Archibald_Macleish阿齐博尔德·麦克利什

1、Archibald MacLeish1892 1982 American poet, writer and the Librarian of Congress. He is associated with the Modernist school of poetry. He received three Pulitzer Prizes for his work.Library of Congress reading room “I attribute my interest in MacLeish to serendipity(意外发现的珍品（的本领）), curiosity, and a w

2、illingness to challenge myself by exploring the work of a poet I believe few would be interested in reading today.” -Gertrude Stein MacLeish was born in Glencoe, Illinois. He attended the Hotchkiss School from 1907 to 1911 before entering Yale University, He then enrolled in Harvard Law School, wher

3、e he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. From this list,its evident that he was quite well educated. In 1916, he married Ada Hitchcock.3 His studies were interrupted by World War I, He in 1919, taught law for a semester for the government department at Harvard, then worked briefly as an e

4、ditor for The New Republic. In 1923 MacLeish left his law firm and moved with his wife to Paris, France, where they joined the community of literary expatriates that included such members as Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway. They also became part of the famed coterie of Riviera hosts Gerald and S

5、arah Murphy, which included Hemingway F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos,and Pablo Picasso . While in Paris, Harry Crosby, publisher of the Black Sun Press, offered to publish MacLeishs poetry. Both MacLeish and Crosby had rejected conventional careers in the legal and banking fields. Crosby publi

6、shed MacLeishs long poem Einstein in a deluxe edition of 150 copies that sold quickly. MacLeish was paid US$200 for his work. He returned to America in 1928. From 1930 to 1938 he worked as a writer and anti-fascist editor for Fortune Magazine.By the 1930s, he considered Capitalism to be symbolically

7、 dead and wrote the verse play Panic (1935) in response. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt persuaded him to accept an appointment as Librarian of Congress, a position he kept for five years. MacLeish thoroughly reorganized the Librarys administrative offices and established the Librarys serie

8、s of poetry readings. In 1944 he was appointed assistant Secretary of State for cultural affairs. After World War II, MacLeish became the first American member of the governing body of UNESCO, and chaired the first UNESCO conference in Paris. In 1949 Archibald Macleish retired from his political act

9、ivism to become Harvards Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory.His Collected Poems (1952) won him a second Pulitzer Prize, as well as the National Book Award and the Bollingen Prize. J.B. (1958), a verse play based on the book of Job, earned him a third Pulitzer, this time for drama. And in 196

10、5 he received an Academy Award for his work on the screenplay of The Eleanor Roosevelt Story. Archibald MacLeish died in April 1982 in Boston, Massachusetts. Major works The Happy Marriage, 1924 The Poet of Earth, 1925 Conquistador 征服者 (1933), Collected Poems (1917-1952), J. B. (verse-drama, 1958) A

11、wards 1933: Pulitzer Prize for poetry (“Conquistador”，1932) 1953: Pulitzer Prize for poetry (“Collected Poems” 19171952) 1953: National Book Award (“Collected Poems”) 1953: Bollingen Prize in Poetry 1959: Pulitzer Prize for Drama (“J.B.”) 1959: Tony Award for Best Play (“J.B.”) 1965: Academy Award f

12、or Documentary Feature (“The Eleanor Roosevelt Story”) 1977: Presidential Medal of Freedom “Ars Poetica” The title of the poem It suggests that it presents a new poetics , defining its nature, forms and technical devices, as well as explaining the principles that govern its craft and distinguish it

13、from other creative activities. Written in Latin, the title points out to its affinity with the classics in this field, such as Aristotles Poetics and Horaces Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry). Therefore the poem is perceived to be a response to the works of the predecessors. The reader is reminded fr

14、om the very beginning that it is not a poem, but rather a poem on poetry. The reader is urged to read the poem in the light of the entire tradition of poetics. On “Ars Poetica 拉丁语” MacLeish says that the poem should express its meaning implicitly rather than putting it in explicit sentences. The ess

