朗费罗论文.docx
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朗费罗论文.docx
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朗费罗论文
ToLiveaStrivingLifeandDieaClamDeath
——Longfellow’sWholeViewofLifeinAPsalm
ofLifeandTheTideRises,TheTideFalls
I.LongfellowandHisPoeticWorks
1.1Longfellow’sLife
LongfellowwasborninPortland,MaineonFebruary27,1807,thesecondsoninafamilyofeightchildren.Hismother,ZilpahWadsworth,wasthedaughterofaRevolutionaryWarhero.Hisfather,StephenLongfellow,wasaprominentPortlandlawyerandlateramemberofCongress.Henrywasadreamyboywholovedtoread.HeheardsailorsspeakingSpanish,FrenchandGermaninthePortlandstreetsandlikedstoriessetinforeignplaces:
TheArabianNights,RobinsonCrusoe,andtheplaysofShakespeare.
AftergraduatingfromBowdoinCollege,LongfellowstudiedmodernlanguagesinEuropeforthreeyears,andthenreturnedtoBowdointoteachthem.In1831hemarriedMaryStorerPotterofPortland,aformerclassmate,andsoonpublishedhisfirstbook,adescriptionofhistravelscalledOutreMer("Overseas").ButinNovember1835,duringasecondtriptoEurope,Longfellow'slifewasshakenwhenhiswifediedofamiscarriage.Theyoungteacherspentagrief-strickenyearinGermanyandSwitzerland.
LongfellowtookapositionatHarvardin1836.Threeyearslater,attheageof32,hepublishedhisfirstcollectionofpoems,VoicesoftheNight,followedin1841byBalladsandOtherPoems.Manyofthesepoemsshowedpeopletriumphingoveradversity,andinastrugglingyoungnationthatthemewasinspiring.Bothbookswereverypopular,butLongfellow'sgrowingdutiesasaprofessorlefthimlittletimetowritemore.Inaddition,FrancesAppleton,ayoungwomanfromBoston,hadrefusedhisproposalofmarriage.
Francesfinallyacceptedhisproposalthefollowingspring,usheringinthehappiest18yearsofLongfellow'slife.Thecouplehadsixchildren,fiveofwhomlivedtoadulthood,andthemarriagegavehimnewconfidence.In1847hepublishedEvangeline,abook-lengthpoemaboutwhatwewouldcall"ethniccleansing"—whentheBritishdrivetheFrenchfromNovaScotia,twoloversarepartedandonlyfindeachotheryearslaterwhenthemanisabouttodie.
In1854Longfellowdecidedtoquitteachingtodevoteallhistimetopoetry.HepublishedHiawatha,alongpoemaboutNativeAmericanlife,andTheCourtshipofMilesStandishandOtherPoems.Bothbookswereimmenselysuccessful,butLongfellowwasnowpreoccupiedwithnationalevents.Withthecountrywasmovingtowardscivilwar,hewrotePaulRevere'sRide,acallforcourageinthecomingconflict.
Afewmonthsafterthewarbeganin1861,FrancesLongfellowwassealinganenvelopewithwaxwhenherdresscaughtfire.Despiteherhusband'sdesperateattemptstosaveher,shediedthenextday.Profoundlysaddened,Longfellowpublishednothingforthenexttwoyears.HefoundcomfortinhisfamilyandinreadingDante'sDivineComedy.(LaterheproduceditsfirstAmericantranslation.)TalesofaWaysideInn,largelywrittenbeforehiswife'sdeath,waspublishedin1863.
WhentheCivilWarendedin1865,thepoetwas58.Hismostimportantworkwasfinished,buthisfamekeptgrowing.InLondonalone24differentcompanieswerepublishinghiswork.HispoemswerepopularthroughouttheEnglish-speakingworld,andtheywerewidelytranslated,makinghimthemostfamousAmericanofhisday.HisadmirersincludedLincoln,Dickens,andBaudelaire.From1866to1880Longfellowpublishedsevenmorebooksofpoetry,andhisseventy-fifthbirthdayin1882wascelebratedacrossthecountry.Buthishealthwasfailing,andhediedthefollowingmonth,onMarch24.
HenryWadsworthLongfellowwasacommandingfigureintheculturallifeofnineteenth-centuryAmerica.Hebecameanationalliteraryfigurebythe1850sandaworld-famouspersonalitybythetimeofhisdeathin1882.Hewasatraveler,alinguist,andaromanticwhoidentifiedwiththegreattraditionsofEuropeanliteratureandthought.Atthesametime,hewasrootedinAmericanlifeandhistory,whichchargedhisimaginationwithuntriedthemesandmadehimambitiousforsuccess.
