william.Bryant.ppt

1、To a Waterfowl 致水鸟,by William Cullen Bryant,Questions,1. Please share us what you know about William Cullen Bryant?,William Cullen Bryant (17941878),A lawyer An excellent editor for 50 years The first American romantic poet One of American earliest naturalist poets A translator : translating the Ili

2、ad (伊利亚特) and the Odyssey (奥德赛) into English blank verse,William Cullen Bryant (17941878),As a editor, Bryant supported the cause of journalism as free speech, free trade As a supporter of Lincoln, he advocated to abolish slavery. As a writer, Bryant was an early advocate of American literary nation

3、alism, and his own poetry focused on nature as a metaphor for truth,which established a central pattern in the American literary tradition,2.4 Main works,The Embargo 禁运 (1808) a satirical poem in reaction against Jeffersons trade restriction (13 years old) Thanatopsis (Greek, meaning “ view of death

4、) 死亡随想曲 (1817),which brought him the first success. (16 years old) Poems (1821), the first collection consisting of 8 famous poems, such as To a Waterfowl, Thanatopsis, The Yellow Violet Thereafter, he established his position in the history of American literature.,Main works,He published six volume

5、s (1832-1864) The Fountain (1842) 温泉 The White-footed Deer (1844) 白蹄鹿 The Flood of Years (1878) 似水流年 A Forest Hymn (1860) 森林吟唱 Translating Homers the Iliad (伊利亚特) and the Odyssey (奥德赛) into English blank verse,His Writings Theme,1. The beauty and harmony of nature as a source of solace, joy, and esc

6、ape nature as a metaphor for truth 2. The dignity of humanity 3.The sacredness of human freedom 4.The power and beneficence of God,style,First, conventional in subject and style Later, Transition towards Romanticism His poetry has been described as being of a thoughtful, meditative character, and ma

7、kes but slight appeal to the mass of readers”,TO A WATERFOWLWilliam Cullen Bryant: 1815,the Background of To a Waterfowl,The inspiration for the poem occurred to Bryant then when he was 21 in December 1815, he was walking from Cummington (卡明顿) to Plainfield (普兰菲尔德)to look for a place to settle as a

8、lawyer. The duck, flying across the sunset, seemed to Bryant as solitary a soul as himself, inspiring him to write the poem that evening.,W. C. Bryant Homestead at Cummington,Critical response,Matthew Arnold praised it as the perfect brief poem in the language“. and the poet and critic Richard Wilbu

9、r has described it as Americas first flawless poem.,To a Waterfowl By William Cullen Bryant,Whither, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way? Vainly the fowlers eye Might mark thy distant flight to do the

10、e wrong, As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along. Seekst thou the plashy brink Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, Or where the rocking billows rise and sink On the chafed ocean side? There is a Power whose care Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,- The desert and ill

11、imitable air,- Lone wandering, but not lost.,All day thy wings have fannd At that far height, the cold thin atmosphere: Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, Though the dark night is near. And soon that toil shall end, Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest, And scream among thy fellows;

12、reeds shall bend Soon oer thy sheltered nest. Thourt gone, the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart. He, who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I

13、must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright.,questions,1. read carefully the poem and the Note 1, trying to get the poets view the poem expresses 2. find the form feathers of the poem, including stanza, meter, the rhyme scheme, etc.,the form,“To a Waterfowl” consists of eight stanzas 诗节 with four li

14、nes each stanza, with each line written in iambic trimeter（抑扬格三音步） or iambic pentameter（抑扬格五音步）, the rhythm scheme(节奏模式): 3-5-5-3; and the rhyme scheme (押韵模式): abab. Meter (音步) : two syllables as a foot or a meter. The poem represents early stages of American Romanticism through celebration of Natur

15、e and Gods presence in Nature.,the Rhyme Scheme (押韵模式): abab,Stanza 8 He, who, from zone to zone-a Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight-b In the long way that I must tread alone-a Will lead my steps aright-b,iambic trimeter（抑扬格三音步）or iambic pentameter（抑扬格五音步),Meter音步: two syllables as

16、 a foot or meter. Iambs 抑扬格: metrical feet (韵脚) each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable He, who, from zone to zone 3 Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight 5 In the long way that I must tread alone 5 Will lead my steps aright 3 the rhythm scheme(节奏模式):

17、3-5-5-3,The content Stanza 1 Whither, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way? Summary As the dew falls and the sun sets in the rosy depths of the heavens, I wonder where you (waterfowl) are going? Notes

18、1. Whither: Where. 2. The speaker addresses the waterfowl as if it were present. Doing so constitutes a figure of speech known as apostrophe. 对（缺席者或某种拟人化的主张或特质）发出呼语或顿呼,Stanza 1,本诗第一节就以整节的篇幅描绘一只水鸟孤独地飞在天中的画面背景：傍晚，落日，绯红的天边，一只水鸟将飞向何方？falling dew, last steps of day点明时间，step一词给时间的逝去一种不紧不慢的动感，写出诗人看着日落时的无奈。

19、far, depths两词点出空间的广阔，和一只水鸟“弱小”的形象形成非常强的反差。,Stanza 2 Vainly the fowlers 3 eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly seen against the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along. Summary Without success, a hunter (fowler) might try to bring you down as you float in silhouette (outline) a

20、gainst the crimson evening sky. Notes 3. fowlers: Hunters.,Stanza 2,第一节的问句之后，第二节里，诗人就把水鸟塑造成一个坚定的形象：猎鸟人算计着你的飞行轨迹，要将你猎下，却无能为力。这里有一种人和自然的对比：在自然的面前，人显得无力，尽管拥有更高的智慧，但自然却丝毫不受影响，一如既往地运行着，就连一只孤独的水鸟都具有这非凡的魄力。,Stanza 3 Seekst thou the plashy 4 brink Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, Or where the rocking