15、ence of the poem lies in the imagery it uses. For instance, he says, grief can be depicted by images of empty doorway or maple leaf. Also the essence should not fade away with the passage of time i.e. the central idea of the poem should be relevant forever. The beauty of the poem is that all what is

16、 described as the art of poetry is very effectively implemented in the poem itself. Ars poetica contains many similes and images that contribute to its essence. A poem should be beyond rational expression, which relies on words and sounds. It should be “dumb” and “wordless,” aspiring to communicate

17、with “mute” significance. If the world of experience can be captured in a poem, it should be made visible and sensible. A poem should be beyond rational space-time existence; “motionless in time” as the moon climbing into the sky, even though no eye can mark its passage. The ideal poem should avoid

18、being a mere sentimental response to human experiences and situations, which are naturally temporary. Rather, it should aspire to the permanence and timelessness of the cosmic phenomena. The third stanza reveals a new aspect of the art of poetry: the popular themes of love and grief. A poem should p

19、resent its own truth in its own way: not try to state what is true, but use symbols which communicate true emotions. Form is meaning. It involves the selection and arrangement, the ordering and emphasis. Thus, the poem is not a means of saying anything that could be said equally well another way. It

20、s saying is the whole poem the quality of the imagery, the feel of the rhythm, the dramatic force, and the ideas.Style and point of view His poetry is distinctive in its eloquent phrasing and its lyrical, emotional quality. He wrote many poems expressing his faith in Americas future, and his own rad

21、ical view that the capitalist ruling class must be got rid of. His social purpose is expressed in symbols and images which arouse associations in the mind of the reader. Ars Poetica 诗艺A poem should be palpable and mute一首诗应该可触知，并且哑默As a globed fruit, 如同一只球状的水果，Dumb无言As old medallions to the thumb, 如同

22、拇指间古老的奖章， Silent as the sleeve-worn stone静寂如同窗台上Of casement ledges where the moss has grown - 被衣袖磨旧的石头，在那里青苔生长 A poem should be wordless一首诗应该沉默As the flight of birds.如同鸟群的飞翔。 For love对于爱The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea - 是倾斜的草叶，海上的两点灯光A poem should not mean一首诗不应该象征But be.它就是。 A poem

23、should be motionless in time一首诗应该在时间中静止As the moon climbs,如同月亮攀升， Leaving, as the moon releases离开，像月亮一枝枝地Twig by twig the night-entangled trees, 释放开那被夜色缠绕的树木， Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,离开，像月亮隐身在冬日的树叶后面，Memory by memory the mind - 脑海中那一次次的记忆A poem should be motionless in time一首诗应该

24、在时间中静止As the moon climbs.如同月亮攀升。 A poem should be equal to一首诗应该等同于：Not true. 并非真实。For all the history of grief对于所有悲痛的历史An empty doorway and a maple leaf. 是一个空洞的门口和一片枫叶。 诗艺1.一首诗应该是缄默可触摸的如同一枚圆果无声犹如拇指旁的旧徽章寂静宛如窗壁上被袖口磨光长满青苔的石头一首诗应该是无言如同鸟群的飞翔 2一首诗应该在时间中静止似月亮缓缓升起离去时，似月亮轻轻掠过夜影中的树枝离去时，似冬季树叶后的明月一遍遍于脑海中追忆一首诗应该

25、在时间中静止好似月亮缓缓升起 3一首诗应该等同于而非真实空旷的长廊，一片枫叶勾勒出所有悲戚的历史低斜的青草，海上的两束光亮代表着爱情一首诗不应是表意而是其本质Ars Poetica (1926) A poem should be palpable and muteAs a globed fruit, DumbAs old medallions to the thumb, Silent as the sleeve-worn stoneOf casement ledges where the moss has grown - A poem should be wordlessAs the flig

26、ht of birds. * A poem should be motionless in timeAs the moon climbs, Leaving, as the moon releasesTwig by twig the night-entangled trees, Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,Memory by memory the mind - A poem should be motionless in timeAs the moon climbs. * A poem should be equal toNot t

