An Analysis of Tension in “The Death of the Hired Man”_英语论文

摘要

《雇工之死》是美国著名诗人罗伯特·弗罗斯特（1874-1963）叙事诗的杰出代表，在弗罗斯特的作品中占有重要地位。国内外研究《雇工之死》的学者不少，但他们的研究兴趣多分布在诗歌的主题、音律以及戏剧性上。张力理论在诗歌赏析的领域中占有重要一席。然而，目前来看，系统地从张力的角度来分析《雇工之死》的成功性的文章数量不多。本文主要采用新批评的细读法，尝试在《雇工之死》全文中展开搜寻，发现张力所在并对其进行解读。从张力产生的方式来看，《雇工之死》的张力主要来源于四个方面：诗歌的声音、人物塑造、情节以及意境。

关键词：张力  声音  人物塑造  情节  意境

Abstract

The Death of the Hired Man is one of the most outstanding narrative poems of Robert Frost. Many scholars have studied the poem and published their findings. Most of them showed their interest in the themes, the sound effects, and the theatricality of the poem. Few, however, have made a systematic analysis of the text from the perspective of literature tension, which, though, was served as a significant tool for poem appreciation. This thesis approaches the poem with the research method of close reading, attempting to find the tensions formed in the text and interpret them. Finally, it is concluded that the tension is mainly built through the sound, contrasts of the personae, arrangement of plots, and creation of artistic conceptions. 

Key words: Tension  sound  personae  plots  artistic conceptions

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1  A Brief Introduction to Literature Tension 1

1.2  A Brief Introduction to The Death of the Hired Man 1

1.3  Purpose of the Thesis 2

1.4  Structure of the Thesis 2

Chapter Two  Literature Review 4

2.1  Previous Studies on Robert Frost’s Works 4

2.2  Previous Studies on The Death of the Hired Man 5

2.3  Summary 6

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework 7

3.1  Literature Tension 7

3.2  The Achievement of Tension in Literature Works 9

3.3  Summary 10

Chapter Four  Literature Tension in Four Aspects in The 

Death of the Hired Man 11

4.1  Literature Tension Created Through Sound 11

4.1.1 Poetic Meter 11

4.1.2 Natural Cadence 12

4.2  Literature Tension Created Through the Contrasts between Personae 13

4.2.1 Mary vs. Warren 13

4.2.2 Silas vs. Harold 15

4.3  Literature Tension Created Through Plots 15

4.3.1 Silas wanted to leave vs. Warren wanted him to stay 16

4.3.2 Silas wanted to stay vs. Warren would not take him in 16

4.3.3 Warren was going to forgive Silas vs. Silas did not live to see 

Warren's forgiveness 17

4.3.4 Silas was "worthless" vs. Silas wanted to "be some good to 

someone in the world" 17

4.4  Literature Tension Created Through the Artistic Conceptions 18

4.4.1 Happy Scenes of Working vs. Huddling Against the Barn-Door 19

4.4.2 Tender Night vs. Miserable Death 20

4.5  Summary 20

Chapter Five  Conclusion 22

5.1  Major Findings 22

5.2  Limitations and Suggestions for Future Study 22

Bibliography

Appendices

Acknowledgements