12 美國文學ROBERT FROST

1、Main content1. Robert Frost2. His poem “ The Road not Taken”About Robert FrostPoet and playwrightHis Life Born in San Francisco in 1874 and died in Boston in1963 At 11 years old, his father died and his mother took him to Massachusetts Attended high school in Mass, entered Dartmouth College, but rem

2、ained less than one semester. In 1895, he got married. In order to support the family, he did odd jobs: teaching school and working in a mill and as a newspaper reporter From 1897 to 1899,attended Harvard College as a special student but left without a degree. Over the next ten years he wrote (but r

3、arely published) poems, operated a farm in Derry, New Hampshire, and supplemented his income by teaching at Derrys Pinkerton Academy. His Writing Robert Frost was the most popular American poet from 1914 to his death. His verse: at first terrifying later filled with more sunshine Frosts achievement

4、was fantastic. Frosts poems are New England in the setting, and are characterized by the familiar speaking voice. The subjects come from daily life of ordinary people. Frost wrote rural poetry in the pastoral tradition as a way to understand modern life.FeaturesProfound meanings are hidden underneat

5、h the plain language and simple form. (1) His poems mostly wrote about nature (influence from Wordsworth and Emerson) and New England landscape.(2) Deceptively simple style (reason for popular)(3) Symbolism (show his poems deep meaning)(4) He was likely to choose traditional forms for his poem, but

6、the themes of his poems are mostly modern. (In his poems, traditional elements and modern elements mingle together.) Thematic concernsGenerally Frost is considered a regional poet whose subject matters mainly focus on the landscape and people in New England. These thematic concerns include the terro

7、r and tragedy in nature, as well as its beauty, and the loneliness and poverty of the isolated human being. Frost wrote many poems that investigate the basic themes of mans life: the individuals relationships to himself, to his fellow-man, to world, and to his God.The Modern Period in American Liter

8、ature Strictly speaking, the modern period of American literature starts with the WWI, stretches through the Great Depression and ends with WWII. The 20th century began with a strong sense of social breakdown. The two World Wars, especially the First World War (1914-1918), became the emblem of all w

9、ars in the 20th century, which means violence, devastation, blood and death, and made a big impact on the life of the American people and their literary writings. With all these wars the whole world had undergone a dramatic social change, a transformation from order to disorder. America in this peri

10、od was characterized by economic boom and material prosperity but social chaos, spiritual waste and moral decay. The impact of Marxism, Freudianism and European modern art on American modern literature: Between the mid-l9th century and the first decade of the 20th century, there had been a big flush

11、 of new theories and new ideas in both social and natural sciences, as well as in the field of art in Europe, which played an indispensable role in bringing about modernism and the modernistic writings in the United States.Frosts poetic theory He emphasized on the dramatic qualities of poetry. He be

12、lieved that all poetry is essentially metaphorical. He insisted that poetry cannot be forced into being. He thought that poetry serves as a means of giving patterns to mans existence. The Road Not Taken 一條未走的路 又譯為 未選擇的路From his collection of poems Introduction This is a much quoted poem of Frost. It

13、 was included in Mountain Interval, the first collection of poems published after Frost returned to America. Actually it was written in February, 1915, just before he was about to go back. He has already won a high reputation in London whereas his friend, Edward Thomas, was involved in the first Wor

14、ld War. Frost was very sorrowful and thus recalled his experience four years age in a New Hampshire forest. Masculine mskjln 從押韻的詩行是以重讀音節(jié)還是非重讀音節(jié)結尾，英語詩歌的尾韻還可分為陽韻（masculine rhyme) 和陰韻(feminine rhyme)兩類.陽韻：互相押韻的詩行都是以重讀音節(jié)的詞或單音節(jié)詞結尾。陽韻：互相押韻的詩行都是以重讀音節(jié)的詞或單音節(jié)詞結尾。陽韻在英語詩歌中最為常見。陽韻在英語詩歌中最為常見。陰韻：陰韻： 當押韻的詩行以非重讀音節(jié)結

15、尾時，即為陰韻當押韻的詩行以非重讀音節(jié)結尾時，即為陰韻1. Syllable slbl n. 音節(jié) 2. Iambic ambk n. 抑揚格3. Tetrameter tetrmt n. 四音步1. diverge dav:d vi. 分開，叉開分開，叉開; =separate, go in different directions2. undergrowth ndgr n. 矮樹叢，灌木叢矮樹叢，灌木叢 =bushTwo roads diverged in a yellow wood, 黃色的樹林里分出兩條路And sorry I could not travel both 可惜我不能同時

16、去涉足And be one traveler, long I stood 我在那路口久久佇立And looked down one as far as I could 我向著一條路極目望去To where it bent in the undergrowth; 直到它消失在叢林深處1. Fair adj. 公平的; 合理的; 晴朗的; 美麗的 2. claim=sayingThen took the other, as just as fair, 但我卻選擇了另外一條路And having perhaps the better claim, 它荒草萋萋，十分幽寂Because it was g

17、rassy and wanted wear;顯得更誘人，更美麗Though as for that the passing there 雖然在這兩條小路上Had worn them really about the same, 都很少留下旅人的足跡 or reason 3. wear we(r) vt. 磨損 n. 磨損 And both that morning equally lay 雖然那天清晨落葉滿地In leaves no step had trodden black. 兩條路都未經(jīng)腳印污染Oh, I kept the first for another day! 呵，留下一條路等改

18、日再見Yet knowing how way leads on to way,但我知道路徑延綿無盡頭I doubted if I should ever come back. 恐怕我難以再回返I shall be telling this with a sigh 也許多少年后在某一個地方Somewhere ages and ages hence，我將輕聲嘆息把往事回顧Two roads diverged in a wood,and I一片森林里分出兩條路I took the one less traveled by, 而我卻選擇了人跡更少的一條And that has made all the

19、 difference. 從此決定了我一生的道路 譯本2 殊途（The Road Not Taken） 羅伯特弗羅斯特 原作曉峰 翻譯金秋密林，展開二條小路，遺憾滿懷，無法同時踏足，孤獨旅人，良久佇立踟躕。極目遠眺，道路蜿蜒何處，彎彎曲曲，出沒林間灌木。二擇其一，選擇這條小路，于我而言，或許就是坦途，雜草萋萋，期待旅人光顧。設想兩途，皆是行者無數(shù)，人流如織，彼此有何異殊。 清晨林間，鋪展二條小路，人跡杳茫，繽紛落葉密布，留下其一，期待來日再補。了然于胸，此路已向它途，捫心自問，能否回到當初。一聲嘆息，昨日歷歷在目，年復一年，不知身在何處，茂密林間，方向由我選出。向往孤旅，人煙稀少為主， 回首往

20、事，選擇決定歸宿！Types of poetry1. Narrative poetry 敘事詩2. Lyric poetry 抒情詩3. Dramatic poety 戲劇詩Other types of poetry1. Descriptive poetry2. Reflective poetry (meditative poetry)3. Didactic poetry4. Satirical poetyLiterary Devices in this poem1. Metaphor The poem revolves around the metaphor comparing the de

21、cisions we make on the journey of life to a fork in the road. Just as we must decide which road to take when traveling in order to arrive at a location, we must make decisions in our life that will greatly impact our destination.2. Symbolism Yellow- The yellow coloring of the woods is representative of the light, hope and promise that the speaker is standing before. Woods- The poem is set in the woods, we get an image of a quiet, deserted place where the speaker is left alone to decide. T