英国文学期末考试诗歌赏析题

Sonnet 29 (Book1 P119)

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes , 面对命运的抛弃，世人的冷眼，

I all alone beweep my outcast state, 我唯有独自把飘零的身世悲叹。

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, 我曾徒然地呼唤聋耳的苍天，

And look upon myself, and curse my fate, 诅咒自己的时运，顾影自怜。Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, 我但愿，愿胸怀千般心愿，Featured like him, like him with friends possessed, 愿有三朋六友和美貌之颜；

Desiring this man's arts and that man's scope, 愿有才华盖世，有文采斐然，

With what I most enjoy contented least; 唯对自己的长处，偏偏看轻看淡。

Y et in these thoughts myself almost despising, 我正耽于这种妄自菲薄的思想，Haply I think on thee, and then my state, 猛然间想到了你，顿时景换情迁，Like to the lark at break of day arising 我忽如破晓的云雀凌空振羽，

From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate; 讴歌直上天门，把苍茫大地俯瞰。For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings 但记住你柔情招来财无限，

That then I scorn to change my state with kings. 纵帝王屈尊就我，不与换江山。

1. When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes

To be in disgrace with fortune is presumably to be not favoured by her.

2. I all alone beweep my outcast state,

beweep = weep for, bewail; Like bewail and beseem, the word has an archaic and biblical flavour. my outcast state = my condition of being a social outcast. The condition is probably exaggerated for the sake of effect, and to emphasize that the speaker sees everything in a gloomy light. Fortune has turned against him and he feels that he does not belong any more to society.

3. And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

deaf heaven - Heaven (God) turns a deaf ear to his complaints and laments. bootless = to no avail, achieving nothing.

4. And look upon myself, and curse my fate,

And look upon myself - as the outcast contemplates his own fallen state.

curse my fate - another echo from the Book of Job in the Bible:

5. Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Wishing myself to be like one who is more richly endowed with all manner of blessings, including wealth.

6. Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

Featured like him, like him = with features like this person, like this second person having friends, like this third, desiring his skills (line 7) etc.

7. Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,

this man's art = the skill that one particular person has; that man's scope = the capability, range, mental ability that another particular person has.

8. With what I most enjoy contented least;

It is unspecified what he most enjoys, but evidently, in his despondency, things which ought to give him enjoyment do not do so. The implication is that he no longer enjoys the love of his beloved, although that idea is countermanded by the final couplet.

9. Y et in these thoughts my self almost despising,

in these thoughts = while I am engaged in these thoughts

myself almost despising - and almost considering myself to be despicable for being so cast down.

10. Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

Haply = by chance, by a happy stroke of luck;

my state = my mental state, with a suggestion also that his fortune, or the state of affairs in which he finds himself, improves.

12. From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;

sullen = gloomy, dark, miserable;

From sullen earth - the phrase may be taken both with this and with the preceding line. The lark rises from sullen earth, and it also sings hymns which rise up from the earth to the gate of heaven, or, as it sings, it rises from earth towards heaven.

sings - the subject is the lark, but also the poet's soul, which has been liberated by his thinking of his beloved.

13. For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

thy sweet love remembered = when I have called to mind your love, when your sweet love springs up again in my memory.

14. That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Although the primary meaning is that 'I am happier than a king could be, and therefore have no wish to swap places with him' there is a hint of the political meaning of state, i.e. nation state.

Figures of Speech

Shakespeare uses literary devices to connect the readers to the poem and possibly his life. Metaphors were used in lines 10-12. In these lines, he compares his love to the lark who sings songs to the heavens. Shakespeare uses this metaphor because he wants to show the reader how happy the thought of his true love makes him feel. Even in the toughest times, the speaker is brightened by the thought of his love and Shakespeare wants to display this to his readers. Shakespeare uses symbolism many times through out the poem, especially in 1-3, 7, 11, and 13. In the first three lines, Shakespeare symbolizes that he is jealous of everything in society. He uses symbolism here because he wants the reader to know that the speaker feels like an outcast compared to the rest of society. In line 7, Shakespeare uses symbolism to describe the skills of other men and their freedom. He uses symbolism in this line because he is describing his wanting of better skills and more freedom. In the eleventh line, the symbolism is that the speaker is describing his lover as a lark. He uses this symbolism because he is portraying that his lover is as lovely as a songbird singing to the heavens. In line 13, the wealth that is brought to the speaker every time he thinks of his lover shows how happy she makes him feel. Shakespeare uses this as symbolism because he is displaying that love his strong enough to pull someone out of their darkest hours. Lastly, personification can be found in line 3. Shakespeare is giving Heaven human like characteristics, such as the ability to hear. He includes this in his sonnet because this adds to the lonesomeness the speaker is feeling, since even God will not answer his wishes. Repetition:―like him‖ and ―mans‖ in lines 6 and 7, This emphasizes that he wants to me like the other men other than remaining like himself

Alliteration: ―think, thee, then‖ in line 11

Rhyme:follows pattern: abab cdcd ebeb ff, ex. ―state, fate, gate‖ and ―brings, kings‖ The use of rhyme is very common in sonnets.

Tone:

The tone of this sonnet is melancholy and upset. This melancholy, upset tone shows how bad the speaker feels. Towards then end of the poem the speaker‘s mood changes and so does the tone. The town shifts from melancholy and upset to happy and gracious.

Theme

The theme of Sonnet 29 is to show the importance of love. Money, society, and possessions are displayed as inferior components of humanity. The speaker changes to embrace the value of love which makes him superior to a king and those of higher social classes.

The theme of this sonnet is the feeling of love can overpower the feelings of self-hate. The poem conveys this theme well because it starts with the speaker talking about how much he dislikes his life. The speaker sites many examples of why this is how he feels. Then the speaker talks about how he by change thinks about his love and it lifts his spirits.

This is one of Shakespeare's more ambiguous sonnets :one does not know who the speaker is referring to or if the word "love"in this sonnet refers to a romantic love or a platonic love. The whole poem expresses the changes of the author's inner feelings,which are from disappoint to hopeful,from negative to positive ,from desperate to affectionate ,from self-abased to confident. discloses the desire of appetite ,lust and power and proposes that appetite is the basic desire, lust has its own duality ,the desire for power is a danger and finally the paper gives

a way to deal with the desires. It is a poem which helps us sense the greatness of love,which is the center of his life,the sunshine on a cloudy day.

