Lives of Six Poets(at www.poets..orq)中文介绍参考百度百科 William Blake William Blake was born in London on November 28,1757,to James,a hosier,and Catherine Blake.Two of his six siblings died in infancy.From early childhood,Blake spoke of having visions-at four he saw God "put his head to the window";around age nine,while walking dathrough the countryside,he saw a tree filled with angels. Although his parents tried to discourage him from"lying,"they did observe that he was different from his peers and did not force him to attend conventional school.He learned to read and write at home.At age ten,Blake expressed a wish to become a painter,so his parents sent him to drawing school.Two years later,Blake began writing poetry.When he turned fourteen,he apprenticed with an engraver because art school proved too costly.One of Blake's assignments as apprentice was to sketch the tombs at Westminster Abbey,exposing him to a variety of Gothic styles from which he would draw inspiration throughout his career.After his seven-year term ended,he studied briefly at the Royal Academy. In 1782,he married an illiterate woman named Catherine Boucher.Blake taught her to read and to write,and also instructed her in draftsmanship.Later,she helped him print the illuminated poetry for which he is remembered today;the couple had no children.In 1784 he set up a printshop with a friend and former fellow apprentice, James Parker,but this venture failed after several years.For the remainder of his life,Blake made a meager living as an engraver and illustrator for books and magazines.In addition to his wife,Blake also began training his younger brother Robert in drawing,painting,and engraving.Robert fell ill during the winter of 1787 and succumbed,probably to consumption.As Robert died,Blake saw his brother's spirit rise up through the ceiling,"clapping its hands for joy."He believed that Robert's spirit continued to visit him and later claimed that in a dream Robert taught him the printing method that he used in Songs of Innocence and other"illuminated" works
Lives of Six Poets(at www.poets.org)中文介绍参考百度百科 William Blake William Blake was born in London on November 28, 1757, to James, a hosier, and Catherine Blake. Two of his six siblings died in infancy. From early childhood, Blake spoke of having visions—at four he saw God "put his head to the window"; around age nine, while walking dathrough the countryside, he saw a tree filled with angels. Although his parents tried to discourage him from "lying," they did observe that he was different from his peers and did not force him to attend conventional school. He learned to read and write at home. At age ten, Blake expressed a wish to become a painter, so his parents sent him to drawing school. Two years later, Blake began writing poetry. When he turned fourteen, he apprenticed with an engraver because art school proved too costly. One of Blake's assignments as apprentice was to sketch the tombs at Westminster Abbey, exposing him to a variety of Gothic styles from which he would draw inspiration throughout his career. After his seven-year term ended, he studied briefly at the Royal Academy. In 1782, he married an illiterate woman named Catherine Boucher. Blake taught her to read and to write, and also instructed her in draftsmanship. Later, she helped him print the illuminated poetry for which he is remembered today; the couple had no children. In 1784 he set up a printshop with a friend and former fellow apprentice, James Parker, but this venture failed after several years. For the remainder of his life, Blake made a meager living as an engraver and illustrator for books and magazines. In addition to his wife, Blake also began training his younger brother Robert in drawing, painting, and engraving. Robert fell ill during the winter of 1787 and succumbed, probably to consumption. As Robert died, Blake saw his brother's spirit rise up through the ceiling, "clapping its hands for joy." He believed that Robert's spirit continued to visit him and later claimed that in a dream Robert taught him the printing method that he used in Songs of Innocence and other "illuminated" works
