论狄兰_托马斯诗歌中的非理性主义特征

论狄兰_托马斯诗歌中的非理性主义特征Acknowledgments First of all I wish to express my deep indebtedness to my tutor Prof. GuoQunying for her patient instruction in arranging the structure of my thesis. And I alsothank her especially for her invaluable criticism and insightful suggestions and forher detailed revision of my final draft. I also owe my thanks to my respectable teachers who have taught and supportedme during my graduate years: Prof. Ji Shenglei Prof. Li Zhengshuan Prof. DuanXiaoying Prof. Pan Bingxin Prof. Song Huiling and Prof. Ma Lili for their effectiveassistance and suggestions. In addition the encouragement and aid from my parents and my wife are alsoessential to the smooth completion of this thesis. 摘要狄兰托马斯是40年代以来英美诗坛最重要、最有影响力的诗人之一。

在他短
短的一
生中，非但在技巧上，而且在意识上极大地革新了现代英语诗歌。

他从浓烈的个体
生命体验入诗，通过感觉具体的事物，触及他们内在的本质，最终达到诗的境界。

本文试图挖掘狄兰诗歌中的非理性主义特征，并借此勾勒他奇异、瑰丽的诗歌面貌。

托马斯诗歌中时常提到存在于宇宙间的一种无情的，超越道德的力量，这种力量无
所不在，难以控制，令他不可思议。

仔细研读他的作品，我们会发现，这种力量酷
似“生命意志”――叔本华哲学的基本思想。

根据叔本华的观点，“意志是现。

狄兰
托马斯接受了叔本华和弗洛伊德实的源点，而现实从根本上说是非理性的”关于“生
命意志” 和“死亡欲望”的观点，在诗歌中，他通过光明与黑暗、渴望与衰落、生与
死的交互掩映，揭示人生的非理性特征。

在他看来，诗歌语言应当是声音、色彩与
节奏的结合，而非逻辑与理性的产物。

狄兰托马斯反对万物皆由理智支配的观点，
他认为，形式因素是诗歌语言最基本的成分，它直接源于情感。

他诗歌中生动的意
象和别具个性的象征常被看作他诗歌最突出的特点，而正是这一特点使他的诗歌充
满了非理性主义色彩。

然而，这并不意味着狄兰托马斯彻头彻尾地反传统。

他不同
时期的诗歌在不同程度上反映了多方面的影响，对他产生影响的人包括布莱克、弗
洛伊德、乔伊斯、叔本华、邓恩，等。

他还受到玄学派诗歌传统威尔士诗歌传统和
圣经传统的影响，从这些文学传统中，他不仅汲取了运用和创造乐感的能力，也获
得了过人的表达力和突出的修辞能力。

托马斯诗歌中的非理性特征同样是这些文学
传统影响的结果。

狄兰托马斯的诗既有非理性主义的特征，又有现代主义诗歌的
韵味。

然而，他并不是一个纯粹的非理性主义者，他尊重并继承了传统。

传统与非
理性观念在他的诗歌中交融，并最终共同构成了他不可替代的诗歌面貌。

本
文共分
三章，第一章探讨了托马斯诗歌主题中的非理性主义特征，并通过对几首托马斯诗
歌文本的细读，揭示主题之间的交互掩映;第二章分析托马斯诗歌创作的非理
性意
识及语言运用上的非理性策略;第三章挖掘传统诗歌对托马斯诗歌的影响以及
非理
性主义特征和文学传统之间的关系。