Milton

On His Blindness (Book 1 P148)

When I consider how, my light is spent 我思量，我怎么还未到生命的中途，Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, 就已耗尽光明，走上这黑暗的茫茫的世路，And that one talent which is death to hide 我这完全埋没了的庸才，对我毫无用处，Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent 虽然我的心思是要多多服务，

To serve therewith my Maker, and present 想要鞠躬尽瘁地服务于我的创造主，My true account, lest He returning chide, 算清我的帐，免得他要向我发怒；

Doth God exact day-labour, light denied ? ―难道上帝不给光明却要计算日工吗？‖I fondly ask: -- But Patience, to prevent 我愚蠢地一问，―忍耐‖就把我的话止住，That murmur, soon replies; God doth not need 立刻回答道：―上帝不需要人的服务，Either man's work, or His own gifts: who best 也不要你还他什么礼物；

Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best: His state 谁能忍受得起痛苦，就是最好的服务；Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed 他的国度气派堂皇，听他差遣的不计其数, And post o'er land and ocean without rest: 他们奔走忙碌于海洋和大陆；

They also serve who only stand and wait. 那些站立得稳，坚定不移的也是服务。

Lines 1-8:

Milton gets rather impatient at the thought of his blindness. He is blind in the middle age. Blindness prevents him from using his poetic talent by writing something great to glorify God. He has a keen desire to serve God by using his poetic talent, because he knows that God wants man to use his God-given power or he may be punished. In an impatient mood Milton doubts if God would be just in demanding work from a blind man like him.

Lines 8-14:

Milton‘s attitude of doubt passes off in a moment. His inner conscience rises up with its faith in God‘s justice. He realizes that God does not need man‘s work by way of service to him; nor does he care whether man uses His gifts. He is the King of kings; His dominion is over the universe. He has thousands of angels doing His biddings at all times flying over land and sea. He has thousands of others who stand by His throne and sing His praise. The latter too are as good as beloved as the active angels. So, patient submission to His will is the best service to Him.

All the lines in the poem are in iambic pentameter. In this metric pattern, a line has five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables, for a total of ten syllables. The first two lines of the poem illustrate this pattern.

This sonnet is written in iambic pentameter rhymed in abba abba cde cde, typical of Italian sonnet.

Figures of Speech:

Alliteration: my days in this dark world and wide (line 2)

Metaphor: though my soul more bent / To serve therewith my Maker (lines 3-4). The author compares his soul to his mind.

Personification/Metaphor: But Patience, to prevent / That murmur, soon replies . . .

(lines 8-9).

Paradox: They also serve who only stand and wait.

Theme:

Its theme is that people use their talent for God, and they serve him best so can endure the suffering best. This sonnet is written as a result of Milton‘s grief, as he lost his eye sight at his middle age.

God judges humans on whether they labor for him to the best of their ability. For example, if one carpenter can make only two chairs a day and another carpenter can make five, they both serve God equally well if the first carpenter makes his two chairs and the second makes his five. If one carpenter becomes severely disabled and cannot make even a single chair, he remains worthy in the sight of God. For, as Milton says in the last line of the poem, "they also serve who only stand and wait."

Milton decides to rationalize his fear by seeking solutions in his faith.

Byron

Sonnet On Chillon(Book2 P28)

Eternal Spirit of the chainless Mind! 你磅礴的精神之永恒的幽灵！

Brightest in dungeons, Liberty! thou art:自由呵，你在地牢里才最灿烂！

For there thy habitation is the heart ---- 因为在那儿你居于人的心间——

The heart which love of thee alone can bind; 那心呵，它只听命对你的爱情：

And when thy sons to fetters are consign'd 当你的信徒们被带上了枷锁，

To fetters, and the damp vault's dayless gloom, 在暗无天日的地牢里牺牲，

Their country conquers with their martyrdom, 他们的祖国因此受人尊敬，

And Freedom's fame finds wings on every wind. 自由的声誉随着每阵风传播。

Chillon! thy prison is a holy place, 锡雍！你的监狱成了一隅圣地，

And thy sad floor an altar ----for 'twas trod, 你阴郁的地面变成了神坛，

Until his very steps have left a trace 因为伯尼瓦尔在那里走来走去

Worn, as if thy cold pavement were a sod, 印下深痕，仿佛你冰冷的石板

By Bonnivard! May none those marks efface! 是生草的泥土！别涂去那足迹！

For they appeal from tyranny to God. 因为它在暴政下向上帝求援。

This sonnet is essentially of the Italian type, with slight modifications in the riming pattern in the octave (abba, acca, dedede).

The “Sonnet on Chillon”which precedes the tale, is composed in memory of Bonnivard.

Theme:

This sonnet is written in praise of liberty, in praise of those who remain true to the ideals of freedom even when persecuted by their oppressors. It is a protest against the political reaction of that time.

Figures of Speech and Analysis

This poem dramatizes the conflict between liberty and tyranny, specifically in instances where tyrannical forces attempt to squelch liberty by imprisoning those who champion her virtue s. The speaker presents a paradox in the beginning of the poem, ―Eternal Spirit of the chainless mind!/Brightest in dungeons, Liberty, thou art,--For there thy habitation is the heart,--‖ (1,2,3). The speaker personifies liberty and explains the paradox as the poem continues. Liberty is described as a living woman whose “sons” (5) are “consigned, to...dayless gloom” (5/6).In this gloom however, ―love of thee alone can bind‖ (4). The speaker creates a long metaphor in which to win, tyranny must make men turn their hearts against their mother.

Sonnet on Chillon is an Italian Sonnet. This form is important because conflict is settled at the end of the octet. After setting up the conflict and paradox, and presenting the metaphor of liberty as a beloved mother who must be betrayed by her children in order for tyranny to triumph, the speaker ends the octet saying ―Their country conquers with their martyrdom, And freedom's fame finds wings on every wind.‖(7/8). Tyranny, by locking up liberty's sons in ―damp vaults‖ (6) succeeds only in creating martyrs whose example inspires the people, leading to their downfall.

The rhyme scheme in the octet follows the pattern of a typical Italian Sonnet, A, B, B, A, B, C, C, B. The first quatrain uses auditory rhymes ―Mind!‖ (1) and ―bind‖ (4), ―art‖ (2) and ―heart‖ (3).

The second quatrain though, is all site rhymes, ―consigned‖ (5) and ―wind‖ (8), ―gloom‖ (6) and ―martyrdom‖ (7). This auditory dissonance forces the reader to slow down by breaking the rhythm of of the poem, making the reader think more about the speaker's message and acknowledge the seriousness of the speakers intent.

After placing the reader in a position of finality, with the conflict already resolved and the speakers views made clear, the use of the Italian Form allows the speaker to continue. T he sextet begins, “Chillon!” (9). The exclamation grabs the readers attention, telling him that the speaker has more to say; “...thy prison is a holy place‖ (9). After using the octet to illustrate what could be a hypothetical situation of tyrannical oppression, the speaker declares boldly as the poem goes on that the situation is real, describing the prison as a ―holy place‖ (9) whose ―altar‖ (10) was consecrated by the ―steps‖ (11) that ―left a trace...as if thy cold pavement were a sod,‖ (11/12). The reader now knows that the prison is real, and that the martyr is real and has been imprisoned so long as to wear through stone by walking upon it's surface. The speaker then names his martyr; ―...Bonnivard!‖ (13).

