1、.,1,To Helen,Edgar Allan Poe,.,2,Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is generally co

2、nsidered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.,.,3,About Helen-海倫,海倫是宙斯和勒達的女兒,她是那個時代最漂亮的女子.還在當姑娘的時候,她被忒修斯劫持搶走.后來由兩位兄長重新把她奪回來.她跟隨繼父斯巴達國王廷達瑞俄斯長大. 之后，她嫁給了墨涅拉俄斯（亞各斯人的國王）。海倫給他生下一個女兒。后來，墨涅拉俄斯外出。海倫一個人在宮殿里很孤寂。一次外出中，她在阿

3、爾忒彌斯神廟遇見帕拉斯王子。兩人相愛了。于是，王子就把海倫“劫持”到了自己的國家。也就是這件事，引發(fā)了著名的特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭。,.,4,The background information,Poe wrote To Helen as a reflection on the beauty of Mrs.Jane Stith Stanard who died in 1824.She was the mother of one of Poes school classmates who was said to have urged him to write this poem, and she was P

4、oes first real love. 在中學時代，愛倫.坡曾經(jīng)熱切地眷戀過一位同學的母親，一個溫柔嫻靜、知書達理的女人，而這個女人在三十一歲死于腦瘤，無疑給愛倫坡幼小的心靈刻上了終生難愈的創(chuàng)傷。,.,5,To Helen-致海倫,Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicean barks of yore往昔， That gently, oer a perfumed sea, The weary, way-worn wanderer bore To his own native shore. On desperate seas long wont t

5、o roam游蕩, Thy hyacinth風信子 hair, thy classic face, Thy Naiad水仙女 airs have brought me home To the glory that was Greece, And the grandeur that was Rome. Lo! in you brilliant window-niche How statue-like I see thee stand, The agate瑪瑙 lamp within thy hand! Ah, Psyche普塞克, from the regions which Are Holy

6、Land!,海倫，你的美貌于我， 有如往日尼西亞的三桅船， 在芬芳的海上悠然浮起， 把勞困而倦游的浪子載還， 回到他故國的港灣。 早已習慣于怒海上的飄蕩， 你風信子似的秀發(fā)， 你閃爍著古典美的面龐， 你水精仙子般的呼吸引我還鄉(xiāng)， 重見希臘的光榮與羅馬的輝煌。 看！那明亮的窗龕中間， 我見你象一座神像站立， 瑪瑙的亮燈擎在你手里， 哦！普賽克 ，你所來自的地方 原是那遙遠的圣地！,.,6,Hyperbole 夸張 海倫的美讓大海也變得“芬芳四溢”。,Simile 明喻 海倫的美有如往日尼西亞的三桅船”，乍一看去，三桅船并非常見的美的喻體，但在愛倫坡看來，兩者的共通之處在于它們都能將疲憊的水手帶回

7、家鄉(xiāng)。,Analysis,Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicean barks of yore， That gently, oer a perfumed sea, The weary, way-worn wanderer bore To his own native shore.,Alliteration 頭韻 weary”，“way-worn”和“wanderer”都是以w開頭的單詞。詩人通過頭韻將水手的疲憊形象活靈活現(xiàn)地展現(xiàn)出來.,.,7,Poe, in referring to Helen, may be alluding to the G

8、reek goddess of light or Helen of Troy who is considered to be the most beautiful woman who ever lived, though there is not enough information given to determine for certain. He also makes a reference to Psyche, a beautiful princess who became the lover of Cupid. The agate lamp refers to the time wh

9、en Psyche discovered the true identity of Cupid.,.,8,In To Helen, Poe is celebrating the nurturing power of woman. Poe was inspired in part by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, particularly in the second line (Like those Nicean barks of yore) which resembles a line in Coleridges Youth and Age (Like those tri

10、m skiffs, unknown of yore). Poe revised the poem in 1845, making several improvements, most notably changing the beauty of fair Greece, and the grandeur of old Rome to the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome. Poe scholar Jeffrey Meyers referred to these as two of Poes finest and mos

11、t famous lines.,.,9,Original 1831 version Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicean barks of yore, That gently, oer a perfumd sea, The weary way-worn wanderer bore To his own native shore. On desperate seas long wont to roam, Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face, Thy Naiad airs have brought me hom

12、e To the beauty of fair Greece, And the grandeur of old Rome. Lo ! in that little window-niche How statue-like I see thee stand! The folded scroll within thy hand A Psyche from the regions which Are Holy land !,Revised 1845 version Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicean barks of yore That gent

13、ly, oer a perfumed sea, The weary, way-worn wanderer bore To his own native shore. On desperate seas long wont to roam, Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face, Thy Naiad airs have brought me home To the glory that was Greece, And the grandeur that was Rome. Lo, in yon brilliant window-niche How statue-

14、like I see thee stand, The agate lamp within thy hand, Ah! Psyche, from the regions which Are Holy Land!,.,10,“風信子般的頭發(fā)，典雅的面龐,水仙女般的風姿帶我回到昨日希臘的光榮， 和往昔羅馬的盛況。,在第二節(jié)中，詩人進一步描寫了海倫的美麗,On desperate seas long wont to roam, Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face, Thy Naiad airs have brought me home To the glory th

15、at was Greece, And the grandeur that was Rome,Parallelism and Metaphor,.,11,Simile 看！那明亮的窗龕中間， 我見你象一座神像站立，,在第三節(jié)詩中，詩人的描寫的對象從海倫轉(zhuǎn)到了普賽克（Psyche）一個可以與海倫媲美的公主。,在希臘神話中，普賽克公主，美麗絕倫。他是愛神厄洛斯之妻，厄洛斯禁止她看見自己的模樣，而普賽克因好奇在夜晚舉燈看丈夫的模樣，燈油滴到愛神臉上喚醒了他，普塞克因此被丈夫逐出家門。,Lo! in you brilliant window-niche How statue-like I see the

16、e stand, The agate lamp within thy hand! Ah, Psyche, from the regions which Are Holy Land!,.,12,The Theme,The beauty of a woman with whom Poe became acquainted when he was 14.Apparently she treated him kindly and may have urged him or perhaps inspired him to write poetry. Beauty,as Poe uses the word in the poem ,appears to refer to the womans body as well as her soul.,On the one hand ,he represents her as Helen of Troythe quintessence（典范 ）of physical beauty-at the beginning of this poem. On the other hand ,he represents her a