1、Thomas Gray 托马斯格雷,Thomas Gray (26December 1716 30 July 1771), was an English poet, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University.,1. Introduction of his Life,Born in London in 1716. The only one of twelve children who survived infancy with an unhappy childhood. The tyranny (粗暴）of his fathe
2、r and the separation of his lived mother gave to his whole life melancholy（忧郁）. Studied at Eton school, Cambridge. Had three years tour of the Continent with his friend Horace Walpole. 1742, he returned to Cambridge. As a scholar and professor, he lived his rest of his life in Cambridge except four
3、tours and visits to Scotland and the Lake District, in search of beauty and the sublime（卓越） in nature.,Gray was so self critical and fearful of failure that he only published 13 poems during his lifetime. Gray died on 30 July 1771 in Cambridge and was buried beside his mother in the churchyard of St
4、oke Poges, the setting for his famous Elegy. His grave can still be seen there today. There is a plaque（匾） in Cornhill, marking the place where he was born.,Grays grave,2. Major works,In contrast to those professional writers, Grays literary output was small. His main works include: An Elegy(哀歌，挽歌)
5、written in a Country Churchyard, 墓园挽歌 Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat, 爱猫之死 Ode on the Spring 春之颂 Hymn(圣歌)to Adversity 逆境赞歌 Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College 伊顿公学展望,3.Thomas Grays features and themes,Thomas Gray is the representative figure of sentimentalists感伤主义. With a classical precisi
6、on and polish, the poet shows a keen interest in the English countryside and a sincere feeling of the life of common people. Nature is his greatest concern. Each natural object, either directly or by contrast, reflects the mood of man.,4.Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard墓园挽歌,It is regarded as Gr
7、ays best and most representative work. The poem is the outcome of about eight years careful composition and polish. It is more or less connected with the melancholy event of the death of Richard West, Grays intimate friend. In this poem, Gray reflects in death, the sorrows of life, and the mysteries
8、 of human life with a touch of his personal melancholy.,Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard 墓园挽歌,The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd winds slowly oer the lea, The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me. Now fades the glimmering lan
9、dscape on the sight, And all the air a solemn stillness holds, Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds: Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wandering near her secret bower, Molest her ancien
10、t solitary reign. Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-trees shade, Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, Each in his narrow cell forever laid, The rude Forefathers of the hamlet sleep.,晚钟响起来一阵阵给白昼报丧， 牛群在草原上迂回，吼声起落， 耕地人累了，回家走，脚步踉跄， 把整个世界留给了黄昏与我。苍茫的景色逐渐从眼前消退， 一片肃穆的寂静盖遍了尘寰， 只听见嗡嗡的甲虫转圈子纷飞， 昏沉
11、的铃声催眠着远处的羊栏。只听见常春藤枝裹的塔顶底下 一只阴郁的鸱枭向月亮诉苦， 怪人家无端走近它秘密的住家， 搅扰它这个悠久而僻静的领土。峥嵘的榆树底下，扁柏的荫里， 草皮鼓起了许多零落的荒堆， 各自在洞窟里永远放下了身体， 小村里粗鄙的父老在那里安睡。,The breezy call of incense-breathing morn, The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed, The cocks shrill clarion, or the echoing horn, No more shall rouse them from th
12、eir lowly bed. For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn, Or busy housewife ply her evening care: No children run to lisp their sires return, Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share, Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke; How jocund did the
