英国文学20世纪总结

Break, Break, Break----T ennyson “冲激，冲激，冲激”

"Break, Break, Break" is a lyric poem that Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) was believed to have completed in 1834. It centers on Tennyson's grief over the death of his best friend, Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet. Lyrical poetry presents the deep feelings and emotions of the poet as opposed to poetry that tells a story or presents a witty observation.

A lyric poem often has a pleasing musical quality. The word lyric derives from the Greek word for lyre, a stringed instrument in use since ancient times.

Rhyme Scheme and Meter

Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza have end rhyme. The meter in the poem varies, but the anapestic foot creates the musicality of the poem.

Rhetorical Devices;Following are examples of figures of speech and other rhetorical devices in "Break, Break, Break": Apostrophe (Lines 1 and 2): The narrator addresses the sea.

Personification and metaphor also occur in Lines 1 and 2, for the poet regards the sea as a human being. Alliteration (Line 8): boat on the bay

(Lines 9-12): Stanza 3 uses this figure of speech as follows:

And the stately ships go on

To their haven under the hill;

But O for the touch of a vanished hand,

And the sound of a voice that is still!

Alliteration (Line 15): day that is dead

Repetend: Line 13 repeats Line 1; Line 7 repeats the first two words of Line 5.

Paradox: Touch of a vanished hand (Line 11), sound of a voice that is still (Line 12).

Themes Grief The main theme is bereavement, heartache, emptiness. In the narrator's dark hour of grief, the sun rises, children laugh, business goes on as usual. How could the world be so cruel and unfeeling?

Summary ;The narrator grieves the loss of his friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, a promising poet and essayist who had been engaged to Tennyson's sister, Emily. Hallam died of a stroke in 1833 when he was only 22. Nature, of course, does not stop to mourn the loss of anyone. Cold and indifferent, it carries on, the waves of the ocean breaking against rocks along the seashore without pausing even for a moment. The rest of the world carries on as well: the fisherman's boy happily playing with his sis ter, the sailor merrily singing, the ship busily plying the waters of commerce. Downcast, isolated by his grief, the narrator yearns to touch the hand of his friend once more, to hear the sound of his voice. But, no, Hallam is gone forever; his "tender grace" w ill never again return.

Robert Browning (1812-1889)

Works of Robert Browning

Pauline (1833) The Ring and the Book (10 verse narratives, 1868)

My Last Duchess (a dramatic monologue that explores the idea of possessive/distorted love) (1842) 《我已故的公爵夫人》Porphyria‘s Lover (a poem of love lust, and murder) (1836-42)

Home-Thoughts, from Abroad (1845)

Bells and Pomeganates (a series of his works,1841-46)

You’ll Love Me Yet你终将爱我Meeting at Night 《月夜相会》

Parting at Morning 《晨别》The Ring and the Book《指环与书》

Home Thoughts from Abroad《异国相思》

Dramatic monologue戏剧独白诗；a type of poem in which a character, at some specific and critical moment, addresses an identifiable but silent audience, thereby unintentionally revealing his or her essential temperament and personality

Browning‟ s dramatic monologue: the poet is neutral & the speaker is independent –the poem becomes more dramatic involving often different layers of meaning, & the poet‟s intention is often vague with their envelope –“implied author”Elizabeth Barrett Browning；major works are Sonnet from the Portuguese and The Cry of Children.

Unlike Tennyson who felt melancholy in the process of his spiritual search, Browning was always optimistic. He, like Tennyson, also preached God and Immortality, but he looked boldly at the evils in human beings without losing faith

Similarities--Preached God and Immortality

Differences ；Tennyson--felt melancholy 。Browning--optimistic

Browning…s poetry features：

Frequent use of “Dramatic monologue” is the most important feature of his poe try.