death-be-not-proud

Hamlet1)HamletisWilliamShakespeare’slongestplay.Itisoftenconsideredthegreatestachievementoftheworld’sgreatestplaywright.2)Maincharacters:Hamlet,Horatio(Hamlet’struefriend),Ophelia,Laertes(Ophelia’sbrother),Claudius(king),Gertrude(queen),Polonius(lord),theGhost(theoldking)3)主题：a.RevengeTheghostdemandsthattheherotakerevengeonClaudius.Togetrevenge,hemustcommitanevilact,whichinevitablyleadstohisowndeath.b.Sexual,Moral,andPhysicalCorruption“SomethingisrotteninthestateofDenmark.”Marcellus,I.4.90c.MadnessandMelancholy“Iambutmadnorth-north-west.”Hamlet,II.2.347d.RandomFortuneorDivineMasterPlan“Thereisadivinitythatshapesourends,Rough-hewthemhowwewill--”Hamlet,V.2.10-11Death,benotproudJohnDonne死神，你莫骄傲死神，你莫骄傲，尽管有人说你如何强大，如何可怕，你并不是这样；你以为你把谁谁谁打倒了，其实，可怜的死神，他们没死；你现在也还杀不死我。休息、睡眠，这些不过是你的写照，既能给人享受，那你本人提供的一定更多；我们最美好的人随你去得越早，越能早日获得身体的休息，灵魂的解脱。你是命运、机会、君主、亡命徒的奴隶，你和毒药、战争、疾病同住在一起，罂粟和咒符和你的打击相比，同样，甚至更能催我入睡；那你何必趾高气扬呢？睡了一小觉之后，我们便永远觉醒了，再也不会有死亡，你死神也将死去。Analyses:该诗以语意的逐层递进为特点，由三组四行诗和一个偶句组成。第一组四行诗以拟人的手法呼吁死神不要骄傲，（“Death,benotproud”）起句突兀，表达了对死神的嘲笑和蔑视，然后立刻指出死神不应骄傲的第一条理由：Forthose,whomthouthink’stthoudostoverthrow,Dienot,poorDeath,noryetcanstthoukillme.”第二组四行诗指出死神无需骄傲的另一条理由：死亡不过是更安逸的休息、更甜美的睡眠，“Muchpleasure,thenfromtheemuchmoremustflow,”人们都会争着希望得到身体的休息，灵魂的解脱，“Restoftheirrbones,andsoul’sdelivery.”第三组四行诗嘲笑死神奴隶般的从属地位：“Thou’rtslavetoFate,chance,kings,anddesperatemen,Anddostwithpoison,war,andsicknessdwell,”并以罂粟和咒符来衬托死神的无能为力：“Andpoppyorcharmscanmakeussleepaswell,Andbetterthanthystroke”既然这样，你何必趾高气扬呢？“whyswell’stthouthen?”这三组四行诗以不同的理由对死神威胁的解构确实已非同一般。然而，接下来的偶句并不放过对死神的最后一击：睡一小觉之后，我们便永远觉醒了，再也不会有死亡，不可一世的死神将走向自身的死亡，“AndDeathshallbenomore;Death,thoushaltdie.”诗歌的说理递进模式在此戛然而止，生与死原有意义上的关系彻底逆转：死亡是瞬间的，将很快不复存在，而死后的欢乐则是永恒的，人对于死亡的畏惧变成了死亡自身的恐惧，死亡对于人来说不过是通往幸福永生的大门。这种强烈的戏剧化效果和反讽意味的获得最终是通过悖论语言实现的。Inthispoem,Donneusesavarietyofpoeticelements.Theseelementsfunctioninenhancingthework’sunconventionalthemeofman'ssuperiorityoverdeath.Throughoutthepoem,thereisastronguseofassonance,therepetitionofvowelsoundwithinaphrase.ThesoundofthewordshelpsinstructuringDonne'swriting.Nearlyeverylinecontainsarepetitionofosounds.Inthefollowingline,anexampleofthisdeviceisclear:“DienotpoorDeath,noryetcanstthoukillme.Thefrequentuseofassonancedoesnotdirectlyenhancethepoem'stheme,yetitdoeshelpconveyitsmessagemorevividlybymakingthelinesflow,thusallowingthereadertounderstandeachstanzamoreeasily.Sinceeachindividuallineanditsassociatedthoughtareeasytounderstand,thecentralideaoftheentirepoemiseasytounderstandtoo.JohnDonneeffectivelyusestonetoenhancethepoem'stheme.Theworkhasatoneoftriumphantconfidenceanddefianceinthefaceofdeath.Donneboldlydenouncesdeath,makingitclearthatheisnotcontrolledbythefearofitasothersoftenare.Althoughmanymaybelievedeathtobemightyanddreadful,hefeelsthisisnotso.Donneseesdeathasbeingdependentonmankindforitssurvival.Deathreliesonfate,chanceunfortunateoccurrences,thelegislationofkings,andtheactionsofdesperatementoclaimitsvictims.Thisdependenceinitselfisaweakness,inthatdeathisnotself-supporting,yetreliesoncertainaspectsofthelivesofpeople.Donne'sfinalandmostderogatorycommentcomesinthepoem'sfinallineswhereheportraysdeathasnothingmorethanatransitionintoaneternallyvastafterlife;Deathisashortsleepfromwhichwewakeforever.Itisnothingtofearinthissituation.And,inthisafterlife,deathnolongerexistsorposesathreat.Deathitselfdies.AlloftheseexamplesofDonne'suseoftonegreatlyenhancethepoem'sthemethatmanissuperiortodeath.Death'sintimidationisdiminishedashepointsoutitsweaknessesonebyoneandbravelyfacesitheadon.Itisalsosomethingnotcommonlypersonifiedandspokento.ThecombinationofapersonifiedDeathandthereferencetoitbymeansofapostropheisveryeffectiveandcrucialtothepoem'stheme.Donneisbetterabletoprofess(openlydeclare)hissuperiorityoverdeathbyshowingitasahumanadversary,capableofdefeat,ratherthananuncontrollablenaturalforce.Hisdesiretoprovehisfreedomfromtheimprisonmentoffearisvisibleintheangryandarrogantmonologuehepresentstodeathinhispoem.Donne’sfeelingsarebetterexpressedinasituationwhichpeoplecanrelateto—aconfrontationinwhichonepartyaddressesanother.Thesuperioritythemeisenhancedasaresultofthisman-versus–manconflictdepiction.Thecentraltheme:ManissuperiortoDeath死亡是瞬间的，将很快不复存在，而死后的欢乐则是永恒的，人对于死亡的畏惧变成了死亡自身的恐惧，死亡对于人来说不过是通往幸福永生的大门。这种强烈的戏剧化效果和反讽意味的获得最终是通过悖论语言实现的。Style:wroteacomplex,highlyintellectualversefilledwithintricateandfar-fetchedmetaphors.Hisworksarenotablefortheirrealisticandsensualstyleandincludesonnets,lovepoetry,religiouspoems,Latintranslations,epigrams,elegies,songs,satiresandsermons.Hispoetryisnotedforitsvibrancyoflanguageandinventivenessofmetaphor,especiallyascomparedtothatofhiscontemporaries.JohnDonne'smasculine,ingeniousstyleischaracterizedbyabruptopenings,paradoxes,dislocations,argumentativestructure,andconceits”imageswhichyokethingsseeminglyunlike.Thesefeaturesincombinationwithhisfrequentdramaticoreverydayspeechrhythms,histensesyntax,andhistougheloquencewerebothareactionagainstthesmoothnessofconventionalElizabethanpoetryandanadaptationintoEnglishofEuropeanbaroqueandmanneristtechniques.Rebellionagainstthe