Stylistic analysis of When You Are Old 当你年老时文体学分析

WhenYouAreOld(1893)WilliamButlerYeatsWhenyouareoldandgrayandfullofsleep

Andnoddingbythefire,takedownthisbook,

Andslowlyread,anddreamofthesoftlook

Youreyeshadonce,andoftheirshadowsdeep;

Howmanylovedyourmomentsofgladgrace,

Andlovedyourbeautywithlovefalseortrue;

Butonemanlovedthepilgrimsoulinyou,

Andlovedthesorrowsofyourchangingface.

Andbendingdownbesidetheglowingbars,

Murmur,alittlesadly,howLovefled

Andpaceduponthemountainsoverhead,

Andhidhisfaceamidacrowdofstars.

当你老了，白发苍苍，睡意沉沉，

倦坐在炉边，取下这本书来，

慢慢读着，追梦当年的眼神

那柔美的神采与深幽的晕影。

多少人爱过你青春的片影，

爱过你的美貌，出于虚伪或真情，

唯独一人爱你那朝圣者的灵魂，

爱你哀戚的脸上岁月的留痕。

在炉栅边，你弯下了腰，

低语着，带着浅浅的伤感，

爱情是怎样逝去，又怎样步上群山，

将面庞藏在了繁星之间。StylisticAnalysisI.ThefirstlevelPhonologicalfeaturesA.SoundrepetitionalliterationSlowly,soft(line3)glad,grace(line5)assonanceDown,glowing,how,mountainsrhymingscheme:a-b-b-aB.Stressandrhythm:iambicpentametreC.Tempo:slowGraphologicalfeaturesCapitalizationof“Love”Function:Throughtheuseofthecapital“L”in“love”Yeatshasonceagaininjectedhimselfinthepoemwithouttheuseoftheword“I”.II.ThesecondlevelGrammaticalfeaturesTheuseofenjambmentLexicalfeaturesA.LexicalreiterationRepetitionof“And”inStanza1forsixtimesFunction:slowdownthetempo,asthespeakerimagineshisloveisanoldwoman.glidingRepetitionof“loved”inStanza2forfivetimes.Function:Thefive“loved”brightenthetoneofthesecondstanza,andrevealsthespeaker’srelationshipwiththesubject.B.GeneralwordinginclinationInthewholepoem,thepoemalwaysuseswordswithsoftsound,tocreateapictureofanoldperson,suchaswordsbeginwith“s”,andwordscontainingvowels,whicharealwayssoft.III.ThethirdlevelSemanticfeaturesCohesivedevices:theuseof“And”inStanza1forsixtimes(polysyndeton)Rhetoricdevices※contrast(howmanylovedyourmomentsofgladgraceandlovedyourbeautywithlove-falseortrue,butonemanlovedthepilgrimsoulinyou)※reference(pilgrimsoul,line7)※allusion(changingface,line8)※personification(howLovefledAndpaceduponthemountainsoverhead,Andhidhisfaceamidacrowdofstars.)※paradox(Andhidhisfaceamidacrowdofstars)(ThenightskyisusuallyaveryromanticthingbuthislovetriestohideinitawayandoutofthereachofMaudGonne.)

《WhenYouAreOld》这首爱情诗写于1893年，叶芝当时29岁。五年前，诗人和爱尔兰民族自治运动的领导人之一、著名的女演员毛特·岗相识，一见倾心，但一再遭到拒绝，毛特·岗嫁给了与她并肩战斗的麦克布莱德少校。二十三年后，1916年麦克布莱德少校在斗争中献身，叶芝再次向毛特·岗求婚，仍旧遭到拒绝。这种遭受巨大打击后的爱的痛苦和悲伤，是难以想象的。正如歌德诗中所说：“永恒的女性，引导我们上升”，在叶芝心灵深处，毛特·岗是“永恒的女性”，成为真善美的化身、爱情的信仰和理想的象征，成为诗人创作灵感和激情的源泉。BackgroundInformation:ThisispoemtoMaudeGonnewhoYeatsloveddesperately.Hehadjustproposedtoherandshesaidno.Thispoemisalmostawarningthatshewillgrowoldwithoutlovewhichshecouldhavehad.Hesaysthatlotsofpeoplelovedherforherlooks(shewasanactress)buthelovedherforwhoshereallywas(thepilgrimsoul).Pilgrimischosentorepresentthejourneythroughagethathewouldhavelovedherthrough.Thelastlineisanoxymoron.ThenightskyisusuallyaveryromanticthingbuthislovetriestohideinitawayandoutofthereachofMaudGonne.Thepoem,“WhenYouAreOld”appearstobeasimplelovepoemonfirstreading.Aftercarefulanalysis,however,werealizethatYeatshascreatedasmallautobiographywithouteverusingthefirstpersonsingular.Throughwordchoiceandstrategicpunctuationandalliterationhehassloweddownthetempooftheiambicpentametertoimpartanauraofmelancholyanddesiretodescribehisloveofaoncebeautifulwomanforwhom,despiteheradvancingage,hestillyearns.thefirststanza

