文本分析

In a Station of the Metro 地铁车站

The apparition of these faces in the crowd; 人群中这些脸庞的隐现；

Petals on a wet, black bough. 湿漉漉黑幽幽树枝上的花瓣。

a.Background of the poem：

Three years ago in Paris I got out of a \"metro\" train at La Concorde, and saw suddenly a beautiful face, and then another and another, and then a beautiful child’s face, and then another beautiful woman, and I tried all that day to find words for what this had meant to me, and I could not find any words that seemed to me worthy, or as lovely as that sudden emotion. And that evening, as I went home along the Rue Raynouard, I was still trying and I found, suddenly, the expression. I do not mean that I found words, but there came an equation . . . not in speech, but in little splotches of color. It was just that - a \"pattern,\" or hardly a pattern, if by \"pattern\" you mean something with a \"repeat\" in it. But it was a word, the beginning, for me, of a language in color. I do not mean that I was unfamiliar with the kindergarten stories about colors being like tones in music. I think that sort of thing is nonsense. If you try to make notes permanently correspond with particular colors, it is like tying narrow meanings to symbols.

b.Why did he not identify the station fully in the poem?

What matters about this station is not its unique identity but rather its typicality of its class or kind—the Metro station of Paris certainly but possibly all stations of this type.

c. What might “these” in Line 1 infer? If we change the first line into the “faces of the crowd” or “the faces of this crowd”, how would we feel?

This is the very first mention of faces, yet it is not only specific but selective, and not merely selective but “near”, not “far”, in its perspective in space and time. d. The apparition of these faces in the crowd “Coming into view, especially of a ghost or the spirit of a dead person” 1. An act of coming into view

2. Visual impression someone or something makes on the observer, the aspect or character presented by something or someone when seen

e. 1. As a determiner, these is maximally specific, suggestive of immediacy in space and time 2. It is selective as well. It picks out certain faces for special attention, faces

which are close rather than distant. f. 1. In French apparition can and often does carry the special meaning of the way something appears to a viewer at the precise moment it is perceived

2. to suggest the unique way in which the faces appeared to the viewer at the precise moment of their being perceived

3. convey the feeling of surprised discovery which such a vision in such a place must evoke

g. 解答:庞德在此诗中前句运用了间距100米,高度15这样的线段比,即20:3的比,从而引申至光的折射定律。从高处俯视地铁众多出口的拥挤人群,迅速汇涌到统一出口通道的熙熙攘攘情景;后句则具有时节性,描绘了春季三月风雨的夜卧听风雨,晨晓看树花的春光无限.雨后湿漉漉的枝和干的黝黑具有递进的层次感,再与含苞待放的广玉兰树上的花蕾的产生若即若离，忽隐忽现的多项意义对比.因此,.作品呈现出异类对比的对偶结构.

Richard Cory

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, 理查德·科里一到街头， We people on the pavement looked at him: 行人总要注目瞻望； He was a gentleman from sole to crown, 一派君子风度，

Clean favored, and imperially slim. 眉清目秀，伟岸颀长。

And he was always quietly arrayed, 举止谦和沉稳， And he was always human when he talked; 谈吐文雅大方；

But still he fluttered pulses when he said, 一声“早安”令人怦然心动， \"Good-morning,\" and he glittered when he walked. 他迈开步子溢彩流光。

And he was rich - yes, richer than a king - 他有富可敌国的家产， And admirably schooled in every grace; 他有全知全能的教养， In fine we thought that he was everything, 他是万民效仿的标准， To make us wish that we were in his place 他是大众追求的榜样。

So on we worked, and waited for the light, 人们不停劳作，苦苦盼望， And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; 一日三餐只有难吃的粗粮； And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, 可他在一个平静的夏夜回到家里， Went home and put a bullet through his head. 用一颗子弹打碎自己的脑浆。

The Form of the Poem：

The poem is divided into four quatrains (four- line stanzas). The lines in Richard Cory all have roughly the same length when you read them and this helps to give the poem its sense of rhythm. Rhythm:

Rhythm is the music of the poem. Lots of things make up a poem’s rhythm: the metre (meter) which is the sound pattern of the poem and includes the rhyme scheme, alliteration and repetition.

