英国文学之丁尼生 Tennyson and Break,Break,Break

ITOPIC:AlfredTennysonandBreak,Break,BreakIIOBJECTIVES:A)IntroductiontoAlfredTennysonB)Majorworks,thematicconcernsandartisticfeaturesC)StudyofthepoemD)Assignment1AAlfredTennyson2ATopic1—IntroductiontoAlfredTennyson

themostrepresentativepoetoftheVictorianAge.*manypoeticstyles.*thedoubtandthefaith,thegriefandthejoy.*thesoundofEnglish.*thecreativeimaginationofapoeticgenius,Englishheritage.*experiments—newstyles

andnewwaysofexpression.

3ATopic2—Majorworks,thematicconcernsandartisticfeatures1.“Ulysses”Writteninblankverse,itisastoryaboutUlysses,kingoftheIthacaIsland,aTrojanWarhero.Thepoemconveysthatthevalueandsignificanceofhumanlifeliesinlivingittothefull,todoandachievesomethingnewwhenoneisalive.Theline"Tostrive,toseek,tofind,andnottoyield"isfromTennyson’sUlysses.2.“ThePrincess”(1847)Writteninblankverse,itdealswiththethemeofwomen’srightsandpositionbothathomeandinthesociety.4A3.“InMemoriam”(1850)ThiselegyinmemoryofhisdeadfriendArthurHallamisgenerallyconsideredhisgreatwork.4.“IdyllsoftheKing”(1859－1885)Thisisthemostambitiousworkbythepoet.ItisbasedontheCelticlegends.

Despitethemysteryandromance,theVictorianmoralcodeofexaltingpurityofheartandcensuringtreacheryandunfaithfulnesspervadesthewholestory.

5AThematicconcerns:

*theideasofscience，religion，andmorality.

*sleepanddreamtheme,mythsandlegendsthemeanddeaththeme.

(astrongsenseofnostalgia)

6AArtisticfeatures:*tomasterthebestqualitiesofpastgreatpoets.*richinpoeticimages.*melodiouslanguage.*notedforitslyricalbeautyandmetricalcharm,itsgoodtasteofdiction.*ingenuousmixtureofvisualpictures,musicalsound,andhumanfeelings.

(ThedreaminessofSpenser,themajestyofMilton,thenaturalsimplicityofWordsworth,thefantasyofBlakeandColeridge,themelodyofKeatsandShelley)

7A

Topic3—Studyofthepoem

ThemainideaKeywords:*

thecarefreejoysofthechildrenatplayandtheyoungsailoratwork.

*theunfeelingmovementsoftheshipandtheseawaves.

8AThemes

A.Grief

bereavement,heartache,emptiness.B.PreciousnessofYouth

TheshockofHallam'sdeath.ImagesofyouthfuljoyD.IndifferenceofNature

regardlessofwhathappensrefusetoacknowledgetragedyintheeverydaylifeofaveragemen.

9AStylisticfeaturesofthepoem1)Itcontainsfourquatrainswithcombinediambicandanapesticfeet.Mostlineshavethreefeetandsomefour.Themeterinthepoemvaries,buttheanapesticfoot

createsthemusicalityofthepoem.2)Therimesfallonthesecondandfourthlinesofeachstanza.Therhymeschemeisabcb.3)Thefirstlinesinthefirstandlaststanzascontainonlythreewordsofonesyllableeach:“Break,break,break,”buteachofthesethreewords,readwithmuchfeelingandpoignancy,easilyfillsthenormaltempoofametricalfoot.

10A4)Thethirdlinesinthethirdandfourthstanzasarealsodeviationsfromthenormandcontainfourfeeteach.5)Thefive“O”aretheexclamationsofonewhosemourningheartisfilledwithanunutterableandyetuncontrollablelongingandsorrowandofonewhowishes“thatmytonguecouldutterthethoughtsthatariseinme”.6)Thelinesafter”O”inthesecondandthethirdstanzaareleftunfinishedasissuitableforadeep-mourningman.

11A7)RhetoricalDevices:a.Personification

andmetaphoralsooccurinLines1and2,forthepoetregardstheseaasahumanbeing.

b.Alliteration(Line8):boatonthebay

Stanza3usesthisfigureofspeechasfollows:Andthestatelyshipsgoon

Totheirhavenunderthehill;

ButOforthetouchofavanishedhand,

Andthesoundofavoicethatisstill!Alliteration(Line15):daythatisdeadc.Repetend:

Line13istherepetendofLine1;ThefirsttwowordsofLine7istherepetendofthefirsttwowordsofLine5.

e.Paradox:

Touchofavanishedhand(Line11)

12AUnderstandingofthepoemThefirstquatrain:Break,

break,break,

Onthycoldgraystones,OSea!AndIwould

thatmytonguecouldutter

Thethoughtsthatariseinme.冲激,冲激，冲激大海啊，冲激着你灰冷的岩石！但愿我能用语言倾诉心中涌现的情思。

13A

Themainideaofthefirstquatrain

Inthisstanza，thepoetcontrastshisownfeelingsofsadnesswiththeunfeelingseawavesthatbreakupontheshore，expressinghismournfulheartwhichisanunutterablesorrow.Theindifferentmovementoftheseawavesindicatesanechooftherushesofgriefoftheheart-brokenpoet.

14AThesecondquatrain

O,wellforthefisherman'sboy,

Thatheshoutswithhissisteratplay!

O,wellforthesailorlad,

Thathesingsinhisboatonthebay!4

啊，那渔家的少年多么快活,他嚷叫着和妹妹嬉戏！啊，那少年水手多么自在，他在海湾的船上歌唱！

15AThemainideaofthesecondquatrain

Thepoetcontrastshisownfeelingsofsadnesswiththescenesofthecarefree,innocentjoysofafisherman’sboyandofasailorlad,conveyingthepoet’sgenuinepersonalgrief.

16AThethirdquatrainAndthestatelyshipsgoon

Totheirhavenunderthehill;

ButOforthetouchofavanishedhand,

Andthesoundofavoicethatisstill!还有庄严的船舶纷纷向前航行，驶向山下它们的港口，­但我只求能触到那只消失的手，倾听到那已沉寂的嗓音！

17A

Themainideaofthethirdquatrain

Thepoetcontrastshisownfeelingsofsadnesswiththeinsensateshipsthatenterintoaharbor.Thatthestatelyshipsreturnremindsthepoetoflongingforthefriendlytouchwiththedeadandforhisvoice.Butthereisnochoiceforhimtofeelthetouchandhearthevoiceofhisdearfriendagain.

18AThefourthquat