Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963) was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes. A popular and often-quoted poet, Frost was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.
Text II
Never durst poet touch a pen to write. Until his ink were temper’d with Love’s sighs. — ShakespeareFra bibliotek Text II
Poetry, therefore, we will call Musical Thought.
Text II
2. How does the author interpret the poem ―Those Winter Sundays‖ based on observations, inferences and conclusions?
The author senses the poet’s remorse and regret for not being aware of all his father did for him; the author also senses the intensity of the poet’s feelings both in his repetition of the phrase ―what did I know,‖ and in the words that describe his fathers’ actions: ―love’s austere and lonely offices.‖
Text II
4. Why do we say that one should interpret a poem before he is able to evaluate the poem?
When we try to interpret a poem, we are supposed to pay sufficient attention to details and understand them as accurately as possible by virtue of intellectual capabilities and rational thinking. However, when we try to evaluate a poem, we are supposed to assess its literary quality and make a judgment about how good it is and how successfully it realizes its poetic intentions. Our consideration may involve an investigation into more complicated elements. So in a sense, we may say that interpreting a poem should come before evaluating the poem.
Text II
ROBERT HAYDEN
[1913-1980]
Those Winter Sundays Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold
then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. 星期天父亲也起得很早 他穿上衣服，屋里寒冷刺骨， 他用皴裂的双手拨开炉火， 那双手因整日在风吹日晒下劳作而时时作痛。 没有人感谢过他。
Text II
3. What does the poet Robert Frost try to tell the reader in his poem ―Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening‖? It is a rare beautiful sight: ―The woods are lovely, dark and deep‖, which might fit into the poet’s aesthetic view. That’s why the poet stops his horse to appreciate this wondrous scene. However, one can not indulge himself too much in a particular attraction, as he has miles to go before he goes to sleep, which might be interpreted as one has so many obligations to fulfill before his eternal sleep — death.
Text II
1. What is our chief concern when we endeavor to interpret a poem?
When we endeavor to interpret a poem, our chief concern is what the poem really means or suggests, rather than how the poem affects us. In other words, interpretation is based on our rational understanding and intellectual comprehension instead of our emotional responses.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
树林可爱，虽黑暗而深远， 但我已决意信守我的诺言， 在我睡前还有许多路要赶， 在我睡前还有许多路要赶。
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
我想我认识这树林的主人， 不过他的房子在村庄里面。 他不会看到我正停于此处， 观赏他的树林积雪的美景。
My little horse must think it queer
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
它摇晃了一下颈上的铃儿， 探询是否有什么差错出现。 那唯一飘掠过耳边的声音， 是微风吹拂着柔软的雪片。
I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he’d call,
And slowly I would rise and dress, Fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Robert DiYanni
11日语
朱晓华
Text II
About the author and the text:
Robert DiYanni is professor of English and Director of Interdisciplinary Studies at Pace University. He has taught graduate classes in English at New York University and Queens College — City University of New York. Among his books are The Art of Reading; Modern American Poets; Prose Pieces; Essays and Stories; Reading Poetry; Modern American Prose; and Women’s Voices. Professor DiYanni received his B.A. from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. from the City University of New York. The text is taken from the book Literature — Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay (Second Edition).
To stop without a farmhouse near