This poem has a strong sense of rhythm. It has a regular metrical pattern. The poem also has regular rhyme. You can easily find the rhyming words. we call the rhyming scheme – abab cdcd efef gcgc; note that arrayed and said are partial rhymes, not complete rhymes). This rhyming pattern adds to the poem’s rhythm.

There are also elements of alliteration and repetition, which add to the sense of

rhythm. In lines 13-14 there are several words beginning with a “w” sound- this is an example of alliteration. It may hint to the worries of the townspeople and the woe for Cory’s destiny. The repetition of “went” in lines 14 and 16 makes the last line extra horrible.

Rhythm, then, is created by several stylistic features working together.

Literary Means: metaphor

A metaphor is a way of describing something by referring to it as something

different and suggesting that it has similar qualities to that thing.

The poet also uses metaphors. Cory was not an emperor, but he is called imperially slim. By using this word imperially from the world of empires, the poet joins two worlds together: the world of Cory, and the world of mighty empires. The result is to suggest a man who would have felt at home with kings and emperors.

Poets use metaphors to deepen their message. A metaphor is a figure of speech and it helps make the poem more visual and the convey the ideas in a more interesting manner.

Metaphors are part of the poem’s imagery. For example’ you can find royalty imagery in this poem.

Irony:

a situation that is unusual or amusing because something strange happens, or the opposite of what is expected happens or is true: Life is full of little ironies. irony as “a literary device that uses contradictory statements or situations to reveal a reality different than what appears to be true.” In short irony involves a conflict of some sort between two things.

The most widely used kind of irony is situational irony. This occurs when there is a difference between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. One of the countless literary works to use this form of irony is a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson called “Richard Cory”. In it the speaker describes Mr. Cory as a slim, handsome, neatly dressed, educated man who happens to be very rich. He seems to have it all and the speaker is totally charmed by his good fortune. However, the final line of the poem changes all of that. “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night

In his poem Robinson responds to the “grass is always greener on the other side” presumption with an ironic perspective. Robinson’s speaker in the poem presupposes Richard Cory is everything that he and other people could want to be since Cory obviously possesses, materialistic wise, all that can make one happy in life. The speaker takes for granted the idea that wealth brings happiness and his language initially shows no perception that it might bring

emptiness rather than happiness. Through describing the townspeople’s view of an upstanding citizen, Robinson’s speaker reveals that wealth does not always bring the inner peace that one desires: it merely creates an illusion of such happiness. Through the language and prosaic effects he uses in “Richard Corey,” E.A. Robinson is able to effectively create a poem whose structure coincides with the ironic tale of its subject.

Tone：

The tone of the poem is:

Sometimes when we talk to each other, we pay attention to how something is said and not what is said. In poetry, we call this tone. Tone is one way for the poet to show his attitude toward his subject.

The tone before the shift is admiring with a small hint of envy. The tone after the shift is rather indifferent, there is no diction indicating remorse or any other emotion over his death

Allusion：

something said or written that mentions a subject, person etc indirectly. Cory has a name symbolic of a noble family—Richard Cory rhymes with glory and evokes the name of Richard Coeur de Lion or Richard Lion heart

Richard Lion heart was an educated man who composed poetry. .He was said to be very attractive; his hair was between red and blond, and he was light-eyed with a pale complexion. He was apparently of above average height, but since his remains have been lost since at least the French Revolution ,his exact height is unknown. Clifford Brewer writes in \"The Death of Kings\" that he was 6'5. From an early age he appeared to have significant political and military abilities, became noted for his chivalry and courage, and fought hard to control the rebellious nobles of his own territory. Like his brothers, Richard frequently challenged his father's authority.

