UnderstandingPoetry英语诗歌欣赏讲义

1英语诗歌欣赏I．INTRODUCTION（介绍）Noonehasadequatelydefinedpoetry.Thepoetsspeakabstractlyandromanticallywhendefiningtheirdomain.Forexample,SamuelTaylorColeridgeratheregotisticallycalledpoetry,“thebestorder.”T.S.Eliotspokeasanidealistwhenheexplainedpoetryas“nottheassertionthatsomethingistrue,butthemakingofthattruthmorefullyrealtous.”Theaveragereaderseespoetryas,“theliteraturethatiswritteninsomekindofverseform..”Perhapsitissufficienttosaythatpoetryisliteraturethatisnotprose.Yet,mostpeoplerecognizethatsomeliteraturelabeledpoetryisnotsoandthatsomeproseispoetic.Merelysettingsentencesinverseformdoesnotmakepoetry.Therefore,poetrymusthavesomerequisites.Asidefromthebasicdemandthatpoetry“saysomething,”poetryischaracterizedbythefollowingelements:amusicaleffectcreatedbyrhythmandsounds,apreciseandfreshimagery,andmultiplelevelsofinterpretationsuggestedbytheconnotationofthecloserwordsandbyallusions.Apoem,however,shouldnotberegardedasamarriageoftechnicaldevicesandideas.Thedevicesshouldenhanceorexposethepoem’smeaning(s).But,forconvenience’ssake,theelementsofpoetrywillbefocusedonseparatelyinthefollowingsothatthereadercandevotehis/herattentiontotheeffectsachievedbycertainpoeticconventions.II.THEMUSICALEFFECTOFPOETRY（音乐效果）Poetryhasitsrootsinsong.Theearliestpoeticformsweretheepicsandballadssungbytravellingbardsandminstrels.Thoughnolongersung,poemsretaintheirmusicalquality.Thissectiondealswiththeelementsofpoetry,whichcreatethatmusicality.A.Meter—looselydefinedmeteristhe“beat”orrhythmofthepoem.Itisthepatternofstressedandunstressedsyllablesusedinthepoem.Meterisshownbyavisualcode.Theaccentmark(/)indicatesthestressedsyllable,themark()indicatesanunstressedsyllable.CertaincombinationsofthesesyllablesaremostfrequentlyemployedinEnglishverse.Oneunit,orcombination,iscalledafoot.Thefollowingarethebasicmetricfeet.TypePatternExampleiambic抑扬格controltrochaic扬抑格tigeranapestic抑抑扬格contradictdactylic扬抑抑格foolishnessSpondaic扬扬格moonstone2Thus,thenumberofsyllablesinalineisrelevant,butthenumberofstressesismoreimportantindeterminingthepaceofthepoem.Themorestressesinalinethemoreweightyandslow-movingisit.Alternately,apreponderanceofunstressedsyllablesgiveslightnessandguidenesstoapoem.Thesemetricalfeetbuildtherhythmofthepoem.Whenalineofpoetryisdividedintometricalfeet,thelineisnamedafterthenumberoffeetcontainedtherein.Thetypesoflinesare:Monometer:单音步onefootperlineDimeter:双音步twofeetperlineTrimeter:三音步threefeetperlineTetrameter:四音步fourfeetperlinePentameter:五音步fivefeetperlineHexameter:六音步sixfeetperlineHeptameter:七音步sevenfeetperlineOctometer:八音步eightfeetperline(Rarelydoesalinecontaineightfeetormore.)Mostpoemsarenotwrittenrigidlyinonemetricpattern.Monotonywouldensureotherwise.Thevarietyofanewfootinterspersedamongasetofregularfeetcancallattentiontothewordsofthoseirregularfeetorcanobscureunimportantwords.Meterisalsoinfluencedbypauses.Mostmetricalpoetryevolvesintoapatternofpausesatlines’ends.Acaesura（停顿）,orpausewithinaline(usuallyindicatedbyamarkofpunctuation),canalter,usuallyslowdown,themeter.Anenjambement（跨行）,orrun-online,canspeeduptheflowofthepoem.Caesura—Bethatasmaybe,shewasintheirsong.(RobertFrost,“NeverAgainWouldBirds’SongBetheSame”)Enjambement—Thislivinghand,nowwarmandcapableOfearnestgrasping,…(Keats,“Thislivinghand,”)B.TypesofRhyme押韵种类Rhyme—(orrime)--therepetitionofsimilar(orduplicate)soundsatregularintervals.(Usuallythisrepetitionoccursattheendsoflines.)1.Endrhyme（脚韵、尾韵）---rhymefoundattheendsofverselines.Ex:Thouill-formedoffspringofmyfeeblebrain,Whoafterbirthdid’stbymysideremain,(AnneBradstreet,“TheAuthortoHerBook”)Endrhymefollows,usually,apatternthatisrepeatedthroughoutthestanzasofthepoem.Therhymescheme（韵式）isdenotedbysmallcaseletters,eachletterrepresentinga3specificrhyme-sound.Onceapatternforonestanzaisestablishedtheanalyzerneednotcontinuewithhislettering.Thusapoemfollowingaschemeofabachasthefirstandthirdlinesonlyofeachstanzarhyming.2.Internalrhyme（行间韵、腹韵）---thisisrhymecontainedwithinalineofverse.Ex:“Thelonglightshakesacrossthelakes”(Tennyson,“Blow,Bugle,Blow”)3.Slantrhymes（斜韵）---aninexactrhymewherethefinalconsonantsoundsarethesamebutthevowelsoundsaredifferent.Ex:“Andbyhissmile,Iknewthatsullenhall,ByhisdeadsmileIknewwestoodinHell.”(WilfredOwen,“StrangeMeeting”)(Alsocalled“nearrhyme,”“halfrhyme,”or“partialrhyme.”)4.Eyerhyme（眼韵）---therhymingoftwowordswhichlookasifthey’drhyme,butdonot,suchas“move”and“love.”5.Femininerhyme（阴韵）---rhymeinwhichtwoconsecutivesyllablesoftherhyme-wordsmatch.Thefirstsyllablecarriesthestress.Femininerhymeaddslightnesstoapoem.Ex:Wepoetsinouryouthbeginingladness,Butthereofcomeintheenddespondencyandmadness.(Wordsworth,“ResolutionandIndependence”)6.Masculinerhyme-（阳韵）--therhymeofone-syllablewordsor,inthecaseofwordsofmorethanonesyllable,therhymingofstressedfinalsyllables.Ex:AsweetdisorderinthedressKindlesinclothesawantonness.(RobertHerrick,“DelightinDisorder”)C.OtherMusicalDevices:theuseofsound1.Assonance（谐元音、押元音）—therepetitionoftwoormorevowelsoundswithinaline.Ex:Ourechoesrollfromsoultosoul.2.Consonance（谐辅音、押辅音）—therepetitionoftwoormoreconsonantso