TheChimney-Sweeper

1、William Blake威廉布萊克（William Blake 17571827），生于倫敦一個襪商之家，少年時家境貧寒，未有就學(xué)機會，十四歲開始當(dāng)?shù)癜鎸W(xué)徒，后即靠雕刻版畫為生。平生寫詩甚多，其代表作有天真之歌（Songs of Innocence）和經(jīng)驗之歌（Songs of Experience）等。他的詩歌富有民主思想，揭露了當(dāng)時英國社會的罪惡和不公正現(xiàn)象，表現(xiàn)了他對窮苦不幸者的深切同情。Major Literary WorkskSongs of Innocence (1789): present a happy and innocent world, though with its

2、evils and sufferingskSongs of Experience (1794): present a world of misery, poverty, disease, war and repression with a melancholy toneThe Chimney SweeperBackground壁爐中燃燒的柴火會積生一層層的煤灰，容易堵住煙囪的通道，影響空氣的進出流動，因此需要常常清理?？墒潜跔t的空間與煙囪的通道又是那么的狹窄，那清理掃除的工作由誰來做呢？身材細(xì)小的孩童便成了勞力的主要來源。于是，清晨時分，一個個背帶著清掃工具袋的孩童，沿著大街小巷叫喊著掃煙囪！

3、掃煙囪！大概是十八、十九世紀(jì)英國大城市熟悉的生活場景之一。 The background to these poems is one of the many social problems that existed in Blakes timethe use of young children as chimney sweeps. Children were often sold at the age of seven to work as chimney sweeps. They were badly treated, with never enough clothes, food or h

4、ousing. They were placed in constant danger of suffocating or burning, and the soot caused cancer and other serious illnesses that resulted in painful and early deaths. SummaryThe Chimney Sweeper is the title of two poems by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789 and Songs of Experie

5、nce in 1794.In the earlier poem, a young chimney sweeper recounts a dream had by one of his fellows, in which an angel rescues the boys from coffins and takes them to a sunny meadow; in the later poem, an apparently adult speaker encounters a child chimney sweeper abandoned in the snow while his par

6、ents are at church.The poem is pictured by an engraving made by Blake himself. It shows the child walking along a street, it is a rainy day and he is alone. Furthermore, the boy is barefoot and dirty. With his right hand he is holding a brusher and is carring a dirty, big bag on his back. The rain i

7、s particularly dark. The final point is that the child is looking at the storm with what it seems a sad expression in his face.A little black thing among the snow 一個滿身污垢的小小身影站在大雪里， Crying weep, weep, in notes of woe! “掃煙囪！掃煙囪！”他的叫聲悲戚?。╰he childs attempt at saying Sweep! Sweep!, which was the chimney

8、 sweepers street cry. Weep : cry） Where are thy father & mother? say? “告訴我，你的父母在哪里？”They are both gone up to the church to pray. 他們都去了教堂禱告上帝.The first stanza is a testimony that describes the situation of a little chimney sweeper in the snow who is crying and calling for his parents while they a

9、re praying at the church.Because I was happy upon the heath, “因為我喜歡在荒野上嬉戲， And smild among the winters snow 在冬天的大雪中也滿臉笑意， They clothed me in the clothes of death, 他們就給我穿上喪衣， And taught me to sing the notes of woe. 還教我用悲聲唱喪曲?！?And because I am happy & dance & sing, “因為我顯得快樂，又唱歌，又跳舞， They thin

10、k they have done me no injury: 他們就覺得對我的所為無害無虞， And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King, 于是就去贊美牧師、國王和上帝 Who make up a heaven of our misery. 這些人用我們的痛苦成就了一個極樂之地。”In the second and third stanzas, the child explains his situation. He describes that he had been happy and “smiled among the w

11、inter snow,” but also he was taught to suffer when he says “and taught me to sing the notes of woe.” Adults are mentioned in the poem when he questioned “Where are thy father and mother?” and when he says “God & his Priest & King.” Finally he blames “they” and adds “who make up a heaven of o

