FromMichaelto The ExcursionWordsworths Rewriting of Pastoral.docx
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FromMichaeltoTheExcursionWordsworthsRewritingofPastoral
From“Michael”toTheExcursionWordsworth’sRewritingofPastoral
Abstract:
IntheaftermathoftheFrenchRevolution,WilliamWordsworthseekstoreformsocietyandalleviatehumansufferingthroughwritingpoetry.Thispapergivesareadingoftwoofhis?
?
poems,?
?
“Michael”and?
?
TheExcursion,?
?
fromtheperspectiveofpastoral.AdoptingPaulAlpers’sdefinitionofpastoralandpastoralconventions,theauthorarguesthatinthesetwopoemsWordsworthismodifyingtraditionalpastoral,providingcontemporaryreaderswithmodernversionsof“representativeanecdotes”tochangepeople’sideaofruralpeople,aswellaswithsolutionstoimprovingthepost-RevolutionaryBritishsociety.Inaddition,in?
?
TheExcursion?
?
Wordsworthsubstitutesbucolicsongswithstory-tellingasameansforestablishingcommunity,throughwhichheattemptstocorrecthissolipsistpenchantandcombinethesolitaryandthesocialmaninhimself.
Keywords:
Wordsworthpastoral“Michael”?
?
TheExcursion?
?
Author:
YUYu-sanholdsanM.A.fromUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeleyandaPh.D.inEnglishLiteraturefromtheUniversityofManchester,England.SheiscurrentlyanassociateprofessorintheForeignLanguagesandLiteratureDepartmentatSunYat-senUniversity,Taiwan.ShespecializesinEnglishRomanticpoetry,withafocusonWilliamWordsworth.HerpublicationsincludevariousstudiesonWilliamWordsworthand?
?
XiPanTianWen?
?
aChinesetranslationofPilgrimat?
?
TinkerCreek?
?
byAnnieDillard.E-mail:
ysyu@mail.nsysu.edu.tw
标题：
从“迈可”到《远足》――论华兹华斯的田园诗
内容提要：
法国大革命之后，华兹华斯理想幻灭，遂弃政治而就诗歌，企图透过写诗改革社会。
本论文采用保罗•阿尔培斯对田园诗以及田园挽歌之成规的定义，从田园诗的角度阅读华氏的“迈可”和《远足》这两首诗。
作者认为华兹华斯在这两首诗中重写传统的田园诗，其目的一方面是要改变世人对“乡下人”的谬误印象，另一方面则是要提出解救后革命时期英国社会的方法。
此外，在《远足》这首诗中华兹华斯用说故事代替传统田园诗中的牧歌，并藉此建立社群，修正其自身的个人主义倾向。
关键词：
华兹华斯田园诗“迈可”《远足》
作者简介：
余幼珊，美国加州大学伯克利分校英美文学硕士、英国曼彻斯特大学英国文学博士，目前为台湾中山大学外文系副教授，主要研究领域为威廉•华兹华斯以及英国浪漫时期诗歌，著作包含多篇有关华兹华斯的研究论文以及译著《溪畔天问》。
AnyreaderofWordsworth’spoem“Michael”wouldnoticethatthesubtitleofthepoemis“APastoralPoem.”Yetthepoemseemsnowherenearthisancientgenreexceptthattheheroofthepoemis,likethetraditionalfiguresinpastoral,ashepherd.Soinwhatsenseisthepoem“apastoral”?
TheanswertothisquestionwillleadustoasignificantunderstandingofWordsworth’s?
?
idea?
?
of,aswellashisrelationshipwith,thegenreofpastoral.InthispaperIintendtoexplorethisquestionbyexamining,first,“Michael,”andthen?
?
TheExcursion?
?
andIarguethatinthesepoemsWordsworthisrewritingtraditionalpastoralforcontemporaryEnglishsociety.
