Robert Frost经典版.ppt

1、Robert Lee Frost,Unofficial Poet Laureate of the Nation,The Modern Period in American Literature,Strictly speaking, the modern period of American literature starts with the WWI, stretches through the Great Depression and ends with WWII.,The historical background of the American literature between th

2、e two World Wars,The 20th century began with a strong sense of social breakdown. The two World Wars, especially the First World War (1914-1918), became the emblem of all wars in the 20th century, which means violence, devastation, blood and death, and made a big impact on the life of the American pe

3、ople and their literary writings.,With all these wars the whole world had undergone a dramatic social change, a transformation from order to disorder. America in this period was characterized by economic boom and material prosperity but social chaos, spiritual waste and moral decay.,The impact of Ma

4、rxism, Freudianism and European modern art on American modern literature: Between the mid-l9th century and the first decade of the 20th century, there had been a big flush of new theories and new ideas in both social and natural sciences, as well as in the field of art in Europe, which played an ind

5、ispensable role in bringing about modernism and the modernistic writings in the United States.,Robert Frost was a great poet who was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, California. When Frost was two years old, his mother fled to Lawrence, Massachusetts, to get away from her husband, who was a

6、drunkard. She stayed there until her second baby was born, Jeannie, Roberts sister. Then they went back to San Francisco on a train. A few years later, Roberts father died, so they took the body to Lawrence to be buried in the family cemetery. By the time he was 11, Robert Frost had crossed the U.S.

7、 three times.,Life,After this rough beginning, Robert went on to become a great poet. He married Elinor White and had 2 kids. Robert never in truth had any jobs, except being a poet, but he published many poems in his lifetime.,Robert Frost (l874-l963),Robert won four Pultizer awards and read The Gi

8、ft Outright at the inauguration of John. F. Kennedy in 1961. He died on January 29, 1963 of a heart attack. He was 88 years old.,Robert Frost (l874-l963),His Writing,Robert Frost was the most popular American poet from 1914 to his death. His verse: at first terrifying later filled with more sunshine

9、 Frosts achievement was fantastic. Frosts poems are New England in the setting, and are characterized by the familiar speaking voice. The subjects come from daily life of ordinary people. Frost wrote rural poetry in the pastoral tradition as a way to understand modern life.,Features,Profound meaning

10、s are hidden underneath the plain language and simple form. (1) His poems mostly wrote about nature (influence from Wordsworth and Emerson) and New England landscape. (2) Deceptively simple style (reason for popular) (3) Symbolism (show his poems deep meaning) (4) He was likely to choose traditional

11、 forms for his poem, but the themes of his poems are mostly modern. (In his poems, traditional elements and modern elements mingle together.),In one sense at least, Robert Frost stood consciously aside from the Modernist endeavor of his time: he did not seem particularly enthusiastic about experimen

12、tation in form. Instead, he learned from the tradition, especially the familiar conventions of nature poetry and of classical pastoral poetry, and made the colloquial New England speech into a poetic expression. A poem so conceived thus becomes a symbol or metaphor, a careful, loving exploration of

13、reality, in Frosts version, a momentary stay against confusion.,Thematic concerns,Generally Frost is considered a regional poet whose subject matters mainly focus on the landscape and people in New England. These thematic concerns include the terror and tragedy in nature, as well as its beauty, and

14、the loneliness and poverty of the isolated human being. Frost wrote many poems that investigate the basic themes of mans life: the individuals relationships to himself, to his fellow-man, to world, and to his God.,Nature in his poetry,His poetry, by using nature as a storehouse of analogy and symbol

15、, often probes mysteries of darkness and irrationality in the bleak and chaotic landscapes of an indifferent universe when men stand alone, unaided and perplexed.,The Road Not Taken,Introduction,This is a much quoted poem of Frost. It was included in Mountain Interval, the first collection of poems

16、published after Frost returned to America. Actually it was written in February, 1915, just before he was about to go back. He has already won a high reputation in London whereas his friend, Edward Thomas, was involved in the first World War. Frost was very sorrowful and thus recalled his experience

17、four years age in a New Hampshire forest.,Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth; 森林叶黄，林中岔路各奔一方 我一人独行，无限惆怅 不能把两条路同时造访 良久伫立，我朝第一条路眺望 路转处惟见林森草长,Then took the other,

18、as just as fairAnd having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same, 我再把另一条探望 一样美丽，一样坦荡 但或许更令人向往 虽然两条路都曾有人过往 但这条芳草萋萋，更少人踏荒,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden blackOh, I kept the

