美国文学 Emily Dickinson

1、vThe Belle of AmherstThe Belle of AmherstEmily Dickinson(1830-1886)This is my letter to the world,This is my letter to the world,That never wrote to me,- That never wrote to me,- The simple news that Nature told, The simple news that Nature told, With tender majesty. With tender majesty. Her message

2、 is committed Her message is committed To hands I cannot see; To hands I cannot see; For love of her, sweet countrymen,For love of her, sweet countrymen,Judge tenderly of me!Judge tenderly of me! vAmong the ranks of other such acclaimed poets as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson is considered one of the

3、 most original 19th Century American poets. bornvon 10 December, 1830vone of most prominent families in Amherst, Ma.vthe second child of Edward Dickinson, who wasa Yale graduatea successful lawyerTreasurer for Amherst Collegea United States CongressmanvHer grandfather, Samuel Dickinson: a Dartmouth

4、graduatean accomplished lawyerone of the founders of Amherst CollegevHe also built one of the first brick homes in Amherst on Main Street, which is nowa National Historic Landmark The Homesteadone of the now preserved Dickinson homes in the Emily Dickinson Historic District.veducated at Amherst Acad

5、emy.vAt 17, began college at Mount Holyoke Female SeminaryvBecame ill the spring of her first year and did not return.Seminary seminri n. 学校学校,学院学院Emily Dickinson Museum, AmherstThe Dickinson Homestead in AmherstThe Dickinson Homestead in AmherstThe Dickinson Homestead in Amherst (garden)The Dickins

6、on Homestead in Amherst (garden)The Dickinson Homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts The Dickinson Homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts (bedroom)(bedroom)The Dickinson The Dickinson Homestead in Homestead in AmherstAmherst(Dress)(Dress)vReligion played an important role in her life. vDickinson was terro

7、rized by old-fashioned sermons about damnation(诅咒、下诅咒、下地狱地狱)the frequency of death in that age of high infant and childhood mortality(死亡率死亡率)vAs her friends moved away and got married, she gradually became estranged(疏离疏离) from the religious beliefs of her community.vknown for being a reclusevShe did

8、nt leave her familys homestead for any reason after the late 1860s.valways wore whitevoften lowered snacks and treats(点心点心) in baskets to neighborhood children from her window, careful never to let them see her face.va few friends and acquaintances from day to day vBest friend: Thomas Wentworth Higg

9、inson, an editorvVery few people knew Emily was secretly writing poetry.vOnly a few people with whom she corresponded ever saw any of her poems.vEveryone expected her to marry and raise a family like most women of her class.vThis all suddenly changed when she was 24.Cast members of the ballet “Emily

10、 of Amherst” pose in the living roomReturn to Amherstvretreated from all social life in Amherst within a few yearsvalways wore white, like the bride she would never be.vremained in her parents house vrestricted herself to household work and writing poetryvsometimes sent her poems to people as gifts

11、for valentines or birthdays, along with a pie or cookiesvOnly a few of her poems were published in her lifetime. vDickinson died May 15, 1886 of nephritis (kidney disease).vAfter her death, friends and relatives found bundles of her poemswhich they edited and “corrected” and had published in install

12、ments (分期分期).Posthumous PublicationvIn 1955, Thomas H. Johnson finally published a collection of her poems： that had not been “corrected.”the versions we read today. v1. The Biblev2. British writers:Her knowledge of Shakespeare was minute (微小微小的的) and extremely personal.vadmired the works of John Ke

13、ats and Elizabeth Barrett Browningvbut avoided the florid (华丽的华丽的) and romantic style of her timeva deeply sensitive woman vsoulfully explored her own spirituality, often in poignant, deeply personal poetry- poignant lpinnt adj. 1 伤心至极的伤心至极的; 辛酸的辛酸的 2 令令人心碎的人心碎的, 深深打动人的深深打动人的; 强烈的强烈的, 深刻的深刻的v3. the

14、poetry of Longfellow, Holmes, and Lowell.vShe identified with Hawthornes isolated, gnarled, idiosyncratic characters.-gnarled n:l a.饱经风霜的idiosyncratic lidisilkrtik a. 不同寻常的 vat times characterized as a semi-invalid (病人，残疾者病人，残疾者)a hermita heartbroken introvert (性格内向者性格内向者)a neurotic agoraphobic (焦虑不

15、安的广场或陌生环境恐焦虑不安的广场或陌生环境恐怖症患者怖症患者)vEmily Dickinsons poetry comes out in bursts. vThe poems are short, many of them being based on a single image or symbol.vWithin her little lyrics Dickinson addresses those issues that concerned the whole human beings, which include religiondeathimmortalitylovenaturev

16、1800 poems, the definitive edition(选定版选定版) of her poetry were published in 1955: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson.vHer modernity is her articulation(表述) of psychological experience skeptical desire for faithvA few universal themes occupied the poet: love, nature, doubt and faith, suffering, death, immo

17、rtality.these John Donne has called the great granite(坚坚韧的韧的) obsessions(困扰、迷念困扰、迷念) of humankind. vLife & Death - the largest portion vLove - some are rather bold, even erotic (情欲的情欲的)vNature - about 300 poemsvTime & EternityIn DetailsBased on her own experiences / joys / sorrows v(1) relig

18、ion doubt and belief about religious subjects (2) death and immortalityvShe often adopts the pose of having already died before she writes her lyric.(3) lovevSuffering and frustration caused by love vThough she was lonely and isolated, Emily appears to have loved deeply; perhaps only those who have

