Emily Dickinson_An Interrogator of Death and Immortality

ISSN1009—5039 OverseasEnglish匿圃圜圜 zwwx@overseaen．corn http：／／www．overseaen．com Teh+86—55l一56908ll 56908l2 EmilyDickinson：AnInterrogatorofDeathandImmortality CHENHan‘’nmg (DepartmentofForeignLanguages，YellowRiverConservancyTechnicalInstitute，Kaifeng475004。China) Abstract：EmilyDickinsoniswidelyregarded觞oneofAmerican’spremierpoe惦ofthenineteenthcentury．Inbothstyleandcontent，her versewas，”revolutionary”inherday．Owingtothedeepexplorationofdeathandimmortality，EmilyDickinsonhasbecomeapuzzlein literary．Asshowinherpoems，Dickinson’sspiritualjourneyledherfromna?venature—mysticismthroughdisappointment，toasacramental approachtoimmortalityafterlifeandfurtherdiscouragement，culminatinginamatureattirudeoffaithfulunknowingandevenmoreinter- rogatingtheimmortality．Tllispaperwillbaseonthetheoryofthedeathandimmortalitythroughcommonpeople’sfeartodeath。the essenceofdeath，山esignificanceofdeathtoshow山epoetess’swhole雎一c蛐dhood。love，lifecondition，spiritualcontradiction，and mainlyherskepticalconceptofdeathandimmortality． Keywords：DeathandImmortality；wholelife；spiritualjourney；interrogator；analysisandcriticism 中图分类号：n嘶 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1009-5039(2011)10-0226-02 1Introduction Incontemporaryterms，EmilyDickinsonwasanunpublished poetduringherlifeandmanyyearsafterward．Shedidnothave worksin。’print”whilealivingpoet．Shewasa secretpoet--one whowriteswithoutothersknowing．Diekinson，sworkshavehad considerableinfluenceonmodernpoetry．Herfrequentuseof dashes，sporadiccapitalizationofnouns，off-thymes，brokenme— ter,unconventionalmetaphorshavecontributedherreputation鹊 oneofthemostinnovativepoetsof19th—centuryAmericanliter- ature．Allinall，EmilyDickinsoninherlife，writing，andvery existence．daredtobedi能rent． 2AnInterrogatorofDeathandImmortality 2．1Ageniusinanoblefamily EmilyDickinsonwasbornonDecember10．1830in Amherst．Massachusetts。toafamilywellknownforeducational andpoliticalactivity．Herfather,EdwardDickinson，allorthodox Calvinist．w鹊aprominentlawyerandtreasurerofthelocalcol— legeandlaterarepresentativeinCongress．，11leDickinsonfamily wR$firmbelieversineducation．forwomen8．8wellasmen．Emi． 1y'sgrandfatherhadhelpedfoundAmherstCollege．Therefore， herparentsmadesure．Shewaseducatedinexcellentschoolsa8 AmherstAcademy(1834—1847)andMountHolyokeFemale Seminaryf184J7—1848)． Dickinson'sgreatestoutpouringofpoemsoccurredinthe early1860s．However,sherefusedtoreviseherpoemstofitthe standardsofpublishemandtooknointerestinhavingthempub． 1ished；infactsheonlyhadsevenpoemspublishedduringher lifetime．Afterherdeathinl886．hersisterfoundnearlyl800 poemsthatshehadwritten．Manyofthepoemswerefinallypub- lishedinthel890s．andEmilyDickinsonwasdiscoveredbythe literaryworldinthel920s． EmilyDickinsonshowedthefactthatonecouldtakeasin． glehouseholdandallinactivelife，andmakeenchantingpoetry outofit．Herpoetryisreadtodaythroughoutmuchoftheworld． ThereisnodoubtthatthesolitaryMissDickinsonofAmherst。 Massachusetts，isageniuswriterofgreatpowerandbeauty． 2．2LovemeetsitsWaterloo Dickinson，semotionalliferemainsmysterious．despitemuch speculationaboutapossibledisappointedloveaffair．Throughout herlire．sheseldomleftherhouseandvisitorswerescal℃e．The peoplewithwhomshedidcomeincontact．however,hadan enormousimpactonherthoughtsandpoetry．TheReverend CharlesWadsworth，amarriedmiddle—agedminister。whomshe metonatriptoPhiladelphia，particularlystirredher．