英语诗歌定义

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【摘要】诗歌是一种语词凝练、结构跳跃、富有节奏和韵律、高度集中地反映生活和表达思想感情的文学体裁。本文着重语词、内涵等方面分析诗歌的特点，使读者对诗歌的概念和基本特征有一个宏观认识。

DefinitionofPoetry

RobertPinskyoncesaid:“Poetry...isanancientartortechnology:olderthanthecomputer,olderthanprint,olderthanwritingandindeed,thoughsomemayfindthissurprising,mucholderthanprose.Ipresumethatthetechnologyofpoetry,usingthehumanbodyasitsmedium,evolvedforspecificuses;toholdthingsinmemory,bothwithinandbeyondtheindividuallifespan;toachieveintensityandsensuousappeal;toexpressfeelingsandideasrapidlyandmemorably;tosharethosefeelingsandideaswithcompanions,andalsowiththedeadandwiththosetocomeafterus.”

Poetryisoneofthemostancientliteraryforms.Itappearedthousandsofyearsagointheworldasaformofliterature.InChina,thereisBookofPoetry;InGreek,thereisHomerEpic.PoetryisoneoftheearliestliteraryformsinancientIndia,EgyptandRome.InBritain,theearliestepicisBeowulfwritteninAnglo-Saxonperiod.Eversincethen,peopleinallworksoflife,especiallythoseeducated,sensitivemen,careaboutpoems.Simplepoemsevencaninterestchildren,becausepoetrycanbringpleasantsensationtothem.Peopleregardthepoetryasthemainthingofindividuallife.Poetryalsohasitsspecialvaluetoourspirituallife.Itplaysaveryimportantroleinourlife.Itcaresallkindsofexperiences;nomatterthisexperienceishappyorunhappy,specialorordinary,nobleorhumble,realisticorimaginative.Inpoetry,thiskindofexperiences,eventheunfortunateones,canbecomeobjectsforpeople’sappreciation.Althoughsuchexperiencescannotbringpleasantsensationinreallife,theycanenjoythereaderswiththeformofpoetry.Thus,poetrygivesusvitalityandenjoyment.JustasWilliamWordsworthoncesaid:"Poetryisthespontaneousoverflowofpowerfulfeelings:ittakesitsoriginfromemotionrecollectedintranquility:theemotioniscontemplatedtill,byaspeciesofreaction,thetranquilitygraduallydisappears,andanemotion,kindredtothatwhichwasthesubjectofcontemplation,isgraduallyproduced,anddoesitselfactuallyexistinthemind."(fromPrefacetoLyricalBallads).Throughreadingpoetry,wemayunderstandmoredeeplyabouthuman’sfeelingsandfurthermoreaboutlifeitself.

Poetryusesakindofcondensedlanguagetoshowlifeorfeelings,orsomeotherthings.Inthispoint,poetryisquitedifferentfromproseandnovels,sounderstandingpoetryismuchmoredifficultthanunderstandingproseandnovels.Icansaypoetryistheartofliterature,usingfewestwordstoexpressutmostmeanings.Poetryisthemirrorofourlife.Nomatterwhichnationitis,onceopeningitspoems,wemayfindpoemsrecordedeveryrisinganddecliningofhistoricalperiodofeachnation.Readingpoetry,wecanknowhistory,politics,economy,reformetcofdifferentcountriesinvariousperiods.Thepoetichistoryisalsothenation’sdevelopmentprocess.Whileexpressingideasorfeelingsorsomeothermeanings,poetsoftendependonsomeliterarytechniques,suchasmeter,naturalcadences,rhymeormetaphoretc.Thus,poetrycanexpressprofoundmeaningsinadisguisedway.

Poetryisalsothephilosophyoflife.Manysentencesofpoemsbecomemottos,whichleavelastingreputationinthewholeworld.Ithasevenbecomethelegacyofallhumanbeings.Forexample,inShelley’sOdetoTheWest,thereisafamoussentence:“…Oh,wind,Ifwintercomes,canSpringbefarbehind?”Thisfamoussayinghasencouragedmanypeopleintheworld.Whentheyfacedifficulties,ortheyareinmiserabletime,theywillthinkofitasencouragementtolightentheirforwardway.Inthisway,wecansaythatthepoemistheimportantlegacyofallhumanbeings.

Thefollowingpartisanexampletoseewhattherealpoemis.Afteranalyzingthispoem,wemayhaveaclearunderstandingaboutthedefinitionofthepoem.Hereisapoem:

TheFaithfulSwallow

——byThomasHardy

Whensummershone

Itssweeteston

AnAugustday,

“Hereevermore,”

Isaid,“I’llstay;

Notgoaway

Toanothershore

Asficklethey!”

