英美文学论文.docx

英美文学论文.docx

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英美文学论文

2013届毕业生毕业论文

AnAnalysisofEmilyDickinson’sViewsonDeath

浅析艾米莉·狄金森的死亡观

学生姓名常平

学号4031209234

所属学院人文学院

专业英语

班级13-2

指导教师杜良霞

日期2013年1月—2013年5月

塔里木大学人文学院外语系

Abstract

EmilyDickinson（1830-1886）wasnotonlyoneofthemostremarkableandproductivepoetsinAmericanliterature,butalsoastrikinglyindependentintellectandanoriginaltalent,writingpoetryfaraheadofhertime.Becauseofheruniquenessandenormousproductivity,theresearchonherpoems,hermosteye-catchingandstrikingworks,isverymeaningful.

ThisthesisintendstodiscoverEmilyDickinson’sdeathviewsandhercontradictionovereternity.Ontheonehand,shecalmlyacceptsdeathbecausesheknowsthatdeathisinevitableandshebelievesthatdeathistowardeternity;ontheotherhand,shedoubtswhetherdeathisheadingtowardimmortality.Anotherpurposeofthisthesisistofindoutwhatfactorshaveformedandinfluencedherdeathviews,deepeningreaders’understandingofDickinsonaswellasherworks.

Inordertoachievethesepurposes,thisthesisdoesnotputherbackgroundinformationandliterarystatusasacompletechapter.Itusestwooverarchingparts,whicharemorepreciseanddirect.FirstandforemostisananalysisofEmilyDickinson’sdeathviews,whichareshowninthepoemconsecutively,includinghercalmacceptanceofdeathwiththeinevitabilityofdeathanddeathheadingtowardeternity,thenfollowedbythequestionofdeathoreternity.Thesecondsectionanalyzesthereasonsbehindherdeathviews,exploringingreatdetailintermsofseveralkeyfactors,includingherreligiousbelief,andtheinfluenceofherhomestead.Themoreresearchdone,thegreaterEmilyDickinsonis.ThebetterunderstandingofEmilyDickinson,themorecontradictorysheis.Herdeathviewisherpreciouslegacytotheoffspring.

KeyWords:

EmilyDickinson;deathview;inevitability;immortality;religion;homestead

摘要

艾米莉·狄金森不仅是美国文学史上最优秀、最多产的诗人之一，也是极具独立思想、创新的天才。

她的作品远远超出了所处的时代。

由于狄金森的独特性和惊人的创作力，对其诗作的研究就显得更加有意义。

本文旨在探讨艾米莉·狄金森的死亡观以及她对死亡和永恒的矛盾心理。

一方面她静静地等待着死亡的来临，因为她知道死亡是无法避免的，也相信死亡是通向永恒的桥梁；而另一方面，她却在怀疑死亡是否能真正地通向永恒。

此外，本文亦全面探索了影响并塑造其死亡观的各种因素，以加深读者对狄金森及其作品的理解。

为了更直接、更精确地实现这些目的，本文没有将艾米莉的生平和文学地位作为单独的一章，而是选择了最主要的两部分进行分析。

第一章重点分析了她的死亡观，其中包括两个小节，第一节揭示其平静地等待死亡的来临，第二节分析艾米莉对于死亡和永恒的怀疑态度。

第二章主要讨论了影响艾米莉死亡观的因素，包括宗教因素，家园因素等。

研究越深入，狄金森的伟大越鲜明。

理解越深入，狄金森的矛盾心理便越明显。

这便是艾米莉·狄金森留给后代的宝贵财富。

关键词：

艾米莉·狄金森；死亡观；必然性；永恒；宗教；家园

Contents

Abstracti

摘要ii

1.Introduction1

2.Dickinson’sViewsonDeath2

2.1CalmAcceptanceofDeath2

2.1.1TheInevitabilityofDeath2

2.1.2DeathHeadingtowardEternity4

2.2DeathorEternity?

