The Road Not Taken 未竟之路

RobertFrost(1874–1963)阮籍《咏怀·杨朱泣歧路》“杨朱泣岐路，墨子悲染丝”。阮籍引用《淮南子·说林篇》中的这两个故事，列于全诗之首，抒写他的心情，定下了一个悲慨的基调。人在纷乱的政局中徬徨。面前的歧路，可以往南，可以往北，稍一不慎就会误入歧途；本色的素丝，可以染黄，可以染黑，浮华的外形常是掩盖着本质。杨朱走到叉路口，不知道该如何选择，于是哭了起来；墨子看到白色的丝线放在染料里，放在红色的染水里就被染成红色，放在黑色的染水里就被染成黑色。人的一生就是在不断的选择，有时选择是很难的，因为每一个选择都有得有失。面对众多的路口，众多的选择，我们苦恼、困惑。每一个选择都会改变你的人生轨迹，每一个选择都会有一个结果，无论对与错。因此有时真能感受到那种到了十字路口该走向何方的痛苦。而墨子的“悲染丝”更让我们觉得做事要慎重，切不可大意；用人要慎重，要人尽其才，等等。李白《行路难》“行路难，行路难！多歧路，今安在？长风破浪会有时，直挂云帆济沧海。”诗人离筵上瞻望前程，只觉前路崎岖，歧途甚多，要走的路，究竟在哪里呢？这是感情在尖锐复杂的矛盾中再一次回旋。但是倔强而又自信的李白，决不愿在离筵上表现自己的气馁。他那种积极用世的强烈要求，终于使他再次摆脱了歧路彷徨的苦闷，唱出了充满信心与展望的强音：“乘风破浪会有时，直挂云帆济沧海！”他相信尽管前路障碍重重，但仍将会有一天，乘长风破万里浪，挂上云帆，横渡沧海，到达理想的彼岸。萨特名言：人天生就是自由的。英雄使自己成为英雄，懦夫使自己成为懦夫。RobertFrost•AnAmericanpoet,heishighlyregardedforhisrealisticdepictionsoftherurallifeandhiscommandofAmericancolloquialspeech.Hisworkfrequentlyemployedthemesfromtheearly1900srurallifeinNewEngland,usingthesettingtoexaminecomplexsocialandphilosophicalthemes.Apopularandoften-quotedpoet,Frostwashonoredfrequentlyduringhislifetime,receivingfourPulitzerPrizes.Life•borninCalifornia;raisedinNewEngland•Hisfatherdiedearlyandthefamilylifewasnoteasy.•Hewasanhonorstudentwhenhegraduatedfromthehighschool.HeenteredDartmouthCollegeandlaterHarvard,butheneverfinishedhisuniversityeducation.•Hebegantowritepoemswhenhewasinthemiddleschool,buthewasrecognizedasapoetwhenhewasnearly40.•HewonthePulitzerPrizefor4times.Hewasconsideredasthe“unofficialpoetlaureateofthenation”.In1961,hewasinvitedtoreadhispoemsintheinaugurationceremonyofPresidentKennedy.Hewastheonlypoetwhooncehadsuchanhonor.RobertLeeFrost(1874-1963)•“NationalPoetofAmerica”•NewEngland'smostauthenticpoet“•unofficialpoetLaureate,oneofthemostcelebratedAmerican’smodernistpoetsAchievements•FourPulitzerPrizes•Honorarydegreesfromforty-fourcollegesanduniversities•In1960,theU.S.governmentawardedhimagoldmedalforhiscontributiontoAmericanculture.•In1961,hewasinvitedtoreadhispoetryTheGiftOutright,attheinaugurationofPresidentJohnF.Kennedy.MainWorks•ABoy’sWill1913一个男孩的意愿•NorthofBoston,1914波士顿的北部•MountainInterval,1916山间•NewHampshire1923新罕布什尔•CollectedPoems1930诗集•AFurtherRange1936又一片牧场•AWitnessTree1942见证树Features•(1)Hispoemsmostlywroteaboutnature(influencefromWordsworthandEmerson)andNewEnglandlandscape.•(2)Deceptivelysimplestyle(reasonforpopular)•(3)Symbolism(showhispoems’deepmeaning)•(4)Hewaslikelytochoosetraditionalformsforhispoem,butthethemesofhispoemsaremostlymodern.