Examiningthepastoralfromtheperspectiveofhistoricalcontinuityinliterature,PaulAlpersisoftheopinionthat,inadditiontothemanyfeaturesofpastoral,historicaldevelopmentandthechangesincurredareofgreatsignificance（“WhatIsPastoral”441）.Hethereforeclaimsthatinordertodefinethegenrewemustfirstfindthe“representativeanecdote”?
?
①ofthepastoral（“WhatIsPastoral”441）.Heretheword“representative”hasdoublemeaning:
“［It］meansboththattheinforminganecdoteisameansofrepresenting,thatis,depictingacertainphenomenonandalsothattheanecdotestandsastherepresentative,thesummaryorcharacteristicexampleofthephenomenon”（“WhatIsPastoral”449）.
Alpersfurtherarguesthatthe“representativeanecdote”ofpastoralis“thelivesofshepherds”（“WhatIsPastoral”449）.Drawingonacomparisonbetweentheopeningpassagein?
?
Theocritus’s?
?
firstidyllwhichisa“representativeanecdote,”andthatinVirgil’sfirsteclogue,hepointsoutthatbothpassagesshowadiscussionbetweentwoherdsmenonthethemeofpastoralsong,butVirgil’sverseisareinterpretationofthatofhispredecessor（“WhatIsPastoral”450）.SincetheconditionsunderwhichTheocrituswrotehisidyllhadbeenchanged,Virgil’sreinterpretationseekstorevealthenewandcontemporarypoliticalandsocialenvironmentswithinwhichtheopeningpassageofTheocritus’s?
?
Idyll1?
?
“canberepresentativeofhumansingingandawayoflife”（“WhatIsPastoral”451）.Thisreinterpretationleadstoamodificationofpastoral.
Theideaofrepresentativeanecdotesuggeststhatpastoralpoemsarerepresentationsofshepherdswhoareseentostandformaningeneral,andindifferentagesthecharactersinthepastoralcanincludeotherkindsofruralfiguresorthoseofinferiorsocialstatusaslongastheyareregardedas“theequivalentofshepherdsinagivensocietyorworld,orthattheymoretrulyhavetherepresentativestatusthattraditionalpastoralascribestoitsherdsmen”（“WhatIsPastoral”456）.Inconclusion,Alpersmaintainsthatatdifferenttimesinliteraryhistory,pastoral,withallofitsconventions,hasalwaysbeenadoptedcriticallytoexpressandrepresenttherealityofandtruth?
?
about?
?
“love,socialrelations,andexperience”（“WhatIsPastoral”460）.
Alpers’stheoryprovidesanapproachtoareadingof“Michael”aspastoral.Aswepointedoutearlier,Wordsworthhasdevelopedastrongloveforshepherdssincechildhood.InBookVIIIofThePrelude,heclearlytellsusthatamongalltherusticpeople,“shepherdswerethemenwhopleasedmefirst,”andtheyleftavividimageinhismind.However,inthesamebookofthis?
?
autobiographical?
?
poem,wefindWordsworthrepeatedlymakinganefforttoclarifytheideathattheshepherdthatherepresentsisnothinglikethoseillustratedintraditionalpastorals:
Notsuchas,inArcadianfastnesses
Sequestered,handeddownamongthemselves,
Soancientpoetssing,theGoldenage;
Norsuch―asecondrace,alliedtothese―
AsShakespeareinthewoodofArdenplaced,
WherePhoebesighedforthefalseGanymede,
OrtherewhereFlorizelandPerdita
Togetherdanced,QueenofthefeastandKing;
NorsuchasSpenserfabled.（?
?
Prelude?
?
VIII:
184-91）?
?
②
WordsworthfurtheraddsthathehasheardoftheoldcustomsofMayDayfestivitiesandalltheotherjoyfulactivitiesassociatedwithruralpeople.Also,intheancienttimesandinotherlands,theshepherdsdidleadaneasylife.Thiswayoflife,however,isnottobefoundincontemporaryBritain,andneitherdotheoldcustomsexistanymore.