Blake's first printed work,Poetical Sketches(1783),is a collection of apprentice verse,mostly imitating classical models.The poems protest against war,tyranny, and King George III's treatment of the American colonies.He published his most popular collection,Songs of Innocence,in 1789 and followed it,in 1794,with Songs of Experience.Some readers interpret Songs of Innocence in a straightforward fashion,considering it primarily a children's book,but others have found hints at parody or critique in its seemingly naive and simple lyrics.Both books of Songs were printed in an illustrated format reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts.The text and illustrations were printed from copper plates,and each picture was finished by hand in watercolors. Blake was a nonconformist who associated with some of the leading radical thinkers of his day,such as Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft.In defiance of 18th-century neoclassical conventions,he privileged imagination over reason in the creation of both his poetry and images,asserting that ideal forms should be constructed not from observations of nature but from inner visions.He declared in one poem,"I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's."Works such as "The French Revolution"(1791),"America,a Prophecy"(1793),"Visions of the Daughters of Albion"(1793),and "Europe,a Prophecy"(1794)express his opposition to the English monarchy,and to 18th-century political and social tyranny in general.Theological tyranny is the subject of The Book of Urizen(1794).In the prose work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell(1790-93),he satirized oppressive authority in church and state,as well as the works of Emanuel Swedenborg,a Swedish philosopher whose ideas once attracted his interest. In 1800 Blake moved to the seacoast town of Felpham,where he lived and worked until 1803 under the patronage of William Hayley.He taught himself Greek,Latin, Hebrew,and Italian,so that he could read classical works in their original language. In Felpham he experienced profound spiritual insights that prepared him for his mature work,the great visionary epics written and etched between about 1804 and 1820.Milton(1804-08),Vala,or The Four Zoas(1797;rewritten after 1800), and Jerusalem(1804-20)have neither traditional plot,characters,rhyme,nor meter.They envision a new and higher kind of innocence,the human spirit triumphant over reason. Blake believed that his poetry could be read and understood by common people,but he was determined not to sacrifice his vision in order to become popular.In 1808 he exhibited some of his watercolors at the Royal Academy,and in May of 1809 he exhibited his works at his brother James's house.Some of those who saw the exhibit praised Blake's artistry,but others thought the paintings "hideous"and more than a few called him insane.Blake's poetry was not well known by the general public,but he was mentioned in A Biographical Dictionary of the Living Authors of Great Britain and Ireland,published in 1816.Samuel Taylor Coleridge,who had been lent a copy of Songs of Innocence and of Experience,considered Blake a"man of Genius,"and Wordsworth made his own copies of several songs.Charles Lamb sent a copy of
Blake's first printed work, Poetical Sketches (1783), is a collection of apprentice verse, mostly imitating classical models. The poems protest against war, tyranny, and King George III's treatment of the American colonies. He published his most popular collection, Songs of Innocence, in 1789 and followed it, in 1794, with Songs of Experience. Some readers interpret Songs of Innocence in a straightforward fashion, considering it primarily a children's book, but others have found hints at parody or critique in its seemingly naive and simple lyrics. Both books of Songs were printed in an illustrated format reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts. The text and illustrations were printed from copper plates, and each picture was finished by hand in watercolors. Blake was a nonconformist who associated with some of the leading radical thinkers of his day, such as Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft. In defiance of 18th-century neoclassical conventions, he privileged imagination over reason in the creation of both his poetry and images, asserting that ideal forms should be constructed not from observations of nature but from inner visions. He declared in one poem, "I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's." Works such as "The French Revolution" (1791), "America, a Prophecy" (1793), "Visions of the Daughters of Albion" (1793), and "Europe, a Prophecy" (1794) express his opposition to the English monarchy, and to 18th-century political and social tyranny in general. Theological tyranny is the subject of The Book of Urizen (1794). In the prose work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-93), he satirized oppressive authority in church and state, as well as the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish philosopher whose ideas once attracted his interest. In 1800 Blake moved to the seacoast town of Felpham, where he lived and worked until 1803 under the patronage of William Hayley. He taught himself Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Italian, so that he could read classical works in their original language. In Felpham he experienced profound spiritual insights that prepared him for his mature work, the great visionary epics written and etched between about 1804 and 1820. Milton (1804-08), Vala, or The Four Zoas (1797; rewritten after 1800), and Jerusalem (1804-20) have neither traditional plot, characters, rhyme, nor meter. They envision a new and higher kind of innocence, the human spirit triumphant over reason. Blake believed that his poetry could be read and understood by common people, but he was determined not to sacrifice his vision in order to become popular. In 1808 he exhibited some of his watercolors at the Royal Academy, and in May of 1809 he exhibited his works at his brother James's house. Some of those who saw the exhibit praised Blake's artistry, but others thought the paintings "hideous" and more than a few called him insane. Blake's poetry was not well known by the general public, but he was mentioned in A Biographical Dictionary of the Living Authors of Great Britain and Ireland, published in 1816. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who had been lent a copy of Songs of Innocence and of Experience, considered Blake a "man of Genius," and Wordsworth made his own copies of several songs. Charles Lamb sent a copy of
"The Chimney Sweeper"from Songs of Innocence to James Montgomery for his Chimney-Sweeper's Friend,and Climbing Boys'Album(1824),and Robert Southey (who,like Wordsworth,considered Blake insane)attended Blake's exhibition and included the "Mad Song"from Poetica/Sketches in his miscellany,The Doctor (1834-1837). Blake's final years,spent in great poverty,were cheered by the admiring friendship of a group of younger artists who called themselves"the Ancients."In 1818 he met John Linnell,a young artist who helped him financially and also helped to create new interest in his work.It was Linnell who,in 1825,commissioned him to design illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy,the cycle of drawings that Blake worked on until his death in 1827. John Keats English Romantic poet John Keats was born on October 31,1795,in London.The oldest of four children,he lost both his parents at a young age.His father,a livery-stable keeper,died when Keats was eight;his mother died of tuberculosis six years later.After his mother's death,Keats's maternal grandmother appointed two London merchants,Richard Abbey and John Rowland Sandell,as guardians.Abbey, a prosperous tea broker,assumed the bulk of this responsibility,while Sandell played only a minor role.When Keats was fifteen,Abbey withdrew him from the Clarke School,Enfield,to apprentice with an apothecary-surgeon and study medicine in a London hospital.In 1816 Keats became a licensed apothecary,but he never practiced his profession,deciding instead to write poetry
"The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Innocence to James Montgomery for his Chimney-Sweeper's Friend, and Climbing Boys' Album (1824), and Robert Southey (who, like Wordsworth, considered Blake insane) attended Blake's exhibition and included the "Mad Song" from Poetical Sketches in his miscellany, The Doctor (1834-1837). Blake's final years, spent in great poverty, were cheered by the admiring friendship of a group of younger artists who called themselves "the Ancients." In 1818 he met John Linnell, a young artist who helped him financially and also helped to create new interest in his work. It was Linnell who, in 1825, commissioned him to design illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy, the cycle of drawings that Blake worked on until his death in 1827. John Keats English Romantic poet John Keats was born on October 31, 1795, in London. The oldest of four children, he lost both his parents at a young age. His father, a livery-stable keeper, died when Keats was eight; his mother died of tuberculosis six years later. After his mother's death, Keats's maternal grandmother appointed two London merchants, Richard Abbey and John Rowland Sandell, as guardians. Abbey, a prosperous tea broker, assumed the bulk of this responsibility, while Sandell played only a minor role. When Keats was fifteen, Abbey withdrew him from the Clarke School, Enfield, to apprentice with an apothecary-surgeon and study medicine in a London hospital. In 1816 Keats became a licensed apothecary, but he never practiced his profession, deciding instead to write poetry