Plot and Major Characters：

The story takes place in a small town in America at the beginning of the 20th century. The story is told by a narrator who “went without meat and cursed the bread.” The narrator speaks for the rest of the poor in the town when he claims that “we people on the pavement looked at him” and “we thought that he was everything/” In the first three stanzas the narrator praises Richard Cory, painting him as a “gentleman from sole to crown” who “glittered when he walked.” The rich, popular, and refined Cory is envied by those around him for having all that life has to offer. The fourth stanza, however, takes a tragic turn and ends with Cory’s suicide: “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night/ Went home and put a bullet through his head.” There are no clues given in the poem as to why Cory commits suicide. Background material:

An 17 letter Robinson wrote suggests that “Richard Cory” was based

on, or at least instigated by, the suicide of an acquaintance of Robinson’s.

Story Line and Point of View：

 Richard Cory, the wealthiest man in town, whose wealth, instead of making him happy, only makes him envied by the townspeople and isolated from them. He is a success in their eyes but a failure in his own, as we judge from the fact that, despite his high position in the town, he commits suicide. The motive for his suicide remains a mystery, for Robinson portrays him only from the outside, from the view of those who admired him and \"thought that he was everything / To make us wish that we were in his place.\" Since the reason for his death can never be fathomed, Richard Cory is one of Robinson’s best-known but most enigmatic characters. No matter how many times they are read, the final lines of the poem \"Richard Cory\" never lose the shock of his sudden and unexpected end: Was it his conspicuous wealth, his lonely existence without family or kin, or perhaps some secret crime he committed that led him to take his own life? We never know; what we are left with is the darkness inside his soul, which only grows more impenetrable as one reflects on it. Robinson keeps himself out of the poem, letting it be told by the people of the town, the \"we\" who are left to puzzle it out at the end. Despite having a name symbolic of a noble family—Richard Cory rhymes with glory and evokes the name of Richard Coeur de Lion—Cory’s death leaves behind no other \"king\" in Tilbury Town

Major Themes：

     

First impressions (All that Glitters isn’t Gold)

Envy (The grass is always greener on the other side). The essence of happiness

The complexities of life/existence Reaching out to people in need Materialism and the meaning of life

The Red Wheelbarrow

So much depends 那么多东西 upon 依靠

a red wheel 一辆红色 barrow 手推车

glazed with rain 雨水淋得它 water 晶亮

beside the white 旁边是一群 chickens. 白鸡 “红色手推车”简评 1. 《红色手推车》是一幅色彩鲜明的日常生活画面，描述的是一个躲雨时见到的场景，躲雨的地方大概太小，所以人虽然躲了进去，手推车却还是淋得透湿。与它运送的东西相比，手推车显得似乎小了点，所以才引起诗人

“那么多”的感慨。况且还被雨水浇得它“浑身溜滑”。可以想象那个始终没有露面的“推车人”的辛劳，不免对他（她）产生一丝同情。但“旁边有／几只白鸡”一句，使我们眼前一亮。想想看，在雨中，天色也许比较灰暗。但手推车的“红色”与几只鸡的“白色”却是那么的耀眼，何况鸡还是一个活动的东西，与停放在那里的手推车，正好又构成了一动一静的对比。生活的辛劳、躲雨时的焦躁，被几只“白鸡”的出现一扫而空。 2. 威廉斯选择红、白对比色以及经雨水冲洗后的锃亮，写出了人类与大自然共创理想生活的一面。威廉斯用红色装饰手推车的轮子，隐喻人类积极的劳动，劳动造就了人类积极向上的欢快精神，用“小鸡”和“雨水”来表达他对自然的崇敬。

3. 威廉斯的《红色手推车》仿佛是一幅西洋油画，色彩鲜明，线条突出，立体感强，折射出大自然的光亮，整体画面宁静完美，富有和谐感，它向世人展示了20世纪美国人民的时代精神追求以及一代美国诗人的民族情结。

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

“雪夜停林边” by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know 这是谁家的树林我想我知道 I think I know whose woods these are 强调woods在全诗中的作用 His house is in the village though 尽管他家住在村子里 I know who owns this land, but he doesn’t live out here.