The sextet follows as simple rhyme scheme, D, E, D, E, D, E with all rhymes being auditory ―place‖ (9) ―trace‖ (11) ―efface‖ (13) and ―trod‖ (10) ―sod‖ (12) ―God‖ (14). The straightforward rhyme scheme, combined with the exclamation points at the beginning of lines 9, 13 and 14 give the sextet a quick rising rhythm that creates excitement, enticing the reader to the speakers cause. The speaker ends with ―For they appeal! From tyranny to God.‖ (14), halting the rising rhythm at a high place and purposely ending both the poem and his appeal to the reader with an appeal to God. The speaker leaves the reader swayed to his cause, if not by the rising fervent pace of the sextet, then by appeal to a higher metaphysical authority.

She W alks in Beauty (Book2 P27)

She walks in beauty, like the night 她走在美的光影里，如夜空一般，Of cloudless climes and starry skies; 皎洁无云，星光灿烂，

And all that' s best of dark and bright 白昼黑夜的色泽精粹，

Meet in her aspect and her eyes: 在她的玉容秋波里交汇，

Thus mellowed to that tender light 凝聚成一片柔雅情调，Which heaven to gaudy day denies. 浓艳的白昼也无法从上苍得到。

2

One shade the more, one ray the less, 多一道阴影，少一抹光晕，Had half impaired the nameless grace 都会令她失却难言的风韵，

Which waves in every raven tress, 美涌动于她的每一缕秀发，Or softly lightens o'er her face; 温柔地映照着她的脸颊，

Where thoughts serenely sweet express 甜蜜而安详的思绪在表达，How pure, how dear their dwelling place. 哦，那思想的寓所纯洁而高雅。

3

And on that cheek, and o' er that brow, 那面容，那眉宇，

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, 温柔，安详，似蕴涵千言万语，The smiles that win, the tints that glow, 那醉人的微笑，那生辉的容颜，But tell of days in goodness spent, 诉说着她在温馨中度过的芳年，

A mind at peace with all below, 宁静的心境能容下人间万象，

A heart whose love is innocent! 圣洁的心灵里珍藏着爱的琼浆。

The poem was inspired by actual events in Byron‘s life. Once while at a ball Byron happened upon a beautiful woman, his cousin's wife, as she walked by. It is a narrative poem that describes the woman of much beauty and elegance.

Stanza One

In the first stanza of the poem, we're introduced to the woman the speaker is writing about, and are given a description of the ways she's beautiful. The poem itself is an extended description of that beauty (a common Romantic practice), but it is in this first stanza that we're given the terms of her beauty. Just what is it about this woman that has moved the speaker to write about her? First, let's look at the imagery the speaker associates her with. In the first two lines, we learn that she '…walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies…' That she's associated with a night sky is significant. For Romantics, the measure of a thing's beauty is its nearness to nature. She certainly is near it - she even, as the speaker tells us, has its same way of walking.

As the stanza continues, we see it goes further than that, though. Not only is the woman near nature, but 'all that's best of [night's] dark and bright / meet in her aspect and her eyes…' In other words, nature is part of her. She is the place where nature's beautiful features meet and are fused. Furthermore, the stanza closes with the declaration that the mixture of beauty in her eyes in fact attains a level of beauty higher than that which nature bestows on 'gaudy day.' For a Romantic, this is high praise indeed. The speaker has told us that this woman's beauty exceeds that of nature. Stanza T wo

In the second stanza, the speaker extends the beauty 'argument' he's set up in the first. Not only are the woman's features a beautiful mixture of natural elements, they in fact have attained some perfect, delicate balance that the slightest adjustment would upset. He writes, 'One shade the more [or] one ray the less' and her grace would be 'impaired.'

But, as the stanza implies, her grace isn't impaired. Rather her natural elements are arranged in just such a proportion that 'thoughts serenely sweet' can be expressed on them. While this might seem like just more adoration, it in fact is setting up the argument's important final phase, which is that not only is this woman beautiful - her beauty is so perfect that it in fact moves inward. It works into her skin and makes her inner person pure and perfect as well.

Stanza Three

The final stanza, and in particular the last three lines of the final stanza, is where the poet drives home this final claim, that his beloved's outward beauty has enacted within her a kind of inward correctness, or purity. He declares (my italics), 'the smiles that win, the tints that glow / but tell of days in goodness spent…a mind at peace…a heart whose love is innocent.' In other words, her beauty both enacts her purity and is evidence that she was perfect all along, that somehow her beauty was bestowed on her as a kind of affirmation of good character.

Figures of Speech/ Rhetorical Devices

Alliteration occurs frequently to enhance the appeal of the poem to the ear. The most obvious examples of this figure of speech include the following:

Line 2:....cloudless climes; starry skies.

Line 6:....day denies

Line 8:....Had half

Line 9:....Which waves

Line 11...serenely sweet

Line 14...So soft, so

Line 18...Heart Whose

Simile Lines 1, 2:...... comparing the movement of the beautiful woman to the movement of the skies

Metaphor Lines 8-10:...... comparing grace, a quality, to a perceivable phenomenon

Metaphor and personification Lines 11-12:.... comparing thoughts to people; metaphor and personification comparing the mind to a home (dwelling-place)

Lines 13-16:.... comparing the woman's cheek and brow to persons who tell of days in goodness spent.

Imagery: Light and Darkness(意象)

Byron presents an ethereal portrait of the young woman in the first two stanzas by contrasting white with black and light with shadow in the same way that nature presents a portrait of the firmament—and the landscape below—on a cloudless starlit evening. He tells thereader in line 3 that she combines ―the best of dark and bright‖ (bright here serving as an noun rather than an adjective) and notes that darkness and light temper each other when they meet in her raven hair. Byron's words thus turn opposites into compeers working together to celebrate beauty.

Theme:

One of the major theme alludes to woman‘s nature:―A mind at peace with all below,/ A heart whose love is innocent‖ (lines 17-18 reflects this theme that the woman‘s physical beauty is a reflection of her inner beauty (as Byron has explained before in the second stanza, lines 11,12,13 and 14). ). Byron relates that if her mind is at peace with all, and her heart is full of innocent love. In that sense, Byron is explaining that the inner and outer beauty are reflection and a connection to each other.

The theme of the poem is the woman's exceptional beauty, internal as well as external. The first stanza praises her physical beauty. The second and third stanzas praise both her physical and spiritual, or intellectual, beauty.

