1、No Signposts in the Sea,by Victoria (Vita) Mary Sackville-West,No Signposts in the Sea,vv,by Victoria (Vita) Mary Sackville-West,Introduction of the author,Analysis of language in the text,Brief introduction of the text,Further discussion,Vita Sackville-West,Born: 1892 Knole CastleDied: 1962 aged70N
2、ationality: EnglishOccupation: poetnovelist gardenerkey words: Personal lifeMarriageBisexuality Honour,Vita Sackville-West was born in Knole Castle,Her best Known Poetry Today,Her best Known Novels Today,The Edwardians All Passion Spent,Vita Sackville-West has also worked as a gardener,Victoria (Vit
3、a) Mary Sackville-Wests personal life,She was born at Knole House in Kent. She spent her early life with this ancient and huge house; because she was a woman, she could not inherit it, and this affected the rest of her life. She was the wife of Sir Harold Nicolson. Both she and Nicolson were members
4、 of the Bloomsbury group.,She was famous for her exuberant aristocratic life, her strong marriage, and her passionate affairs with women.,Bloomsbury Group,friends and relatives London 20th century. Their works deeply influenced literature, aesthetics, criticism, economics, modern attitudes towards f
5、eminism, pacifism, and sexuality.,An English collectivity,Bloomsbury Group,The memebers came from mostly upper middle-class professional families.,Bloomsbury Group,Almost everything about Bloomsbury appears to be controversial, including its membership and name.,Her marriage with Harold Nicolson,191
6、3 Harold Nicolson Diplomat/journalist Broadcaster/MP/author Fellow bisexual Open marriage Same-sex relations Outside marriage,Affair with Violet Trefusis,This affair had the deepest and most lasting effect on Vitas personal life. It eventually ended badly, with Trefusis pursuing Sackville-West to gr
7、eat lengths, until Sackville-Wests affairs with other women finally took their toll, but Trefusis refused to give up. Despite the poor ending, the two women were devoted to one another, and deeply in love.,The affair for which Sackville-West is most remembered was with the prominent writer Virginia
8、Woolf in the late 1920s. In consequence, Woolf wrote one of her most famous novels, Orlando.,Affair with Virginia Woolf,弗吉尼亚伍尔夫 Virginia Woolf英国著名女作家，在小说创作和文学评论两方面都有卓越的贡献。世界三大意识流作家之一，女权主义运动的先驱人物。深受弗洛伊德心理学、女性主义及同性恋运动影响。她在文学上的成就和创造性至今仍然产生很大的影响。,The Land, won the Hawthornden Prize in 1927. She won it a
9、gain, becoming the only writer to do so, in 1933 with her Collected Poems. In 1946 Sackville-West was made a Companion of Honor (名誉勋爵士) for her services to literature.,Honour,Hawthornden Prize 霍桑登奖,The oldest of the famous British literary prizes, founded in 1919 by Alice Warrender. Awarded annually
10、 to an English writer for the best work of imaginative literature, esp. designed to encourage young authors.,Edmund Carr: an influential political columnist and bachelor who had devoted all of his time to the career, having little time to entertain himself before he decided to take the voyage abroad
11、. Laura: an intelligent and warm widow and an acquaintanceof Edmund Carrs. Colonel: an Empire builder, who appear quite knowledgeable.,About the novel,Suppose one has been informed that ones days in the world are numbered, what do you think one may choose to do as the best option? What is the ultima
12、te purpose of the author to have three main characters in the novel? What is the implication of the title after the introduction?,Questions for predictions,Detailed study of the text,1. have an eye for: to have the ability to see, judge and understand clearly; to have a keen appreciation of somethin
13、ghave eyes only for: to desire or be interested in have an eye to: to have as ones aim or purposehave set eyes on: to see, look at,2. rich colours: deep intense colours such as “dark red, olive green”a rich banquet rich wine rich odoursrich soil a rich minea rich prize a rich harvesta country rich h
14、er natural resources,Detailed study of the text,3. venture: to express an opinion at the risk of criticism, objection and denial. 4. political leader: (journey) leading article/political editorial5. beguile oneself: cause time to pass without being noticedkill ones timeidle away ones timewhile away
15、ones time,Detailed study of the text,6. deferential: showing deference; very respectful. 7. ill-informed: ignorant. Ill means badly, imperfectly, wrongly, improperly. e.g.ill-tempered ill-advisedill-treatment ill-definedill-mannered ill-foundedill-considered ill-bred,Detailed study of the text,8. op
16、inionated: holding unreasonably or obstinately to ones own opinions, stubborn. 9. Right: conservativeLeft: revolutionary,Detailed study of the text,10. try not to tease him byCarr knew if he put forward some literal views the conservative Colonel would look puzzled, so he refrained from doing so.tea
17、se: mock or make fun of playfully e.g. Dont take it seriously - hes only teasing.,Detailed study of the text,11. I observe with amusement extent of a bored distaste.I was once so completely absorbed in the important affairs of the world that I devoted all my attention and time to them and only occas