12、ur misery.”掃煙囪的孩子掃煙囪的孩子威廉布萊克 風(fēng)雪里一個滿身烏黑的小東西“掃呀，掃呀”在那里哭哭啼啼！“你的爹娘上哪兒去了，你講講？”“他們呀都去禱告了，上了教堂?！耙驗槲以仍谝暗乩餁g歡喜喜，我在冬天的雪地里也總是笑嘻嘻，他們就把我拿晦氣的黑衣裳一罩，他們還教我唱起了悲傷的曲調(diào)?！耙驗槲绎@得快活，還唱歌，還跳舞，他們就以為并沒有把我害苦，就跑去贊美了上帝、教士和國王，夸他們拿我們苦難造成了天堂?！?（卞之琳 譯）Analysis這首小詩表面看似明快，其弦外之音讓人感到震撼。讀這首詩時，首先映入讀者眼簾的是“l(fā)ittle”一詞?！發(fā)ittle”往往指無憂無慮、活潑可愛的兒童，但在詩

13、中立刻被“black”一詞化解。掃煙囪的孩子爬進窄小的煙囪，擠在里面，還要用手去刮煤灰，不但蓬頭垢面，而且很容易燙傷甚至窒息而死。小小年紀(jì)，就要在街上招攬生意，“weep!weep!”一聲聲凄厲的叫喊是風(fēng)雪中哀傷的音符。孩子野地里玩耍，父母卻讓他穿上黑衣去掃煙囪，孩子在煙囪里呻吟，父母卻在教堂里虔誠祈禱。這慘不忍睹的情景強烈地震撼了詩人的心。在詩的末尾詩人指出：上帝不但不拯救掃煙囪的孩子，而且伙同國王和教士把天堂建在無數(shù)孩子的痛苦之上，從而表達了詩人對社會不平的憤怒。the political and religious leaders, represented by God, Priest

14、and King, are hypocritically pious. They maintain a sumptuous life, but ignore the poverty-stricken groups. Through the childs simple statement, the poet intends to attack them for their indifference and ruthlessness. Blake showcases the life of a common sweeper and exposes those who allowed barbari

15、c actions against them to take place. The Structure:Based a stanza of four lines. Rhythm pattern: aabb （聯(lián)韻）on First stanza. abab（交叉韻）on second &third Featureswritten in first person：creates credibility and a deeper sense of sympathy.“weep! weep! weep!”Blake writes his poems in plain and direct l

16、anguage. His poems often carry the lyric beauty with immense compression of meaning. He distrusts the abstractness and tends to embody his views with visual images.use of simple language serious, somber themes lyrical beauty symbolism mysticism TheChimney-SweeperWhen my mother died I was very young,

17、 我母親死的時候，我還小得很，And my father sold me while yet my tongue 我父親把我拿出來賣給了別人，Could scarcely cry weep! weep! weep! weep! 我當(dāng)時還不大喊得清，“掃呀掃!”So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep. 我就掃你們煙囪，裹煤屑睡覺。Theres little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, 有個小托姆，頭發(fā)卷得像小羊頭，That curled like a lambs back, was shaved: s

18、o I said, 剃光的時候，哭得好傷心，好難受，Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your heads bare, 我就說：“小托姆，不要緊，光了腦袋，You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair. 打起來煤屑就不會糟踏你白頭發(fā)?！?Songs of Innocence), 1789 And so he was quiet; and that very night, 他就安安靜靜了，當(dāng)天夜里，As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, - 托姆睡著了，事

19、情就來得稀奇，That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, 他看見千千萬萬的掃煙囪小孩Were all of them locked up in coffins of black. 阿貓阿狗全都給鎖進了黑棺材。And by came an angel who had a bright key, 后來來了個天使，拿了把金鑰匙，And he opened the coffins and set them all free; 開棺材放出了孩子們(真是好天使!)Then down a green plain leaping, laughin

20、g, they run, 他們就邊跳，邊笑，邊跑過草坪，And wash in a river, and shine in the sun. 到河里洗了澡，太陽里曬得亮晶晶。Then naked and white, all their bags left behind, 光光的，白白的，把袋子都拋個一，They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind; 他們就升上了云端，在風(fēng)里游戲;And the angel told Tom, if hed be a good boy, “只要你做個好孩子，”天使對托姆說，Hed have God for his father, and never want joy. “上帝會做你的父親，你永遠快樂。”And so