Beauty

Lord Byron's poem "She Walks in Beauty" was written in praise of a beautiful woman. History holds that he wrote it for a female cousin, Mrs. Wilmot, whom he ran into at a party in London one night when she was in mourning, wearing a black dress with glittering sequins. The poem uses images of light and darkness interacting to describe the wide spectrum of elements in a beautiful woman's personality and looks.

Unlike common love poetry, which makes the claim that its subject is filled with beauty, this poem describes its subject as being possessed by beauty. This woman does have beauty within her, but it is to such a great degree that she is actually surrounded by it, like an aura. To some extent, her positive attributes create her beauty, and so the poem makes a point of mentioning her goodness, her serenity, and her innocence...

When W e Two Parted(Book2 P25)

When we two parted 昔日依依别，

In silence and tears, 泪流默无言；

Half broken-hearted 离恨肝肠断，

To sever for years, 此别又几年。

Pale grew thy cheek and cold, 冷颊何惨然，

Colder thy kiss; 一吻寒更添；

Truly that hour foretold 日后伤心事，

Sorrow to this. 此刻已预言。

The dew of the morning 朝起寒露重，

Sunk chill on my brow—凛冽凝眉间－－

It felt like the warning 彼时已预告：

Of what I feel now. 悲伤在今天。

Thy vows are all broken, 山盟今安在？

And light is thy fame; 汝名何轻贱！

I hear thy name spoken, 吾闻汝名传，

And share in its shame. 羞愧在人前。

They name thee before me, 闻汝名声恶，

A knell to mine ear; 犹如听丧钟。

A shudder comes o' er me—不禁心怵惕－－

Why wert thou so dear? 往昔情太浓。

They know not I knew thee, 谁知旧日情，

Who knew thee too well—斯人知太深。

Long, long shall I rue thee, 绵绵长怀恨，

Too deeply to tell. 尽在不言中，

In secret we met—昔日喜幽会，

In silence I grieve, 今朝恨无声。

That thy heart could forget, 旧情汝已忘，

Thy spirit deceive. 疾心遇薄幸。

If I should meet thee 多年离别后，

After long years, 抑或再相逢，

How should I greet thee? —相逢何所语？

With silence and tears. 泪流默无声。

Theme

1.a love story between a man and a woman, an expression of feelings of hate from the man towards the woman because she left him. It‘s a very typical Romantic poem, typical of a Romantic writer like Lord Byron, who expresses his feelings of love, a typical issue of Romanticism.

2.There are two themes; the strong feeling that surround us which is love, (i.e: in the first stanza, in the third verse, ―Half broken-hearted‖, or ―Why wert thou so dear?‖ in the third stanza, fourth verse, ―That thy heart could forget‖ in the fourth stanza, third verse).

Also a big betrayal based on a deceit,(i.e: in the second stanza, fifth verse ―Thy vows are all broken‖ or ―Thy spirit deceive‖ fourth stanza, fourth ve rse. In fact, there is a previous theme that

is the regret caused by the themes mentioned before. This theme is showed during the poem: tears, sorrow (first stanza, second and eight verse), shudder, rue ( third stanza, third and seventh verse), ―Too deeply to tell‖, (third stanza, eigth verse); ―I grieve‖, tears (fourth stanza, second and eight verse).

Tone

The poem’s tone is very gloomy because it refers always to a strong regret, the poet feels sad and repentance, in fact the mood is very dramatic.

Structure

The poem is written in the first person。

The poem contains four stanzas of eight verses each one. There are, also, four kinds of rhyme in each stanza. In the first four verses of each stanza, odd verses have a rhyme, and even verses have another rhyme, and this method is used by the writer in the last four verses of each stanza with a rhyme for each pair of verses as I said before.

The poem is structured in four stanzas of eight verses each one. The poem‘ structure is the following; a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f-g-h-g-h … I think that the poem is an octave.

Inside the poem we can observe several images that help us to imagine the different situations which Byron transmit to us, i.e; ―Pale grew thy cheek and cold‖( 1st stanza), with that, Byron show us the g oodbye‘s indifference. Also he uses metaphors to express the feelings, i.e. ―Half broken-hearted‖ ―Colder thy kiss‖(1st stanza), ―And light is thy fame‖( 2nd stanza), ―Thy spirit deceive‖ (4th stanza) ...

Figures of Speech

1)Imagery: visually descriptive o r figurative language―The dew of the morning suck chill on my brow‖

2) Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable―And light is thy fame‖

3)Personification: the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form―That thy heart could forget‖

Images(Figures of Speech in it)

The cold is a very important metaphorical element at the beginning of the second and the third stanzas: The dew of the morning/ Sunk chill on my brow: here the cold is shown as a metaphor of the feelings that the man has towards the woman, as it happens too in A knell to mine ear/A shudder comes o’er me: dew, chill, knell and shudder are words that symbolize cold in many different ways.

In the last stanza, the two first verses have two words that may be synonyms, but they mean a totally different thing, they are the contrast of the poem: In secret we met, here Byron wants to transmit the passion of two lovers in their first secret encounter.

And In silence I grieve symbolizes that nobody can help this man to come back to smile after having been left by the woman he loved. The two following verses, That thy heart could forget/ Thy spirit deceive say what she made him: she forgot him and she deceived him.

I wandered Lonely as a Cloud

1. The poem is 24 lines long, consisting of four six-line stanzas. Each stanza is formed by a quatrain. And the poet also makes great use of the ―music‖of the language to achieve sound beauty in addition to convey meaning. He employs masculine rhyme in ―a, b, a, b, c, c‖ pattern to receive emphasis as a musical effect The poet wandered lonely as a cloud at the very beginning of the poem, we can feel his depression and disconsolateness as a cloud. Then he encountered a host of golden daffodils ―fluttering and dancing in the breeze‖ and his loneliness turns into relaxation and joy. Thus the shift of the poet‘s mood from sadness to happiness. It was inspired by an event on 15 April 1802, in which Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy came across a "long belt" of daffodils.

2. Wordsworth later said “They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude”were the two best lines in the poem, recalling the "tranquil restoration" of Tintern Abbey,（Tintern Abbey is an abbey abandoned in 1536 and located in the southern Welsh county of Monmouthshire. Wordsworth first visited Tintern Abbey in 1793 when he was 23 years old. Five years later he revisited the place with his sister Dorothy. From the beautiful natural scene he meditates on the effect of nature on the growth of his mind.）

3. manifests the theme --- the great influence of nature upon human being. It is a poem about nature. We come to realize the great power of nature at the delight moment his heart ―with pleasure fills ‖. The poet fully appreciated the cheerful sight of the dancing daffodils. The image of "Dance" is distinct in the poem, almost throughout the whole Psalm: the dancing daffodils in the first stanza; The sheer number of daffodils in stanza II the sparkling waves and the dancing daffodils jointly drew into a pleasing scene in stanza III .