Itappears thatshefeltaffectionforhimthathecouldnotreturn．Heleftfor SanFranciscoshortlyafteravisittoherhomeinl862．andsome criticsbelievehisdeparturegaverisetotheheartsickflow0f versefromDickinsonintheyearsthatfofiowed．Whileitiscer- tainthathewasallimportantfigureinherlire．itisnotcertain thatthiswasinthecapacityofromanticlove—shecalledhim” myclosestearthlyfriend．”0thercandidateisSamuelBowhs．an editoroftheSprin如eldRepublican，towhomsheaddressed manypoems．In1861一1862shehadacrisis；itisnotknownif sheevenfullyrecovered。andBowlesdisappointedherbytravel． ingin1861toEurope．Hereturnedinautumn1862．Atthattime Dickinsondidnotwanttomeethimorwritetohimanymore． ThereisspeculationthatEmilyhadsomethingofa loveaffair (throughletters)withJudgeOtisP．brdoftheMassachusetts SupremeCourt．startinginabout1870．Hediedin1884．and thereafterDickinsonherselfseemedtogrowobsessedwithdeath． EmilyDickinsonsewedthepagesofherpoemstogether埘tll threadandputthemaway．Shealsoseemstohavesewedherlife togetherandputitaway，too．Stepbystep，shewithdrewfromthe world．Asshegrewolder,shesawfewervisitors．andrarelyleft herhouse．ThetimeofEmily'swithdrewwasalsothetimeofthe AmericanCivilWar．TheeventsthatchangedAmerica'shistory， however,didnottouchher．Nomarriagemaybetheadvantageto herpoemsbecausepoetsarealwaysrefinedandsensitive．Emily Dickinsondiedin1886，attheageoffifty面ve，completely1111- knowntotheworld． 收稿日期：2011-08-05修回日期：2011-08-28 作者简介：陈晗凝(1984一)，女，河南三门峡人，黄河水利职业技术学院助教，文学学士，主要从事英语教育教学与研究工作。 226■翅滗戮戮颟麟黧辫粼麟j 奉拦日责任稿辑：榜菲荸 万方数据 2011年10月 2．3SollI，sSanct岫ry：fam姐y，强tll陀，粕d础孵try Thi8Americanlyricalpoet，aI_；ecluse'nicknamed山e’‘nun ofAmhe培^only8evenofherl800poemswerepublishedduf． ingherlif．etime，fiveofthemintheSprin曲eldRepublican． Dickinsonneverma而ed．Shewithdrewfbmsocialcont习lct明d devotedherselfinsecretinw五“ng．Herf南quentuseofd∞he8， spomdiccapitalizationofnouns，offdlymes，bmkenmeter'un． conventionalmetapho鸭havecontributedherreputationasoneof themostinnovativepoetof19tllcenturyAmedcanlitemture． Amhersth∞becomeapil卵mageforherf抽sandaspiringlyri- cistsandherpoetryhasinspiredfeministwriters． Dickinson，slackofrhymeandre剐larmeter明dheru跎of ellipsisandcompressionwereunimportant鹊Iong∞herpoetry w髂encoumgedbyit．Herpoetryw踮theprecursortotllemod— emspiritwiththeinfluenceoftmnscendentaJismnotpuri￡ani8m． HertreatIIlentofdeathandpmfoundmetaphysicaltendencie8 werepartofthesinguJarnature“hergenius．Emily勺simple languagedmwsrichmeaningsf而mcommonwoms．Shepaid minuteanentiontothings山atnobodye18enoticedintlleuni． verse．Mavbeherpoemscancomfortherdeepheanthatw龉dis- contentwiththeoutsideworld．andbecanleoneofhersanctu廿 iesf．orhersoul． neeadiest一舳dshortest一咖ge“|mmaboutl858to1861) involvedaqu鹬i—my8ticalapproach，characterizedbyherde印 yeamingforametaphysicalexperienceinwhichtheetemaJin humanitvisunitedwiththedivineinnature．ShesawNatureasa r}esourcethroughwhichonemightcometoknowtheDeity．This w鹊aviewshecamebynaturally—thmughPuri协onhodoxy， whiehhadtau小twh8tthePsalmisthad删tte玎：”Tbeheavens declaretIlegloryofG0d，舳dthe6mamentproclaimshishandi． work”．11}Ieunive墙e。createdandorde陀dbyGDd，renectedthe divinemindandwiu．Humanbeingsmi曲tle姗ofGodnotoIlly througIltlleWordofC0dbutals0throughtheBookofNature． Herpoem8aboutt|lecvclesofmeseasons(binh—death—re． birth)be8tiUus咖tehersymbolicview。Theyseemtopos“her eonviction￡hatifoneparticipalesinNature名”riluals’”thenone mvbeabletoreadone，sowndestinvinthem． Itw舶especia儿vinNature，sfo邢sthatshetriedtoread粕 鸽sumnceofimmortality．