Part I
Professor: OK. So the two poems we are looking at today fall into the category of medieval times, which was how long ago?
Student: Almost a thousand years ago, right?
Professor: Yes, that's right.
Student: But, professor, are you sure these are poems? I mean, I thought poems were shorter. These are more like long stories. I mean, one of them was all about love but the other one that chan... whatever it's called, the other one, it was all about fighting and battles. I mean, can both of them be considered poems?
Professor: Well, think back to the very beginning of this course.
Student: Uh huh?
Professor: Remember how we, uh, we define poetry? In the very broadest sense, um, we said, it's written to evoke, uh, to make you, the audience, have some kind of emotional experience through the use of imagery, uh, some kind of predictable rhythm and usually but not always there's more than one meaning implied with the words that are used.
在最广泛的意义上，我们说过，它是为了唤起，让你，让观众，产生某种情感经验，通过使用意象，使用某种可预测的押韵节奏，而且通常但并不是所有情况下，它所用的词语都暗示了不止一种含义。
1. fall|fɔ:l|
verb. to belong to a particular class, group or area of responsibility 属于（某类、群体、责任范围）
E.g.: Out of over 400 staff there are just 7 that fall into this category.
400多个职员中只有7人属于这一类。
2. medieval|ˌmediˈi:vl|
adj. connected with the Middle Ages (about AD 1000 to AD 1450) 中世纪的（约公元1000到1450年）
E.g.: medieval architecture/castles/manuscripts
中世纪的建筑/城堡/手稿
3. evoke|ɪˈvoʊk|
verb. to bring a feeling, a memory or an image into your mind 引起，唤起（感情、记忆或形象）
E.g.: The music evoked memories of her youth.
这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
4. imagery |ˈɪmɪdʒəri|
noun. language that produces pictures in the minds of people reading or listening 形象的描述；意象
E.g.: the nature imagery of the ballad
民歌中的自然意象
5. predictable |prɪˈdɪktəbl|
adj. if you say that an event is predictable, you mean that it is obvious in advance that it will happen 可预言的；可预测的；可预料的
E.g.: This was a predictable reaction, given the bitter hostility between the two countries.
考虑到这两个国家之间激烈的敌对情绪，这种反应是可以预见的。
6. imply |ɪmˈplaɪ|
verb. to suggest that sth is true or that you feel or think sth, without saying so directly 含有…的意思；暗示；暗指
E.g.: I disliked the implied criticism in his voice.
我讨厌他暗中批评的口吻。
Part II
Let's start with the chanson poetry first. That's chanson. Chanson poems became popular in Europe, particularly in France. And the term is actually short for a longer French phrase that translates to, uh, songs of deeds. Uh, now they were called songs of deeds because, strangely enough, they were written to describe the heroic deeds or actions of warriors, the knights during conflicts.
We don't know a lot about the authors. Um, it's still contested somewhat, but we're pretty sure about who the chanson poems were written for. Um, that is, they were written for knights and the lords, uh, the nobilities that they served. The poems were sung, uh, performed by a minstrel, a singer who traveled from castle to castle, uh, singing to the local lord and his knights. Um, well, uh, would someone summarize the main features of the chanson poem you read?
这个词实际上是一个较长的法语短语的缩写，翻译过来就是，事迹之歌。
1. chanson |'ʃænsən|
noun. a chanson is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the polyphonic French song of late medieval and Renaissance music 香颂，通常是指任何以抒情为主的法语歌曲，最常指的是中世纪晚期和文艺复兴时期的复调法语歌曲。
2. deed|di:d|
noun. a thing that sb does that is usually very good or very bad 行为；行动
E.g.: His heroic deeds were celebrated in every corner of India.
他的英勇事迹在印度各地广为传颂。
3. heroic|həˈrəʊɪk|
adj. showing extreme courage and admired by many people 英勇的；英雄的
E.g.: Rescuers made heroic efforts to save the crew.
救援人员英勇努力营救全体船员。
4. knight 骑士; swordsman 剑客; samurai 武士; ronin 浪人
5. contest |ˈkɒntest|
verb. to formally oppose a decision or statement because you think it is wrong 争辩；就…提出异议
E.g.: Gender discrimination is a hotly contested issue.
性别歧视是一个争论激烈的话题。
6. that is
used to say what sth means or to give more information 也就是说；即；换句话说
E.g.: He's a local government administrator, that is to say a civil servant.
他是地方政府的行政官员，也就是公务员。
7. the nobility
the aristocracy; people of high social position who have titles such as that of duke or duchess 贵族
E.g.: They married into the nobility and entered the highest ranks of state administration.
