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1、Walt Whitman (1819-1892)1.简介 A part of the transition between Transcendentalism and Realism The father of free verse Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern. Features of Whitmans poetry :1. The use of a certain pronoun I 2. Two principles
2、 A. Parallelism or a rhyme of thought B. Phonetic recurrence ( the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of the line, in the middle or at the end) 3. The adopt of free verse-poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme 4. The use of colorful words and vivid images (example) Major wo
3、rks Leaves of Grass Song of Myself I hear America Singing 2. 草叶集 课文中出现的 ONES-SELF I SING, Among the Multitude, When I Peruse the Conquerd Fame, A NoiselessPatient Spider 都是出自草叶集。Leaves of Grass: A collection of Whitmans poems and his lifelong achievementWhitman experimented in his works with new poe
4、tic form of free verse and oral lg. Thus, Leaves of Grass has become landmark in American literary history, which represents the poet, the people, and the nation in the 19th America and celebrates the future of the nation and the ideals of equality, democracy, dignity, self-reliant spirit and joy of
5、 common people.It marked the birth of truly American poetry, which changed Whitman from a conventional, undistinguished man into one of Americans greatest and most original poets. It has attained almost universal acceptance as Americas greatest book of poems.It has been praised as Democratic Bible(
6、共和圣经)and as American Epic. The most famous pieces are: Song of myself, there was a child went fort, etc.3. 赏析 ONES-SELF I SING 当时他对处于上升阶段的资本主义美国充满信心, 对美国的民主抱有幻想。他所体现的主旨和基本内容就是个性和自我。诗人认为一切之中心的个性及其代表者就是我自己, 是像草叶一样平凡的人和事物。诗人一方面把自己描写成为一个普通的美国人, 另一方面又赋予自己超人的能力。选自草叶集，主题中心思想参照草叶集即可 Alliteration 头韵(simple f
7、ree & formd) Phonetic recurrence 重复( I sing四次; alone 两次; of两次; worthy和worthier) 突出主题的关键词的头一个字母大写 (Self; Democratic; En-masse; Form; Female; Male; Life; Modern Man) 翻译： 我歌唱人本身 我歌唱人本身, 一个独特的、纯粹的人, 不过要说出民主的”这个词, 道出“大众”这个词的声音。 我全心全意地歌唱人的生成, 不仅容貌, 不仅头脑, 而整个形体更值得歌颂。 我歌唱男性, 同样也歌唱女性。 我歌唱现代的人, 那饱含激情、生命旺盛和活力无
8、限的巨大生命, 快乐地采取天赋权利的自由行动。I Hear America Singing A: Diction (the choice and use of words in literature) Nouns such as: mechanics, mason, work, deckhand, shoemaker, hatter, woodcutter, ploughboy, and mother. - Images of the working class society Verbs: measure, make, singing, sit, stand, sewing, washing
9、 -a moving picture of people performing their different jobs B: Main idea It presents the picture of the Americans who from all occupations are singing for their cheerful and creative work and their dream through out American. Themes: An eulogy (颂词)to thriving American nation, the laboring people, t
10、he poets optimistic attitude toward the world and life. C: ToneCheerful, happy, optimistic D: Language Simple and even rather crude; Have a tendency to oral English E: Parallelism and phonetic recurrenceO Captain My CaptainThe poem is an elegy on the death of president Abrahan LincolnThe author eulo
11、gized and commemorated Lincoin through these rhetorical devices.Metaphor RepetitionWalt Whitman composed the poem O Captain! My Captain! after Abraham Lincolns assassination in 1865. The poem is classified as an elegy or mourning poem, and was written to honor Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of
12、the United States. Walt Whitman was born in 1819 and died in 1892, and the American Civil War was the central event of his life. Whitman was a staunch Unionist during the Civil War. He was initially indifferent to Lincoln, but as the war pressed on Whitman came to love the president, though the two
13、men never met.1The fallen captain in the poem refers to Abraham Lincoln, captain of the ship that is the United States of America. The first line establishes the poems mood, one of relief that the Civil War has ended, our fearful trip is done. The next line references the ship, America, and how it h
14、as weathered every rack, meaning America has braved the tough storm of the Civil War, and the prize we sought, the preservation of the Union, is won. The following line expresses a mood of jubilation of the Union winning the war as it says the people all exulting; however, the next line swiftly shif
15、ts the mood when it talks of the grimness of the ship, and the darker side of the war. Many lost their lives in the American Civil War, and although the prize that was sought was won, the hearts still ache amidst the exultation of the people. The repetition of heart in line five calls attention to t
16、he poets vast grief and heartache because the Captain has bled and lies still, cold, and dead (lines six through eight). This is no doubt referencing the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and Whitmans sorrow for the death of his idol.By using the first person the poet describes the marvelous sight of the succeeding returning of the captain Lincoln and his crew and his astonishment at
