英美诗歌鉴赏——To Helen,致海伦演示教学

英美诗歌鉴赏——T o
H e l e n,致海伦
英美诗歌鉴赏——To Helen，致海伦
To Helen
Helen, thy beauty is to me
Like those Nicean barks1 of yore,2
That gently, o'er a perfumed3 sea,
The weary4, wayworn5 wanderer6 bore
To his own native shore.
On desperate seas long wont to roam7,
Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home
To the glory that was Greece
And the grandeur 8that was Rome.
Lo! in yon brilliant window-niche9
1平底船
2很久以前
3芳香的
4疲倦的
5旅行累了的
6漫游者，旅行者
7漫步，漫游
8壮丽，宏伟
How statue-like10 I see thee stand,
The agate11 lamp within thy hand!
Ah, Psyche, from the regions which
Are Holy Land!
The writer Edgar Allen Poe was born in 1809. His father deserted the family, and his mother died when Poe was three. Poe was taken into the home of his uncle. In 1826, he entered the University of Virginia, only to drop out later . He was sent to West Point and dismissed, too. Then he turned to fiction writing to support himself. He worked as an editor throughout his life. His wife’s death in 1847, drove Poe to heavy drinking occasionally. One day in 1849, he was found unconscious on a Baltimore street and then died.
Poe established himself as a successful short story writer and literary critic. He succeeded in formulating influential literary theories and in demonstrating mastery of the forms he favored_hinghly musical poems and short prose narratives. His theory of short fiction is best exemplified in Ligeia and The Fall of The House of Usher, which was to become one of his most famous stories.
10向雕像一样
Poe wrote To Helen as a reflection on the beauty of Mrs.Standard who died in 1824. She encouraged Poe to write poems when he was 14. Poe regarded her as his first , pure love.
First, let us see the clever rhymes in this great poem. Alliteration: the /w/ in “The weary, wayworn wanderer bore” and the /s/ in
“ How statue-like I see thee stand” .assonance: both “like” and “Nicean” have the vowel /ai/; both “wont” and “roam” have the vowel / / ; “agate”,“lamp” and“hand”all have the vowel / /. Rhyme: “me” and “sea”; ”yore”, ”bore” and “shore”; “roam”, “home” and “Rome”. The rhymes makes the poem contain musical charm and more attractive to read.
The title expressed how beautiful Mrs.Standard was by just one word—Helen，who， in Greek story, was the most beautiful woman in the world and also lighted the flames of the Trojan war．But that is not enough, we see the poet used similes to continue his praise. He compared her to “Nicean barks of yore”which brought tired “wanderers” home. The /w/ in “ The weary, wayworn wanderer bore” bring out the tired faces vividly. The lady are not doll, she could brought peace and relief. Maybe that is how the writer thought about Mrs.Standard.
In the second part, the poet described just two body parts, “Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,” short but vivid, just let the r eader
imagine the picture of a beauty who is classic just like the goddess in the Greek story. The word “Greece” and “Rome” were mentioned in this part, we know Greece and Rome are two ideal places in the heart of western people. I think that addes to the woman’s classic beauty again.
In the third part, there is another simile, “How statue-like I see thee stand,” the woman is just like a statue which will never become old or ugly and will remain forever. “Psyche”means soul in Greek, so in this part, the image of the woman is totally different, she has not only physical beauty but also spiritual beauty.
Although this poem was made to memorize a lady who had already passed by, there is no sadness in the lines. The poet expressed his admiration and love as much as possible. He also told us what was real beauty, not only face but also heart. And the high spiritual in the lines may means the poet will look after the real beauty and kindness forever.。