英语相关论文ON BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH.doc

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1、ON BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH Abstract:DeathandeternityarethemajorthemesinmostofEmilyDickinsons poems.“BecauseIcouldnotstopfordeath”isoneofherclassicpoems. Throughtheanalysis,thisessayclarifiesinfiniteconceptionsbythe dialecticalrelationshipbetweenrealityandimagination,theknownand theunknown

2、.AndittellswhatseternityinDicksonseyes. Keywords:death,eternity,finite,infinite Introduction EmilyDickinson（1830-1886）,theAmericanbest-knownfemalepoet，was oneoftheforemostauthorsinAmericanliterature.EmilyDickinsons poems,aswellasWaltWhitmans,wereconsideredasapartof”American renaissance”;theywererega

3、rdedaspioneersofimagism.Bothofthemrejected customandreceivedwisdomandexperimentedwithpoeticstyle.Shehowever differsfromWhitmaninavarietyofways.Foronething,Whitmanseems tokeephiseyeonsocietyatlarge;Dickinsonexplorestheinnerlife oftheindividual.WhereasWhitmanis”national”inhisoutlook,Dickinson is”regio

4、nal” EmilyDickinsonwasborninAmherst,Massachusetts,onDecember10,1830. Shelivedalmostherentirelifeinthesametown(muchofitinthesame house),traveledinfrequently,nevermarried,andinherlastyearsnever leftthegroundsofherfamily.Soshewascalled”vestalofAmherst”. Andyetdespitethisnarrow-somemightsay-pathological

5、lyconstricted-outward experience,shewasanextremelyintelligent,highlysensitive,anddeeply passionatepersonwhothroughoutheradultlifewrotepoems(addupto around2000)thatwerestartlinglyoriginalinbothcontentandtechnique, poemsthatwouldprofoundlyinfluenceseveralgenerationsofAmericanpoets andthatwouldwinheras

6、ecurepositionasoneofthegreatestpoetsthat Americahaseverproduced. $False$ Dickinsonssimplyconstructedyetintenselyfelt,acutelyintellectual writingstakeastheirsubjectissuesvitaltohumanity:theagoniesand ecstasiesoflove,sexuality,theunfathomablenatureofdeath,thehorrors ofwar,Godandreligiousbelief,theimpo

7、rtanceofhumor,andmusings onthesignificanceofliterature,music,andart. EmilyDickinsonenjoystheKingJamesVersionoftheBible,aswell asauthorssuchasEnglishWRTERSWilliamShakespeare,JohnMilton,Charles Dickens,ElizabethBarrettBrowning,GeorgeEliot,andThomasCarlyle. Dickinsonsearlystyleshowsthestronginfluenceof

8、WilliamShakespeare, BarrettBrowning,ScottishpoetRobertBrowning,andEnglishpoetsJohn KeatsandGeorgeHerbert.AndDickinsonreadEmersonappreciatively,who becameapervasiveand,inasense,formativeinfluenceoverher.AsGeorge F.Whichernotes,”HersolefunctionwastotesttheTranscendentalist ethicinitsapplicationtothein

9、nerlife”. 1“death”inEmilyDickinsonspoets Foraslongashistoryhasbeenrecordedandprobablyformuchlonger, manhasalwaysbeendifferentideaofhisowndeath.Eventhoseofuswho haveaccepteddeathgraciously,haveatleastinsomeway,-feared, dreaded,orattemptedtodelayitsarrival.Wehavepersonifieddeath- asanevildoerdressedin

10、allblack,itspresenceswoopsdownuponusand chokesthelifefromusasthoughitweresomestreetmurderwithmalicious intent.Butinreality,weknowthatdeathisnotthechaoticgrimreaper offairytalesandmythology.Ratherthanbeingacruelandunfairprankster ofevil,deathisanunavoidableandnaturalpartoflifeitself. Deathandimmorali

11、tyisthemajorthemeinthelargestportionofEmily Dickinsonspoetry.Herpreoccupationwiththesesubjectsamountedtoan obsessionsothataboutonethirdofherpoemsdwellonthem.Dickinsons manyfriendsdiedbeforeher,andthefactthatdeathseemedtooccuroften intheAmherstofthetimeaddedtohergloomymeditation.Dickinsons isnotsheerdepictionofdeath,butanemphaticoneofrelationsbetween lifeanddeath,deathandlove,deathandeternity.Deathisamust-be-crossed bridge.Shedidnotfearit,becausethearrivalinanotherworldisonly throughthegraveandtheforgivenessfromGodistheonlywaytoeternity .