Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) I ' m Nobody!
I ' m Nobody! Who are you? Are you Nobody too? Then there ' s a pair of us!
Don' t tell, they ' d banish us, you know!
How dreary to be Somebody! How public — like a Frog — To tell your name the livelong June To an admiring Bog!
当个大人物多么的无趣, 就像只青蛙一在漫长的六月 公开地向赞扬它的沼泽 宣扬它的大名。
The author uses the first narration to have a secret talk with the readers. The
theme of the talk is the
fame burden. The author is happy that she is nobody and asked the reader not to unclose her identity. She is satisfied with her current life.
The theme of the poem is that to live a peaceful life with no fame is a wise idea. The complicated society is not fit for the author.
Simile : “ How public — like a frog …”
The author compares the public person or somebody to frogs, they have no freedom, hypocritical and have to share with others their own things Questions 1. Who ar e the “ pair of us ” and “ they ” in this poem? 2. What does “ an admiring bog ” really mean? 3. What is the theme of this poem? 4.
Do you want to be “nobody ” or
“somebody ” ? Explain your reasons.
Ezra Pound (1885 — 1972)
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough
我是无名之辈，你是谁？ 你也是无名之辈吗？ 那我们不就是一对了！ 不要张扬一你知道，他们会赶 走我们的。
人群中这些面庞的闪现；
湿漉的黑树干上的花瓣。（赵毅衡） 人群中，这些面孔的鬼影；
潮湿的黑树枝上的花瓣。（余光中）
这几张脸在人群中幻景般闪现；
湿漉漉的黑树枝上花瓣数点。 （飞白）
Theme: This poem is an observation of the poet of the human faces seen in a Paris subway station or a description of a moment of sudden emotion at seeing beautiful faces in a Metro in Paris. He sees the faces, turned variously toward light and darkness, like flower petals which are half absorbed by, half resisting, the wet, dark texture of a bough.
The one image in this poem : This poem is probably the most famous of all imagist poems. In two lines it combines a sharp visual image or two juxtaposed images
(意象叠加) "Petals on a wet ， black bough"
with an implied meaning. The faces in the dim light of the Metro suggest both the impersonality and haste of city life and the greater transience of human life itself. The word "apparition" is a well-chosen one which has a two-fold meaning: Firstly, it means a visible appearance of something real. Secondly, it builds an image of a ghostly sight, a delusive and unexpected appearance.
Pound uses the fewest possible words to convey an accurate image, which is the principle of the Imagist poetry. This poem looks to be a modern adoption of the haiku form of Japanese poetry which adapts the 3-line, 17 syllable and where the title is an integral part of the whole. The poem succeeds largely because of its internal rhymes: station/apparition; Metro/petals/wet; crowd/bough. Its form was determined by the experience that inspired it, involving organically rather than being chosen arbitrarily.
This short piece illustrates his imagistic talent because the entire poem deals with images alone. It is not complex; rather, the two-line poem is straightforward and to the point. The poem is extremely short, but it seems intriguing and has a deep message about the beauty of human beings.
Robert Frost (1874-1963) The Road Not Taken (1915)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth. (Stanza One---- Describes Situations)
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same.
(Stanza Two ——Decides to Take Less-travelled Road)
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day!
这些面孔浮现于人群； 花瓣潮湿的黑树枝（颜元
黄色树林里分出两条路， 我很难办，我一人把步散, 不能同时都涉足，我踌躇, 顺着一条路我望向远处， 直到它在树丛下边转弯。
再看另一条，也同样可爱, 或许还有更大的说服力， 因为它茸茸如草待人踩； 那边的足迹，就这点说来, 留下的印痕也难分彼此。
