Philip Larkin
The trumpet’s voice, loud and authoritative,
Draws me a moment to the lighted glass
To watch the dancers—all under twenty-five—
Shifting intently, face to flushed face,
Solemnly on the beat of happiness.
—Or so I fancy, sensing the smoke and sweat,
The wonderful feel of girls.Why be out there?
But then, why be in there? Sex, yes, but what
Is sex? Surely to think the lion’s share
Of happiness is found by couples—sheer
Inaccuracy, as far as I’m concerned.
What calls me is that lifted, rough-tongued bell
(Art, if you like) whose individual sound
Insists I too am individual.
It speaks; I hear; others may hear as well,
But not for me, nor I for them; and so
With happiness.Therefore I stay outside,
Believing this; and they maul to and fro,
Believing that; and both are satisfied,
If no one has misjudged himself.Or lied.
1.Answer the following questions about the poem.
1)What is the setting of the poem?
2)What attracted the speaker in the poem to a dancing hall? Did he enter it?
3)Did the speaker like the music played in the dancing hall? Why or why not?
4)Did the speaker feel sad and lonely compared with the happy young couples?
5)Does the poem reflect the era that the poet lived in?
2.Pair work: Read and recite the poem.Then translate the poem into Chinese and compare your version with your partners’.
Notes
1. Charlotte Bront? (1816-1855):She was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Bront? sisters, whose novels are English literature standards.She wrote Jane Eyre under the pen name Currer Bell.
2. Jane Eyre:It is the favorite romantic tale of an orphan who makes a journey to adulthood accompanied by the unkindness of relatives, the horrors of boarding school, and destructive discoveries in love.The novel is a rags-to-riches story, where a Cinderella-type character must find her place. Jane Eyre is the rare book that manages to be good by virtue of ineffable charm alone, despite not having very much going for it in terms of overall plot.