18、ionally rest by reading poetry or listening to music. Yet now these world problems no longer hold any interest for me. Actually I dislike them and they bore me now. I feel quite amused as I watch how this dramatic change in perspective is taking place.,Detailed study of the text,(1) concern: a matte
19、r of interest or importance.(2) to the exclusion of: so as to keep out, leave out, excluding.e.g. All editorials were about the general election to the exclusion of all other topics.(3) to the extent of a bored distaste: to such an extent or degree that they give me a bored distaste.,Detailed study
20、of the text,12. glutton: a person who eats too much food and drinkgluttonous: indulging in sth. excessively. greedy-greed ravenousness-ravenous rapacious-rapacity voracious -voracitycovetousness-covetous avarice-avariciousgluttonously to cram: to eat like a glutton, too much and greedily; greedily f
21、illing his life with gentler things.,Detailed study of the text,13. releasing some suppressed inclination which in fact was always latent: setting free my likings and wishes, which had always existed but been ignored or suppressed.inclination: liking or wishe.g. She has no inclination to be an actre
22、ss.You must think of our feelings instead of following your own inclinations.,Detailed study of the text,14. Dismissive as Pharisee, I regard: I was as puritanical as a Pharisee and I contempt all those who live a less practical life than my own and view them as impractical inhabitant on the moon.(1
23、) dismissive: showing indifference or disregard. e.g. Dont be so dismissive of her talent. (2) plane: a level of existence.,Detailed study of the text,(3) Pharisee: member of a Jewish religious sect (from about 120 BC). They were more puritanical than the other sects; term now applied to a hypo crit
24、ical or over righteous person. (4) moonlings: inhabitants of the moon,Detailed study of the text,15. Protests about damage to “natural beauty” froze me with contempt: I was not moved by the protests about damage to “natural beauty” and I viewed them with great contempt.freeze: to make or keep motion
25、less, or stiff, unable to show ones feelings.e.g. He froze the little girl with his stern gaze.We all froze at the sight of the snake.,Detailed study of the text,16. a lake dammed into hydraulic use: a dam is built on a lake in order to make use of its water power.-17. And so it was for all thing: a
26、nd this was my view for all things, thats how I looked at all things.,Detailed study of the text,18. A hard materialism was my creed, accepted as a law of progress: I firmly believed in uncompromising materialism which in my opinion represented the law of human progress.-19. any ascription of disint
27、erestedbut my scorn: I not only disbelieved people when they said they did things out of unselfish motives, I also held them in contempt.,Detailed study of the text,20. And now see how I standwater-colors of sunsets: Just imagine how I have changed now. Here I stand, sentimental and sensitive, like
28、an old unmarried women painting a water-color picture of sunset.(1) sentimental: having or showing tender and delicate feelings in an excessive way.(2) sensitive: having or showing keen sensibility.(3) water-color: a painting done with pigments mixed with water.,Detailed study of the text,21. flatte
29、r oneself that: to hold the self-satisfying or self-deluding belief that 22. I am gloriously and adolescently silly: I am delightfully and childishly silly.(1) gloriously: (colloquial) delightfully, enjoyably.(2) adolescent: youthful, immature.,Detailed study of the text,23.Clovis: referring perhaps
30、 to the savage pagan king of the Frands, who was later converted to Christianity and become a gentle Christian monarch. 24. suffering from calf-love into the bargain: moreover experiencing the pain of puppy love.(1) calf-love: immature love that adolescent boys and girs may feel for each other.(2) i
31、nto the bargain: in addition, moreover.,Detailed study of the text,25. fill: all that is needed to satisfy.eat and drink ones fill. 26. The young moon lies on her backfor a virgin: Here the narrator personifies the moon, describing it as a beautiful virgin.as: 引导非限制性定语从句，指代整句话的内容。e.g. She was an int
32、elligent woman, as is shown by her letters.He is a solider as is clear from his manners.,Detailed study of the text,27. Not a star but might not shoot down: Every single star might come down quickly.but: adv. used for emphasis 28. disperse: to cause to separate and go in different directions; move a
33、way from each other. e.g. The crowd dispersed. The wind dispersed the cloud from the sky.,Detailed study of the text,29. creep: move slowly; crawl; to go stealthily. The cat was creeping silently towards the mouse. 30. liberated being: human being freed from all worries, mental pressures, human frai
34、lties, etc. 31. mythological water: magic waters, that appear in mythology, such as the Lethe, the river of forgetfulness whose water produced loss of memory in those who drank of it.,Detailed study of the text,32. Endymion: in Greek mythology a beautiful shepherd loved by Selene, the moon goddess.