(Inhispoems,traditionalelementsandmodernelementsmingletogether.)HisWritingRobertFrostwasthemostpopularAmericanpoetfrom1914tohisdeath.Hisverse:atfirstterrifying→laterfilledwithmoresunshineFrost’sachievementwasfantastic.Frost’spoemsareNewEnglandinthesetting,andarecharacterizedbythefamiliarspeakingvoice.Thesubjectscomefromdailylifeofordinarypeople.Frostwroteruralpoetryinthepastoraltraditionasawaytounderstandmodernlife.Morelanguagefeatures•Frost’spoeticstyleishighlyappreciatedinthecountry.Heusedsimplelanguage,agracefulstyle,andtraditionalformsofpoetry.Hewasoftendeceptivelysimple,exploringcomplexitythroughtriviality.Heusedsymbolsfromeverydaylifetoexpressprofoundideas.Hemadehispoemsseemeffortlessbyusingcolloquialanddirectexpressionandconversationalrhythms.Hissuccessmainlycomesfromtwoaspects:hecombinedtraditionalpoeticformswithAmericanvocabularyandspeechrhythms;heworkedindividualpoemsintoalargerunitybypresentinginthemarecurred“persona”intheimageofawisecountryfolk.TheoryofPoetry“beginsindelightandendsinwisdom”•Subjectmatter:NewEnglandlifeandfarming;realisticdepictionsofrurallife•Style:Profoundsimplicity;RhymedstanzasandblankverseAboutthePoem“TheRoadNotTaken”•FrostclaimsthathewrotethispoemabouthisfriendEdwardThomas,withwhomhehadwalkedmanytimesinthewoodsnearLondon.Frosthassaidthatwhilewalkingtheywouldcometodifferentpathsandafterchoosingone,Thomaswouldalwaysfeltwonderingwhattheymighthavemissedbynottakingtheotherpath.•Aboutthepoem,Frostasserted,“Youhavetobecarefulofthatone;it’satrickypoem–verytricky.”Superficially,thepoemhasbeenandcontinuestobeusedasaninspirationalpoem,encouragingself-reliance,notfollowingwhereothershaveled.Butaclosereadingofthepoemprovesnotso.RobertFrost’s“TheRoadNotTaken’’Tworoadsdivergedinayellowwood黄色的树林里分出两条路AndsorryIcouldnottravelboth可惜我不能同时去涉足分叉RobertFrost’s“TheRoadNotTaken’’•Andbeonetraveler,longIstood作为一个路人，我在那路口久久伫立AndlookeddownoneasfarasIcould我向着一条路极目望去Towhereitbentintheundergrowth直到它打弯，视线被灌木丛挡住Bush草丛RobertFrost’s“TheRoadNotTaken’’•Thentooktheother,asjustasfair于是我选择了另一条，不比那条差Andhavingperhapsthebetterclaim也许会有更好的风景景色，风景RobertFrost’s“TheRoadNotTaken’’–Becauseitwasgrassyandwantedwear因为它绿意融融，等待人去践踏Thoughasforthatthepassingthere其实讲到留下了来往的足迹Hadwornthemreallyaboutthesame两条路，说不上差别有多大人迹罕至的行人的经过使得RobertFrost’s“TheRoadNotTaken’’•Andboththatmorningequallylay那天早晨，有两条路，相差无几Inleavesnostephadtroddenblack都埋在还没被踩过的落叶底下Oh,Ikeptthefirstforanotherday啊，我把那第一条路留给另一天！AndthatmorningRobertFrost’s“TheRoadNotTaken’’•Yetknowinghowwayleadsontoway可我知道，一条路又接上另一条，IdoubtedifIshouldevercomeback//恐怕我难以再回返RobertFrost’s“TheRoadNotTaken’’•IshallbetellingthiswithasighSomewhereag