I-could-not-stop-for-death-詩歌鑒賞內(nèi)容

OnEmilyDickinson’BecauseICouldNotStopforDeathByEmilyElisabethDickinson(1830-1886)isthemostimportantpoetin19thCenturyAmerica.Bornin

\o"Amherst,Massachusetts"Amherst,Massachusetts,toasuccessfulfamilywithstrongcommunityties,shelivedamostlyintrovertedandreclusivelife.Consideredaneccentricbythelocals,shebecameknownforherpenchantforwhiteclothingandherreluctancetogreetguestsor,laterinlife,evenleaveherroom.WhileDickinsonwasaprolificprivatepoet,fewerthanadozenofhernearly1,800poemswerepublishedduringherlifetime.

Theworkthatwaspublishedduringherlifetimewasusuallyalteredsignificantlybythepublisherstofittheconventionalpoeticrulesofthetime.Dickinson'spoemsareuniquefortheerainwhichshewrote;theycontainshortlines,typicallylacktitles,andoftenuse

\o"Halfrhyme"slantrhyme

aswellasunconventionalcapitalizationandpunctuation.Manyofherpoemsdealwiththemesofdeathandimmortality.ThepoemICouldNotStopforDeathisoneofEmilyDickinson’sfamousmasterpieces.ItisalsooneofthegreatpoemsintheEnglishlanguage.Itisabrilliant,extraordinarylyric.Beingwellconstructed,easilyunderstood,andfilledwithmanypoeticconventions,thepoemmainlyfocusesontwothemes:deathandeternity.Traditionally,Deathisbloodcurdling.Inthispoem,however,thewriterpersonifiesdeathandeternity.DeathisimaginedtobeagentlemanwhoconnectswithImmortality.Andthewriterherself,asaninnocentgirl,wasmovedbythemannersofthatgentleman---death.Finally,sheandhercompanioneternitygetintothecarriageofdeath.Inthewholepoem,thereisnohorribleexistence.Onthecontrary,everythingissoquiet,harmoniousandwarm.Itrevealstheclamacceptanceoflifewithdignity,graceandhowitiswelcomedratherthanfeared.IlikethispoemBecauseICouldNotStopforDeathverymuchnotonlybecauseitiswell-written,butalsoDickinson’soptimisticattitudetowardlife.AlthoughEmilyDickinsondoesn’tusesomephrasessuchaslove,lifeornatureinthepoem,herlovetolifeisrecognizable.ForDickinson,deathisnottheterminalbutanotherworldandstate.Inthisarticle,Iwillanalyzefiguresofspeechusedinthepoem.1.FiguresofspeechinBecauseICouldNotStopforDeathDashesDashesareusedmanytimes.Forexample,inthefirststanza“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath—”,or“Hekindlystoppedforme—”,inwhichDickinsonfreelycutacompletesentenceintoseveralpartsorconnectpartsatrandomwhichseemtobeirrelative.Inthisway,wereadersareabletostronglysenseDickinson’ssurgingfeelinginherbrainorcomplicatedthoughtswrithinginhermind.Atthesametime,Dickinsonhelpspausethepoemthroughdashesandleavespacetothinkoverandtogoon.Inthelaststanza,Dickinsonusesparadoxin“Sincethen—‘itsCenturies—andyet/FeelsshorterthantheDay”Inthissentence,thepoetthinksthedayofdeathisverylongasifitlastsforcenturies.Thisisbecauseonthatdaythepoethasgoneovertheprocessfrombirthtodeath.Andthepoetalsohasanewunderstandingofdeath.PunIn“WepassedtheSchoolwherechildrenplayed/ARecess—intheRing—”,“thering”referstotwomeanings.Oneistheplaygroundinschool,andtheanothermeaningisthecircleofsociety.2.ConclusionThecentralthemeofBecauseICouldNotStopforDeathisthatdeathisnottobefearedsinceitisanaturalpartoftheendlesscycleofnature,thisrevealingEmilyDickinson’sattitudetowardsdeath---calmacceptance.ToDickinson,deathistheotherexistentstateofhumanbeingsinsteadofsomethingmakespeoplefeelmiserable.AsoneofthegreatestpoetsinAmericanhistory,DickinsonlivedinanageofTranscendentalismwhichpursuesindividualself-relianceandself-confidence.AtthesametimeshewasborninatraditionalCalvinistfamily,theideaoforiginalsinandfatehasinfluencedhergreatly.Shecouldnotaccepttheideaofherfatherwhothoughtthefateofhumanbeingswasinthehandsofgodsandthatthemeaningoflifeistoatoneforsin.Becauseshecouldnotfindouttherealmeaningofhumanexistence,Dickinsondecidedtowithdrawfromsocietyandleadareclusivelife.Deathisahumaninstinctandweallknowthatpeoplemustbedying.However,onlyafewcarryonthoroughpondersonthisquestion.BecauseICouldNotStopforDeathrevealsEmilyDickinson’sviewofdeath---toacceptdeathcalmlyandthenthesoulofhumanbeingsmaybecomeimmortal.Manypeopleareafraidofdeath;however,itisaninevitableprocessthateveryonehastoendupin.Deathisonlythespontaneousendingforlife;everythingthatgetsborn,dies.Therefore,itissomethingthatisperfectlynatural.InBecauseICouldNotStopforDeath,EmilyDickinsonappliesuniquewritingdevices,expressingherexceptionalunderstandingofdeaththroughthejourneyofherandthedeath.Byexploringthemeaningoflife,thepoetfinallyfoundoutthetruemeaningoflife.Thatisdeathisabridgetoeternitywhichisthedestinationandthetruemeaningoflife.Reference:[1]/wiki/Because_I_could_not_stop_for_Death，2015.6.25.[2]黃家修.BritishandAmericanPoetry:aguildtoitsunderstandingandapp