He will not see me stopping here 他看不见我在这儿停住并观瞧 He refers to the owner of the woods

To watch his woods fill up with snow 他的林中雪栖树枝落满地。 这里，我们不妨把未露面的树林主人及其房屋村落看作是诗人

精心设计的一个象征，其含义是现实世界和人群。而诗歌中的旅行 者显然独自一人伫立于代表大自然的树林和代表现实世界的村落之 间，思索自己的选择和方向。

My little horse must think it queer 我那匹小马肯定认为很古怪， Must一词反映出旅行者心中无法排除的疑虑。

To stop without a farmhouse near 在这一年中最灰暗的黄昏，

Between the woods and frozen lake 湖面冰封，近无人家，林木雪盖 frozen使读者看到大雪纷飞的同时，更感觉到一阵刺骨的寒冷。 The darkest evening of the year 停在这儿是什么原因？ The darkest,夸张。表达心中的困惑。

He gives his harness bells a shake 它摇动缰铃，似乎在问： To ask if there is some mistake 你停在这里，有没有搞错？ 诗人借助马铃声在这洁白寂静的世界中加入

了声响，小马似乎以铃声来责怪主人的奇怪选择。

The only other sound’s the sweep 此外别无任何的声音 连续的[s]音另人似乎耳闻风吹树林的嗖嗖声和雪飘的簌簌声。

Of easy wind and downy flake 只有清风徐来，雪花飘落。 light and gentle soft and fluffy (feathery The woods are lovely, dark and deep, 树林幽深，景色迷人， 1）头韵；2）强调树林的幽暗和深邃

But I have promises to keep, 不过，我有约要赴，

社会职责和义务

诗人来自社会，尽管大自然的魅力使他流连忘返，但是最终又回归社会。 And mi1es to go before I sleep, 须走路程遥远才能投宿， And miles to go before I sleep. 须走路程遥远才能投宿。 采用重叠句的形式以强调肩负的责任之重大。

诗人所描绘的是一幅现代人的通常体验：来自现实，逃避现实，最后重归现实。

“The Road Not Taken”

“一条未走的路” by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 两条路岔开在黄叶秋林, separate, go in different directions

And sorry I could not travel both 遗憾我不可能同时都走， And be one traveler, long I stood 遗憾我只是孤身一人,

And looked down one as far as I could 我伫立远眺想看到路遥终尽, To where it bent in the undergrowth 只见那路拐进矮树林里头。 Turned bushes

Then took the other, as just as fair, 于是我选了另一条，同样不错, Then I took the other road, which is as proper as it is fair.

And having perhaps the better claim, 或许我更有理由选择它, saying

Because it was grassy and wanted wear; 因为这路上长满了野草未经踩磨； was not quite worn

Though as for that the passing there 尽管这条路经人走过

Had worn them really about the same, 与第一条路同样足迹乱杂。

And both that morning equally lay 那天早晨，两条路同时摆在我面前, In leaves no step had trodden black. 树叶埋住台阶，还没被踩黑； 0h,I kept the first for another day! 第一条留待日后再去选！

Yet knowing how way leads on to way, 但又知道，路尽路始紧接连， I doubted if I should ever come back.. 我怀疑我是否还能再回归。 I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence 很久很久以后在某处, 我会叹息着把这事情讲：

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— 两条路岔开在一林，我未踟躇— I took the one less traveled by, 选择了一条人们较少走的路, And that has made all the difference. 而这选择竟决定了人间与天上。

Anecdote of the Jar Wallace Stevens

I placed a jar in Tennessee， 我把一只坛子置于田纳西， All humanity Man-made artifact

And round it was，upon a hill. 圆圆的坛子，在一座小山上。 A commanding view of the terrain The jar’s height advantage over raw nature gives it an initial power advantage over the disorganized wilderness.