关键词:狄兰托马斯非理性主义主题
语言
文学传统 Abstract Dylan Thomas is one of the most prominent and most influential poets in Britainand the United States since the 1940’s. In his short lifetime he innovated
the modernEnglish poetry not only in poetic techniques but also in the notion of poetic creation.He brought his individualized experience of life into his poems. Through his keenperception of the material world he touched upon the immanent essence of theuniverse and ultimately attained an ideal state in poetic expression. The present thesisis an attempt to probe into the irrational features in Dylan Thomas’s poetry so as tobring to light the true meaning in his fantastically magnificent
verses. In Dylan Thomas’s poetry he repeatedly refers to an inexorable amoral forcethat exists within the universe. This force exists in all things yet cannot be controlled.He found difficulty
understanding it. If observed seriously we can discover that
the“force” is something similar to “will-to-live”---the fundamental notion of ArthurSchopenhauer. According to Schopenhauer “the will is the ultimate source of realitywhich is essentially irrational”. Dylan Thomas accepted Schopenhauer and Freu d’sirrational notions about “desire of death” and “will-to-live” and explored theseirrational features of human existence in his poetry through the interplay of dark andlight of desire and decay of death and life. In his view poetic language should be the combination of sound color andrhyme but not the result of logic and reasoning. Dylan Thomas opposes the notionthat everything should be dominated by rationality. He claims that the formal factorwhich is related to emotion directly is the essential element of poetic language. Hisvivid imagery and personal symbology have consistently been seen as thedistinguishing features of his work which also give his poetry an irrational tint. However it does not mean that Thomas was completely against the literarytraditions. His poetry was marked by several influences in different moments of hislife and on different levels. The names should contain Blake Freud JoyceSchopenhauer Donne and many others. He was also influenced by metaphysicalpoetic tradition by his Welsh origin and by Biblical tradition from which he acquireda distinguished eloquence and a very developed notion of
rhetoric as well as theability of using and creating musicality. These literary traditions offered Thomasexquisite craftsmanship and also influenced his irrational poetic notions. There areboth irrational features and modernistic elements in Dylan Thomas’s poetry. HoweverDylan Thomas is not a pure irrationalist. He esteemed tradition and inherited tradition.It is the interplay of the traditions and his irrational notion that made his poetry uniqueand eminent. This thesis is made up of three chapters. The First Chapter discusses theirrational themes of Dylan Thomas’s poetry and the interplay of these themes theSecond Chapter explores Dylan Thomas’s irra tional poetic notion and his
irrationallanguage strategies the Third Chapter proves into the influences of literary traditionson Dylan Thomas and the relationship between these traditions and his irrationalfeatures. Key Words: Dylan Thomas irrationalism theme language literary tradition
ContentsIntroduction …… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … …
… 1Chapter One The Irrational Features in the Interplaying
Themes … ... … … … 8 A. The irrational features in the abiding themes… … … … … … … … … …9 1. Force and
desire … …… … … … … … … … … … … … … … ...9 2. Death and destruction … … … … … … … … … … … … … … .10 B. The interplay of the
irrational themes … … … … … … … … … … … ..12Chapter Two The Irrational Features in the Poetical Language … … … … … .24 A. Dyla n Thomas’s irrational
poetic notion … … … … … … …… … … ...24 B. Dylan Thomas’s irrational language strategies … … … … … …… …. 26 1. Grammatical variations …… … … … … … … … … … … … .. … 26 2. Juxtaposition of
incompatibles … … … … … … … … … … ... 32 3.
Musicality … … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … ..34Cha pter Three The
Relationship Between Literary Traditions and Thomas’s Irrational Features … … … … … … … … … … … … … ...38 A. Metaphysical poetic
tradition … … … … … … … …… … … … … ...38 B. The Welsh poetic
tradition … … … … … … …… … … … ... … … .41 C. Biblical tradition … … … … … … … … … … ..… … … … … … …
43Conclusion... ... ... ... ...... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... (46)
NotesBibliography Introduction Dylan Thomas one of the most colorful poets in the English language is knownthroughout the world for his literary achievements as well as his notorious behavior.Thomas not only wrote poetry but also lived a poetic life. As William York Tindallexplains “he was our bourgeois idea of what a poet should be.
Wallace Stevenslooked and acted like an insurance man. Thomas looked and acted like a poet”.1 In hisarticle David Daiches commented “Thomas was the most poetical poet of our time.He talked and dressed and behaved and lived like a poet he was reckless flamboyantirreverent innocent bawdy and bibulous.”2 His words and explosive imagery
intriguehis readers and challenge them to explore the depths of his poetry. Poetry is anexuberant expression of life and Dylan Thomas represents every aspect of it. Much has been written on the unique individuality of Dylan Thomas. Richard R.Werry suggests that: “ During the twentieth century much poetry like much otherliterature appears to have been conceived more or less consciously from one of twoopposing points of view: the one---purely personal and the other---sociological….Dylan Thomas belongs almost
entirely to the first.”3 The well-known Chinese poet and critic Beidao once commented:
“Life anddeath are recurring themes of his Dylan Thomas poetry. During the 1930’s and1940’s T. S Eliot and Auden’s poems of intelligence and reason were
prevalent.However Dylan Thomas went in the opposite direction. He emphasized the initialimpulse of life and probed into the unfathomable subconscious of human desire andbroke a new path for modernistic poetry.”4 Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea
South Wales on October 27th 1914 andwas the only son and younger
child of his parents. His mother Florence Williamswas a housewife and
