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Lesson Fifteen:No Signposts in the Sea___By V. Sackville -westI. Additional Background Knowledge1. About the author:( 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962 )Victoria MarySackville-west was anEnglish poet and novelist.She was born in KnoleHouse, Kent, UK. She wasa descendant of LordTreasurer ThomasSackville, who is the cousinof Queen Elizabeth I.In 1913 she married diplomat Harold Nicolson (1886-1968), and they traveled extensively during his years in the foreign office. In London she was a member of the Bloomsbury group of literary and artistic friends including Virginia Woolf. Lytton Strachey, E.M. Foster and others.In the 1920s Sackville-West became romantically involved with the writer, Virginia Woolf, who celebrated this love affair in the novel Orlando(1928). Dedicated to Sackville-West, the book traces the history of the youthful, beautiful, and aristocratic Orlando, and explores the themes of sexual ambiguity. This was followed by her novels, The Edwardians(1930), All Passion Spent(1931) and The Dark Island(1934).She was famous for herexuberant aristocratic life,her strong marriage, andher passionate affair with novelist Virginia Woolf. Sackville-West's first published works were a collection of poems, Powers of West and East(1917). Her long poem The Land won the Hawthornden Prize in 1927. She also wrote the novel Heritage (1919)Personal life, marriage and bisexuality (Bit of profligacy )In 1913, Sackville-West married Harold Nicolson, and the couple moved to Cospoli, Constantinople(君士但丁堡of Turkey). Nicolson was at different times a diplomat, journalist, broadcaster, Member of Parliament, author of biographies and novels and also bisexual in what would now be called an open marriage. Both Sackville-West and her husband had consecutive same-sex relations.(gay, lesbian)These were no impediment(obstacle) to a true closeness between Sackville-West and Nicolson, as is seen from their nearly daily correspondence (published after their deaths by their son Nigel), and from an interview they gave for BBC radio after World War II. Nicolson gave up his diplomatic career partly so that he couldlive with Sackville-West in England, uninterrupted by long solitary postings to missions abroad.They returned to England in 1914 and bought Long Barn, in Kent.The couple had two children:Nigel, also a politician and writer; and Benedict, an art historian. In the 1930s, the family acquired and moved to Sissinghurst Castle, near Cranbrook, in Kent.Her main writings(Prolific Writer)1) The land(1926): It‟s a long poem,which was praised as one of themost beautiful bucolic/idyllic inEnglish literature ant wonHawthorndon prize.2) The Garden(1946), won theHeinemann prize3) The Edwardians (1930), a novel.（爱德华时代的人）4) All passion spent (1931), a novel(激情耗尽)5) The Eagle and the Dove (1943)6) Another World than This (1945)(an anthology)7) No Signposts in the Sea (1961)2. Styles and Influence:1) Sackville–west’s novels are more widely known, yet her poetry may prove to be more enduring: there is a depth of feeling and perception in the best of her poems, a quality at once stately and moving. Her prose is of consistently in high quality, supple clear, and craftsman-like, viewed as one of Britain‟s p romising young writers in the 1920‟s. She is now regarded famous for her personality as much as for her writing.She is a prolific writer, the author of 15 novels, as well as biographies and travel books.2) About the novel:“No Signposts in the Sea”(1) The novel with144-pages is in theform of a journal kept by a man calledEdmund Carr, 50 years old, aninfluential political columnist and abachelor. He learns that he has alimited time to live___ a few weeks, amonth or two at most. How will hespend them? In this dilemma/(quandary, predicament), he met awidow_ Ms. Laura by chance,whohas booked on a cruise / trip to theFar East. Laura, the widow‟s warmth,and intelligence struck him. Therefore,he decided to board the ship.(2) While sailing at sea, Carr was full ofemotions, such as: the undercurrentsadness, the idyllic feelings, therelease from pressure, the dullrhythms of ship life, the enticing /(luring) scenery. Later he fell in lovewith the Window Laura.