英美文学__the_Isles_of_Greece.pptVIP

Poem Appreciation The Isles of Greece The Isles of Greece 1 The isles of Greece! the isles of Greece!?? Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace,?? Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun, is set. (Sappho: Greek lyric poet Delos: a name of island; Phoebus: Appollo) Question 1 What does Greece mean to Europeans? Greek civilization is the fountainhead of the European culture. Question 2 Allusions are frequently used in this poem. Try to interpret the function of allusions in the stanza. burning Sappho the arts of war and peace Phoebus to set a sharp contrast between the past and the present of Greece. “but all, except the sun, is set” 2 The Scian and the Teian muse, The heros harp, the lovers lute, Have found the fame your shores refuse; Their place of birth alone is mute To sounds which echo further west Than your sires Islands of the Blest.“ (Scian: of Scio, birthplace of Homer; Teian: of Teos, birthplace of Anacreon) Analysis of stanza 2 allusion: The Scian and the Teian muse synecdoche: The heros harp, the lovers lute glorious in the past while refusing the fame and being mute to the sounds at present. 3 The mountains look on Marathon -- And Marathon looks on the sea; And musing there an hour alone, I dreamd that Greece might still be free For, standing on the Persians grave, I could not deem myself a slave. Question 2 What’s the significance of Marathon in this stanza? allusion: war of Marathon, Greeks won victory over Persian troops but now, on Persians’ grave, Greeks turn into slave and were chained. 4 A king sate on the rocky brow?? Which looks o’er sea-born Salamis; And ships by thousands lay below,?? And men in nations—all were his! He counted them at break of day, And when the sun set where were they? King: Persian king Allusion: martial war at Salamis to indicate the past glorious time 5 And