朗费罗生命颂中的隐喻赏析

Metaphors: To labor is to tolerate To wait is to have patience In the last part, the poet wants to express that on the way to successwe should never give up and be patient enough when faced with obstacles. The functions of metaphors: To create the image of the poem To add a great deal of power to the theme
Stanza 6
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act, — act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead!
The poet encourages everyone to have faith and trust the lord and not to rely on the unknown future however beautiful, pleasant it may look.
Stanza 4 Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave.
The metaphors in A Psalm of Life
Title A Psalm of Life WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST
The first metaphor: Heart is a person
The poet expresses his idea through the conversation between the young man and the psalmist instead of preaching directly, which is more likely to arose the readers’ interests.
wk.baidu.com
Stanza 7
Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footsteps on the sand of time;
Metaphor: Footsteps are achievements
He advises people to seize the moments they have before them and act timely ,he also encourages peole to leave their own “footsteps ”on the sand of time just like the great men.
Stanza 8 & 9 Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.
Thank you !
Metaphor: Time is a fleet It indicates life is short, we should cherish time , take every opportunity we meet on the way, and work hard everyday.
Stanza 5 In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Metaphors: World is a battle filed Life is the bivouac Through the metaphors above, the poet emphasized again the importance of struggle, if people don’t work hard ,they will be drowned by the fierce competition.
Stanza 2 & 3
Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; “Dust thou art, to dust returnest,” Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each tomorrow Find us farther than today.
Stanza 1 Tell me not, in mournful numbers, “Life is but an empty dream!” For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem.
The psalmist compares life to an empty dream, for those people, they loiter away their lives, do nothing, which is strongly opposed by the young man.
Metaphor: Life is a journey The poet says “ grave is not the goal”, which means life doesn't end for people simply because they die; there is always something more to be hopeful and optimistic for.