George Herbert
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky;
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night,
For thou must die.
Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave,
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye;
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.
Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie;
My music shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.
Only a sweet and virtuous soul,
Like seasoned timber, never gives;
But though the whole world turn to coal,
Then chiefly lives.
1.Questions for comprehension and discussion.
1) The poem can be described as tribute to _____.
A.deathB.loveC.lifeD.immortality
2) The language of the poem can be viewed as the following except _____.
A.lyricalB.obscureC.simpleD.forceful
3) The following rhetorical devices are used except _____.
A.repetitionB.contrastC.metaphorD.hyperbole
4) According to the poem, everything dies except _____.
A.virtuous soulB.springC.dayD.rose
5) This poem has a _____ touch in it.
A.academicB.secularC.naturalD.religious
2.Summarize the poem and translate it into Chinese.
God Memnon 门农神像
Palace of Sans-Souci 无忧宫
Sphinx 狮身人面像
The Nile 尼罗河
Temple of Baalbec （黎巴嫩）巴勒贝克神庙
Notes
1. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900):He is an eminent Irish poet and dramatist whose reputation rests on his comic masterpieces Lady Windermere’s Fan(1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest(1895).Among Wilde’s other best-known works are his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray(1891) and his fairy tales especially The Happy Prince.He was also famous for his active role in the 19th century’s Aesthetic Movement.
2. Palace of Sans-Souci:The Sans-Souci Palace was the royal residence of King Henri I of Haiti, Queen Marie-Louise and their two daughters.Its name translated from French means “carefree”.Here it is an imaginary name of a palace where the Happy Prince had once lived.