Thatisaquestion4

3.TheReasonsbehindHerDeathViews6

3.1Religion’sInfluence6

3.2TheHomesteadInfluence7

3.2.1Home---Destiny7

3.2.2Homestead---SenseofSafety8

4.Conclusion10

References11

Acknowledgments12

1.Introduction

EmilyDickinson,theshortnameforEmilyElizabethDickinson,wasan“Americanbest-knownfemalepoetandoneoftheforemostauthorsinAmericanliterature”（Cao,1999:

187）.Sheisconsideredas“themostimportantfemalepoetinAmerica”and“oneofthebestAmericanpoetsofUnitedStates”（Porter,1981:

16）.BiographerRichardChaseoncesaid,“EmilyDickinsonisthegreatestfemalepoet,andsoishercounterpartWaltWhitmanwhohasthegreatestachievements.Perhapssomecriticshaveagreedso”（1951:

3）.AllthecommentsdemonstrateherirreplaceableliterarystatusinAmericanliterature.

Amongallherpoems,deathpoemsoccupyalargepart.Researchonherdeathpoemshasbeendevelopingoveralongperiodoftime.“EmilyDickinsonwasobsessedwithdeath,soaboutonethirdofherpoemswererelevanttoit”（Yang,2012:

22）.PeterNesterukalsoacclaimedthat“deathisimportanttoEmilyDickinson.Outofsomeonethousandandsevenhundredpoems,perhapssomefivetosixhundredareconcernedwiththethemeofdeath”（1997:

25）.Otherestimatessuggestthatthefiguremaybenearertoonehalfofallherworks. Amongthesearemanyofherbestlovedandcriticallyacclaimedpoems,including“BecauseICouldNotStopForDeath”,“IHeardaFlyBuzzWhenIDied”,and“'TwasJustThisTime,LastYear,IDied”.

Yangpointedthat“EmilyDickinson’sattitudestowarddeathwerecomplex,fromfearingdeath,facingdeathandembracingdeath”（2012:

22）.Thisisthecontradictorythemeofherdeathpoems,“Deathascircumferencedominatedherthoughts”（Eberwein,1987:

199）.Eschatology,doctrineofthe“lastthings,”ortheendoftheworldappearedinherpoemsmanytimes.Thismaybetheimmortalityandeternityview,whichrelativelyseemstobetruebutisabsolutelyunprovedbyEmilyDickinsonbecauseofhercontradictoryviewonthequestionofdeathoreternity.

ThoughthepreviousscholarshavedonemanyresearchesonEmilyDickinson’sdeathviews,itisstillnecessary,significantandeye-catchingtoprobeherdeathviews.Theformerresearchprovidesacleardirectionandpavesthewayfortheresearchinthisthesis.FollowingthetraditionalanalysisofEmilyDickinson’sdeathviews,thisthesisaimstospecificallydiscussDickinson’scontradictoryviewsondeathaswellasexplorethereasonswhyherdeathviewscomeintobeing.

2.Dickinson’sViewsonDeath

ThedeathviewsofEmilyDickinsondeservetobeanalyzedintensively,includingherattitudetowarddeath,andherreactiontodeath.Basedonsometypicalandrepresentativepoems,suchas“BecauseICouldNotStopforDeath”,“IHeardaFlyBuzzWhenIDied”and“TwasJustThisTime,LastYear,IDied”,thepoet’sviewsofdeathcanbefiguredoutnaturallyanddeeply.WhentalkingaboutEmilyDickinson,herdeathviewsmaybemoreremarkableandeye-catching.Itcanbedividedintotwomajorparts.Thefirstpartishercalmacceptanceofdeath.Thesecondpartishercontradictoryviewoneternityandherrevoltagainstreligion.

2.1CalmAcceptanceofDeath

TheveryfirstdeathviewofEmilyDickinsonishercalmacceptanceofdeath.Sheheldthisviewinherwholelife.Deathisapartofnature,deathisanaturalphenomenonanddeathisinevitable.

