kites美国文学选读 诗歌鉴赏

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I Shot an Arrow

I shot an arrow into the air,

我把一支箭射向空中

It fell to earth I knew not where;

不知它落在何方

For so swiftly it flew the sight

飞得那么快

Could not follow it in its flight

飞行

.

眼睛难以追寻它的方向

I breathed a song into the air,

我对着天空轻轻唱歌

It fell to earth I knew not where;

不知它消逝在何方

For who has the sight so keen and strong

谁的眼光能如此敏锐犀利

That can follow the flight of a song.

能跟上歌声的翅膀

Long, long afterwards in an oak,

很久很久以后，在一棵橡树上

I found the arrow still unbroke

完整的

;

我找到了那支箭，仍未折断

And the song, from beginning to end,

也发现了那支歌，自始自终

I found again in the heart of a friend.

在朋友的心中欢唱

Analysis:

When

he

shot

an

arrow

and

breathed

a

song

into

the air,

he

did

not expect

to

find

them

any

more.

But many years later, he came across with the arrow and found that his song was always in the

heart of his friend.

This suggests that the friendship is everlasting.

This poem is written in a traditional iambic form with the feet “aabbaaccddee”.

In the poem, Longfellow sings the friendship implicitly and skillfully.

The arrow and the song in this poem stand for the friendship.

Structurally, the first and the second stanza develop in a parallel way, yet in the last stanza the

poet

joins

the

two

independent

images

logically

together

to

indicate

the

strength

of

fantastic

conceit in poetry.

A Psalm of Life

人生颂

Tell me not, in mornful numbers

不要在哀伤的诗句里告诉我：

“人生不过是一场幻梦！

”

For the soul is dead that slumbers

因为灵魂睡着了，就等于死了，

And things are not what they seem.

事物的真相与外表不同。

Analysis:

In this opening stanza, Longfellow declares himself to be a believer in life hereafter

来世

.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

人生是真切的！人生是实在的！

And the grave is not its goal;

它的归宿决不是荒坟；

“你本是尘土，必归于尘土”

，

Was not spoken of the soul.

这是指躯壳，不是指灵魂。

Analysis:

The second stanza continues with the same belief in afterlife that is present in the first.

Longfellow states this clearly when he writes,

life

doesn't

end

for

people

simply

because

they

die;

there

is

always

something

more

to

be

hopeful and optimistic for.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

我们命定的目标和道路

Is our destined

命中注定的

end or way;

不是享乐，也不是受苦；

But to act, that each to-morrow

而是行动，在每个明天

Find us farther than to-day.

都超越今天，跨出新步。

Analysis:

Longfellow

begins

discussing

how

humans

must

live

their

lives

in

constant

anticipation

for

the

next

day

under

the

belief

that

it

will

be

better

than

each

day

before

it:

to

act

that

each

to-morrow / Find us farther than to- day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

智艺无穷，时光飞逝；

And our hearts, though stout

顽强的

and brave,

这颗心，纵然勇敢坚强，

Still, like muffled

捂住

drums, are beating

也只如那鼓，闷声敲动着，

Funeral marches

葬礼进行曲

to the grave.

一下又一下，向坟地送丧。

Analysis:

In this stanza, Longfellow asserts that there is never an infinite amount of time to live, but art

that is created during one's life can be preserved indefinitely and live on long after its creator

dies.

In the world's broad field of battle,

世界是一片辽阔的战场，

In the bivouac

['bivu?

k]

露营

of life,

人生是到处扎寨安营；

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

莫学那听人驱策的哑畜，

Be a hero in the strife!

奋斗

,

努力

做一个威武善战的英雄！

Analysis:

In this stanza, Longfellow likens living in the world to fighting on a huge field of battle.

He believes that people should lead heroic and courageous lives and not sit idle and remain

ineffectual while the world rapidly changes around them:

hero in the strife!“

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!

别指望将来，不管它多可爱！

Let the dead Past bury its dead!

把已逝的过去永久掩埋！

Act, -- act in the living Present!

行动吧－－趁着活生生的现在！

Heart within, and God o'evhead!

心中有赤心，头上有真宰！

Analysis:

Longfellow then encourages everyone to have faith and trust the lord and not to rely on an

unknown future to be stable and supportive.

He advises people to seize the moments they have before them and act while thinking about

their present situations.

Lives of great men all remind us

伟人的生平启示我们：

We can make our lives sublime

壮丽的；高尚的

,

我们能够生活得高尚，

And, departing

死亡

, leave behind us

而当告别人世的时候，

Footprints on the sand of time;

留下脚印在时间的沙上

Analysis:

Longfellow continues his poem by citing the lives of great and important men who were able

to lead

incredible lives and leave their marks.

He views these men as role models for people who have yet to live their lives; Longfellow

encourages

his

readers

to

leave

their

own

on

the

sands

of

time

and

become

important.

Footprints, that perhaps another,

也许我们有一个兄弟

Sailing o'er life's solemn main

大海

,

航行在庄严的人生大海，

A forlorn

[f

?

?

l

?

:n]

孤独凄凉的

and shipwrecked brother,

遇险沉了船，绝望的时刻，

Seeing, shall take heart again.

会看到这脚印而振作起来。

Analysis:

In this stanza, the second to last in the poem, continues with this same point. It describes

how

successful

people

in

the

past

have

their

lives

copied,

while

those

who

failed

serve

as

examples of ways of life to avoid.

The final lines of the poem echo the beginning ones and offer perhaps the most important

advice in a poem that is chocked full of it. Longfellow encourages all to work and try their hardest

to make their lives great and accomplish as much as they can.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

那么，让我们起来干吧，

With a heart for any fate;

对任何命运要敢于担戴；

Still achieving, still pursuing,

不断地进取，不断地追求，

Learn to labor and to wait.

要善于劳动，善于等待。

Analysis:

Longfellow

conveys

his

message

the

same

way

he

did

in

the

rest

of

the

poem:

by

speaking

directly to the reader and providing his reasoning for believing in something more, in something

better.

Longfellow

ensures

his

followers

that

the

rewards

for

what

they

achieve

will

come

eventually-if not in this lifetime, then, certainly, in the next.

Edgar allanpoe

Sonnet-to science

Structure:

The

first

quatra

in,condemns

Science

as

a

“

true

daughter

of

Old

Time”

and

as

a

“

Vulture” that “preyst . . . upon the poet’s heart”

The second quatrain, poses rhetorical questions asking how a poet could like, respect,

or join science .

The third quatrain, accuses Science of spoiling some beautiful myths, such as that of

Diana and the Hamadryad.

Finally,

the

concluding

couplet

reveals

the

reason

for

the

persona’s

lament;

here,

with the poem’s only first

-person pronoun, the persona focuses attention on himself,

accusing Science of depriving him of his reverie.

Theme:

Poe expresses nontraditional accusations of science. It is spoken

through

the

vision

of a passionate man mourning the slaughter of mythology, fantasy, art by its alleged

arch enemy, Science. Science is portrayed as evil and words like

and

Poe does not see science and scientific development as a good thing , rather he feels

that science

He

implores Science as to why “she” must impose her “dull realities” on the hearts of

poets like himself, squelching their wandering

minds. He questions the desertion of

imagination by the objective force of science.

He

is

inclined

to

avoid

logic in

his

argument,

although