It made the slovenly wilderness 它使杂乱无章的荒野 Surround that hill. 向小山聚拢。

The wilderness rose up to it， 荒野围绕着它升起，

And sprawled around，no longer wild. 并往四周伸展，不再芜杂。 The jar was round upon the ground 坛子圆圆的，在大地的上方 And tall and of a port in air. 高高的，位于空中的港口。 an escape or hatchway to safety

Each sound-alike reinforces what to humanity must be the victory of the artifice of human-oritented roundness over the slovenlines of nature It took dominion everywhere. 它吸取无限的疆域。 The jar was gray and bare. 坛子灰色并光秃秃的。

lifeless

It did not give of bird or bush， 它没有带来鸟儿和灌木，

produce

Like nothing else in Tennessee. 就像并未存在于田纳西。 circularity

The result of the battle for control leaves nature defeated, but only locally, and the man now as weakened and slovenly as nature was in the first stanza.

Theme:

Man may try to overpower nature, may in fact win a few local skirmishes, but nature itself is too powerful for human beings to control. What is left is only the illusion on control. “Anecdote of the jar” then implies that power is a game in which one must fool oneself about the rules and outcome of a game that was decided long before human beings ever walked on the face of the earth……

The Emperor of Ice-Cream

Call the roller of big cigars, 让那卷大雪茄的人， 那雄健的人 The muscular one, and bid him whip 过来，让他去厨房

In kitchen cups concupiscent curds. 弄几杯淫欲的冰淇淋， --------------------------------------------------------

roller of big cigars: a person or neighbor who worked at the cigar factory. muscular: having big muscles, strong looking. bid: order him to do sth

whip: beat esp. cream or the white part of an egg until stiff. concupiscent: a strong desire, especially sexual desire; lust. curds: a coagulated liquid.

Let the wenches dawdle in such dress 让少女穿上惯常的衣服 As they are used to wear, and let the boys 来悠闲鬼混，让男孩们

Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.用上个月的旧报纸把花儿包装好送来， --------------------------------------------------------

wenches:a young woman or girl, especially a peasant girl; a wanton woman dawdle: to waste time by idling

Let be be finale of seem. 让看起来像的东西成为实实在在的东西。 The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. 唯一的王是冰淇淋大帝。 -------------------------------------------------------- be: what is, existence or reality.

finale: the concluding part, the last division of a piece of music. seem: what appears

Let reality be the end of appearance.

Take from the dresser of deal, 从缺了三个玻璃把手的妆台 Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet 取出那床单，

On which she embroidered fantails once 在上面她曾刺绣扇尾鸽图案 And spread it so as to cover her face. 铺开它，盖住她的脸。 --------------------------------------------- deal:plain, unfinished wood. 松木

fantails: any of a breed of domestic pigeons having a rounded, fan-shaped tail. Here the author uses fantails to symbolize sexual desire and lust. 扇尾鸽

If her horny feet protrude, they come 如果她角状双脚伸出单子外，它们 To show how cold she is, and dumb. 是显示她尸骨已寒，再也不能说话，

Let the lamp affix its beam. 让那盏灯光亮闪闪。 The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. 唯一的王是冰淇淋大帝。 --------------------------------------------------------

horny: tough and calloused; (vulgar slang: sexually aroused) protrude: to push outward affix: secure, append

Let the lamp affix its beam: let the lamp fix its lights on the corpse.

Dead is dead and let the reality be reality.

整体分析：

Ice-cream: a soft sweet mixture which is frozen and eaten cold; it tastes good and delicious but the sensuous pleasure will disappear quickly. The emperor: stands for a controlling power of rule.

The title means the meaning of life is determined by the short sensuous pleasure.