19th century American poets.pptVIP

19th century American poets Hao Guilian, Ph,D. Yunnan Normal University Sept, 2009 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Longfellow predominantly wrote lyric poems which are known for their musicality and which often presented stories of mythology and legend. He became the most popular American poet of his day and also had success overseas. He has been criticized, however, for imitating European styles and writing specifically for the masses. Longfellow in 1868 by Julia Margaret Cameron Popularity and significance There are two reasons for the popularity and significance of Longfellows poetry. First, he had the gift of easy rhyme. He wrote poetry as a bird sings, with natural grace and melody. Read or heard once or twice, his rhyme and meters cling to the mind long after the sense may be forgotten. Second, Longfellow wrote on obvious themes which appeal to all kinds of people. His poems are easily understood; they sing their way into the consciousness of those who read them. Above all, there is a joyousness in them, a spirit of optimism and faith in the goodness of life which evokes immediate response in the emotions of his readers. Americans owe a great debt to Longfellow because he was among the first of American writers to use native themes. He wrote about the American scene and landscape, the American Indian (Song of Hiawatha), and American history and tradition (The Courtship of Miles Standish, Evangeline). He lived when giants walked the New England earth, giants of intellect and feeling who established the New Land as a source of greatness. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and William Prescott were a few of the great minds and spirits among whom Longfellow took his place as a singer and as a representative of America. 《人生礼赞》 —青年人的心对歌者说的话 不要在伤感的诗句里对我说， 人生不过是一场梦！—— 昏睡的灵魂等于是死亡， 事物的真相和外表不同。 人生是真切的！人生是实在的！ 它的归宿不是荒坟； “你本是尘土，仍要归于尘土”， 这话说的并不是灵魂。 不是享乐，也不是受苦， 我们命定的目标和道路 而是行动；在每个明天， 都要比今天前进一步。 艺术永恒，时光飞逝， 我们的心，虽然勇