27、rue. For all the history of griefAn empty doorway and a maple leaf. For loveThe leaning grasses and two lights above the sea - A poem should not meanBut be. 诗艺一首诗应该默不出声但可以触摸得到象一只浑圆的果实它喑哑无声象拇指抚摸那古老的圆雕文饰它静悄悄的象那被衣襟磨损长出了青苔的窗台石一首诗应该缄默无语象群鸟飞翔一首诗应该在时间中凝然不动象明月攀登天穹象明月一个枝丫一个枝丫地解放那被夜色缠住的树林象明月遗忘残冬一片记忆一片记忆地从心头离去

28、一首诗应该在时间中凝然不动象明月攀登天穹一首诗应该等同于虚妄对于一切悲苦的历史是一条宽阔的门道和一片槭树叶*对于爱是慰籍的绿草和海上的两盏明灯一首诗不应该说明什么而是为了存在Notes Line 1as well as lines 3, 5, and 7focus on inarticulation: A poem should be . . . mute . . . dumb . . . silent . . . wordless. Here. MacLeish seems to be saying that a poem should not crassly粗鲁的 announce wha

29、t it is about. Rather, like the smell of spices wafting飘送 from a restaurant, it should merely suggest. Use of globed rather than round enhances euphony谐音 while also suggesting largeness. Perhaps the object is a melon or grapefruit 柚子 Medallions are large medals. The adjective old suggests that the m

30、edallions have stories behind themabout war or athletic accomplishments, for example. One can imagine here a man or woman from a time past propping支撑 sleeved arms or elbows on a ledge while he or she looks out the window on a scene of interest. If the stone ledge could speak, what tale would it tell

31、 about the observer and the observed? The “wordless birds” can only suggest what occupies them by the direction of their flight or, in the case of vultures秃鹰, their circular motion. If a poem has universality and timelessness永恒, it can move from one moment to the next, or from one age to another, wh

32、ile its relevance remains fixed (motionless). Thus, like the moon traveling across the sky, a good poem seems to stand still at any given momentas if it were meant for that moment. Its content remains fresh and alive to each reader down through the years, down through the centuries. Lines 15 and 16

33、repeat lines 9 and 10, creating a frame for the imagery in lines 11-14. A poem is not a newspaper account, an essay, or a historical document. It is a work of the imagination; it discovers truth by presenting impressions and interpretations, not hard facts. A poem can concentrate an entire story int

34、o an image. Here, the empty doorway suggests the absence of a person who once stood in ita mother, for example, as she greets a son or daughter. But now the mother is gone, and the gloom of autumn (suggested by the fallen leaf) has replaced the bright cheer of summer. Here is one interpretation: Aft

35、er death separated two lovers, the cemetery grass grew tall and now leans against a tombstone. Like the two lights in the sky, the sun and the moon, the two lovers will remain forever apart.Theme The central theme of “Ars Poetica” is that a poem should captivate the reader with the same allure魅力 of

36、a masterly技艺高超的 painting or sculpturethat is, it should be so stunning in the subtlety and grace of its imagery that it should not have to explain itself or convey an obvious meaning. Ars Poetica is a wonderful poem that speaks with the quiet eloquence of Rodins Thinker and da Vincis Mona Lisa. Stru

37、cture and Content MacLeish divides the poem into three eight-line sections, each explaining what a poem “should be.” The first section compares a poem to familiar sights: a fruit, old medallions, the stone ledge of a casement window, and a flight of birds. The second section compares a poem to the m

38、oon. If a poem has universality, it can move from one moment to the next, or from one age to another, while its relevance remains fixed (“motionless,” line 9). Thus, like the moon traveling across the sky, a good poem seems to stand still at any given momentas if it were meant for that moment. Its c

39、ontent remains fresh and alive to each reader down through the years, down through the centuries. The third section states that a poem should just “be”， like a painting on a wall or a sculpture on a pedestal基座. It is not a disquisition专题论文 or a puzzle, but a mood, a feeling, a sentimenta work of art.Figures of speechSimile: line 1-8Alliteration: silent sleeve stone Paradox: line 9-16 suggests that a poem should be motionless, like a