2.1.1TheInevitabilityofDeath

Alllivesaredoomedtodieandsoarethehumanswhoaregreedilypursuingeternallifestubbornly.Therefore,contemplatingonlifeanddeathformedthegreatnessofEmilyDickinsonwhobelievedthatdeathwasinevitableandunconquerable.Thefollowinganalysiswillapprovethat.

In“BecauseICouldNotStopforDeath”,thesecondlineinthefirststanza,“Hekindlystoppedforme”（Dickinson,2005:

479）vividlyshowsthatdeathisinevitable.Deathislikeapersonwaitingforthespeakerandthespeakerhasnointentiontorefusehimbecauseheissokind.Thespeakerfindsithardtorefuseaninvitationofakindperson,withwarm-heartedhospitality.Onanotheraspect,thefirstlineofthefirststanza“BecauseIcouldnotstopfordeath”isalsoanevidenceoftheinevitabilityofdeath.Deathisjusttherebutthespeakercannotwait,sincesheknowsthatshewilldieanddeathisinevitableforher.

Inthefirstandthirdlinesofthethirdstanzaof“BecauseICouldNotStopfordeath”,“WepassedtheSchool,whereChildrenstrove/WepassedtheFieldsofGazingGrain”（2005:

480）,childrengivereadersanimpressionofyouthandvitality.Seeingthosechildren,thespeakerimmediatelyrethinksofherself---shehasgrownupandbecomematureandsheisnowlikearipegrainorariotousflowerinafullbloom.However,springcomesandgoesaway,justlikeabloomingflowerimpliesitsfading.Thespeakerknowsthatitisanaturalphenomenonthatpeoplehavenocapabilityofresisting,andsoisdeath.Fromtheaboveanalysis,onedeathviewEmilyDickinsonheldisquiteclear,thatdeathwasinevitable.

In“BecauseICouldNotStopforDeath”,theauthoremployspersonificationtobreakthetraditionalstereotypeofdeath,whichishorrible,cold-bloodedandbroken-hearted.Deathhaschangedhishorribleandferociousfaceinthepast.Theauthorpersonifiesdeathasanewanddifferentgentlemanwhoisextremelypolite,hospitablyinvitingthespeakerintodeath.Thepoetendowsdeathwithhumanizedbehavior,forinstance,“Hekindlystoppedforme”,andtheactionofdeathrevealshisgoodness,kindnessandconsideration;while“slowlydrove”and“knewnohaste”illustratesdeath’scalmnesswithpersonalimage;“HisCivility”furtherdisplaysdeath’sgentlenesslikeapoliteman.InDickinson’sdescription,deathtotallyreversedthenormalimpression,alteringtoasuavegentleman.Thespeakerisdeeplyattractedbythisgentlemanthatshehappilysetsthedailytrivialthingsasideandwillinglyembarksonajourneytogetherwithhim.

Besides,“IHeardaFlyBuzzWhenIDied”（Dickinson,2000:

118）isalsoanevidenceofhercalmacceptanceofdeath.

“IheardaflybuzzwhenIdied

Thestillnessroundmyform

Waslikethestillnessintheair

Betweentheheavesofstorm.

Theeyesbesidehadwrungthemdry,

Andbreathsweregatheringsure

Forthatlastonset,whentheking

Bewitnessedinhispower.

Iwilledmykeepsakes,signedaway

WhatportionofmeI

Couldmakeassignable---andthen

Thereinterposedafly,

Withblue,uncertain,stumblingbuzz,

Betweenthelightandme;

Andthenthewindowsfailed,andthen

Icouldnotseetosee.”

Inthispoem,thespeakerisanotonlyapatientbutanobserver,notonlyasubjectbutanobject.Shealwayskeepsacalm,objectiveattitudetodescribethewholeprocessofdeathoccurrencewhichshowsthepoet’sattitude---Sinceitisinevitable,staythereandenjoyit,treatingdeathaseasyasdailytrifles.Theauthorchoseaveryimportantandtheonlyliveimage---thefly,whichmakesaclearcontrastbetweenthevitalityofflyandthesilen