19、first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back. 那天早晨落叶铺满道上 落叶尚无脚踩的痕伤 啊，且将第一条留待他日寻访 明知道路尽穷处又是路 重访此地怕是痴想,I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by,And that has m

20、ade all the difference. 那以后岁月流逝，日久天长 有一天长叹一声，我要诉讲： 林中两条岔路彷徨 我选择了行人更少的一条路 人生从此全然两样。,Summary,Lines 1-5: One day, the speaker as a traveler met with a choice of roads at the entrance of a forest. Although he wanted so much to try both roads, he had to choose one only. Therefore he hesitated for a long

21、time. Lines 6-10: He made a decision finally. He took the road which was “grassy and wanted wear”. Lines 11-15: He was still longing for the first road, hoping that someday he would go back and try it. But he knew clearly that ways would lead on to ways. He would not have such an opportunity. Lines

22、16-20: The speaker, recalling this happening years later, responds with a sighthe choice he made earlier has brought him a completely different experience.,The theme,This poem seems to be about the poet, walking in the woods in autumn, hesitating for a long time and wondering which road he should ta

23、ke since they are both pretty. In reality, this is a meditative poem symbolically written. It concerns the important decisions which one must take in the course of life, when one must give up one desirable thing in order to possess another.,Then, whatever the outcome, one must accept the consequence

24、s of ones choice for it is not possible to go back and have another chance to choose differently. In the poem, he followed the one which was not frequently travelled by. Symbolically, he chose to follow an unusual, solitary life; perhaps he was speaking of his choice to become a poet rather than som

25、e common profession. But he always remembered the road which he might have taken, and which would have given him a different kind of life.,The poem revolves around the metaphor comparing the decisions we make on the journey of life to a fork in the road. Just as we must decide which road to take whe

26、n traveling in order to arrive at a location, we must make decisions in life that will greatly impact our destination. The speaker is a “traveler” on the road of life who wishes that he could go both directions and avoid making a decision.,Metaphor,Symbolism,“Woods” - The poem is set in the woods be

27、cause we get an image of a quiet, deserted place where the speaker is left alone to decide. There are no road signs or people to stop and ask for directions. Similarly, there are no signs in life designed to help people choose their path.,Language,This poem is written in classic five-line stanzas, w

28、ith the rhyme scheme a-b-a-a-b and conversational rhythm. This rhyme scheme reflects the speakers efforts to shape his life into a pleasing and coherent form. The poet uses the road to symbolize lifes journey.,Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in

29、 the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.,He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The

30、only other sounds the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.,雪夜伫立林边有感林主曾相识，村中有其舍，未悉我在此，凝视林中雪。小马颇多疑，荒野何伫立？林边冻湖间，岁末黑夜里。,小马摇缰铃，似问有否误，唯闻飒飒声，寒风共雪舞。密林景色美，信誓不可移，安眠不可得，尚须行数里。,Summar

31、y,The scene of this poem is a cold, snowy evening of early winter. The principal characters are the poet, a horse, and a winter night. The poet is alone except for his horse. He stops by the woods of a neighbor, a man who lives in the village; the woods are filling with snow, and he simply wants to

32、watch the scene. In the second and third stanzas the poet conjectures that his horse must think him crazy to stop in a deserted spot on such a cold night. The last stanza contains the poets statement on the beauty of the scene, but he does not linger any longer - he has a long way to go home, and th

33、ings to do when he gets there.,Summary,Stanza 1: The speaker stops by woods which are far from the village. In other words, the woods are removed from the village - a world of human order. Stanza 2: The introduction of the foil - the little horse. Unlike the speaker, the horse, an animal that can no

34、t reason or think, does not know why they stop here. Stanza 3: The first two lines further intensify the question whereas the next two lines present a lovely picture of Nature. Stanza 4: The speakers wish to go on the journey before he finally ceases to be.,The theme,This is a deceptively simple poe

35、m in which the speaker literally stops his horse in the winter twilight to observe the beauty of the forest scene, and then is moved to continue his journey. Philosophically and symbolically, it stems from the ambiguity of the speakers choice between safety and the unknown.,This poem suggests deep t

36、hought about death and about life. The strange attraction of death to man is symbolized by the dark woods silently filled up with the coldness of snow. Frost frequently uses the technique of symbolism in his poetry. Some critics think that the village stands for the human world, woods for nature, horse for the animal world, and p