1.2FeaturesofLongfellow’sPoeticWorks
Longfellowwasthebest-knownAmericanpoetduringthe19thcentury.Hispoetryhasdistinctcharacteristics.Hispoeticalstyleissimple,sincere,andmusical.ThemelodyofhispoetryisunsurpassedbythatofotherAmericanauthors.Longfellow’slongstayinEuropeanledtohismasteryofseveralEuropeanlanguagesandabroaderknowledgeofEuropeanliteraturethanmostotherAmericanliteraryfigures,what’smore,thisenabledhimtoembodyinhispoetrychiefromantictendenciesashumanitarianattitude,loveofbeauty,loveofnatureandloveforthepast.Longfellowwaspopularbecauseofhishigh-mindedness,hisspiritualaspiration,hisrefinementofthought,hisrefinementofmanners,andthegentleness,sweetnessandpurityofhispoetry.Longfellow’sstyleandsubjectswereconventional,especiallyincomparisonwiththoseofWhitmanormodernwriters.Hewroteintraditionalregularmetersandfeetandregularrhymingschemes.Hewrotepoetryasabirdsings,withnaturalgraceandmelody.Longfellowdidnotappeal,asmoreofhiscontemporarywritersdid,forthebreakingofAmericanliteraturefromEuropeanliterature.UsuallyhewroteaboutAmericansubjects,butalwaysinEuropeanstyles.Longfellowwroteonobviousthemeswhichappealedtoallkindsofpeople.Hispoemswereeasilyunderstoodandtheysongtheirwayintotheconsciousnessofthosewhoreadthem.Aboveall,therewasjoyousnessinthem,aspiritofoptimismandfaithinthegoodnessoflifewhichevokedimmediateresponseintheemotionsofhisreaders.
Beingahighlylearnedandcultivatedman,andaprofessorofseverallanguages,Longfellowcomposedallhisworkswithaccuratelyselectedwordsanddelicateexpressions.Theideasheexpressedweregenerallysimpleonesbutheexpressedthemmusicallyandpowerfully.Thechild-likesimplicityanddetachmentfromthedeepandimportantproblemsofcontemporarylifewereperhapsthebasicelementsofLongfellow’sappealtothecommonaudience;butontheotherhand,theyledtoafatalweaknessinhiswork—lackofthedepthandinsightofagreatartistsuchasWhitman.Asapoet,Longfellowfailedtoreflectinhispoetrywhathefeltpersonallyandwhatheattainedfromreading.Heenrichedhispoemswithsecond-handknowledge.However,inthelate19thcentury,LongfellowwasdoubtlesslythemostpopularAmericanpoetandamilestoneinthedevelopmentofAmericanpoetry.
II.TheReflectionofLongfellow’sOutlookinaPsalmofLifeandtheTidesRises,theTideFalls
2.1TheBackgroundandtheMeaningoftheTwoPoems
2.1.1TheBackgroundofAPsalmofLife
APsalmofLifewasfirstpublishedinVoiceoftheNightintheSeptembereditionofNewYorkMonthlyin1893.ItisveryinfluentialinChina,becauseitissaidtobethefirstEnglishpoemtranslatedintoChinese.
Thepoemwaswrittenin1883whenLongfellowwasstruckwithgreatdismay.In1834,hiswifeMaryaccompaniedhimwhenhereturnedtoEuropetostudy.Herpoorhealthcontributedtoamiscarriagein1835,andafewweekslatershediedatage22inRotterdam.Theywereonlymarriedforfouryears.Andhiscourtshipofayoungwomanwasunrequited.Hisfatherdiedin1849,hisbrotherStephenin1850,andhismotherin1851.In1854heresignedhisHarvardprofessorship—partlybecauseofhiseyesight,partlyforrelieffromacademicpressuresandcontentionwiththeuniversitycorporationonbehalfofhisdepartment,butprobablymostofallbecausehefoundhecouldsupporthishouseholdonthestrengthofhispoetryanddesiredmoreopportunityforwriting.
OnJuly9,1861,tragedyagaintormentedLongfellowwhenhissecondwifediedinafireatage44.Whilemeltingwaxtosealenvelopescontainingcuttingsofherchildren’shair,Fannydroppedamatchontoherdress.Longfellowtriedtorescuehiswifebysmotheringtheflameswitharugonlytoreceiveterribleburnsonhishandsandface.Sinceshavingbecamedifficultduetoscarsfromthefire,Longfellowgrewabeard.Deeplydepressed,LongfellowimmersedhimselfintranslatingDanteintoEnglishandreturnedtoEurope.
Again,Longfellowcopedwithsorrowbyplunginghimselfintoliterarywork—thistimeofanintenselychallengingsort.AprojectalreadywellinhandthathewasabletobringtocompletionwasTalesofaWaysideInn,thefirstpartofwhichappearedin1863.Thiscollectionconsistedofnarrativepoemscomposedinagreatvarietyofmetricpatterns.Althoughmanyofthepoemshadbeenwrittenandevenpublishedseparatelybeforehand,theywerelooselyheldtogetherinthisbookbythefictionofanassemblageoffriendsentertainingeachotherbystorytellingataSudbury,MassachusettsInn.ThiscollectionwasLongfellow'sversionofGeoffreyChaucer'sCanterburyTalesorGiovanniBoccaccio'sDecameron.AlthoughPaulRevere'sRideandTheBirdsofKillingworth,themostfamiliarofthesepoemstoday,giveanimpressionofNewEnglandfocus,thegreatmajorityhadEuropeansettingsandsources.(Even"TheBirdsofKillingworth"wasadaptedfromanEnglishstory.)Many,especiallyTorquemadaandTheSagaofKingOlaf,weresurprisinglyviolentforsuchagentlepoet.TheframeworkLongfellowprovided,however,allowedhissixstorytellers(theLandlord,theStudent,theSpanishJew,theItalian,theMusician,andtheTheologian)tocriticizeeachother'spresentationsanddrawoutlessonsoftolerance,forgiveness,andfaith.
However,despiteallthefrustrations,Longfellowtriedtoencouragehimselfbywritingapieceofoptimisticwork.Therelationshipoflifeanddeathisaconstantthemeforpoets.Longfellowexpresseshispertinentinterpretationtothatbywarni
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