英国文学 lecture 5 Death Be Not Proud

1、Lecture 5Death Be Not Proud,Outline What is sonnet? Holy Sonnets by John Donne Death Be Not Proud Translation into prose Question to consider Assignments,Sonnet,The most popular of the defined poetic forms is the sonnet. It is a lyric poem of fourteen lines, written in iambic pentameter (five accent

2、s per line). There are two main sonnets forms: Petrarchan sonnet and Shakespearean sonnet,Petrarchan sonnet,The first type of sonnet was originated by the Italian poets in the thirteenth century and reached its final form a century later in the works of Petrarch; thus, it came to be called the Petra

3、chan or Italian sonnet. The first eight lines, called octave, rhyme abbaabba and present the subject of the poem; The final six lines, called the sestet, rhyme cdecde (cddcee, cdcdee)and resolve the problem or situation set forth in the first eight lines.,Shakespearean sonnet,The English poets of th

4、e sixteenth century altered the rhyme scheme of the Italian sonnet, creating an abab cdcd efef gg pattern, which has come to be called the Shakespearean or English sonnets. Some claim that the Shakespearean sonnet is easier to write, for no sound needs to be written more than twice. On the other han

5、d, it has been suggested that the Italian sonnet has a smoother flow and is more graceful.,Holy Sonnets by John Donne,The Holy Sonnets, also known as the Divine Meditations or Divine Sonnets, are a series of nineteen poems by John Donne. Never published during his lifetime but widely circulated in m

6、anuscript, they have become some of Donnes most popular poems and are widely anthologized.,Holy Sonnets by John Donne,They were composed between 1609 and 1610, in a period of great personal distress for Donne, with physical, emotional, and financial hardship, as well as religious turmoil: originally

7、 a Roman Catholic, Donne did not officially join the Anglican Church until 1615. The Holy Sonnets reflect these anxieties.,Death Be Not Proud,By John Donne,Death be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou thinkst, thou dost overthrow, Die

8、 not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and souls delivery. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with

9、poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke; why swellst thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.,Translation into prose,The poet speaker is speaking to Death (the god of deat

10、h). Death: though some people have believed that you are powerful and dreadful, do not be proud, because you are not so. For those people whom you think you do defeat, they do not die. For me, poor Death, you can not kill me. Rest and sleep are but your imitation, from which we can get much more ple

11、asure than from you. Excellent men usually die young, but to them, death is but rest of their body and souls delivery.,Translation into prose,You are dominated by fate, chance, kings and desperate man, and you always live with poison, war, and disease. Compared with your effect, drugs and magic spel

12、ls can make us sleep as well, and even better. Therefore, why should you be so proud? After temporary sleep (death), we wake eternally and there will never be death any moredeath is but a brief passage into eternal existence. Death, you shall die.,Question to consider,Who is the speaker addressing?

13、According to the speaker, what different things affect the subject of the poem? What is the speakers attitude toward the subject of the poem? How does this affect the meaning of the poem? What is the form of the poem? How is the form suited to the content? Especially, how do the last lines of the po

14、em explain the theme and the authors attitude? What do you think moved the poet to write this poem?,Question and Answer,1. Who is the speaker addressing? The speaker is addressing death, which is personified as a living thing.,Question and Answer,2. According to the speaker, what different things af

15、fect the subject of the poem? The speaker charges that Deaths supposed power is undercut and finally destroyed by the following realities: (1)we derive much pleasure from rest and sleep, which mirror Death; (2)Death is at the mercy of “fate, chance, kings, and desperate man”; (3)Death lives with “po

16、ison, war, sickness”; (4)Drug and magic spells induce sleep as well as Death; (5)Death is but a brief passage into eternal existence.,Question and Answer,3. What is the speakers attitude toward the subject of the poem? The speakers attitude is bold and defiant as he attacks Deaths supposed invulnera

17、bility. 4. How does this affect the meaning of the poem? The speakers attitude reinforces the poems meaning: that Death is not to be feared, for Death is but a brief passage to an eternal life.,Question and Answer,5. What is the form of the poem? How is the form suited to the content? Especially, how do the last lines of the poem explain the theme and the authors attitude? The poem is a sonnet. The final two lines indicate the sonnets “turn”, summing up the speakers main idea. 6. What do you think moved the poet to write this poem? It