his father David John Thomas was the senior English master atSwansea Grammar School where Thomas was later educated. His father exposed him to poetry as early as the age of two and by four Thomaswas reciting verses from Shakespeare. By the age of eight or nine he was writing his 1own poetry even before he entered the Grammar School in 1925. A quiet andintrospective student he was a frequent contributor to the schools magazine. Thomass first national publication was in a small literary review in the spring of1933. Later that year his poems were published in the more prestigious Adelphi andthe London newspaper The Sunday Referee. Still after moving to London in 1934 inpursuit of better opportunities Thomass writing career continued to flourish. Hispoems essays articles and reviews were being published in London and Swanseamagazines and newspapers. Thomass first book of poems 18 poems was published in 1934 when Thomaswas twenty years old. A second book Twenty-five Poems was to appear in autumn of1936. In April of 1937 Thomas recorded his first broadcast for BBC Wales Life AndThe Modern Poet. Radio broadcasting was eventually to play a major role in hiscareer development. Thomas married Caitlin Macnamara on July 11 1937 in a simple ceremony. InMay 1938 the Thomases moved to Laugharne in Wales. Meanwhile Thomascontinued to occasionally record for the BBC review books write and publish hisown work including getting published in the United States. His next book The Map ofLove a collection of poems and short stories was printed in 1939. By 1941 Thomashad found a regular work of writing scripts for wartime documentaries andoccasionally performing on radio. It was during this
period in Wales however that Dylan Thomas produced manyof the poems that were to establish his place among the ranks of great poets. Theywere poems that often reflected on the fantasy-days of childhood lost. When theseworks and others were
released in the 1946 collection Deaths and EntrancesThomass
popularity exploded. He was hailed as a genius and a great poet. Back inLondon he continued to work for the BBC becoming as well known for his radiowork as for his poetry. However even though he craved affection and attentionThomas found this worldwide fame overwhelming. The more famous he became themore he would withdraw--perhaps in an attempt to keep his private inner world hisown. 2 On February 21 1950 the wild Welsh poet arrived in America he was invited tolecture and read at New York City. Over the next three months he traveledcoast-to-coast in New York and California giving readings at over forty universitiesschools and colleges. Caitlin accompanied him on his second U.S. tour from January to May 1952though the traveling was stressful and she found that she did not like America verymuch. In November his Collected Poems were published and hailed as a majorliterary achievemen t. Dylan Thomas’s father died on December 16 1952 at the age
of 76 with his sonholding his hand. The strong emotions he experienced during the long illness and thenat the death of his father helped Thomas produce two of his most well-known poems:Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. From April to June of 1953 he spent six weeks in the U.S. promoting theAmerican publication of Collected Poems. During
his fourth visit to the United States Dylan Thomas died at 12:40 p.m. onNovember 9 1953 while a nurse was bathing his body and he was buried
in achurchyard in Laugharne on November 24. At the time of his death he was workingon a novel titled Adventures in the Skin Trade a play in verse Under Milk Wood anda long poem In Country Heaven. Considered by some critics as the most important English poet of his time hailedby some of his first readers as the most prominent figure of contemporary EnglishLiterature Dylan Thomas is one of the most passionate and complex poets of thiscentury. He was exalted because of the exuberance of his rhetoric his handling oflanguage the musicality of his poems the originality of his images his metaphorsand the mystic impression of his poetry. But he was also criticized because of theexcessive concentration of his images repetitive themes the complexity of his syntaxtaken by some critics as symptoms of superficiality and irresponsibility. Critics likeDavid Daiches for example in spite of acknowledging the difficulty with theinterpretation of Thomas’s poems and the limited number of his the mes images and 3phrases recognize that Thomas’s poetry is “magnificent as well as original in toneand technique and that he was growing in poetic stature to the last”5. Others likeElder Olson considered Thomas’s poetry very difficult to understand sometime salmost irrational and lacking the necessary discipline. As what commented by ElderOlson Dylan Thomas was profoundly influenced by irrationalism not only on thethemes of his poetry but also on his poetic craftsmanship and there are some irrationalfeatures in his poetry. Rationalism is the
philosophical view that regards reason as the chief source andtest of knowledge. In this sense rationalism has intrinsically been the rival of beliefsystems claiming esoteric knowledge whether from mystical experience revelationor intuition. For the same reason rationalism has always been opposed to variousbranches of irrationalism that tends to stress the biological the emotional or volitionalthe unconscious or the existential at the expense of the rational. We may generally define an irrational belief system as a system whose corebeliefs are not derived by rational methods but by intuition instinct feeling mysticalexperience revelation will etc. As such these beliefs are therefore outside anyrational discourse. The term is used chiefly by continental European philosopherswho regard irrationalism as one of several strong currents flowing into the 20thcentury. In
general irrationalism implies either in ontology that the world is devoid ofrational structure meaning and purpose or in epistemology that reason isinherently defective and incapable of knowing the universe without distortion or inethics that recourse to objective standards is futile or in anthropology that inhuman nature itself the dominant dimensions are irrational. In ontology irrationalism implies that the world is devoid of rational structuremeaning and purpose. In epistemology irrationalism means that reason is inherently defective andincapable of knowing the universe without subjective distortion. In history it implies that there is much in the lif.。