的步骤 驯化他们，使他们善良而有用。 他是无可指

19、责的，他虽年少， 在我离去后他会担起重任， 并对我家的佑护神表示崇敬。 他和我，将各做各的工作。 尤利西斯尤利西斯 海港就在那边，船儿已经扬帆， 大海黑暗一片。我的水手们 与我同辛劳、同工作、同思想的人， 对雷电和阳光永远同等欢迎 并用自由的心与头颅来抗争， 你们和我都已老了，但老年 仍有老年的荣誉、老年的辛劳； 死亡终结一切，但在终点前 我们还能做一番崇高的事业， 使我们配称为与神斗争的人。 礁石上的灯标开始闪光了， 长昼将尽，月亮缓缓攀登， 大海用无数音响在周围呻唤。 来呀朋友们，探寻更新的世界 现在尚不是为时过晚。开船吧！ 尤利西斯尤利西斯 坐成排，划破这喧哗的海浪， 我决心驶向太阳沉没的彼方， 超越西方星斗的浴场，至死 方止。也许深渊会把我们吞噬， 也许我们将到达琼岛乐土， 与老朋友阿喀琉斯会晤。 尽管已达到的多，未知的也多啊， 虽然我们的力量已不如当初， 已远非昔日移天动地的雄姿， 但我们仍是我们，英雄的心 尽管被时间消磨，被命运削弱， 我们的意志坚强如故，坚持着 奋斗、探索、寻求，而不屈服。 奥伏瑞德丁尼生爵士（Alfred