(3) Edmund Carr grows love for Laurathough he knows it is impossible toget her. Simultaneously, a handsomecolonel also shows great interest inLaura, which makes Carr feel jealous,despairing, and an outburst ofdisappointment against his “rival”.3) Styles: This story (a short novel) showsa romantic love affair. The cruise onthe sea is full of imagination, lyric,and idyllic.(1) Attitudes: __ more critical than praise/commendation;__ more pessimistic than optimistic. (2) Diary __ prose.3. Rhetorical Devices:1. transferred epithet;2. personification3. simile4. Pre-reading Questions1) What pleasure does Edmund Carr getby observing Laura without her knowing it?2) Does Carr appreciate natural beauty?3) Why does Carr like islands?4) What kind of coastline does he like?II. : Detailed study of the text1. She wears soft rich colours.__ It means her dress is in deep, intense colors such as dark red, olive green. Rich: = banquet (luxurious, sumptuous ) ~ wine (full of strength & flavor )~ odors (very fragrant;Cf: flagrant =notorious)~ soil (fertile , yielding in abundance ) 2. The Colonel, who is not too offensively an Empire-builder, sometimes tries to talk to me about public affairs.___The Colonel, an Empire-builder who is not too disgustingly aggressive,sometimes tries to talk to me aboutpublic affairs.3.He says he used to read me(metonymy), and is ……charming deferential= to read my writings /articles metonymy: I like Shakespeare(his works ).__I find Saul Bellow very difficult tounderstand.= ( a U.S novelist. 1915- )4. (1) ill-informedeg. ill-bred, (considered, defined , mannered , treated,)(2) and just about ……anybody could go--- just about as conservative as anybody could be . (极端保守)5. I observe with amusement how totally the concerns of the world, which once absorbed me to the exclusion of all else …to the extent of a bored distaste. __I was once so completely absorbed in the important affairs of the world, anddevoted all my attention to it so that I only have one rest by reading poetry and listening to music. But now, I found amusingly that the world affaires are just some boring distaste.To the exclusion of=To do sth. only; without concerningother things.Eg: __ He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.__ Never concentrate all your attention on one or two problem, to theexclusion of others.Trans:我有趣的发现，自己过去偶尔借诗歌或音乐消遣放松一下，一心专注的世界大事现在不仅索然无味，而且到了令人厌烦的地步。
In the dining-saloon I sit at a table with three other men; Laura sitssome way oft with a married couple and their daughter. I canobserve her without her knowing, and this gives me pleasure, forit is as in a moving picture that I can note the grace of her gestures,whether she raises a glass of wine to her lips or turns with aremark to one of her neighbours or takes a cigarette from hercase with those slender fingers. I have never had much of an eyefor noticing the clothes of women, but I get the impression thatLaura is always in grey and white by day, looking cool when otherpeople are flushed and shiny in the tropical heat; in the eveningshe wears soft rich colours, dark red, olive green, midnight blue,always of the most supple flowing texture. I ventured to saysomething of the kind to her, when she laughed at my clumsycompliment and said I had better take to writing fashion articlesinstead of political leaders.在餐厅里，我同另外三个男人围坐在一张桌子旁，而劳拉同一对夫妇及他们的女儿一块儿坐在离我不远的地方。
In the dining-saloon I sit at a table with three other men; Laura sits some way oft with a married couple and their daughter。
I can observe her without her knowing, and this gives me pleasure，for it is as in a moving picture that I can note the grace of her gestures, whether she raises a glass of wine to her lips or turns with a remark to one of her neighbours or takes a cigarette from her case with those slender fingers。
I have never had much of an eye for noticing the clothes of women，but I get the impression that Laura is always in grey and white by day，looking cool when other people are flushed and shiny in the tropical heat；in the evening she wears soft rich colours, dark red, olive green，midnight blue, always of the most supple flowing texture. I ventured to say something of the kind to her, when she laughed at my clumsy compliment and said I had better take to writing fashion articles instead of political leaders.在餐厅里，我同另外三个男人围坐在一张桌子旁，而劳拉同一对夫妇及他们的女儿一块儿坐在离我不远的地方。
