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Lecture 14 Twentieth-Century Literature Teaching target and focus: The historical background of the 20th century and the representative writers. Lost Generation 20th century poets Historical Background:p.150 Politically, US entered WWI in 1917 for purity and democracy. The period of peace- making ended with general disillusionment about the value of war. Economically, because of the war, American industry developed fast. Socially, decline of idealism. Patriotism became cynical disillusionment. Unity of family weakened. There appeared the revolt of the Younger Generation. They escaped responsibility and assumed immorality. Lost Generation （迷惘的一代） 林主的庄宅就在邻村 , He will not see me stopping here 却不会见我在此驻马， To watch his woods fill up with snow. 看他林中积雪的美景。 My little horse must think it queer 我的小马一定颇惊讶： To stop without a farmhouse near 四望不见有什么农家， Between the woods and frozen lake 偏是一年最暗的黄昏， The darkest evening of the year. 寒林和冰湖之间停下。 He gives his harness bells a shake 它摇一摇身上的串铃， To ask if there is some mistake. 问我这地方该不该停。 The only other sounds the sweep 此外只有轻风拂雪片， Of easy wind and downy flake. 再也听不见其他声音。 The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, 森林又暗又深真可羡， But I have promises to keep, 但我还要守一些诺言， And miles to go before I sleep, 还要赶多少路才安眠， And miles to go before I sleep. 还要赶多少路才安眠。 Summary: On the surface, this poem is quite simple. The speaker is stopping by some woods on a snowy evening and takes in the lovely scene in near-silence. He is tempted to stay longer, but acknowledges the obligations and the considerable distance yet to be traveled before he can rest for the night. Comment 1:这首诗描写了一个对生活失去信 心的老人，在黑暗中来到森林边，本打算在雪 夜的林中结束自己的生命，然而美丽的森林， 动听的风声和铃声唤醒了他对人生的热爱， “ And miles to go before I sleep”说明老人认 为生命不能就此结束，在死之前还要过好余生 。这首诗的韵律优美，哲理深奥，文字朴实无 华。马儿与老人默默交流，将景色融入老人心 中，意境深远。 Comment 2: THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT (1888-1965): p.192 American-English poet, playwright, and critic, a leader of the modernist movement in literature. Eliot was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1948. Group work MAIN WORKS The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915):p.196, written during Eliots undergraduate days at Harvard; exploration, through the eyes of the poems narrator, a middle-aged man named J. Alfred Prufrock, of the morbidity and spiritual decay of society; Prufrock is more sharply self-aware of the world than those around him, but is also paralyzed by a sense of nihilism and futility. Portrait of a Lady (1917), poem about the inability of a man and woman to communicate, due to the stifling conventions of what is seen as a dying society; both are aware of their isolation, but unable to escape; the lady, in her loneliness, wants to reach out to the man, but believes she has nothing left to offer him; the man escapes her demands by hiding in habits and social conventions. The Waste Land (1922), long poem, in five parts, about the search for meaning in the midst of the fragmentation, futility, and desolation of modern life; breaks away from conventional poetic techniques; its publication was a landmark in the development of modern English poetry. Ash Wednesday (1930), poem, one of the first by Eliot which celebrates the peace he apparently discovered in orthodox Christianity; poetic liturgy and meditation on the mystical relationship with God. Murder in the Cathedral (1935), drama in verse; subject matter is the assassination of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket (1162-1170) who opposed King Henry IIs attempt to limit the privileges of the clergy; in Eliots play, Thomas is tempted by material reward but rejects it to honor God, for which he is martyred. Four Quartets (1943), lengthy poem considered by many critics to be Eliots most important poetic work; extensive exploration of ideas of time, eternity, mortality, and faith; divided into four sections or quartets named for four different locations; intended by Eliot to echo, in its construction and exploration of a theme in each section, a sequence of musical compositions. Tradition and the Individual Talent 传统 与个人才能 : the earliest statement of his aesthetics 1. Tradition：传统观 2. Objective correlative： 客观对应物 3. Depersonalization :非个性化思想 My M.A. Thesis .M.A.Thesis.doc Close-reading of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
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