whenyouareoldandgrayandfullofsleep,

andnoddingbythefire,takedownthisbook,

andslowlyread,anddreamofthesoftlookYoureyeshadonce,andoftheirshadowsdeep;(polysyndetonalliteration)Thefirstquatrainintroducesthereadertothesubjectandthefirstlinesetsthetempofortherestofthepoem.Inadditiontohisuseofcommas,Yeatsutilizestheword“And”sixtimesinthissection,whichslowsthepace:

Mainidea:Yeatstalkshereonagirlofapresentdaythatwhenshebecomesoldsheshouldrecognizeherflashbacksandmemories.

2ndstanza

howmanylovedyourmomentsofgladgrace(alliteration)

andlovedyourbeautywithlove-falseortrue

butonemanlovedthepilgrimsoulinyou(contrast,reference)

andlovedthesorrowsofyourchangingface;(allusion)

--meaningmanypeopleareadmiringherbeautybutthereisamanwhotrulyloveandeagertolovehereventheybecameold"togethereternally"astheysay.“pilgrimsoul”thisreferencealsoconveysafeelingofotherworldlinessasweassociatetheword“pilgrim”withsomeonewhojourneysafar,anon-conformistorfree-spiritwhoisperhapsseekingasacredplaceofdevotion.Thelastlineisanoxymoron.ThenightskyisusuallyaveryromanticthingbuthislovetriestohideinitawayandoutofthereachofMaudGonne.HereYeatsusesaformoftheword“love”fivetimestobrightenthetone,especiallyinthefirsttwolines.Thetempoisstillslow,butthetensyllablesoftheiambicpentameterseemmoreupliftingandalmostreverentialashefocusesonthe“gladgrace”and“beauty”ofthesubject.Itisthelasttwolines,however,thatthereaderdiscoverstherelationshiptheauthorhaswiththesubject.

Withatoneofyearning,thenarratorannouncesthatheistheonemanwhonotonlyrecognizedthephysicalcharmsofthiswoman,butalsolovedherintrinsicnature,her“pilgrimsoul”thisreferencealsoconveysafeelingofotherworldlinessasweassociatetheword“pilgrim”withsomeonewhojourneysafar,anon-conformistorfree-spiritwhoisperhapsseekingasacredplaceofdevotion.Theselinesalsoconveythefeelingofreverencethepoethasforthiswoman.Sheishisideal.Yeatsneverusesthefirstpersonsingularhere.Heavoidssaying“lovedyourPilgrimsoulandsorrowsofyourchangingface.”Hecreatesadistancebetweenhimselfandhismuseandretainsananonymityamongherotherworshippers,whichheconfirmsinthefinalquatrain.

Havinginterjectedthisbrightertone,Yeatsreturnsthereadertothemelancholy,butthistimewithaspark:

3rdstanza

andbendingdownbesidetheglowingbars

murmur,alittlesadly,howLovefled(Capitalizationof“love”,personification)

andpaceduponthemountainsoverhead

andhidhisfaceamidacrowdofstars.

--theselinessaythatthegirlseparatedfromtheboy,andthegirldidn’tbringherloveback,sotheboy'slovefadedortheboydiedbeforethewoman.YeatsispleadingwithGonneinthispoemtotakehimashertruelove.Adesperatepleabeforeitistoolateandhehidesamongthestarsandsheistooold.

Inthisquatrain,thewomanisearth-boundasweseeherbendingdownbythewarmthofthefire;sheisnolongertheetherealimageofthesecondquatrain.Here,thepoetdoesnotunleashaflurryofbitterrecriminationsatherbecauseofhisunrequitedlove,but,instead,offersaself-effacingdeclarationofhisdevotion.

Awistfultoneisimpliedasthereaderpicturesthewomansadlyacknowledgingthelossofheradoringpoet,possiblyheronetruelove.Throughtheuseofthecapital“L”in“love”Yeatshasonceagaininjectedhimselfinthepoemwithouttheuseoftheword“I”.Heisspeakingdirectlytoherashepacesover