Keynote Speech III The Dramatic Features in John Donne's Poetry

Li Zhengshuan

School of Foreign Languages,Hebei Normal University

[Abstract] John Donne was not given any degree though he attended Oxford University and Cambridge University because of his Catholic background.He could not secure a job either after graduation.So he developed two hobbies.One is to visit females.The other is to go to theatres to watch plays.The latter produced an enormous effect on his poetic creation of new poetry which defamiliarised the poetry of his predecessors and contemporaries.His poetic creation promoted the literariness of poetry,broadened people's horizon,enriched people's imagination,expanded the domain of poetic expression,endowed poetry with dramatic features.The dramatic features are mainly found in his employment of monologues and dialogues,conflicts and stage action.Donne expressed his view on people and things through his dramatic techniques.

[Keywords] Donne;poetry;dramaticism

Bionote

Li Zhengshuan,PhD of Peking University,Honorary Doctor of University of Stirling in the United Kingdom of Great Britain,is Professor of English literature,Ph.D supervisor at Northeast Normal University and Hebei Normal University,one of the provincial top teachers of Hebei Province,one of the outstanding young experts in social science in Hebei,one of the members of the "50 Middle-aged and Young Experts Project" of Hebei Province,a young expert with outstanding contribution to Hebei Province.

He is a member of the English branch of Foreign Language Teaching Steering Committee appointed by China's Ministry of Education,a member of the Coordination Group for Teaching in Translation Major appointed by China's Ministry of Education,member of the academic board in the third national MTI education committee appointed by the office of the academic degrees committee of the State Council.

He is a standing council member of China Association for Comparative Studies of English and Chinese,chair of the Committee for Translating Chinese Classics into English in China Association for Comparative Studies of English and Chinese，executive chair of China Traditional Culture Translation and International Communication,vice chair of Northeast International Forum for Linguistics,Literature and Teaching,editor-in-chief of Northeast Foreign Language Forum,vice chair of China Association of English Poetry,council member of China Translators Association,member of Research Committee Discourse Systems to Foreign Countries of China Translation Association,expert member of China Translation Association,standing council member of China Association for Comparative Studies in Chinese and American Culture,standing council member of All-China Association for English Literature,council member of English Literature Branch of China Association for Foreign Literature Studies,Chair of Foreign Language Teaching Steering Committee of Hebei Province,Chair of Hebei Foreign Language Teaching Research Association for Universities and Colleges,chair of Hebei Shakespeare Society and chair of Hebei Translation Society.

He got provincial awards for excellent social-science research over 10 times and provincial awards for excellent teaching 6 times.

His major academic interests are in English and American poetry,poetry translation and translation review.He published five monographs on John Donne,Renaissance poetry and American poetry,8 textbooks of English and American literature.He also published many articles on John Donne,Robert Burns,some renaissance poets and translation studies.In recent years,he has published several books of translation,mainly translating Chinese classics,including Yuefu poetry,Tibetan Gnomic verses and Tsangyang Gyatso's(Dalai Lama VI)poems into English.He has published a number of articles in these fields.He has translated over 500 of Burns'poems.