The close relationship between poetry and music scarcely needs to be argued. Both are aural modes which employ rhythm, rime, and pitch as major devices; to these the one adds linguistic meaning, connotation, and various traditional figures, and the other can add, at least in theory, all of these plus harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration techniques. In English the two are closely bound historically. Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry seems certainly to have been read or chanted to a harpist's accompaniment; the verb used in Beowulf for such a performance, the Finn episode, is singan, to sing, and the noun gyd, song. A major source of the lyric tradition in English poetry is the songs of the troubadours.
The distance between the gyd in Beowulf and the songs of Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan may seem great, but is one of time rather than aesthetics. The lyric poem as a literary work and the lyrics of a popular song are both still essentially the same thing: poetry. Whether the title of the work be Gerontion, or Hound Dog, our criteria for evaluating the work must remain the same.
The most important prerequisite for both a significant poem and significant lyrics in a popular song is that the writer be faithful to his own personal vision or to the vision of the poem he is writing. Skill and craft for writing poetry are indeed necessary because these are the only means by which a poet can preserve the integrity of this vision in the poem. A poet must not, either because of lack of skill or because of worship of popularity, wealth, or critical acclaim, go outside of his own or his own poem's vision — on pain of writing only the derivative or the trivial. Historically, the writers and singers of the lyrics of popular songs have seemed often to be incapable of personal vision, and to have confused both originality and morality with a servile compliance to popular taste.
1.According to the writer, the relationship between poetry and music_______.
A.is a debatable topic B.can be made but in a limited way
C.is indisputable if you analyse history D.needs to be acknowledged more by poets
2.The author cites Beowulf in order to show that_______.
A.the distance between song and poetry is not so great
B.a song like Beowulf can sound like a poem
C.English poetry is highly connected to songs
D.songs generally evolve into poetry over time
3.Which of the following statements is true, according to the passage?
A.The lyrics of a song are no different from the lyrics of poetry.
B.Song lyrics and poetry must be treated analytically as the same.
C.The differences between poetry and song lyrics have been overstated.
D.It is the time not the aesthetics that is different in most poems and song lyrics.
4.A poem or a song can be significant when_______.
A.it is done by a faithful writer
B.the writer has a personal vision of the poem or song
C.it is written within the vision of the poem, song, poet or songwriter
D.the writer is willing to go outside of the vision
5.In the passage, the author focuses on_______.
A.the shared, most important evaluation criteria in songwriting and poetry
B.the various ways songs and poems are similar
C.the difference between good poetry and songs and mediocre ones
D.how to evaluate a poem and a song's value from a lyrical standpoint
长难例句分析
［长难例句］The most important prerequisite for both a significant poem and significant lyrics in a popular song is that the writer be faithful to his own personal vision or to the vision of the poem he is writing.
［结构分析］本句中， The most important prerequisite作主语，介词for引导的介宾短语作定语，修饰主语。that引导的是表语从句。he is writing作定语从句，修饰poem。
［参考译文］意义深长的诗歌和流行歌曲的歌词二者最为重要的前提是，作者忠实于自己的个人眼界或者所写诗歌的眼界。
全文参考译文
毋庸置言，诗歌与音乐密切相关。二者皆运用节律、谐韵和抑扬顿挫为重要手段，娱人听觉；前者加之以语言意义、内涵和各种传统人物，后者至少在理论上加之以和声、对位以及配器技法。在英语中，二者自古就密不可分。似乎确定无疑的是，盎格鲁撒克逊的英雄史诗，当初在竖琴的伴奏下朗读或吟唱；《贝奥武夫》中描写芬恩插曲的动词singan意思为sing，名词gyd意思为song。英语诗歌适用歌唱的传统一个重要来源是吟游诗人的歌曲。
《贝奥武夫》中的gyd和Leonard Cohen或者Bob Dylan的歌曲之间或许差异巨大，但只是时代的差别，而不是美学的差别。作为文学作品的抒情诗和流行歌曲的歌词实质上仍然是一回事：诗歌。不管作品题目是《小老头》还是《猎犬》，我们评价作品的尺度必须始终如一。
意义深长的诗歌和流行歌曲的歌词二者最为重要的前提是，作者忠实于自己的个人眼界或者所写诗歌的眼界。写诗的技巧和手法的确必不可少，因为这是诗人在诗中保存眼界完整的唯一手段。诗人绝不能因为缺乏技巧或是因为崇拜名声、财富或者赞誉而游离自己的或自己诗歌的眼界——写出的只是缺乏独创、无足轻重的东西。历史上，通俗歌曲歌词的作者和演唱者似乎时常丧失个人眼界，哗众媚俗，混淆独创性和道德观。
题目答案与解析
1.根据作者，诗和音乐之间的关系________。
A.是一个有争议的话题 B.可以在一个有限的范围内建立
C.通过分析历史可知是无可争议的 D.需要诗人们更多地认可
【答案】C
【解析】作者在第一段指出，诗歌与音乐自古就密不可分。据此可知，C项为正确答案。
2.作者引用《贝奥武夫》中的话是为了说明________。
A.歌曲和诗之间的差距并不是很大 B.《贝奥武夫》之类的歌听起来像诗
C.英国诗歌与歌曲联系紧密 D.随着时间的推移，歌曲发展成为诗
【答案】C
【解析】本文第一段中，从历史角度说明诗歌与音乐密切相关，其中，以《贝奥武夫》为例是为了说明本段主题，即英国诗歌与歌曲联系紧密。据此可知C项为正确答案。
3.根据本文，以下陈述中哪项是正确的？
A.歌词与诗歌没有区别。
B.诗歌与歌曲的歌词实质上是一回事。
C.诗和歌词之间的区别被过分夸大。
D.在多数诗和歌词之间的差别是时代而不是美学的差别。
【答案】B
【解析】从第二段可知，诗歌与歌曲的歌词实质上是一回事。因此B项为正确答案。
4.当________时，一首诗或一首歌有着重大意义。
A.由一名忠实的作者来创作
B.作者对诗或歌曲有着个人的眼界
C.诗人或歌曲作家忠实于自己的眼界来创作
D.作者愿意超出眼界创作
【答案】C
【解析】从文中第三段可知，意义深长的诗歌和流行歌曲的歌词二者最为重要的前提是，作者忠实于自己的个人眼界或者所写诗歌的眼界。因此C项为正确答案。
5.文章中作者主要论述了________。
A.对作曲和做诗共同的、最重要的评估标准
B.歌曲和诗相似的不同方面
C.优秀的诗和歌曲与普通的诗和歌曲之间的区别
D.如何从诗的角度来评估诗和歌曲的价值
【答案】A
【解析】综观全文，本文说明诗歌和音乐密切的关系，主要涉及二者共同的重要评价标准。因此A项为正确答案。
