美国文学诗歌赏析

1.Analyzethepoem“TheWildHoneySuckle”Understandthetitle:1.Thenamehoneysucklecomesfromthesweetnectarthattheflowerproducestointoxicatethegreedybee.Itspowerfulfragranceseducesthehumansensesasitpervadestheair.Theperfumeofthispassionateplantmayturnamaiden’shead,hencewildhoneysuckleisasymbolofinconstancyinlove.2.Theword“wild”impliesherlivingplace;shelivesinwildernessnotinparadiseorhouse;soshewillnotbeappreciatedbyothersandfeelssorrowful.Alsoitimpliesthenature,sowecansaythewriterisdescribingthenature.2.AnalyzeWhitman’s“SongofMyself”(Over200words)SongofMyselfisallaboutthehumanexperience.Thehumanexperience,here,meanswhatmenofthepast,presentandfuturehaveseen,touched,smelt,andheard.InthispoemWhitmanisexplaininghowallofhumanityislikeonelivingorganism,andnoonepartismoreimportantthantheother.Insection44ofSongofMyselfWhitmansays,Wehavethusfarexhaustedtrillionsofwintersandsummers,Therearetrillionsahead,andtrillionsaheadofthem.Birthshavebroughtusrichnessandvariety,Andotherbirthswillbringusrichnessandvariety.Idonotcallonegreaterandonesmaller,Thatwhichfillsitsperiodandplaceisequaltoany.ItisclearthatWhitmanhadaperspectiveofthehumanraceanditshistorythatescapedmostwriters.Morespecifically,Whitmanspeaksofequalcontributiontothehumanexperienceinsection42:Hereandtherewithdimesontheeyeswalking,Tofeedthegreedofthebellythebrainsliberallyspooning,Ticketsbuying,taking,selling,butintothefeastneveroncegoing,Manysweating,ploughing,thrashing,andthenthechaffforpaymentreceiving,Afewidlyowning,andtheythewheatcontinuallyclaiming.ThisisthecityandIamoneofthecitizens,Whateverintereststherestinterestsme,politics,wars,markets,newspapers,schools,Themayorandcouncils,banks,tariffs,steamships,factories,stocks,stores,realestateandpersonalestate.3.Emily’s“BecauseICouldNotStopforDeath”(Over300words)Thepoembeginswithaleisurelyimage.Atfirst,theprotagonistfeelstotallyateaseandtheusuallyfrighteningdeathisdescribedasifafamiliarfriend,gentleandpolite.Continuingly,thepoemisdevelopeduponabasicmetaphorthatlifeisajourney.Itwastrulyratheroldacomparison,butDickinsonenricheditwithhercreativityandimagination:School,whereChildrenstrove--childhood;FieldsofGazingGrain--maturity;andSettingSun--oldage.Then“theDewsdrewquiveringandchill-”makestheprotagonistfeelterriblycold,whichmaymeanthattheyaregettingnearerandnearertothetomb.Butatlast,hiscompanions,ImmortalityandDeath,finallydeserthimandleavehimalonetogotowardEternity.Soitseemsthatthoughdeathcheatshimandatthesametimedesertshim,theexperienceofdeathitselfisnotpainful.EmilyDickinson’spoemsjustexplainthiskindofessenceoflife,whichthenleadyoutoaworldofimaginationandthinking.4.Appreciatethepoem“InaStationoftheMetro”.ThepoemisessentiallyasetofimagesthathaveunexpectedlikenessandconveytherareemotionthatPoundwasexperiencingatthattime.Arguablytheheartofthepoemisnotthefirstline,northesecond,butthementalprocessthatlinksthetwotogether.Inapoemofthissort,asPoundexplained,oneistryingtorecordthepreciseinstantwhenathingoutwardandobjectivetransformsitself,ordartsintoathinginwardandsubjective.Thisdartingtakesplacebetweenthefirstandsecondlines.Thepivotalsemi-colonhasstirreddebateastowhetherthefirstlineisinfactsubordinatetothesecondorbothlinesareofequal,independentimportance.Poundcontraststhefactual,mundaneimagethatheactuallywitnessedwithametaphorfromnatureandthusinfusesthis“apparition”withvisualbeauty.Thereisaquicktransitionfromthestatementofthefirstlinetothesecondline’svividmetaphor;this‘super-pository’techniqueexemplifiestheJapanesehaikustyle.Theword“apparition”isconsideredcrucialasitevokesamysticalandsupernaturalsenseofimprecisionwhichisthenreinforcedbythemetaphorofthesecondline.Theplosiveword‘Petals’conjuresideasofdelicate,femininebeautywhichcontrastswiththebleaknessofthe‘wet,blackbough’.Whatthepoemsignifiesisquestionable;manycriticsarguethatitdeliberatelytranscendstraditionalformandthereforeitsmeaningissolelyfoundinitstechniqueasopposedtoinitscontent.HoweverwhenPoundhadtheinspirationtowritethispoemfewoftheseconsiderationscameintoview.Hesimplywishedtotranslatehisperceptionofbeautyinthemidstofuglinessintoasingle,perfectimageinwrittenform.Itisalsoworthnotingthatthenumberofwordsinthepoem(fourteen)isthesameasthenumberoflinesinasonnet.Thewordsaredistributedwitheightinthefirstlineandsixinthesecond,mirroringtheoctet-sestetformoftheItalian(orPetrarchan)sonnet.5.Appreciatethepoem“StoppingbyWoodsonaSnowEvening”.“StoppingbyWoodsonaSnowyEvening,”likemanyofFrost'spoems,exploresthethemeoftheindividualcaughtbetweennatureandcivilization.Thespeaker'slocationontheborderbetweencivilizationandwildernessechoesacommonthemethroughoutAmericanliterature.Thespeakerisdrawntothebeautyandallureofthewoods,whichrepresentnature,buthasobligations—“promisestokeep”—whichdrawhimawayfromnatureandbacktosocietyandtheworldofmen.Thespeakeristhusfacedwithachoiceofwhethertogiveintotheallureofnature,orremainintherealmofsociety.Somecriticshaveinterpretedthepoemasameditationondeath—thewoodsrepresenttheallureofdeath,perhapssuicide,whichthespeakerresistsinordertoreturntothemundanetaskswhichor