35、33. Olympus: mountain range on the borders of Macedonia and Thessaly in northern Greece; home of the Gods in Greek mythology. 34. All weight is liftedI am one with the night: I feel that I am weightless and totally absorbed by the night.,Detailed study of the text,35. pantheism: the doctrine or beli
36、ef that God is the universe and its phenomena (taken or conceived of as a whole) or the doctrine that regards the universe as a manifestation of God 泛神论,多神教.This sentence implies that man is passing and transient while Nature, the objective world, is lasting.,Detailed study of the text,36. I have co
37、me to this: I have changed to such an extent. 37. discard: throw or cast away; get rid of. e.g. History discarded him. 38. incapable of: not allowing or admitting. 39. malice: active ill will; desire to harm another, spite 40. scorn off my neighbor: defeat by neighbor in competitions; gain some adva
38、ntage over my neighbor.,Detailed study of the text,41. voluptuous: giving a fine delight to the senses; giving a satisfying feeling of rest and enjoyment 安逸的 42. Thus I imagine, mustafter the solemnity of absolution: I imagine devoted religious people must feel as clean and pure as I do now when the
39、y leave the solemn confessional after gaining pardon of their sins.,Detailed study of the text,(1) the pious: the pious people, who show religious devotion and are zealous in the performance of religious obligation.(2) the confessional: a small, enclosed place in a church, where a priest hears confe
40、ssions.(3) absolution: a remission of sin; specially, in the Roman Catholic Church, such remission is formally given by a priest.,Detailed study of the text,43. rippled with little white ponies: White ponies (small horses) are a metaphor referring to the spray of waves. 44. the lazy satin of blue: t
41、he slow, smooth blue water like a piece of satin.lazy: moving slowly.( a lazy river),Detailed study of the text,45. marbled at the edge where the passage of our ship has disturbed it: when our ship passes, it disturbs the slow, smooth blue water as if cutting a piece of satin into two. At the edge t
42、here are streaks of white sea spray and blue or green water. They look like marble. marble: n. 大理石 v. to satin or color sth. to look like marble.a book with marbled edges.,Detailed study of the text,46. precipitous bluff: extremely steep cliff. 47. arid: lacking sufficient water or rainfall.,Detaile
43、d study of the text,48. no sign of habitation: no sign that this place is inhabited. 49. bleach and barren: Alliteration.(1) bleached: white, colorless. (bleach: to whiten)(2) barren: not producing crops or fruit; having little or no vegetation. e.g. barren soil; barren hills,Detailed study of the t
44、ext,50. forbidding: looking dangerous, threatening or disagreeable. 51. These coasts remind me ofall they have to give at a glance: Analogy. The author compares the sheer steep cliffs to forbidding, unapproachable people, and the barren sandy beach to people who have nothing to reveal.,Detailed stud
45、y of the text,52. with ranges of mountainsbe scaled be the most daring: Behind the stern cliffs, rising high into the sky are ranges of mountains and peaks which only the most daring people climb. The mountains may have all kinds of beautiful things hidden in them, things that cannot be seen from ou
46、tside.(1) soar: go upwards or high in the sky. 高耸(2) scale: climb up by means of a ladder 攀登,Detailed study of the text,53. high altitudes：high place, high region.altitude: the height of a thing above the earths surface or above sea levelIt means a high place or region when used in the plural form.
47、54. grow unravished among their crags and valleys：grow unharmed among the rocky crags or deep in the valleys. ravish: to take or carry away by force; to rape.,Detailed study of the text,55. So do I let my imagination play over the recesses of Lauras character：In the same way, I let myself freely ima
48、gine what the innermost part of Lauras character presents.recess: (pl.) a secluded, withdrawn or inner placeeg. the recesses of the forests; the recesses of the subconscious; the innermost recesses of the heart,Detailed study of the text,56. so austere for the discovery of the venturesome: (She look
49、s) so severe outwardly, but inwardly she is full of tenderness, like delicate flowers waiting for the daring to discoverLaura, serious though she may look, has a profound feelings of tenderness in the recesses of her character. The mysterious peaks are to be scaled by the most daring. Similarly only the courageous can discover the secrets in the innermost place of Lauras heart.,