这首诗写于使人从法国回来不久。诗人带着对自由的向往去了法国，参加一些革命活动。但法国革命没有带来预期的结果，随之而来的是混乱。使人的失望和受到的打击是可想而知的，后来在他的朋友和妹妹的帮助下，情绪才得以恢复。这首诗就写于诗人的心情平静之后不久。在诗的开头，诗人将自己比喻为一朵孤独的流云，孤单地在高高的天空飘荡。孤傲的诗人发现一大片金色的水仙，他们欢快地遍地开发。在诗人的心中，水仙已经不是一种植物了，而是一种象征，代表了一种灵魂，代表了一种精神。诗人为有这样的旅伴而欢心鼓舞。在他心中，水仙代表了自然的精华，是自然心灵的美妙表现。

中文版：

我孤独地漫游，像一朵云 / 在山丘和谷地上飘荡，/ 忽然间我看见一群

金色的水仙花迎春开放，/ 在树荫下，在湖水边，/ 迎着微风起舞翩翩。

连绵不绝，如繁星灿烂，/ 在银河里闪闪发光， / 它们沿着湖湾的边缘

延伸成无穷无尽的一行；/ 我一眼看见了一万朵，/ 在欢舞之中起伏颠簸。

粼粼波光也在跳着舞， / 水仙的欢欣却胜过水波；/ 与这样快活的伴侣为伍，

诗人怎能不满心欢乐！ / 我久久凝望，却想象不到 / 这奇景赋予我多少财宝，——

每当我躺在床上不眠，/ 或心神空茫，或默默沉思，/ 它们常在心灵中闪现，

那是孤独之中的福祉；/ 于是我的心便涨满幸福， / 和水仙一同翩翩起舞。

The Solitary Reaper

"The Solitary Reaper" is a ballad by English Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and one of his best-known works.

'"The Solitary Reaper is one of Wordsworth's most famous post-Lyrical Ballads lyrics.[1] The words of the reaper's song are incomprehensible to the speaker, so his attention is free to focus on the tone, expressive beauty, and the blissful mood it creates in him. The poem functions to 'praise the beauty of music and its fluid expressive beauty, the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" that Wordsworth identified at the heart of poetry.'

Genre:：lyric poem 抒情诗

four 8-line stanzas共四节每节八句

ababccdd (except lines 1 & 3 In stanzas 1 and 4)

Meters ：iniambic tetrameter四音步抑扬格

FIGURES OF SPEECH

反衬用夜莺和杜鹃反衬少女歌声的优美

暗喻、通感声音在作者眼中变为有形的事物

呼语BEHOLD HER /O LISTEN

反复同源词反复

类比少女的歌声与夜莺和杜鹃的歌唱诗人与旅人及赫布里群岛

象征MOUNT UP THE HILL象征着人生的旅途

THEME : The poet is fascinated with a Scottish peasant girl‘s beautiful song.（与其说这旅人是被歌声打动，还不如说是被割麦女的孤独打动，因为他们有着一样的孤独）

Stanza 1: The poet heard a Scottish girl singing while reaping in the wheat field.以祈使句式开头，突出视觉和听觉。第一节里面用了很多表示孤独的词语来形容割麦女，其实也是在反映诗人自己的孤独，恰似在I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud（《咏水仙》）里，诗人一处场也是一句“我像云一样，孤独的漂泊”。用例如lonely, wander, cloud,solitary, highland,alone, melancholy等词语表达一种孤独感。

Stanza 2: The poet is surprised to hear such a beautiful song in so remote a place.诗人展开想象，运用反衬手法，一方面写出了姑娘歌声的动听，另一方面也表达了自己听到歌声时难以言传的内心美感。荒凉的阿拉伯沙漠里疲乏的旅人突然听见夜莺清脆的啼啭，这无异于一杯甘露；遥远寒冷的赫伯利岛在严冬过后一朝出现了报春的杜鹃啼声，这又像是为岛上灌注了新的生命。但它们都不如姑娘的歌声动人心房。从侧面赞美女子歌声的悠扬，给漂泊者以慰藉和前行的动力。请比较《咏水仙》中诗人看到欢乐的水仙时，大篇幅对水仙欢乐情形的描写。

Stanza 3: The poet doesn‘t understand her song but knows it is about something sad.写抒情主人公对歌词内容的猜测。不管是为过去哀伤，还是在悲悼古代战场，或是在歌唱生活无尽的忧伤，都给读者留下了充分的想象余地。

Stanza 4: The poet was so moved by her song that he could never forget it.诗人的心灵受到了震动。歌声虽已消失，音乐长留心头。诗人在这里抒发了浓重的感情，女子的歌声使得旅途中的人忘却了疲惫，可以继续走向远方。请比较《咏水仙》的最后一节。在诗人百无聊赖，烦躁不安之时，那对昔日水仙美景的回忆使得他的心境转变，也开始快乐起来。

整体上，我们可以看出此诗行文结构和《咏水仙》如出一辙，表达的情感和思想亦是近似。我们还可以把这首诗和莎士比亚的第29首十四行诗相比较。所以，这些诗歌都是讲个人情感的变化，变化的动因有的是来自自然中的水仙美景，有的是高原女子的悠扬歌声，有的是娇媚的爱人。从这些诗歌中我们都能体验到不管是“爱”，“自然”还是代表艺术的“歌声”等，我们都能找到healing effect。

中文版：

茫茫的苏格兰高地上 / 有一位孤独的姑娘 / 独自收割，独自唱歌

无论谁驻足，还是悄然经过 / 她依然割捆故我 / 清唱着忧伤的旋律

奥，你听，那歌声 / 在山谷中回旋流转 / 在荒凉的阿拉伯沙漠

在飘泊者的憩息的树荫边 / 此时的婉转夜莺轻啼 / 也不如这歌声如此的沁人心脾

即使在遥远的赫伯利群岛 / 布谷鸟的轻啼唤醒了春天 / 犹如惊雷打破了沉寂的海面

也没有如此甜美的声音/谁能告诉我她在唱什么/也许是为过往而忧伤/

为那些苍老，不幸，和渺茫/还有那已经古老的战场/或许她唱的只是单调的曲子/

或平淡无奇的生活/那些原始的悲伤，损失，痛苦/从前会发生，以后也会再来过

无论她究竟唱些什么/都渺无止境/我看到她收割时在唱歌/弯腰时也在吟唱/

我静静地听着/直到我登上了山颠/那缥缈的歌声呀/还在心中荡气回肠

The World Is T oo Much with Us

"The World Is Too Much with Us" is a sonnet by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. In it, Wordsworth criticizes the world of the First Industrial Revolution for being absorbed in materialism and distancing itself from nature.It reflects his view that humanity must get in touch with nature to progress spiritually.The rhyme scheme of this poem is a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a, c-d-c-d, c-d. This Italian sonnet uses the last six lines (sestet) to answer the first eight lines (octave). The first eight lines (octave) are the problem and the next six (sestet) is the solution.