Decembercame:

“Twasnotthesame!”

Ididnotknow

Fidelity

Wouldservemeso.

Frost,hunger,snow

Andnow,ahme,

Toolatetogo!

Thispoemcontainsonlyafewwords.Itisaboutaswallowwhichdidnotmigratewiththeotherbirds,andisnowsufferingindespairinthecoldwinter.Someofthewords,suchas“faithful”,“fickle”and“fidelity”,mayremindyouofthewaywetalkaboutloveandmarriage.Infact,thepoemisaboutpeopleinlove,andusestheswallowasanimage.Thepoemhastwostanzas,andthereisagapbetweenthem.Thefirstsectionshowsthatthesummerfidelityseemsrightandgood,andthesecondsectionshowsthatfidelityhasbroughtsufferinganddespairwhenwintercomes.Herewecanseethatthedifferentsectionsofapoemalwaysrelatetoeachother.Inthispoem,thefirstsectionisaboutsummerandhope;thesecondsectionisaboutwinteranddespair.Sothetwosectionsofthispoemcontrastwitheachother.Theyaresetinoppositeseasons,andexpressoppositefeelingsaboutfidelity.Throughrereadingthepoem,Ifoundmoredetailsfitintothecontraststructure:ontheonesidesummer“shone”its“sweetest”in“August”;ontheotherside,“December”was“frost,hunger,snow”.Contemptforotherswallowsinsummerchangestoenvytheminwinter.Theseason,emotionsandopinionsareallpartofthebasiccontrastwhichgivesshapetothepoem.

Basedonwhatwehavetalkedabove,wemayfindthethemeofthispoem,whichisalsothewriter’spurpose.“TheFaithfulSwallow”isaboutpeople’shopesanddisappointments,andexpressesthecontrastbetweenthem.Hardycontraststhebrightidealistichopespeoplehavewhentheyareyoungwiththemiseryanddespairtheycometointheend.Thesuddenoppositionbetweenthetwostanzasaddstotheeffectofthepoem,becauseitexpresseshowhopeiscrushedbycruelexperience,verystarklyandsuddenly.InreallifeHardymayhavelearnedthemiseryofdisappointmentovermanyyearsofslowchangeashegrewolder.Inthepoemthesharpcontrastbetweenthetwostanzasheightensthepainfulnessofdisappointmentbymakingitseemtohappeninamoment.

Usuallyspeaking,theswallowisquiteanordinarybirdinourmind.Butinthispoemtheauthorendowstheswallowsomeothermeanings.Wecanseeitclearlyevenfromthetitle“TheFaithfulSwallow”.Thenafterreadingandanalyzingthispoem,thereadermaythinkcarefullywhethertobefaithfulisonearthgoodornot.“Tobefaithful”leadsthepoorswallowintothemisery.Thesamethingsoftenhappeninourreallife.Sometimeswedosomethingfaithfullyandmeettrouble.Thuswecanseethatpoetrycangenerateourimagination.Wemaythinkmoreaboutwhatthelifeis,andwhatkindofattitudeweshouldhavetowardlife.Thisisthebasicfunctionofpoetry----toeducatepeople,andenrichtheirlifeexperience.

Understandingpoetryreliesontreatingpoemsascrisesfromunwrittenstories,sowemayfindtheelementswhichtogethermakeuptheexperiencethepoemconveys.However,insomepoetry,thevitalelementsareexpressedinimagesratherthandirectlanguage.Thenwemustrereadingthepoemandfindwhattheimagerepresents.Remember:Poetsdonotmaketheirexperiencesliveincharactersorastory;poetryexplainsitsmeaninginanypatternofwordswhichevokesafeelingandcommunicatesthepoet’scomplexidea.Itisnecessarytobeflexible,therefore,inapproachingpoems.