21、billows rise and sink On the chafed 5 ocean-side? Summary Are you looking for the marshy edge of a lake, the bank of a river, or the shore of the ocean? Notes 4. .plashy: Marshy, wet, having many puddles. 5. chafed: Worn away by the sea.,Stanza 4 There is a Power 6 whose care Teaches thy way along t

22、hat pathless coast The desert and illimitable air 15 Lone wandering, but not lost. Summary There is a Power that leads you on your way across deserts and through unlimited expanses of air. You may be wandering and alone, but you are not lost. Notes 6. .Power: God. 水鸟如何到达自己的目的地。一切都浑然天成，不论是在无形海岸还是无尽的天

23、空，都有一种神秘的力作为它的向导。,Stanza 3 and 4,第三、四节讲水鸟将如何到达自己的目的地。一切都像浑然天成，不论是在无形海岸还是在无尽的天空，都有一种神秘的“力”作为它的向导；它虽独行，却不会迷失；而它要回去的地方也是自然。这种“力”是什么，诗人没有说明。我们也可以把它想成无论什么东西，上帝也好，自然也好，在年轻的布莱恩特的眼中，这种“力”也许没有具体的形象，只是冥冥中的一个向导而已。,Stanza 5 All day thy wings have fanned, At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, Yet stoop

24、not, weary, to the welcome land, Though the dark night is near. 20 Summary You have been flapping your wings all day high in the sky, yet you continue on even though night is near and land beckons beneath you.,Stanza 5,从第五节开始，全诗的象征意味显明起来。凉夜将降，水鸟飞行终日，疲惫不堪，鸟儿却不愿降临福地。这里的“福地”指什么？是水鸟长途跋涉的终点，还是它生命的终点？“暗夜”

25、究竟是指真正的夜，还是指生命息止之时？,Stanza 6 And soon that toil shall end; Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest, And scream among thy fellows; reeds 7 shall bend, Soon, oer thy sheltered nest. Summary Soon your journey will end. Soon you will descend to your summer home. There, you will scream among others

26、of your kind and find secure shelter among the tall grasses. Notes 7. .reeds: Tall grasses in marshland,Stanza 6,第六节，这种象征意味更加明显。虽然描写得非常具象：水鸟熬过暗夜，结束旅程，迁徙至温暖的家。但此时它的同伴们却“尖叫”起来，而芦苇也长过它憩息的地方。如此一联系，原诗中的rest也许不是单指休息，而是水鸟在长途跋涉之后西去了。诗至此，一反第二节的坚强形象，一种宿命感突现出来。归途：回到哪里？,Stanza 7 Thou rt gone, the abyss of heave

27、nHath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart. Summary I can no longer see you, but I will never forget the lesson you taught me. Do you think What Lesson it is ?,Stanza 8 He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless s

28、ky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright. Summary God, who guides you from one place to another, will also guide me through life, leading me on the right path. Notes 8. .He: God？,Stanza 7 and 8,第七、八节是诗人的借景抒情。他从水鸟身上学到了许多，因而坚定起来。“lesson”指什么，“He”又是谁，诗人没有

29、作出明确的答复。自然是如此强大，离群的水鸟终究逃不过一命。而作为孤独的人，是否也该遵从自然的安排呢？这样想，他便坦然了。,布莱恩特早年受英国“墓园派”诗人影响非常大，对“忧郁”“死亡”这些话题格外迷恋。在这首诗里也有所体现。诗中描写的自然是一幅清冷的景象，水鸟的命运也不见得很好。然而诗人的坦然似乎表明，他找到了自己心中的“向导”，建立起了一种类似于宗教的情结。,Theme,Just as God guides the waterfowl to its summer home, so does He guide the poet through life to his ultimate dest

30、ination-heaven. In the end, one will be able to say about the speaker what the speaker says about the waterfowl: the abyss of heaven / Hath swallowed up thy form (lines 25-26). The poem is, in essence, a profession of faith in God. Bryant is acknowledged as skillful at depicting American scenery but

31、 his natural details are often combined with a universal moral, such as God guides human being through depicting the waterfowl.,Meter 音步,In each stanza, the poet uses iambic trimiter in lines 1 and 4 but iambic pentameter in lines 2 and 3. The second stanza illustrates this format:,Structure and Rhy

32、me,Bryant neatly divides the poem into eight stanzas, each with the same metrical structure and each with the same rhyme pattern: the last syllable of the first line always rhymes with the last syllable of the third, and the last syllable of the second line always rhymes with the last syllable of th

33、e fourth, so the ryhme scheme is abab. consequently, the syllables containing them become a Pararhyme.) The use of iambs (metrical feet each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable) throughout the poem could be a way to suggest the flapping of wings.,Figures of Speech,Al

34、literation 头韵法: While, Whither (lines 1-2); depths, dost (line 3); their, thou, thy (lines 3-4); distant, do, darkly (lines 6-7) metaphor: last steps of day (comparison of the day to a creature that walks). Anaphora（照应，反复）: repetition of soon (stanza 6). Anaphora is the repetition of a word, phrase,

35、 or clause at the beginning of word groups occurring one after the other. Examples: (1) Give me wine, give me women and give me song. (2) For everything there is a season . . . a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted. personification: The speaker

36、 addresses the waterfowl as if it were a person, saying it has taught a lesson; he also refers to other waterfowls as fellows (line 23).,Use of Anastrophe,anastrophe呼语，顿呼 Whither, dost thou pursue thy solitary way? inversion倒装 (dont follow the normal word order) While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,translation