Metaphor

The metaphor ―we have given our hearts away, a sordid boon‖ is also a paradox. Sordid suggests the worst aspects of human nature such as immorality, selfishness and greed, while a boon is something that functions as a blessing or benefit.

The contradiction between the meanings of the words suggests that materialism is a destructive and corrupt blessing which the industrial revolution has produced. It emphasises the tension between the good exterior and the sordid truth behind materialism. On an exterior level, material goods bring pleasure and are a symbol of man‘s progress; however, in truth, they feed the worst aspects of humanity: thus a "sordid boon."

Sonnet form

As in many sonnets by the Romantic poets, he creates a tension between the emotional, natural, and fluid themes explored in the poem and the structured form of the sonnet. This tension reflects what was occurring during the Romantic Era, in which artists and poets were rebelling in the structured world of the neoclassical period.

Employing the familiar with the new and revolutionary-Wordsworth uses the familiar structure of the sonnet as well as referring to familiar ancient Gods (in the authors context they would have been familiar) to persuade the reader to engage in a positive way to the concepts addressed. The unfamiliar or unknown is always feared and suppressed thus by incorporating the familiar with the revolutionary the reader in the 19th century is more likely to en gage positively with Wordsworth‘s message.

Repetition and rhyming scheme

The repetitive rhyme scheme ABBAABBA, and the use of word pairs such as ―getting and spending‖ and ―late and soon‖ emphasi zes the monotonous nature of modern life and materialism. Getting and spending is a cluster of longer emphasized words with many consonants, also possibly emphasizing this view.

In essence, materialism is just that getting and spending: it is devoid of emotion or a true fulfilling purpose. In many ways the stereotypes of man and woman mirror the difference between the neoclassical and romantic period between civilized and nature. Men in this context are associated with rationality, strength, order and power, whereas women are associated with emotion and the imagination.

Music and harmony

The line, "For this, for everything we are out of tune" implies that man is out of tune with nature, unable to live in harmony with the world around him. By describing the harmonious relationship of man and nature as a tune, Wordsworth evokes a sensuous experience of nature.

Collective pronouns

Wordsworth uses the words "we" and "us." This includes the reader, once again positioning the reader to engage with the poem.

Imagery

In the simile "and are up gathered now like sleeping flowers," sleeping flowers suggest that man is numb and unaware of the beauty and power of the natural world. At the same time, however, there is also a certain optimism: the image of sleeping flowers implies that humans are only dormant, and that there is some hope we will wake up and realise the power of nature.

Punctuation

The poem's many commas and semicolons create pauses that instill reflection in the reader. In each pause the reader is given space to contemplate and engage with the message.

解析：―Getting and spending, we lay waste to our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours‖ (1-2) Wordsworth compares obtaining and spending to nature because nature cannot be owned regardless of the price. The juxtaposition illustrates the purity of nature in its inability to be owned and the greed of consumerism in its drive to own all. The word ―power‖ in first line is a reference to the connection through nature that is lost by acquiring and spending. Wordsworth specifically capitalizes the word nature in the middle of the sentence to illustrate its importance in a consumerist society. Though things in nature might be obtained or even used by man, they will always belong to nature.

Upset by the loss of his connection to nature, Wordsworth exclaims, ―We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!‖ (3) This exclamation shows that through excessive consumerism man has given away its heart, the life sustaining force within, which Wordsworth says is a filthy blessing. Wordsworth uses the word sordid which means dirty or filthy, next to the word boon which means a blessing, to illustrate the dirtiness of consumerism in comparison to the blessing purity of nature. Wordsworth continues by demonstrating that through mankind‘s growing greed, both nature and men have been thrown o ut of sync, ―The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything we are out of tune; It moves us not.‖ (5-8) Wordsworth clearly states that man is out of tune with nature and that the beauty of nature can no longer move the human soul. When the celestial light of nature is doused by the greed of consumerism, nature fails to move mankind emotionally. This severely upsets Wordsworth and the poet cries out, ―Great God! I‘d rather be a Pagan suckl ed in a creed outworn, So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn‖ (9-11) To say such an audacious statement in 1888 evokes shock and Wordsworth uses this shock to illustrate the severity of his plight. The creed outworn referred to by Wordsworth is the Christian tradition that has failed to provide a solution to his problem. Wordsworth would do anything to reconnect to nature, even if that meant the certain persecution of becoming a Pagan in the late 1800‘s.

T he final two lines of Wordsworth‘s sonnet conclude with the final warning,―Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn‖ (12-13) Wordsworth makes an allusion to the Greek God Proteus to symbolize the transforming pow er of nature while referring to Triton, the messenger of the deep, to symbolize the sound of his warning. Wordsworth illustrates through his sonnet that while man is consistently surrounded by material goods and possessions, it is nature in its purity and inability to be owned that the soul is truly inspired.

中文版：这个世界上，美国泛滥/ 获得或给予，我们一直在浪费精力

我们几乎丧失了自己的个性 / 为了那点蝇头微利，我们出卖内心

大海对着月亮敞开胸怀坏 / 海风不断地吹来

海浪不断地聚集就像睡着的花儿 / 我们和一切都不搭了

上帝，求你不要把我抛弃啊 / 异教徒们依旧吮吸哪些陈腐的信条

或许，有一天我也会站在快乐的草地上 / 通过遥望，至少不会如此孤单

我看见了海神，普罗透斯，他正在从海底崛起

我还听见了人身鱼尾的特里同在吹奏他那花环锦簇的号角

Composed Upon W estminster Bridge

中文版：大地再没有比这儿更美的风貌：/若有谁，对如此壮丽动人的景物

竟无动于衷，那才是灵魂麻木：/瞧这座城市，像披上一领新袍，

披上了明艳的晨光；环顾周遭：/船舶，尖塔，剧院，教堂，华屋，

都寂然、坦然，向郊野、向天穹赤露，/在烟尘未染的大气里粲然闪耀。

旭日金挥洒布于峡谷山陵，/也不比这片晨光更为奇丽；

我何尝见过、感受过这深沉的宁静！/河上徐流，由着自己的心意；

上帝呵！千门万户都沉睡未醒，/这整个宏大的心脏仍然在歇息！

The dominating theme in the poem is Nature.This reiterates（重申）

his conviction that the city, at this particular point of day, does not clash with nature but becomes a part of it. The poet transmits to the readers the calm and the tranquility（宁静）

described in his poem. In Wordsworth's poem, it is the sight that emerges, while the hearing is abs ent. In Wordsworth's poem, London shows clean air and the sun illuminates the whole city. Wordsworth brings the scenery around him to life. Wordsworth personifies the Earth by giving it a capital letter, and describing it as having the ability to "show". He also personifies the city, by des cribing it as wearing the morning beauty "like a garment". The image of the sun is powerful, as it i s referred to as "he", with actions described by diction such as "steep". This diction creates the ima ge of sunlight slowly submerging into the Earth's splits. The river is personified when it is describ ed as having its "own sweet will", and the houses are personified by their description of being asle ep. Lastly, the city itself is personified with the line "and all that mighty heart is lying still". These personifications again help us to draw the conclusion that Wordsworth is considering a sleeping cit y as part of nature. The compact description of London in lines six and seven emphasize the comp actness of the city, and long vowel sound emphasize the calm feeling of the occasion.