Around this time,Keats met Leigh Hunt,an influential editor of the Examiner,who published his sonnets"On First Looking into Chapman's Homer"and "O Solitude."Hunt also introduced Keats to a circle of literary men,including the poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Wordsworth.The group's influence enabled Keats to see his first volume,Poems by John Keats,published in 1817.Shelley,who was fond of Keats,had advised him to develop John Keats a more substantial body of work before publishing it.Keats,who inBright Star:was not as fond of Shelley,did not follow his advice.Endymion,a "A poem needs four-thousand-line erotic/allegorical romance based on the Greek understanding myth of the same name,appeared the following year.Two of the through the most influential critical magazines of the time,the Quarterly senses.The Review and Blackwood's Magazine,attacked the collection.Calling point of diving the romantic verse of Hunt's literary circle "the Cockney school of in a lake is not poetry,"Blackwood's declared Endymion to be nonsense and immediately to recommended that Keats give up poetry.Shelley,who privately swim to the disliked Endymion but recognized Keats's genius,wrote a more shore..." favorable review,but it was never published.Shelley also exaggerated the effect that the criticism had on Keats,attributing his declining health over the following years to a spirit broken by the negative reviews. Keats spent the summer of 1818 on a walking tour in Northern England and Scotland,returning home to care for his brother,Tom,who suffered from tuberculosis.While nursing his brother,Keats met and fell in love with a woman named Fanny Brawne.Writing some of his finest poetry between 1818 and 1819, Keats mainly worked on "Hyperion,"a Miltonic blank-verse epic of the Greek creation myth.He stopped writing "Hyperion"upon the death of his brother,after completing only a small portion,but in late 1819 he returned to the piece and rewrote it as"The Fall of Hyperion"(unpublished until 1856).That same autumn Keats contracted tuberculosis,and by the following February he felt that death was already upon him,referring to the present as his "posthumous existence. In July 1820,he published his third and best volume of poetry,Lamia,Isabella,The Eve of St.Agnes,and Other Poems.The three title poems,dealing with mythical and legendary themes of ancient,medieval,and Renaissance times,are rich in imagery and phrasing.The volume also contains the unfinished "Hyperion,"and three poems considered among the finest in the English language,"Ode on a Grecian Urn,""Ode on Melancholy,and "Ode to a Nightingale."The book received enthusiastic praise from Hunt,Shelley,Charles Lamb,and others,and in August,Frances Jeffrey, influential editor of the Edinburgh Review,wrote a review praising both the new book and Endymion. The fragment "Hyperion"was considered by Keats's contemporaries to be his greatest achievement,but by that time he had reached an advanced stage of his
Around this time, Keats met Leigh Hunt, an influential editor of the Examiner, who published his sonnets "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" and "O Solitude." Hunt also introduced Keats to a circle of literary men, including the poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Wordsworth. The group's influence enabled Keats to see his first volume, Poems by John Keats, published in 1817. Shelley, who was fond of Keats, had advised him to develop a more substantial body of work before publishing it. Keats, who was not as fond of Shelley, did not follow his advice. Endymion, a four-thousand-line erotic/allegorical romance based on the Greek myth of the same name, appeared the following year. Two of the most influential critical magazines of the time, the Quarterly Review and Blackwood's Magazine, attacked the collection. Calling the romantic verse of Hunt's literary circle "the Cockney school of poetry," Blackwood's declared Endymion to be nonsense and recommended that Keats give up poetry. Shelley, who privately disliked Endymion but recognized Keats's genius, wrote a more favorable review, but it was never published. Shelley also exaggerated the effect that the criticism had on Keats, attributing his declining health over the following years to a spirit broken by the negative reviews. Keats spent the summer of 1818 on a walking tour in Northern England and Scotland, returning home to care for his brother, Tom, who suffered from tuberculosis. While nursing his brother, Keats met and fell in love with a woman named Fanny Brawne. Writing some of his finest poetry between 1818 and 1819, Keats mainly worked on "Hyperion," a Miltonic blank-verse epic of the Greek creation myth. He stopped writing "Hyperion" upon the death of his brother, after completing only a small portion, but in late 1819 he returned to the piece and rewrote it as "The Fall of Hyperion" (unpublished until 1856). That same autumn Keats contracted tuberculosis, and by the following February he felt that death was already upon him, referring to the present as his "posthumous existence." In July 1820, he published his third and best volume of poetry, Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems. The three title poems, dealing with mythical and legendary themes of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance times, are rich in imagery and phrasing. The volume also contains the unfinished "Hyperion," and three poems considered among the finest in the English language, "Ode on a Grecian Urn," "Ode on Melancholy," and "Ode to a Nightingale." The book received enthusiastic praise from Hunt, Shelley, Charles Lamb, and others, and in August, Frances Jeffrey, influential editor of the Edinburgh Review, wrote a review praising both the new book and Endymion. The fragment "Hyperion" was considered by Keats's contemporaries to be his greatest achievement, but by that time he had reached an advanced stage of his John Keats inBright Star: "A poem needs understanding through the senses. The point of diving in a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore
disease and was too ill to be encouraged.He continued a correspondence with Fanny Brawne and-when he could no longer bear to write to her directly-her mother,but his failing health and his literary ambitions prevented their getting married.Under his doctor's orders to seek a warm climate for the winter,Keats went to Rome with his friend,the painter Joseph Severn.He died there on February 23, 1821,at the age of twenty-five,and was buried in the Protestant cemetery. See more at:http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/66#sthash.1IBYHJPp.dpuf W.B.Yeats Born in Dublin,Ireland,in 1865,William Butler Yeats was the son of a well-known Irish painter,John Butler Yeats.He spent his childhood in County Sligo,where his parents were raised,and in London.He returned to Dublin at the age of fifteen to continue his education and study painting,but quickly discovered he preferred poetry.Born into the Anglo-Irish landowning class,Yeats became involved with the Celtic Revival,a movement against the cultural influences of English rule in Ireland during the Victorian period,which sought to promote the spirit of Ireland's native heritage.Though Yeats never learned Gaelic himself,his writing at the turn of the century drew extensively from sources in Irish mythology and folklore.Also a potent influence on his poetry was the Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne,whom he met in 1889,a woman equally famous for her passionate nationalist politics and her beauty. Though she married another man in 1903 and grew apart from Yeats(and Yeats himself was eventually married to another woman,Georgie Hyde Lees),she remained a powerful figure in his poetry. Yeats was deeply involved in politics in Ireland,and in the twenties,despite Irish independence from England,his verse reflected a pessimism about the political situation in his country and the rest of Europe,paralleling the increasing conservativism of his American counterparts in London,T.S.Eliot and Ezra Pound. His work after 1910 was strongly influenced by Pound,becoming more modern in its
disease and was too ill to be encouraged. He continued a correspondence with Fanny Brawne and—when he could no longer bear to write to her directly—her mother, but his failing health and his literary ambitions prevented their getting married. Under his doctor's orders to seek a warm climate for the winter, Keats went to Rome with his friend, the painter Joseph Severn. He died there on February 23, 1821, at the age of twenty-five, and was buried in the Protestant cemetery. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/66#sthash.1lBYHJPp.dpuf W. B. Yeats Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1865, William Butler Yeats was the son of a well-known Irish painter, John Butler Yeats. He spent his childhood in County Sligo, where his parents were raised, and in London. He returned to Dublin at the age of fifteen to continue his education and study painting, but quickly discovered he preferred poetry. Born into the Anglo-Irish landowning class, Yeats became involved with the Celtic Revival, a movement against the cultural influences of English rule in Ireland during the Victorian period, which sought to promote the spirit of Ireland's native heritage. Though Yeats never learned Gaelic himself, his writing at the turn of the century drew extensively from sources in Irish mythology and folklore. Also a potent influence on his poetry was the Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne, whom he met in 1889, a woman equally famous for her passionate nationalist politics and her beauty. Though she married another man in 1903 and grew apart from Yeats (and Yeats himself was eventually married to another woman, Georgie Hyde Lees), she remained a powerful figure in his poetry. Yeats was deeply involved in politics in Ireland, and in the twenties, despite Irish independence from England, his verse reflected a pessimism about the political situation in his country and the rest of Europe, paralleling the increasing conservativism of his American counterparts in London, T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. His work after 1910 was strongly influenced by Pound, becoming more modern in its