13、y drive their team afield! How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!,5 香气四溢的晨风轻松的呼召， 燕子从茅草棚子里吐出的呢喃， 公鸡的尖喇叭，使山鸣谷应的猎号 再不能唤醒他们在地下的长眠。6 在他们，熊熊的炉火不再会燃烧， 忙碌的管家妇不再会赶她的夜活； 孩子们不再会“牙牙”的报父亲来到， 为一个亲吻爬到他膝上去争夺。7 往常是：他们一开镰就所向披靡， 顽梗的泥板让他们犁出了垄沟； 他们多么欢欣的赶牲口下地！ 他们一猛砍，树木就一棵棵低头！,Let not Ambition mock their useful
14、 toil, Their homely joys, and destiny obscure; Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile The short and simple annals of the Poor. The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth eer gave, Awaits alike the inevitable hour. The paths of glory lead but to the grave. Nor y
15、ou, ye Proud, impute to these the fault If Memory oer their tomb no trophies raise, Where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault The pealing anthem swells the note of praise. Can storied urn or animated bust Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath? Can Honors voice provoke the silent du
16、st, Or Flattery soothe the dull cold ear of Death?,雄心别嘲讽他们实用的操劳， 家常的欢乐、默默无闻的命运； 豪华也不用带着轻蔑的冷笑 来听讲穷人的又短又简的生平。 门第的炫耀，有权有势的煊赫， 凡是美和财富所能赋与的好处， 前头都等待着不可避免的时刻： 光荣的道路无非是引导到坟墓。 骄傲人，你也不要怪这些人不行， 怀念没有给这些坟建立纪念堂， 没有让悠长的廊道、雕花的拱顶 洋溢着宏亮的赞美歌，进行颂扬。 栩栩的半身像、铭刻了事略的瓮碑， 难道能恢复断气，促使还魂？ 荣誉的声音能激发沉默的死灰？ 谄媚能叫死神听软了耳根？,Perhaps in
17、this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire; Hands, that the rod of empire might have swayed, Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre: But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page, Rich with the spoils of time, did neer unroll; Chill Penury repressed their noble rage, And froz
18、e the genial current of the soul. Full many a gem of purest ray serene The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear: Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air. Some village-Hampden, that with dauntless breast The little tyrant of his fields withstood, Some mute
19、 inglorious Milton here may rest, Some Cromwell, guiltless of his countrys blood.,也许这一块地方，尽管荒芜， 就埋着曾经充满过灵焰的一颗心； 一双手，本可以执掌到帝国的王笏 或者出神入化的拨响了七弦琴。 可是知识从不曾对他们展开 它世代积累而琳琅满目的书卷； 贫寒压制了他们高贵的襟怀， 冻结了他们从灵府涌出的流泉。 世界上多少晶莹皎洁的珠宝 埋在幽暗而深不可测的海底： 世界上多少花吐艳而无人知晓， 把芳香白白的散发给荒凉的空气。也许有乡村汉普敦在这里埋身， 反抗过当地的小霸王，胆大，坚决； 也许有缄口的弥尔顿，从
20、没有名声： 有一位克伦威尔，并不曾害国家流血，,The applause of listening senates to command, The threats of pain and ruin to despise, To scatter plenty oer a smiling land, And read their history in a nations eyes, Their lot forbad: nor circumscribed alone Their growing virtues, but their crimes confined; Forbad to wade th
21、rough slaughter to a throne, And shut the gates of mercy on mankind, The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide, To quench the blushes of ingenuous shame, Or heap the shrine of Luxury and Pride With incense kindled at the Muses flame. Far from the madding crowds ignoble strife, Their sober wish
22、es never learned to stray; Along the cool sequestered vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.,要博得满场的元老雷动的鼓掌， 无视威胁，全不管存亡生死， 把富庶、丰饶遍播到四处八方， 打从全国的笑眼里读自己的历史 他们的命运可不许；既不许罪过 有所放纵，也不行发挥德行； 不许从杀戮中间涉登宝座， 从此对人类关上仁慈的大门； 不许掩饰天良在内心的发作， 隐瞒天真的羞愧，恬不红脸； 不许用诗神的金焰点燃了香火 锦上添花去塞满“骄”“奢”的神龛。 远离了纷纭人世的勾心斗角，
23、他们有清醒的愿望，从不学糊涂， 顺着生活的清凉僻静的山坳， 他们坚持了不声不响正路。,Yet even these bones from insult to protect Some frail memorial still erected nigh, With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture decked, Implores the passing tribute of a sigh. Their name, their years, spelt by th unlettered Muse, The place of fame and elegy