The description "bright and glittering in the smokeless air" creates a distinct image of the clarity of the morning. Despite this excitement, prevalent in this poem is a sense of calmness. He uses imagery, to make the city come alive before the reader's eyes. The passionate picture that the poem paints is a memory that calms and placates. The spondaic substitution or successive accented syllables lends emphasis to the emotional feeling that strikes the poet. This paradox is introduced through the image of dress, which the rhymes of the octave highlight: the city is fair (beautiful) because it wears "like a garment" the natural beauty of the morning; but wearing the beauty of the morning in fact means that the city is bare (naked): what it wears is just "the smokeless air". The paradox is carried over and developed further in the sestet.The city is now more beautiful and more alive than nature itself, but this is only so because it is steeped in the light of the sun and is thus deep asleep. The rhyming words steep –deep –asleep highlight these connections. As opposed to the city, which is "lying still", the natural parts of the landscape, the sunlight, the "valley, rock, or hill" as well as the river are now active, they dominate over the sleeping city, as is emphasized by the rhyming words hill –at their will –lying still.The city, represented in the last line by the metaphor of the heart, is thus alive because it is dead, because it is inactive and is dominated by its natural environment.The thematic development of the poem is seconded by the rhythms. The enjambments in the octave(八度) express the boundless admiration for this beautiful sight, the overflowing emotion of the poet. One function of this metrical development is clearly to mark the

end of the poem. Apart from this, however, the clear iambic rhythm also functions here on another level. the iambic rhythm gives us a strong sense of the beating of a heart.The city now is "lying still", it is dead, it is not itself, it is dominated by its natural environment; and it is precisely because of this that it can come to life: the mighty heart begins to beat only when it is lying still.

Expostulation and Reply

―Expostulation and Reply‖ tells of a brief encounter between the poet and his friend Matth ew. Why, Matthew asks in his expostulation (an attempt to reason with a person in order to turn him away from a course ofaction), does Wordsworth spend so much time at the lake, musing, when he could be reading books to educate himself? Wordsworth, one of the leaders of the Romantic Movement in literature, replies with an answer that reflects hisphilosophy: Nature nurtures the mind with a wisdom of its own. A man has only to sit passively in its presence, and it will stimulate his senses in profound ways. The idea that nature is a teacher is the theme of the poem and one of the tenets of the Romantic Movement in literature.

Figures of Speech

Alliteration

As if you were her first-born birth (line 11)

To me my good friend Matthew spake (line 15)

We cannot bid the ear be still; (line 18)

"Think you, 'mid all this mighty sum (line 25) Anaphora

As if she for no purpose bore you;

As if you were her first-born birth

Metaphor and Paradox(矛盾)

Up! up! and drink the spirit breathed

From dead men to their kind. (lines 7-8)

Metaphor: Comparison of spirit to a liquid and to knowledge

Paradox: Dead men breathing

Metaphor and Personification

Where are your books?—that light bequeathed

To Beings else forlorn and blind! (lines 5-6)

Comparison of progress (implied) to light

Comparison of light to a person. (Only a human can bequeath.)

Personification

Y ou look round on your Mother Earth,

As if she for no purpose bore you

Comparison of earth to a woman

Meter

The meter of the first three lines of each stanza is iambic tetrameter, with eight syllables (four iambic feet) per line except when an extra syllable occurs at the end of a line. (An iambic foot consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.) The extra syllable at the end of a line constitutes a foot, turning an iambic-tetrameter line into an iambic-pentameter with catalexis. The meter of the fourth line of stanzas 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8 is is iambic trimeter, with six syllables (three iambic feet) in the line. The meter of the fourth line of stanzas 3 and 7 is iambic tetrameter with catalexis occurring in the fourth foot.

Summary, Stanzas 1-2

Matthew asks a simple question: Why is William wasting his time daydreaming?

After asking another question, Matthew presents the expostulation (an attempt to reason with a person in order to turn him away from a course of action): Books contain wisdom (light)passed on (bequeathed) to people who would otherwise be uneducated (forlorn and blind). Get up and read (drink) the ideas (spirit) that wise men wrote and published (breathed) before they died.

Summary, Stanzas 3-5

Matthew continues the expostulation, telling William that Mother Earth has a purpose for him, implying that he should act to fulfill it. After all, he is not the first person on earth. He can take a step toward his goal by learning from books written by those born before him.

William reports the poem's setting, reveals his feeling that life is going well, identifies the man who spoke to him, and announces that he will reply.

A person sees, hears, and feels what is around him, whether he wants to or not. In other words, nature speaks to him.

Summary, Stanzas 6-8

In addition—a person's intuition, his God-given inner voice—also speaks to him, feeding his mind as nature does. Thus, a man can learn passively, without acting.

The poet now asks a question: Do you think that people must always seek knowledge in books even though the totality of nature and intuition are forever speaking to them? The implied answer is no.

Matthew thus should not ask why William is sitting on a stone, dreaming. For William is listening to nature and intuition—and therefore learning in his own way.