他们同贵族阶层联姻，进入了国家最高行政层。
8. minstrel |ˈmɪnstrəl|
noun. in medieval times, a minstrel was a singer and musician who travelled around and entertained noble families (中世纪云游各地为贵族表演的)吟游歌手，吟游乐师
E.g.: A strong love has sprung up between the minstrel and the king.
于是吟游诗人与国王之间就产生了深厚的感情。
Part III
Student: Well, there's a hero, a knight, who goes to battle and he's admired for his courage, bravery and loyalty, loyalty to the lord he serves, his country and his fellow warriors in the field. He's, uh, he has, uh, he's a skilled fighter, willing to face the most extreme danger; um, sacrificial, willing to sacrifice anything and everything to protect his king and country.
Professor: OK, now, given that the intended audience for these poems were knights and lords, what can we say about the purpose of chanson poetry? What kinds of feelings was it meant to provoke?
Student: I guess they must've been really appealing to those knights and lords who were listening to them, hearing the songs probably made them feel more patriotic, made them feel like it was a good and noble thing to serve their countries in whatever way they could.
Professor: Good! Uh, we've got a pretty good picture of what the chanson hero was like. Now, let's compare that to the hero in the other poem. The other poem is an example of what's called romance poetry. And the hero in the romance poem was also a knight. But what made the knight in romance poetry different from the knight in chanson poetry?
有一个英雄，他是个血战沙场的骑士；人们景仰他的勇气，勇敢和他对他所服务的领主，国家与战场上战友的忠诚。他是个高明的战士，愿意面对最极端的危险；他无私奉献，愿意牺牲一切来保护他的国王和国家。
1. given|ˈgɪvn|
prep. when you consider sth 考虑到；鉴于
E.g.: Given her interest in children, teaching seems the right job for her.
考虑到她喜欢孩子，教书看来是很适合她的工作。
2. intended |ɪnˈtendɪd|
adj. that you are trying to achieve or reach 意欲达到的；打算的；计划的
E.g.: The bullet missed its intended target.
子弹未击中预定的目标。
3. provoke |prəˈvəʊk|
verb. to cause a particular reaction or have a particular effect 激起；引起；引发
E.g.: Dairy products may provoke allergic reactions in some people.
乳制品可能会引起某些人的过敏反应。
4. appeal |əˈpi:l|
verb. to attract or interest sb 有吸引力；有感染力；引起兴趣
E.g.: The design has to appeal to all ages and social groups.
设计得要雅俗共赏，老幼皆宜。
5. patriotic |ˌpeɪtriˈɒtɪk|
adj. having or expressing a great love of your country 爱国的
E.g.: The crowd sang 'Land of Hope and Glory' and other patriotic songs.
人群高唱《希望和光荣之地》等爱国歌曲。
6. picture |ˈpɪktʃə(r)|
noun. if you have a picture of something in your mind, you have a clear idea or memory of it in your mind as if you were actually seeing it 想象；印象；心中的形象;头脑中的情景
E.g.: They have in their mind a picture of what an alcoholic should look like.
他们的心中有一个酒鬼应有的样子。
Part IV
Well, first, the purpose of the hero's action was different. Uh, the hero in romance poetry is independent, purely solitary in a way, not like the chanson poet who was always surrounded by his fighting companions. Um, he doesn't engage in conflict to protect his lord or country. He does it for the sake of adventure, to improve himself, to show he's worthy of respect and love from his lady. He's very conscious of the particular rules of social behaviors he has to live up to somehow. And all of his actions are for the purpose of proving that he is, uh, an upright, moral, well-mannered, well-behaved individual.
You may have noticed that in chanson poetry, there isn't much about the hero's feelings. Uh, the focus is on the actions, the deeds. Uh, but the romance poetry describes a lot of the inner feelings, the motivations, psychology, you could say, of a knight trying to improve himself, to better himself so that he's worthy of the love of a woman.
What explains this difference? Well, digging into the historical context tells us a lot. Um, romance poetry emerged a few generations after chanson. And its roots were in geographic regions of France that were calmer, where conflict wasn't central to people's lives. Uh, more peaceful times meant there was more time for education, uh, travel, more time for reflection.
他非常清楚他必须以某种方式遵守的某些特定社会行为准则。
它的根源在法国较为平静的地理区域，在那里战争冲突不是人们生活的核心。
1. solitary|sɑ:ləteri|
adj. enjoying being alone; frequently spending time alone 喜欢（或惯于）独处的
E.g.: He was a solitary child.
他是一个孤僻的孩子。
2. engage in
to take part in sth; to make sb take part in sth （使）从事，参加 （公司或机构的）
E.g.: Even in prison, he continued to engage in criminal activities.
他甚至在监狱里还继续从事犯罪活动。
3. for the sake of
if you do something for the sake of something, you do it for that purpose or in order to achieve that result. You can also say that you do it for something's sake 由于;为了;因为…的缘故
E.g.: They stayed together for the sake of the children.
