死亡观的对比分析-A-Comparative-Study-of-the-View-of-Death

1AComparativeStudyoftheViewofDeathbetweenGrayandBryant课程名称：美国文学史任课教师：范翠华学校：贵州大学学院：外国语学院学号：1205020098班级：英语125班姓名：张凡2015年4月27日2AComparativeStudyoftheViewofDeathbetweenGrayandBryant—takingElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyardandThanatopsisasexamples[Abstract]Deathisaneternalthemeinliterature.ThisthesismakesacomparativestudyoftheviewofdeathbetweenGrayandBryantbytakingElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyardandThanatopsisasexamples.ElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard,whichwasconsideredasoneofthemostbeautifulpoemsinthehistoryofBritishliterature,andThanatopsiswasaclassicworkinAmericanliterature.GrayandBryantsharebothsimilaritiesanddifferencesintheirviewpointsofdeath.Theybothholdanobjectiveattitudetowardsdeaththatdeathisinevitableandeverymanhastodieintheend,aswhatBiblesays,“…sincefromityouweretaken;fordustyouareandtodustyouwillreturn”.WhileBryanthasawiderviewpointwhichismorephilosophical,profoundandcomprehensivethanGray’s.Theirviewpointswillbecomparedindetailsinfollowinganditwillprovidewithaprofoundandmeaningfulstudyofdeath.[KeyWords]ThomasGrayWilliamCullenBryantViewofDeathComparativeStudy[Introduction]ThomasGray(26December1716–30July1771),agreatmasterinpoetry,isasentimentalismpoetwithsomeclassicaltraitsandisregardedastheforerunnerofRomanticism.HewaswidelyknownforhisElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard,publishedin1751.Itissaidthatthepoemwaswrittenin1742shortlyafterthedeathofGray'sclosefriendRichardWest.GrayspentmostofhislifeasascholarinCambridge,andonlylaterinhislifedidhebegintravelingagain.Althoughhewasoneoftheleastproductivepoets(hiscollectedworkspublishedduringhislifetimeamounttofewerthan1,000lines),hewasregardedastheforemostEnglish-languagepoetofthemid-18thcentury.GraycametobeknownasoneoftheGraveyardpoetsofthelate18thcentury.3WilliamCullenBryant(November3,1794–June12,1878)wasanAmericanromanticpoet,journalist,andlong-timeeditoroftheNewYorkEveningPost.Thanatopsiswashismostfamouspoem.Bryantwrotethebulkofthepoemin1811atage17,anditwasfirstpublishedin1817bytheNorthAmericanReview.Headdedtheintroductoryandconcludinglines10yearslaterin1821.“Life”and”death”wereeverlastingandsensitivetopicsallthetime.Deathwassupposedtobethesupremepropositiononphilosophyaswellasonaesthetics.Sothatthedifferentviewpointsofdeathcanbeviewedinmanyliterature.Forexample,“Tobeornottobe,thatisaquestion”wassaidinHamlet.Whiletheviewofdeathcanalsobefoundinpoems.ThefollowingpartwouldanalyzetheviewofdeathbetweenGrayandBryantindetailsbytakingElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyardandThanatopsisasexamples.Thesetwopoemshavedifferentthemes.UsuallyanelegyisapoemwhichlamentsthedeadbutThomasGray’sElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyardisnoteworthyinthatitmournsthedeathnotofgreat,butofthecommons.Ontheonehand,itvoicesthepoet’ssinceresympathyforthepoverty-stricken,expropriatedpeasants.Ontheotherhand,itexploresthethemeoflife’stransienceandtheinevitabilityofdeath,whichboththecommonsandthehigh-bornmustconfront.WhileBryantmainlyexpresseshisideasondeathjustaswhatthetitletellsus,especiallyinaphilosophicway.Ofcourse,theybothtalksomethingaboutdeath,andtherestillhavesomesimilaritiesanddifferences.Asforsimilarities,tobeginwith,theybothadmitthatdeathisinevitableandallmenwoulddieintheend.AswhatissaidinElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyard,“Awaitsaliketh'inevitablehour/Thepathsofgloryleadbuttothegrave.”Itpointsoutthatallmennomatterrichorpoorwouldgointothegrave.ItcanalsobeprovedeasilyinThanatopsis—“Thyimage.Earth,thatnourishedthee,shallclaim/Thygrowth，toberesolv'dtoearthagain”tellsusaswhattheBibledoes—“…sincefromityouweretaken;fordustyouareandtodustyouwillreturn”.Thentheyboth4believethatallmenareequalbeforethedeath.Nomatterwhichsocialclasspeoplearein,theyhavetofacetodeathsomeday.Besides,theybothholdanobjectiveattitudetowardsdeath,forwhichisrelatedtotheirbackground.GrayhaseverstudiedinEtonCollegeandreceivedgoodeducation,andwasgoodatLatinsothathewasfamiliarwithBible.Afterrealizedthatdeathisunavoidable,hechoosestotakeanobjectiveattitudeasaNazarene.ItissimilartoBryant,onaccountofhehasagoodeducationaswell.Withoutexperiencingmuchmisfortunes,hecouldonlyholdanabstractandobjectiveattitude.Asfordifferences,ontheviewofdeath,therearemanydifferencescanbecompared.Tostartwith,ElegyWritteninaCountryChurchyardisfullofsadnessandrevealanegativeattitudeinthewholepassage.“Thecurfewtollstheknellofpartingday/Thelowingherdwindslowlyo'erthelea/Theploughmanhomewardplodshiswearyway/Andleavestheworldtodarkness,andtome/Nowfadestheglimmeringlandscapeonthesight/Andalltheairasolemnstillnessholds/Savewherethebeetlewheelshisdroningflight/Anddrowsytinklingslullthedistantfold…”.Fromtheverybeginningofthepoem,asadanddarkatmospherecanbefeltandreadersareeasilybemoved.Thewholepassagealsosuggestshisnegativeattitude.WhileThanatopsisrevealsanoptimisticandopen-mindedattitude.“Thehills/Rock-ribb'dandancientasthesun,—thevales/Stretchinginpensivequietnessbetween/Thevenerablewoods—riversthatmove/Inmajesty,andthecomplainingbrooks/Thatmakethemeadowsgreen；andpour'droundall/Oldocean'sgreyandmelancholywaste/Arebutthesolemndecorationsall/Ofthegreattombofman.”ItrevealsB