1、1,Walt Whitman(18191892),2,Whitman was honored on a Famous Americans Series Postal issue, in 1940,One of the greatest innovators in American literature.He gave American its first genuine epic poem: Leaves of Grass.,2,3,Walt Whitman,Walt Whitmans Life Major Works Special features of His Works Walt Wh
2、itmans Contribution I Hear American Singing,3,4,Walt Whitmans Life,Born on May 31, 1819, in the village of West Hills, Suffolk County, Long Islandthe second son of a house-builder Largely self-taught, acquainted with the works of Homer(荷马), Dante(但丁), Shakespeare, and the Bible. In 1836, as a teache
3、r in the one-room school houses of Long Island. Continuing to teach until 1841, then turning to journalism as a full-time career.,4,5,In the fall of 1848, he founded a “free soil” newspaper, the Brooklyn Freeman.In 1855, Whitman took out a copyright on the first edition of Leaves of Grass, which con
4、sisted of twelve untitled poems and a preface.Whitman released a second edition of the book in 1856, containing thirty-three poems, a letter from Ralph Waldo Emerson praising the first edition, and a long open letter by Whitman in response.,5,6,Whitman struggled to support himself through most of hi
5、s life. In Washington he lived on a clerks salary and modest royalties（稿酬）, and spent any excess money, including gifts to friends, buying supplies for the patients he nursed. After his death on March 26, 1892, Whitman was buried in Harleigh Cemetery（公墓）.,6,7,WALT WHITMANS CRYPT IN HARLEIGH CEMETERY
6、,8,A democrat 民主主义者 An individualist 个人主义者 A nationalist 民族主义者 A pantheist 泛神论者 An American free verse poet,8,9,The thought of democracy strongly opposed to the southern side during the Civil War, favoring the democratic north. slavery abused humanity. People should be equally treated. Song of Mysel
7、f-revealing such a world of equality, void of rank and hierarchy.,9,10,An individualist tried to find a way to express his unique feelings about himself, the nation, and the cosmos. created a style and language of his own. greatly influenced by Emerson, the transcendental（先验论的） master. but not self-
8、exclusion. Instead, he thinks that many people could realize a community while remaining individuals.,10,11,A pantheist In the preface of Leaves of Grass -ideal poet must be a complete lover of the universe and draw his materials from nature. When using the word heaven, he mostly designated the regi
9、on of the stars and planets Mainly applying to the analogy of the life cycles of plants and animals-the sequence of seed, germination, growth, death, and rebirth from another seed. He was taught that Gods true revelation was in Nature. He sometimes juxtaposed（并列） the notion of historical changes and
10、 natural changes.,11,12,A nationalist Leaves of Grass is firmly and deeply rooted in American soil. The word “America” and “American” recur again and again; the united states and these states are constantly referred to. responding enthusiastically to the expansion of America, the newly founded progr
11、essive republic. conscious of his mission as a poet, considering that poetry could play a vital part in the process of creating a new and better nation. optimistic of the future of America, which he identifies as a child who went forth every day.,12,13,Artistic innovation The most important feature
12、of any artistic work is simplicity. He carried on a sort of experiment on the form of poetry by choosing free verse as his medium of expression, allowing him to express freely his ideas in colloquial English, regardless of the prevailing principles of rhymes or meter.In his case it proves to be the
13、most effective way to convey strong feelings of the common people through the mouth of the poet.,13,14,Major Works,Leaves of Grass 草叶集1855 Drum-Taps 桴鼓集1865 Democratic Vistas 民主远景1871 Song of Myself 自我之歌 I Sit and Look Out 坐观世间 O Captain, My Captain! 船长，我的船长 When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomd 最
14、近紫丁香在庭院里开放的时候 I hear America Singing 我听见美国在歌唱,15,Leaves of Grass,16,A collection of Whitmans poems, his lifelong achievement. Consisting of 12 poems when first published in 1855. Nine editions and last edition includes more than 400 poems. The most famous pieces-Song of Myself, There Was a Child Wen
15、t Forth, Pioneers! Pioneers! etc. Celebrates the ideals of equality, democracy, the dignity, self-reliant spirit and joy of common people,16,17,Grass-the most common thing with the greatest vitality, as a symbol of the rising AmericanWith new poetic form of free verse and oral language, Leaves of Gr
16、ass has become a landmark in American literary history, which represents the poet, the people, and the nation in the 19th century.,18,草叶集的地位,草叶集从第一版到第九版，经历了坎坷的历程，其中充满了激烈的争论。这种争论在诗人逝世后100多年的时间里仍然在延续。19世纪后叶至20世纪全世界所有文学大师几乎无一例外地都在一生中的某个时刻向惠特曼的草叶集行过注目礼。 在惠特曼从事诗歌创作的年代，控制美国诗坛的是所谓“高雅派”诗人，他们一味以模仿英国诗歌为能事，而当时
17、的英国诗歌也浪漫主义的末流，这种诗风在美国产生的只能是等而下之的仿制品。,19,惠特曼来了，带着手脚上的泥土和草叶，带着汗珠和露水，从码头、田野、矿山、街市走来，放开嗓门，大胆高歌，带着开天辟地的一个崭新的“人的姿态”他一开口就是一个崭新的文明的声音-这就是“新兴的美国文明”的声音。,20,惠特曼主张为了描述宇宙万物的规律以及它们的创造力和丰富性，必须避免传统的诗艺常规，即押韵、格律等。于是他创造了一种空前自由的诗体。所以“自由”是草叶集的一大特点。在惠特曼看来，“最好的诗就是具有最完善的美的东西对耳朵的美，对大脑的美，对心灵的美，对时间与地点的美。” 在美国文学史上，草叶集成了一个源头，成为