24、 supply: And many a holy text around she strews, That teach the rustic moralist to die. For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, This pleasing anxious being eer resigned, Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, Nor cast one longing lingering look behind? On some fond breast the parting soul relie
25、s, Some pious drops the closing eye requires; Even from the tomb the voice of Nature cries, Even in our ashes live their wonted fires.,可是叫这些尸骨免受到糟蹋， 还是有脆弱的碑牌树立在近边， 点缀了拙劣的韵语、凌乱的刻画， 请求过往人就便献一声惋叹。 无文的野诗神注上了姓名、年份， 另外再加上地址和一篇诔词； 她在周围撒播了一些经文， 教训乡土道德家怎样去死。 要知道谁甘愿舍身喂哑口的遗忘， 坦然撇下了忧喜交织的此生， 谁离开风和日暖的明媚现场 而能不依依的回
26、头来顾盼一阵？ 辞世的灵魂还依傍钟情的怀抱， 临闭的眼睛需要尽哀的珠泪， 即使坟冢里也有自然的呼号 他们的旧火还点燃我们的新灰。,For thee, who, mindful of the unhonored dead, Dost in these lines their artless tale relate; If chance, by lonely contemplation led, Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate, Haply some hoary-headed swain may say, “Oft have we seen h
27、im at the peep of dawn Brushing with hasty steps the dews away, To meet the sun upon the upland lawn; “There at the foot of yonder nodding beech That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high. His listless length at noontide would he stretch, And pore upon the brook that babbles by.,至于你，你关心这些陈死人， 用这些
28、诗句讲他们质朴的故事， 假如在幽思的引领下，偶然有缘分， 一位同道来问起你的身世 也许会有白头的乡下人对他说， “我们常常看见他，天还刚亮， 就用匆忙的脚步把露水碰落， 上那边高处的草地去会晤朝阳； “那边有一棵婆娑的山毛榉老树， 树底上隆起的老根盘错在一起， 他常常在那里懒躺过一个中午， 悉心看旁边一道涓涓的小溪。,“他转游到林边，有时候笑里带嘲， 念念有词，发他的奇谈怪议， 有时候垂头丧气，像无依无靠， 像忧心忡忡或者像情场失意。” “有一天早上，在他惯去的山头， 灌木丛、他那棵爱树下，我不见他出现； 第二天早上，尽管我走下溪流， 上草地，穿过树林，他还是不见。” “第三天我们见到了送葬的
29、行列， 唱着挽歌，抬着他向坟场走去 请上前看那丛老荆棘底下的碑碣， （你是识字的）请念念这些诗句”：,“Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn, Muttering his wayward fancies he would rove; Now drooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn, Or crazed with care, or crossed in hopeless love. “One morn I missed him on the customed hill, Along the heath, and
30、near his favorite tree; Another came; nor yet beside the rill, Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he; “The next with dirges due in sad array Slow through the church-way path we saw him borne, Approach and read (for thou canst read) the lay Graved on the stone beneath yon aged thorn.“,5. A detailed
31、 analysis of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,Major themes: In this poem, Gray reflects on death, the sorrows of life, and the mysteries of human life with a touch of his personal melancholy. He stresses the fact that death is inevitable and that even “the paths of glory lead but to the grave.”
32、 The poet also compares the common folk with the great ones, wondering what the commons could have achieved if they had the chance. Here he reveals his sympathy for the poor and the unknown, but mocks （嘲笑）the great ones who despise（轻视 ）the poor and bring havoc （浩劫）on them. Form: The poem contains al
33、together 32 quatrains（四行诗） of iambic（抑扬格的） pentameter （五步格诗），with a rhythm of abab for each stanza (节).,The poet writes an epitaph (墓志铭)of himself.,这里边，高枕地膝，是一位青年， 生平从不曾受知于“富贵”和“名声”； “知识”可没轻视他出身的微贱， 他生性真挚，最“清愁”把他标出来认作宠幸。 乐于慷慨施惠， 上苍也给了他同样慷慨的报酬： 他给了“坎坷”全部的所有，一滴泪； 从上苍全得了所求，一位朋友。 别再想法子表彰他的功绩， 也别再把他的弱点翻出
34、了暗窖 （他们同样在颤抖的希望中休息）。 那就是他的天父和上帝的怀抱。,Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth A youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown. Fair Science frowned not on his humble birth, And Melancholy marked him for her own.Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere, Heaven did a recompense as largely send: He gave to Misery all he had, a tear, He gained from Heaven (twas all he wished) a friend.No farther seek his merits to disclose, Or draw his frailties from their dread abode (There they alike in trembling hope repose), The bosom of his Father and his God.,
