71EmilyDickinson.ppt

Emily Dickinson (迪金森迪金森  1830-1886)•Mother of American Poetry,A pioneer of Modernist poetry,•the great American lyrical woman poet.• I. Dickinson•1.1. Biographical background:•born in Amherst, Massachusetts. “Amherst witch”.•an eventless life;•single.•a few visits to other cities, attended college for one year; •all her time at home and in her large garden, •reading, writing and baking bread for the family.•alludes to the Bible;•After 1862, a total recluse. •due to her own personality, her desire to separate herself from the world. •the Civil War hardly affected her thinking.• seven poems published during her lifetime; •1,800 poems were published in the 1890s, •rediscovered in the 1920s. •1.2 Her Writings•one of the most innovative poets of 19th-century A. Lit.•the speaker in her poems--persona (人格面具）a supposed person, anticipating (foresee) the modern idea that poems are always spoken by a fictitious person. •  General Themes•short, based on a single image or symbol,•some of the most important things in life. 1. love （never found; gave up）; 2.  nature: • 500, dark, mysterious, alienation in it.3.  mortality (death) and immortality• a third. eg "Because I could not stop for death”, •“I Heard a Fly buzz –when I died –”4 success, Failure (or suffering and growth)•(eg. “Success is counted the Sweetest”) 5. Friendship, Love, and Society.• “Success Is Counted Sweetest”Questions for discussion: •1. What do you think is success? •2. Have you ever had the experience of being a very successful person or ever had such a sense? •Who or what do you think determines success or failure? •3.2  A common idea in Dickinson’s poems is that •the person who lacks or does not have understands whatever is lacking better than the person who possesses it. •The poet cites one specific kind of success—victory in battle: that is, the soldier hears the sounds of victory just before he dies.•Summary of this poem:•Those who think they have not achieved success think it is precious because they have an intense need for it. •Real success, then, is a deep realization of the heavy price one pays. •It is an inward feeling rather than public acclaim or material gain. Hence, success can be determined only by oneself.•1 questions after reading the poem:•1According to the poem, who understands success best? Do you agree or disagree? Give your reason(s). •The one who does not succeed.•2 Can you illustrate the theme of the poem from your own experience?•“I’m Nobody!”I. warming-up question:•Do you want to be nobody” or “somebody”? Explain your reasons.II. the poem: a dramatic monologue.•Questions after the poem:•1. Who are the “pair of us” and “they” in the poem?•2. What does “an admiring bog” really mean?•idolater or idolator (One who worships idols.)• 3. What does she prefer to be, somebody or nobody?•4. What is the theme of this poem?•5. What is the metrical structure?•iambic.•Rhyme pattern: abcb•Half traditional and half innovative.•A kind of loose free verse.•Based on the traditional structure and metre, but innovated some new writing features.• •On a biological level, she resents/satirizes those shallow writers who are “somebody” in the eyes of most people in the society and gain undeserved attention. She shows her indifferent attitude to fame.•5. What’s the tone of the poem?•Jocular, amusing, defensive. • What is her language style?1. deepest poignant feelings in an aphoristic (警句）style. 2. short, fresh and original vigorous images, daring thought and beautiful expression. 3 in short stanzas, quatrains, with short lines, usually rhyming only on the second and fourth lines. 4. In Punctuation•dashes, and irregular punctuation, capitalization, 5. In rhetoric device unconventional metaphors，blends symbolism and allegory. 6. off-rhymes (partial rhymes) , broken metre, 3. What are the similarities and differences between Whitman and Dickinson?•1） Their differences：•Whitman•Romantic period•Thirst for experience and gregarious (sociable） in habit;•All-inclusive, public, values companionship;•Dickinson•Realistic period•Avoid contacts with people, renounce the world around, experience quite limited;•Close-in, values life in solitude, reserved and lonely;•2））Similarities of Whitman and Dickinson: •the greatest and most original poetsindependent American poets in theme and technique. 1)Thematically, praise America, its expansion, its individuality and its Americanness, but •Whitman : society; •Dickinson: the inner life of the individual. 2) In technical terms:breaking free of the iambic pentameter， a freedom in form, but Whitman: endless, all-inclusive catalogs, Dickinson: concise, direct and simple diction and syntax.。