Mary Lamb
A Creole boy from the West Indies brought,
To be in European learning taught,
Some years before to Westminster he went,
To a Preparatory school was sent.
When from his artless tale the mistress found,
The child had not one friend on English ground,
She ev’n as if she his own mother were,
Made the dark Indian her particular care.
Oft on her favourite’s future lot she thought;
To know the bent of his young mind she sought,
For much the kind preceptress wished to find,
To what profession he was most inclined,
That where his genius led they might him train;
For nature’s kindly bent she held not vain.
But vain her efforts to explore his will;
The frequent question he evaded still;
Till on a day at length he to her came,
Joy sparkling in his eyes; and said, the same,
Trade he would be those boys of colour were,
Who danced so happy in the open air.
It was a troop of chimney-sweeping boys,
With wooden music and obstreperous noise,
In tarnish’d finery and grotesque array,
Were dancing in the streets the first of May.
1.Answer the following questions according to your understanding of the poem.
1)What is the relationship between “she”and the Creole boy?
2)What do “mistress”and “preceptress”refer to?
3)What are the characteristics of the lady described in the poem?
4)What influence does this lady give to the boy?
5)What were the common professions for women when the poem was written?
2.Read the poem and translate it into Chinese.
Proper Names
Vienna 维也纳
Berlin 柏林
Shakespeare 莎士比亚
Queen Victoria 维多利亚女王
Notes
1. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941):She was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the 20th century.Her most famous works include the novels Mrs Dalloway(1925), To the Lighthouse(1927) and Orlando(1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One’s Own(1929).
2. Society:It refers to Women’s Service League or National Society for Women’s Service.This speech is an abbreviated version of the speech Virginia Woolf delivered before a branch of the Society on January 21, 1931.
3. Fanny Burney (1752-1840):She is an English novelist, diarist and playwright.Burney’s four novels have earned her favorable comparisons to other giants of the genre—Austen, Richardson, Dickens—and Virginia Woolf’s declaration that she is “the mother of English fiction”.
4. Aphra Behn (1640-1689):Shewas a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers.Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.
5. Harriet Martineau (1802-1876):She was an English writer, whose writings, characterized by advanced views on social, economic, and religious questions, caused considerable controversy in her time.She was also a fervent abolitionist.
6. The Angel in the House:It is a narrative poem by Coventry Patmore.The poem was an idealized account of Patmore’s courtship of his first wife, Emily, whom he believed to be the perfect woman.
7. Queen Victoria:She was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death.Her reign of 64 years, which is longer than that of any other British monarch, is known as the Victorian era.It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.
8. Adam Smith (1723-1790):He was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy.He was one of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, and is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations.The reading selection is excerpted from The Wealth of Nations.
9. Mary Ann Lamb (1764-1847):She was an English writer, the sister and collaborator of Charles Lamb.She is best known today for her collaboration with Charles on the collection Tales from Shakespeare.Mary suffered from mental illness, and was confined to mental facilities off and on for most of her life.She and Charles presided over a literary circle in London that included the poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, among others.
For Fun
Works to Read
1. Mrs.Warren’s Profession(1893):It is a classic play written by George Bernard Shaw.The story centers on the relationship between Mrs.Warren, a brothel owner, and her Cambridge-educated daughter, Vivie.Vivie is horrified to discover that her mother’s fortune was made by managing high-class brothels.The two women make a brief reconciliation when Mrs.Warren explains her impoverished youth, which soon ends when Vivie learns that the business remains in operation.
2. On the Choice of a Profession (1887):It is an autobiographical essay written by Robert Louis Stevenson about the Scottish writer’s own choice of profession.As he grew up, Stevenson rebelled against the conventions of Edinburgh middle-class society.The essay tells how he abandoned his previous careers and how he determined to write.
Movies to See
1. The Devil Wears Prada (2006):This is a 2006 comedy-drama film, a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel of the same name.A naive young woman Andrea Sachs comes to New York and scores a job as the assistant to one of the city’s biggest magazine editors, the ruthless and cynical Miranda Priestly.The 20th Century Fox-contributed movie became a hit due to the two stars’(Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep) excellent performance and fabulous fashion shows.
2. The Pursuit of Happiness (2006):This is a 2006 American biographical drama film based on Chris Gardner’s nearly one-year struggle with homelessness.The inspiring and touching story is about a struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he’s poised to begin a life-changing professional endeavor.
Poem to Appreciate
Excerpts from The Angel in the House
Coventry Patmore
Man must be pleased; but him to please
Is woman’s pleasure; down the gulf
Of his condoled necessities
She casts her best, she flings herself.
How often flings for nought, and yokes
Her heart to an icicle or whim,
Whose each impatient word provokes
Another, not from her, but him;
While she, too gentle even to force
His penitence by kind replies,
Waits by, expecting his remorse,
With pardon in her pitying eyes;
And if he once, by shame oppress’d,
A comfortable word confers,
She leans and weeps against his breast,
And seems to think the sin was hers;
And whilst his love has any life,
Or any eye to see her charms,
At any time, she’s his wife,
Dearly devoted to his arms;
She loves with love that cannot tire;
And when, ah woe, she loves alone,
Through passionate duty love springs higher,
As grass grows taller round a stone.