Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Alfred,LordTennyson----“第一代男爵丁尼生”BriefintroductionEarlylifeWorks&phrasesSelectiveanalysis“break,break,break”BriefintroductionAlfredTennyson,1stBaronTennyson(6August1809–6October1892)wasPoetLaureateoftheUnitedKingdomduringmuchofQueenVictoria'sreignandremainsoneofthemostpopularpoetsintheEnglishlanguage.BriefintroductionHewasthemostprolificpoetinthe19thcenturyEnglishliterature.HiswonderfulworksshowallthequalitiesofEngland'sgreatpoet.HewrotemanyphrasesthathavebecomecommonplaceoftheEnglishlanguage.EarlylifeEarlylife&worksHislateryearsandworksEarlylife&worksTennysonwasborninSomersby,Lincolnshire,avicar'ssonandfourthof12children.Hederivedfromamiddle-classlineofTennysons,butalsohadnobleandroyalancestry.works:Break,Break,Break”“Morted’Arthur”,”LocksleyHall”“Tears,Idletears”HislateryearsandworksDuringthistime,therewere3bigthingshappened:First,InMemoriampublished.Second,hewasappointedPoetLaureateinsuccessiontoWilliamWordsworth.(p289).ThirdInthesameyear,hemarriedEmilySellwood,whomhehadknownsincechildhood,mainworks:P289&P290Works&phrasesTostrive,toseek,tofindandnottoyield.“奋斗吧，追求吧，去寻觅，不要放弃。”“Theirsnottoreasonwhy,theirsbuttodoanddie.”“他们不去追问原因，他们只是奋斗至死。”Tisbettertohavelovedandlostthannevertohavelovedatall.“爱过，又失去爱，好过从未爱过。”“Whoarewiseinlove,lovemost,sayleast.”“懂爱的人，爱的多，说的少。”“Aliethatishalf-truthisthedarkestofalllies.”“半真半假的谎言是最坏的谎言。”IamapartofallthatIhavemet.“我的经历，就是我的一部分。”Break,Break,BreakBreak,break,break,Onthycoldgraystones,OSea!AndIwouldthatmytonguecouldutterThethoughtsthatariseinme.Owellforthefisherman'sboy,Thatheshoutsforhissisteratplay!Owellforthesailorlad,thathesingsinhisboatonthebay!AndthestatelyshipsgoonTotheirhavenunderthehill;ButOforthetouchofavanishedhand,Andthesoundofavoicethatisstill!Break,break,breakAtthefootofthycrags,OSea!ButthetendergraceofadaythatisdeadWillnevercomebacktome.(lines1–16Break,Break,BreakWhydoesthepoetdescribethestonesascoldandgray?Whateffectdothejoyfulscenesinthesecondstanzabringtothewholepoem?Whatdoesthevoicethatisstill“referto?Whatthesearepresent?Howdoyouunderstandthetitle“Break,Break,Break”?voicethatisstill“referstothevoiceofthepoet‘sdeadfriendArthurHalllam.Theseaisthenusedtorepresentthatthereissomethinggreaterbeyondthecycleoflifeanddeatheventhoughwordscannevertrulydescribewhatthisis.BackgroundDuringtheChristmasholidayof1834/1835,Tennysonwasworkingonmanypoems,includingInMemoriam.Healsobecamedissatisfiedwithhisearlierworksandwasbusyrevisingthepoemsthathewasstillwillingtoseeaspublishable.Duringearly1835,TennysontraveledtoMapplethorpeinordertostaywithfriends.However,whenwordcametohimthathisotherfriends,theHallams,werespendingtimewithbothWilliamWordsworthandSamuelRogers,TennysonbelievedthathewascompletelyisolatedfromsocietywhileinLincolnshire.ItwasinthismindsetthatTennysonwentwithhisfriendsatLincolnshiretowitnessthebreakers.ThemesThepoemdescribestheauthor’sfeelingsoflossandisolation,andtherealizationthatthereissomethingbeyondthecycleoflifeanddeath.Inpoems,thereisastrongbiographicalconnectionwithBreak,Break,BreakandTennyson'slife.ThemesBreak,Break,Breakcanbeclassifiedasanelegy,withthesubjectbeingTennyson'sfriendHallam.LikeOnaMournerwrittenayearbefore,bothpoemsuseaverysimplestyleanddescribeasceneinminimalisticterms.CriticalresponseMichaelThorn,inhis1992biographyofTennyson,claims,Thispoem,sooftenanthologized,isaperfectexampleofhowbiographycanbeusedtoreinvigorateaworkgrowndullwithrepetitionandfamiliarity.AlmostcertainlywrittenduringthisvisittoMablethorpe[...]knowledgeofthebiographicalbackgroundcreatesacinematicallyclearimageofthecloakedpoetlookingresentfullyatthecheerfulfisherman'schild,theequallyjovialsailor,andtheshipsatsea.Itisoneofthegreatshortlyrics.