Readinthecontextofthepastoraltradition,whatWordsworthdoesinBookVIIIof?
?
The?
?
Prelude?
?
?
?
isofferingacritiqueontraditionalpastoral,thatis,thelifeoftheshepherdasdepictedinsuchkindofpastoralscannolongerbeconsidered“representativeanecdotes”inlate18th-andearly19th-centuryBritain.WhatisalsoworthnoticingisthatthepassageontheMayDayritesalludestoanepisodeinSpenser’sMayEclogueof?
?
TheShepherdesCalender?
?
inwhichtwoshepherdscontendabouttherelationshipbetweentheshepherdandhisflock,acontentionthatcarriessymbolicmeanings.AlpersarguesthatWordsworth’spassageonMayDayfestivitiesisa“rewriting”ofSpenser’slinesintheMayEclogue,whichsuggeststhatheiswellawareofthepastoralcontentionrepresentedbyhispredecessors（“WhatIsPastoral”445）.Theeditorsof?
?
The?
?
Prelude?
?
?
?
however,pointoutthatWordsworthinthispassageiscommentingonSpenser’s“idealizationofpastorallife”（?
?
Prelude?
?
276）.
IthinkbothAlpersandtheeditorsarecorrect,forthepassagemaycontainbothmeanings.InthelinesthatfollowtheMayDaypassage,Wordsworthgivesanaccountofashepherdboywhogetscaughtinastormwhilstlookingforastraysheep.A.J.Sambrookhaspointedoutthatmosteighteenth-centurypoetswhowroteonrurallifesharedsimilarknowledgeoftheworksofTheocritus,VirgilandHorace,andreadersalsofolloweda“norm”whenreadingsucheighteenth-centurypoetry.Hencetheyweresensitiveenoughtoanysuggestionofchallengetothegenre（Sambrook21）.PlacedafterthediscussionontraditionalpastoralsandthedisappearanceofMayDayrituals,thestoryofthestraysheepsuggeststhatWordsworthisprovidinga“modern”versionofthepastoral.Whatisinterestingisthatthistale,firsttoldbyAnnTysontoWordsworthasachild,wasoriginallywrittenfor“Michael.”Thisindicatesthat“Michael”servesthesamefunctionofmodifyingthepastoraltosuitcontemporaryneeds.Itisinthissensethatthepoemcanbereadaspastoral.ThelifeofMichaelreflectswhatWordsworthbelievestobeatrueversionofa?
?
shepherd’s?
?
lifeattheturnofthecentury.
RichardFeingoldhasarguedthattheshepherdWordsworthdelineatesin?
?
ThePrelude?
?
“doesnotinhabitthebucoliclandscapewherenatureandartareblendedinman’svirtuousandmundanework,”andthereforeis“notanembodimentofthem”（Feingold200）.Thismaybetrueoftheshepherdfigurein?
?
ThePrelude?
?
butinMichaelwewouldfindtheoldshepherdjustsuchanembodimentwhocombinesruralvirtuesandhardlabour.Itisworthpointingoutthatattheverybeginningof“Michael,”echoingthethemeofBookVIIIin?
?
ThePrelude?
?
Wordsworthtellsushowloveofnatureleadshimtoloveofman:
Itwasthefirst
Ofthosedomestictalesthatspaketome
OfShepherds,dwellersinthevalleys,men
WhomIalreadyloved;―notverily
Fortheirownsakes,butforthefieldsandhills
Wherewastheiroccupationandabode.
AndhencethisTale,whileIwasyetaBoy
Carelessofbooks,yethavingfeltthepower
OfNature,bythegentleagency
Ofnaturalobjects,ledmeontofeel
Forpassionsthatwerenotmyown,andthink
（Atrandomandimperfectlyindeed）
Onman,theheartofman,andhumanlife.
Therefore,althoughitbeahistory
Homelyandrude,Iwillrelatethesame
Forthedelightofafewnaturalhearts;
And,withyetfonde
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