18、20世纪美国现代主义诗歌运动的先驱。,21,(2) Democratic Vistas 民主远景 (1871) The main themes are the ideals of democracy and individualism, which the author considers to be compatible. Whitman outlines a new culture order for the U.S. He condemns the degradation of democracy and the growth of material wealth during the
19、post-Civil War period, prophesies a future greatness and announces that there must be a declaration of cultural independence to achieve a truly national indigenous（本土）literature.,22,Themes Transcendent power of love, brotherhood, and comradeship（同志关系） Imaginative projection into others lives Optimis
20、tic faith in democracy and equality Belief in regenerative and illustrative powers of nature and its value as a teacher Equivalence of body and soul and the unabashed exaltation of the body and sexuality,Special Features,22,23,Sexuality He is bold enough to break the taboo in poetry writing. Because
21、 he celebrates the self, Whitman considers the human body as sacred and innocent. He infuses the abstractions of democracy with the intensity of erotic passion, giving literature some of its first and most potent images of democratic breaking of bounds. He presents one of the most tender and moving
22、accounts of homosexual love in Western literature.,Special Features,23,24,(2) FormFree verse- the verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern, the verse without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme.Parallelism, a rhythm of thought Phonetic recurrence The use of a certain pronoun “I” A looser
23、 and more open-ended syntactic structure Strong tendency to use oral English Vocabulary-powerful, colorful, rarely- used words of foreign origins, some even wrong Sentences-catalogue techniques: long list of names, long poem lines,Special Features,24,25,The first person narrator Whitmans poetry is d
24、istinctively noted for the use of the first person narrator “I”. making his poems direct and sympathetic to the reader. (4) Language oral and powerful tends to use everyday English in his poems that would make an easy contact with the average American. his use of powerful and sometimes unusual words
25、 might give the reader a sense that his poems are not shallow but deep.,Special Features,25,26,Walt Whitmans Contribution,He believes the American poets would create both new forms and new subjects matter for poetry. In terms of poetic form, he advocated a completely new and completely American form
26、 of expression-free verse. In terms of contents, most of his poems are about man and nature, especially common people and ordinary Americans. He wanted his poetry to be for the common people,27,He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history, influencing the 20th century world litera
27、ture. His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture. His poetry also influences modern American poets such as Pound, Hart Crane, Carl Sandburg.,27,28,“I Hear America Singing” 我听见美利坚在歌唱 an optimistic and passionate celebration and admiration of the new America with its peopl
28、e and its spirit.,29,I Hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,different,songs, hymns,我听见美利坚国在歌唱, 听见各种颂歌在回响;,Those of mechanics, each one singing hisas it should be blithe and strong,carefree, happy,机械工在唱, 每个人都心情愉快、歌声嘹亮;,I Hear American Singing,30,The carpenter singing hisas he measures his p
29、lank or beam,board, piece of wood,木匠在唱,边唱歌边把木版和大梁来丈量;,The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,泥瓦工,泥瓦匠在唱, 上工前后都在唱;,31,The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,船夫在唱船上的事,水手歌唱在汽艇甲板上;,The shoemaker singing as he sits on h
30、is bench, the hatter singing as he stands,鞋匠坐着凳子把歌唱, 帽匠站在店铺里唱;,舱板水手,32,The wood-cutters song, the plowboys on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,interval, break,伐木工、农村青年清晨走路、中午时分、黄昏回家都在唱;,The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sew
31、ing or washing,美妙的,母亲在甜唱,少妇在边工作边唱,少女在边缝边洗边唱;,33,Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,每个人都在唱自己关心而不属于别人的事;,The day what belongs to the dayat nightthe party of young fellows, robust, friendly,healthy, strong,白天唱着白天的事,夜里身强力壮互相友好的青年人,34,Singing with open mouths their strong melodious
32、songs.,harmonious, musical,张口大唱,歌声悦耳、雄壮嘹亮.,35,Appreciation of I Hear America Singing,Diction( the choice and use of words in literature)Nouns such as: mechanics, mason, work, deckhand, shoemaker, hatter, woodcutter, ploughboy, and mother. images of the working class societyVerbs: measure, make, sing
33、ing, sit, stand, sewing, washinga moving pictures of people performing their different jobs,36,Main idea: This poem is shortest among Whitmans poems. It presents the reader a picture of the modern Americans: people from all walks of life are singing for their cheerful and creative work and their dream through out American.,37,Themes: an eulogy to the thriving American nation, the laboring people; the poets optimistic attitude toward the world and life. Tone: Proud, cheerful, optimistic Language：Simple and even rather crude; Have a tendency to oral English,38,Thank you!,38,