为了孩子，他们还待在一起。
4. upright |ˈʌpraɪt|
adj. behaving in a moral and honest way 正直的；诚实的；规矩的
E.g.: a very upright, trustworthy man
一个非常正直可靠的人
5. moral |ˈmɒrəl|
adj. following the standards of behaviour considered acceptable and right by most people 品行端正的；有道德的
E.g.: The people who will be on the committee are moral, cultured, competent people.
进入委员会的人要品行端正，有文化，有能力。
6. better |ˈbetə(r)|
verb. to improve your social position through education, a better job, etc. （通过教育、更好的工作等）改进社会地位，提高，改善
E.g.: Thousands of Victorian workers joined educational associations in an attempt to better themselves.
维多利亚时代成千上万名工人加入了各种教育协会，以求上进。
7. dig into
to find out information by searching or asking questions 探究；探寻；探询
E.g.: Will you dig a little into his past and see what you find?
你稍微探究一下他的过去看看能发现什么，好吗？
8. reflection |rɪˈflekʃn|
noun. careful thought about sth, sometimes over a long period of time 沉思；深思；审慎的思考
E.g.: A week off would give him time for reflection.
歇上一周会使他有时间考虑考虑。
Part V
Another name for romance poetry that's often synonymous with it is troubadour poetry.
Troubadours were the authors of these new romance poems. And we know a lot more about the troubadours than we do about the chanson authors because they often had small biographical sketches added to their poems. That gave pretty specific information about their social status, uh, geographical location and a small outline of their career. This information wasn't particularly reliable because they were sometimes based on fictitious stories of great adventure or scraped together from parts of different poems, but there is enough there to squeeze, or infer some facts about their social class.
The political climate had settled down enough so that, um, troubadours had the luxury of being able to spend most, if not all of their time, creating, uh, crafting, or composing their love songs for their audiences. And, yes, these poems were also sung, many troubadours were able to make a living being full-time poets, which should tell you something about the value of that profession during medieval times.
这些信息并不是特别可靠，因为它们有时是基于虚构的宏大的冒险故事，有时是从不同诗歌的部分内容中拼凑而来的，但也足以从中挤出或推断出有关其社会阶层的一些事实。
政治气候已经足够稳定，以至于吟游诗人们难得可以奢侈地花费大部分时间，如果不是全部时间的话，为他们的观众创作，打磨和撰写他们的情歌。
1. synonymous |sɪˈnɒnɪməs|
adj. so closely connected with sth that the two things appear to be the same 等同于…的
E.g.: Wealth is not necessarily synonymous with happiness.
财富未必等同于幸福。
2. troubadour |ˈtru:bədɔ:(r)|
noun. troubadours were poets and singers who used to travel around and perform to noble families in Italy and France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries 行吟诗人，民谣歌手(12、13 世纪周游意大利及法国为贵族表演的诗人或歌手)
3. sketch |sketʃ|
noun. a short report or story that gives only basic details about sth 简报；速写；概述
E.g.: a biographical sketch of the Prime Minister
首相生平简介
4. outline |ˈaʊtlaɪn|
noun. a description of the main facts or points involved in sth 概述；梗概
E.g.: This is a brief outline of the events.
这就是事件的简要情况。
5. scrape together
to obtain or collect together sth, but with difficulty 勉强凑齐；艰难筹措
E.g.: They only just managed to scrape the money together.
他们只是勉强凑够了钱。
6. squeeze |skwi:z|
verb. to get liquid out of sth by pressing or twisting it hard （从某物中）榨出，挤出，拧出
E.g.: She felt as if every drop of emotion had been squeezed from her.
她觉得自己的激情似乎已经榨尽了。
7. infer |ɪnˈfɜ:(r)|
verb. to reach an opinion or decide that sth is true on the basis of information that is available 推断；推论；推理
E.g.: Much of the meaning must be inferred from the context.
大部分含意必须从上下文中推断。
8. luxury |ˈlʌkʃəri|
noun. a pleasure or an advantage that you do not often have 不常有的乐趣（或享受、优势）
E.g.: We were going to have the luxury of a free weekend, to rest and do whatever we pleased.
我们将有一个难得空闲的周末，可以休息，还可以高兴干什么就干什么。
9. craft |kræft|
verb. to make sth using special skills, especially with your hands （尤指用手工）精心制作
E.g.: All the furniture is crafted from natural materials.
所有的家具均采用天然材料精心制作而成。
10. compose |kəmˈpəʊz|
verb. to write a letter, etc. usually with a lot of care and thought 撰写（信函、讲稿、诗歌等）
E.g.: She composed a letter of protest.
她写了一封抗议信。