19、“loved and lost” can love.(4) naturevA fascination(魅力魅力) with nature consumed Emily.vShe summed all her lyrics as “the simple news that nature told”vshe loved “natures creatures” no matter how insignificantthe robin (知更鸟知更鸟) the sparrow (麻雀麻雀)the beethe butterflythe rat vOnly the serpent gave her a

20、chill(5) Pain And Suffering vHer last stanzas become a catalog of grief and its causes: deathwantcolddespairexile(1) poems without titles(2) directness, brevity, compact, severe economy of expression; highly compressedv(3) elliptical, Ambiguity of meaning and syntaxshy of (缺少缺少) being exposedshe wil

21、l say no more than she mustvsuggesting either a quality of uncertainty or one of finality. (4) capital letters and the use of dashes emphasis (5) short poems, mainly two stanzas vher poetry is sometimes brooding(沉思的沉思的) sometimes joyous and celebratory (快乐的快乐的)Nobody knows this little Rose -It might

22、 a pilgrim beDid I not take it from the waysAnd lift it up to thee.Only a Bee will miss it -Only a Butterfly,Hastening from far journey -On its breast to lie -Only a Bird will wonder -Only a Breeze will sigh -Ah Little Rose - how easyFor such as thee to die!v(6) rhetoric techniques: personification

23、make some of abstract ideas vividv(7) lyricvhighly subjectiveOne-fifth of them begin with I - she knows no other consciousness.(8) influence of Christian tradition: vBiblical language and allusions(暗暗示示)vmeter of hymns4 beats+3 beats+4 beats+3 beatsvstanza of 4 linesvmusical device to create cadence

24、 three labels：vRegular meter Regular meter vCommon meter Common meter vShort meterShort meter ()Dickinson found poetic freedom within the confines of this meter.vRegular meter hymn meter and ballad meter, also known as Common meterQuatrainsAlternating tetrameter (四音步句四音步句) and trimeter (三音步句三

25、音步句) (9) new England perspectives: Puritan introspection; brevity and intensity(10) innovation in rhymevPoetry should be powerful and touching. vThe inspiration(灵感灵感) of the poet came from his inner world or intensity of his emotionsthe past literary traditionsthe noble heroesvLike Emerson, she thou

26、ght that only the real poet could understand the world.vTruth, virtue and beauty are all the one thing. vThe most dignified beauty was embodied by the active, affirmative dignity. (-Emerson) vPoetry should express ideas through concrete images. vIt was the poets duty to express abstract ideas throug

27、h vivid and fresh imagery.vShe was against the restriction of the traditional doctrines and argued for the depiction of ones inner world.2. on naturevDickinson observed nature closely and described it vividly but never with the feeling of being lost in it. vShe thought that nature was both kind and

28、cruel, which was similar to Tennyson.3. on deathvShe wrote about nearly 600 poems on death.vHer attitude toward immortality was contradictory.v(1) My Life Closed Twice before Its Close v(2) Because I Cant Stop for Death v(3) I Heard a Fly Buzz When I died v(4) Wild Nights Wild Nights v1. Critics Vie

29、wv2. Stanza Format v3. Meterv4. Charactersv5. Analysis and Commentary1. Critics ViewvAllen Tate said, it deserves to be regarded as “one of the greatest in the English language; it is flawless to the last detail”.- Allen Tate, 1899-1979a distinguished American poet, teacher, and critic2. Stanza Form

30、at vEach of the six stanzas has four lines. vA four-line stanza is called a quatrain.Metervthe 1st & 3rd lines: iambic tetrametervthe 2nd & 4th lines: iambic trimeter 1 2 3 4Be CAUSE | I COULD | not STOP | for DEATH, 1 2 3He KIND | ly STOPPED | for ME; CharactersNarrator: vShe is a woman who

31、 calmly accepts death.vIn fact, she seems to welcome death as a suitor who she plans “marry”.Death: vThe suitor who comes calling for the narrator to escort her to . Immortality: vA passenger in the carriage. Children: vBoys and girls at play in a schoolyard. They symbolize early life. 5. Analysis a

32、nd CommentaryvIt reveals Emily Dickinsons calm acceptance of death. vIt is surprising that she presents the experience as being no more frightening vthan receiving a gentleman callerin this case, her fianc.Stanza 1vThe journey to the grave begins when Death comes calling in a carriage in which Immor

33、tality is also a passenger.Stanza 2vAs the trip continues, the carriage trundles along at an easy, unhurried pace, perhaps suggesting that death has arrived in the form of a disease or debility that takes its time to kill. Stanza 3vA review of the stages of the life of the author: Childhoodvthe rece

34、ss sceneMaturityvthe ripe, hence, “gazing” grainthe descent into deathvthe setting sunas she passes to the other sidevThere, she experiences a chill because she is not warmly dressed. vIn fact, her garments are more appropriate for a wedding:vrepresenting a new beginningvthan for a funeral:vrepresen

35、ting an end. vHer description of the grave as her “house” indicates how comfortable she feels about death. vThere after centuries pass, so pleasant is her new life that time seems to stand still, feeling “shorter than a Day.”vThe overall theme of the poem seems to be that death is not to be feared s

36、ince it is a natural part of the endless cycle of nature. vHer view of death may also reflect her personalityreligious beliefsAs a Christian and a Bible reader, vshe was optimistic about her ultimate fate.vshe appeared to see death as a friend.Dickinsons LegacyvAlong with Walt Whitman, Dickinson is

37、one of the two giants of American poetry of the 19th century.v1.Similaritiesv2.differences厦门大学厦门大学-2004年年阅读及英美文学、语言学阅读及英美文学、语言学v4. Answer ONE of the following questions on American Literature (in no less than 100 words) (8 points):vA. Discuss the differences in themes between Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. 1.Similaritiesv(1) Thematica