In the poem, a duke speaks about his dead wife. The poem is about murder, mystery and intrigue, but

All in indirect allusions. Readers may sense that the duke kills his wife or causes her death, but no evidence is shown. The l anguage of the poem is difficult to understand. The use of dramatic monologue forces readers to w ork hard to find the meaning behind the duke's words. 诗歌最后一段中所提的―海神‖和―海马‖的形象更进一步揭露了这位公爵的本性。

在此段中，―海马‖类比了公爵夫人，是他驯服的对象，可见其专横:―为我用铜铸的‖表现了他的自大;而诗中隐含的欲将公爵夫人变为他的一个收藏品的意图又揭示了他的残忍。―不论是残暴还是贪婪，他都出之以最合礼貌的文雅语言

在《我已故的公爵夫人》中，公爵本欲指责他已故的公爵夫人，却在无意

历史老照片不能说的秘密慈禧军阀明末清初文革晚清

之中赞扬了她的纯洁和善良。对这位夫人，尽管公爵本人觉得不甚满意，读者却从他的话中产生了截然不同的印象:公爵夫人脸上的红晕和微笑令公爵反感，而读者感到的却是一份纯真。因此，不管公爵对这位年轻的夫人如何贬低和指责，我们对她却颇有好感。相反，诗中体现的公爵的品行却令人厌恶。不管他是如何竭力扮作艺术的贵族资助人和谦和待客的绅士，都无法掩饰他灵魂的卑劣。

2.表象和实质之间的矛盾

勃朗宁的戏剧独白诗善于透过主人公为了适应社会角色小扮演的表面的自我来揭示其本质的、真实的自我。用勃朗宁自己的话讲，他喜欢―揭示灵魂的面纱。他的许多戏剧独白诗就像是―脱衣舞，‖对人物隐藏起来的真实灵魂进行层层揭露，从而体现笼统的传统形象和具体的个人形象之间无法避免的差异。―公爵‖在人们想来应该是威严、大度和仁慈的。在《我已故的公爵夫人》一诗中却不然。这位公爵虽貌似尊贵，内心却是极端狭隘、

残忍和贪婪。这一形象给读者的是强烈的震撼，也反映了勃朗宁对形形色色的人物灵魂深处的敏锐洞察。

我的前公爵夫人

墙上的这幅面是我的前公爵夫人，看起来就像她活着一样。如今，我称它为奇迹：潘道夫师的手笔经一日忙碌，从此她就在此站立。你愿坐下看看她吗？我有意提起潘道夫，因为外来的生客（例如你）凡是见了画中描绘的面容、那真挚的眼神的深邃和热情，没有一个不转向我（因为除我外再没有别人把画上的帘幕拉开），似乎想问我可是又不大敢问；是从哪儿来的——这样的眼神？你并非第一个人回头这样问我。先生，不仅仅是她丈夫的在座使公爵夫人面带欢容，可能潘道夫偶然说过：―夫人的披风盖住她的手腕太多，‖或者说：―隐约的红晕向颈部渐渐隐没，这绝非任何颜料所能复制。‖这种无聊话，却被她当成好意，也足以唤起她的欢心。她那颗心——怎么说好呢？——要取悦容易得很，也太易感动。她看到什么都喜欢，而她的目光又偏爱到处观看。先生，她对什么都一样！她胸口上佩戴的我的赠品，或落日的余光；过分殷勤的傻子在园中攀折给她的一枝樱桃，或她骑着绕行花圃的白骡——所有这一切都会使她同样地赞羡不绝，

或至少泛起红晕。她感激人．好的！但她的感激（我说不上怎么搞的）仿佛把我赐她的九百年的门第与任何人的赠品并列。谁愿意屈尊去谴责这种轻浮举止？即使你有口才（我却没有）能把你的意志给这样的人儿充分说明：―你这点或那点令我讨厌。这儿你差得远，而那儿你超越了界限。‖即使她肯听你这样训诫她而毫不争论，毫不为自己辩解，——我也觉得这会有失身份，所以我选择

绝不屈尊。哦，先生，她总是在微笑，每逢我走过；但是谁人走过得不到同样慷慨的微笑？发展至此，

我下了令：于是一切微笑都从此制止。她站在那儿，像活着一样。请你起身客人们在楼下等。我再重复一声：你的主人——伯爵先生闻名的大方足以充分保证：我对嫁妆

提出任何合理要求都不会遭拒绝；当然．如我开头声明的，他美貌的小姐才是我追求的目标。别客气，让咱们一同下楼吧。但请看这海神尼普顿在驯服海马，这是件珍贵的收藏，是克劳斯为我特制的青铜铸像。

SummaryThis poem is loosely based on historical events involving Alfonso, the Duke of

Ferrara, who lived in the 16th century. The Duke is the speaker of the poem, and tells us he is ente rtaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke‘s marriage (he has recently been widowe d) to the daughter of another powerful family. As he shows the visitor through his palace, he stops before a portrait of the late Duchess, apparently a young and lovely girl. The Duke begins reminis cing about the portrait sessions, then about the Duchess herself. His musings give way to a diatribe on her disgraceful behavior: he claims she flirted with everyone and did not appreciate his ―gift of a nine-hundred-years- old name.‖ As his monologue continues, the reader realizes with ever-more chilling certainty that the Duke in fact caused the Duchess‘s early demise: when her behavior esca lated, ―[he] gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.‖ Having made this disclosure, the Duke returns to the business at hand: arranging for another marriage, with another young girl. As t he Duke and the emissary walk leave the painting behind, the Duke points out other notable artwo rks in his collection.

Form―My Last Duchess‖ comprises rhyming pentameter lines. The lines do not employ

end-stops; rather, they use enjambment—gthat is, sentences and other grammatical units do not ne cessarily conclude at the end of lines. Consequently, the rhymes do not create a sense of closure w hen they come, but rather remain a subtle driving force behind the Duke‘s compulsive revelations. The Duke is quite a performer: he mimics others‘ voices, creates hypothetical situations, and uses t he force of his personality to make horrifying information seem merely colorful. Indeed, the poem provides a classic example of a dramatic monologue: the speaker is clearly distinct from the poet; an audience is suggested but never appears in the poem; and the revelation of the Duke‘s character is the poem‘s primary aim.

Commentary

But Browning has more in mind than simply creating a colorful character and placing him in a pict uresque historical scene. Rather, the specific historical setting of the poem harbors much significa nce: the Italian Renaissance held a particular fascination for Browning and his contemporaries, for it represented the flowering of the aesthetic and the human alongside, or in some cases in the plac e of, the religious and the moral. Thus the temporal setting allows Browning to again explore sex, violence, and aesthetics as all entangled, complicating and confusing each other: the lushness of th e language belies the fact that the Duchess was punished for her natural sexuality. The Duke‘s ravi ngs suggest that most of the supposed transgressions took place only in his mind. Like some of Br owning‘s fellow V ictorians, the Duke sees sin lurking in every corner. The reason the speaker here gives for killing the Duchess ostensibly differs from that given by the speaker of ―Porphyria‘s Lo ver‖ for murder Porphyria; however, both women are nevertheless victims of a male desire to insc ribe and fix female sexuality. The desperate need to do this mirrors the efforts of Victorian society to mold the behavior—gsexual and otherwise—gof individuals. For people confronted with an inc reasingly complex and anonymous modern world, this impulse comes naturally: to control would s eem to be to conserve and stabilize. The Renaissance was a time when morally dissolute men like