The-Song-of-Hiawatha

1、1TheSongofHiawathaFranklyspeaking,whenIreadingTheSongofHiawathaatthefirsttime,Ithinkitslengthisbeyondmyimagination,veryfewpoemscanlastsolongtoformabook(atleastinChina).Anyhow,IreaditinbothEnglishandChineseeditions.Now,Iwanttosaysomethingaboutit.ThispoemwaspublishedbyHenryWadsworthLongfellowonNovember10,1855,andcaughtanimmediatesuccess.Aseveryoneknows,Longfellowgotahighreputationwhenhewasliving.Atthesametime,someofhisworkswerehumiliatedbycriticsandreviewers.Thispoemcaughtsuchasuccessatthattimeth。

2、atmeansithadsomethingspecialthatsurpassedandexcelledotherauthors’workswithinthesameage.TheSongofHiawathaisanepicpoemintrochaictetrameter,itfeaturesanIndianheroandlooselybasedonlegendsandethnographyoftheOjibweandotherNativeAmericanpeoplescontainedinAlgicResearchesandadditionalwritingsofHenryRoweSchoolcraft.Seeingfromtheaspectsofsentiment,scope,overallconception,andmanyparticulars,thepoemisverymuchaworkofAmericanRomanticliterature,notarepresentationofNativeAmericanoraltradition.Longfellowsaid,Ican。

3、givechapterandversefortheselegends.TheirchiefvalueisthattheyareIndianlegends.Actually,LongfellowhimselfdescribeditasthisIndianEdda.Becauseofitschoiceofsubject,muchoftheanalysisofTheSongofHiawathahasfocusedonits“Indian-ness”ratherthanonitspoetry.LongfellowchosetosetTheSongofHiawathaatthePicturedRocksoneofthelocationsalongthesouthshoreofLakeSuperior,thiswaywasfavoredbynarratorsoftheManabozhostories.InhisimportantbookonthedevelopmentoftheimageoftheIndianinAmericanthoughtandliterature,RoyHarveyPearc。

4、ewrotesomethingaboutTheSongofHiawatha.HesaidthatitwasLongfellowwhofullyrealizedformid-nineteenthcenturyAmericansthepossibilityoftheimageofthenoblesavage.HehadavailabletohimnotonlypreviousexamplesofpoemsontheIndian,butalsothegeneralfeelingthattheIndianbelongednowhereinAmericanlifebutindimprehistory.HesawhowthemassofIndianlegendswhichSchoolcraftwascollectingdepictednoblesavagesoutoftime,andoffered,iftreatedright,akindofprimitiveexampleofthatveryprogresswhichhaddonethemin.ThusinHiawathahewasable,ma。

5、tchinglegendwitha2sentimentalviewofapastfarenoughawayintimetobesafeandnearenoughinspacetobeappealing,fullytoimagetheIndianasnoblesavage.ForbythetimeLongfellowwroteHiawatha,theIndianasadirectopponentofcivilizationwasdead,yetwasstillheavyonAmericanconsciences.Thetoneofthelegendandballadwouldcolorthenoblesavagesoastomakehimblendinwithadimandsatisfyingpastaboutwhichreaderscouldhavedimandsatisfyingfeelings.Fromhisremark,wecangetabriefunderstandingaboutthebackground,mainpointandlanguagestyleaboutthisp。

6、oem,atthesametime,knowswhythispoemcancatchsuchanunprecedentedsuccess.TheSongofHiawathaisarrangedintwenty-threecantos.Overallspeaking,ittellsofthetriumphsandsorrowsofHiawathaoftheOjibway,atribeofIndianslivingalongtheLakeSuperiorshorelineinwhatisnowMichigan.Atthebeginning,itgivesusanintroduction.Therearesomeextractsfromthispart.Shouldyouaskme/whencethesestories/whencetheselegendsandtraditions/withtheodorsoftheforest/withthedewanddampofmeadows/withthecurlingsmokeofwigwams/withtherushingofgreatriver。

7、s/withtheirfrequentrepetitions/andtheirwildreverberations.Wecangetapreliminaryimpressionaboutthestyleofhispoem.Rhymeisamainfeaturefromalmostallhisworks,includingtherhymingwordthatstartsandendsalineofverse.Moreover,repeatingisobviousinhispoem,Longfellowrepeatedmanysentencesthatinthesamepatternsandinthesamekindofartisticconceptions,usingthiswaytogivereadersthefeelingsofgracefulandexquisite.Furthermore,fromthesceneshechose,wecandetectthatthisstoryisalegendfromveryearly,becausethesescenesarecomplete。

8、lydifferentfromourmodernsociety.Let’slookatmoreextracts.Asofthunderinthemountains/Ishouldanswer,Ishouldtellyou/fromtheforestsandtheprairies/fromthegreatlakesoftheNorthland/fromthelandoftheOjibways/fromthelandoftheDacotahs/fromthemountains,moors,andfen-landswheretheheron,theShuh-shuh-gah/feedsamongthereedsandrushes.IrepeatthemasIheardthem/fromthelipsofNawadaha/themusician,thesweetsinger/shouldyouaskwhereNawadaha/foundthesesongssowildandwayward/foundtheselegendsandtraditions/Ishouldanswer,Ishouldt。

9、ellyou/3Inthebird's-nestsoftheforest/inthelodgesofthebeaver/inthehoofprintsofthebison/intheeyryoftheeagle/allthewild-fowlsangthemtohim/inthemoorlandsandthefen-lands/inthemelancholymarshes.Theselinearealsotheanswersforthequestion“whencethesestories?”Fromtheselines,wecangetsomeinformationaboutthebackgroundofthispoem.ThisstoryhappenedonthefivegreatlakesregionandonthelandsofOjibwaysandtheDacotahs.Theselinesalsodescribedgracefulandelegantsceneryofthatregionforus,makingreadersfilledwithreveriesaboutth。

10、atlandandlookforwardtothatbeautifulandoriginalland.Onahalf-effacedinscription/writtenwithlittle/skillofsong-craft/homelyphrases,buteachletter/fullofhopeandyetofheart-break/fullofallthetenderpathos/ofthehereandthehereafter/stayandreadthisrudeinscription/readthisSongofHiawatha.Thissectionisshortbutleavesadeepimpressiononme.TheselinesarethepraisesthatLongfellowdidforhisownpoem.Weknowthattheauthoristhepersonwhoknowshisownworksthebest,sohispraisesareworthourattention.AsforTheSongofHiawatha,theselinesu。