Fromwhatwehavediscussedabove,wecanseethateveryword,everysentenceofpoem,mustreachitsutmostintensity.Thatistosay,itmustbedifferentfromcommonlanguageinexpressingideas.Poetsshouldusesourcematerialsasmuchaspossibleofferedbythelanguageitself,andthenbasedonsomeliterarytechniquessuchasassociation,imagination,simile,metaphor,contrast,comparison,rhyme,sarcastic,etcaswellassomelifeexperiencetoexpresstheunderlyingmeanings.Thesuccessfulpoemshavenoextraword.Thegoodpoemisjustlikeatree,whichformsitsownstructureandorganizesbyitself.Thegoodpoemisalsoanorganism,inwhicheverypartmustserveausefulpurposeandeverypartmustcooperatewithoneanothertoshowtheinnerlifeofthepoem.Asforthereaders,whilewearereadingpoems,weareenjoyingaprocessofappreciation.Weareappreciatingnotonlythehappiness,butalsothebitternessofpoems.SamuelJohnsononcesaid:"Theendofwritingiste’shopesanddisappointments,andexpressesthecontrastbetweenthem.Hardycontraststhebrightidealistichopespeoplehavewhentheyareyoungwiththemiseryanddespairtheycometointheend.Thesuddenoppositionbetweenthetwostanzasaddstotheeffectofthepoem,becauseitexpresseshowhopeiscrushedbycruelexperience,verystarklyandsuddenly.InreallifeHardymayhavelearnedthemiseryofdisappointmentovermanyyearsofslowchangeashegrewolder.Inthepoemthesharpcontrastbetweenthetwostanzasheightensthepainfulnessofdisappointmentbymakingitseemtohappeninamoment.

Usuallyspeaking,theswallowisquiteanordinarybirdinourmind.Butinthispoemtheauthorendowstheswallowsomeothermeanings.Wecanseeitclearlyevenfromthetitle“TheFaithfulSwallow”.Thenafterreadingandanalyzingthispoem,thereadermaythinkcarefullywhethertobefaithfulisonearthgoodornot.“Tobefaithful”leadsthepoorswallowintothemisery.Thesamethingsoftenhappeninourreallife.Sometimeswedosomethingfaithfullyandmeettrouble.Thuswecanseethatpoetrycangenerateourimagination.Wemaythinkmoreaboutwhatthelifeis,andwhatkindofattitudeweshouldhavetowardlife.Thisisthebasicfunctionofpoetry----toeducatepeople,andenrichtheirlifeexperience.

Understandingpoetryreliesontreatingpoemsascrisesfromunwrittenstories,sowemayfindtheelementswhichtogethermakeuptheexperiencethepoemconveys.However,insomepoetry,thevitalelementsareexpressedinimagesratherthandirectlanguage.Thenwemustrereadingthepoemandfindwhattheimagerepresents.Remember:Poetsdonotmaketheirexperiencesliveincharactersorastory;poetryexplainsitsmeaninginanypatternofwordswhichevokesafeelingandcommunicatesthepoet’scomplexidea.Itisnecessarytobeflexible,therefore,inapproachingpoems.

Fromwhatwehavediscussedabove,wecanseethateveryword,everysentenceofpoem,mustreachitsutmostintensity.Thatistosay,itmustbedifferentfromcommonlanguageinexpressingideas.Poetsshouldusesourcematerialsasmuchaspossibleofferedbythelanguageitself,andthenbasedonsomeliterarytechniquessuchasassociation,imagination,simile,metaphor,contrast,comparison,rhyme,sarcastic,etcaswellassomelifeexperiencetoexpresstheunderlyingmeanings.Thesuccessfulpoemshavenoextraword.Thegoodpoemisjustlikeatree,whichformsitsownstructureandorganizesbyitself.Thegoodpoemisalsoanorganism,inwhicheverypartmustserveausefulpurposeandeverypartmustcooperatewithoneanothertoshowtheinnerlifeofthepoem.Asforthereaders,whilewearereadingpoems,weareenjoyingaprocessofappreciation.Weareappreciatingnotonlythehappiness,butalsothebitternessofpoems.SamuelJohnsononcesaid:"Theendofwritingistoinstruct;theendofpoetryistoinstructbypleasing."(fromPrefacetoShakespeare)

Inmyopinion,poetryisacompositiondesignedtoconveyavividandimaginativesenseofexperience,characterizedbytheuseofcondensedlanguage,aswellasliterarytechniques.Poetryisthemostoutstandingrepresentativeofpeople’slife,soreadingpoemsisalsotheprocessofunderstandingtheprofoundmeaningsofourlife.

Bibliography:

[1]ForrestG.Robinson:《剑桥文学指南哈代》，上海教育出版社，2001年版

[2]劳•坡林：《怎样欣赏英美诗歌》，北京出版社，1985年版

[3]童庆炳主编：《文学理论教程》，高等教育出版社，1997年版

[4]王佐良：《英诗的境界》，三联书店出版社，1996年版

[5]赵世平：《英诗知识与赏析》，陕西师范大学出版社，1992年版