Theprincipleofrebirdland陀newaI shewitnessedinNatureeachspringshe∞ughttoapplytoher ownf．ateafkrdeath．Thisisherbests锄cnlary． 3Ikathmakesherbeautyete朋【al 3．1Not蛔r0fdeam Urldoubtedly，Emily，sviewonliving锄ddeathaI℃infIu． encedbvlotsofaspects．Herewewillstatet}Ireepointsofthem． Firstisherfamilyback舯und．Herfatherisaminister，andher hometown，Amherst，isat)rpiealtownt}Iatw躺deeplyifIfluenced byPumlnism．Onherageof23，8hec砌eacms8Chades Wadsworth，ama而edman，anditig8aidtIlatherdisappojnted lovetothisclergymanresultedinherisolation．ThesewouIdim． pactherviewonliving，death，andimmor【ality．Besideherfamily 鲫dreligion，EmilylivedIonelyforalongtime，iIlfkquenⅡywent outofthehouse．andavoidedthenoiseoftheout8idewofld．At theBametime，shethoughcdeathi8aninescapablething￡hata personmustface．InEmily，8deathpoems，thereisnotails，∞ sadness；alli8natumlcommonandBimple．Deathisa heavy— heartedtopicbuttoElllilyDickinson，dea山i8a”sweetsleep” 本拦日夤任■辑：餐蕃薯 besideates￡loi彻ortality．SDmetimes，itisaplay．DiH．erent fbmthemo陀popul盯viewofdeathbeingbmtalandcmel， Dickins叩make8death∞emp鹊siveandeasy．Hermostdis— cussedclassicpoem”Bec绷眈ICoIddNotStopForDeatht|c蚰 pmVeit． 3．2T瑚n鼬蜘dingd明恤 Theallestionofmentalcessationatdeathwa8蚰overtoneof 眦nyofherpoe吣．Theimminentcontingencyofdeath，astIle ultimatesource“awe，wonder，andendlessquestions，waslife，s mostf缸cinatingf醯tufestoDickin80n．Dickinsoncbalkngesthe mysteriesofdeathwithevasion，despair'curi08ityorhopeinher poetryinajoumeyordreamandonthedividinglineoflife肋d deatll．0necanseethatDickinsonI)ointstodeathasthefinal inevitablechan卵．TheintensitvofDickinson，scuriosityabout dyingandherenthusi鹊mtoJeamoftIledying，sexperienceat mepointofmortalityi8evidentinherpoetry．She8tudiedt}leef． fDrtof￡hedeath，sdisappe姗nce，onthelivingwodd；inahope toconjecturesomethingaboutthenewIifetheyareexperiencing 如rdea山．Fromthisviewofpoint，EIIlilyDickinsonh舾cmssed 0、rerthedeatll． 4TheIIltermgationofImmortaIi坶 EmilyDickin∞nwasmodeminthatshedaIedtoquestion” tllefhithofherf乱her7s”——theratllercomDlacenton}lodoxⅡadi- tionof山eisolated．conservativecommunitvofAmherst'Mas— sachu8etts，whereshespentherdavs(1830—1886)．Shewasun- abJetoemulateherneigIIbors7easyacceptanceofthepat￡em8of tmditionalfaithinheritedf南mtheirPll^tanfbr℃bear售even thoughshewasmarkedbvtheChristianethic，theBiblicaltIadi- tionspr℃achedfiDmthepulpit，tlIecadencesofthehymnssung inchurch，andthePlJ—tanhabitofself—scmtinv．Thesethin只s notunexpectedlybecaIIlepartofthef．ab—cofherpoeny． Whati8surprisingist}leintensitvofthe”rebeUion”which pouredfbmthisfhiI，reclusiyewo眦n，spen．Shedidno￡，how- ever'completelycastasidethetenet8offaithacceptedbyher familv明dcommunity．Herrevoltw聃subtlerandmorecomplex， coloredas“w8sbvdoubtaboutherowndoubt．Ifsheques— tionedthenattlreofGDd，shealsoquestionedtIlelegitimacy0f herskeptici8m．IIlwdtingaboutfait}I，8hecouldbe，bytums， pucki8h，irreverent．defiant’resentful，wry，蛐d anguished． 111∞ughoutt11ebody《herwork，somel，775recordedpoe脚； 8heappea惜t0betestingaVaIietyofstances． 4．1FatalislicImmon枷钾 Dickinson，sexpressiontllattheunderpinningsofherf出th weremthertonerybeganappearinginherIette玛atage6fteen．A letterpennedtoherfhendAbiaIlR00treco一8howpmfoundlv di船omfitedshew聃bycommunitypressuretohavetlleconver． sionexperiencewhichw船expectedin出erevivalat墙sphere preVailinginAmherstatthetime(1845)．”1wasalmostpe璐uad· edtobecomeaChris￡ian：”shew—tes，butthenadmitstoback． sliding．”Onebyonemyoldhabitsretumedtomeandl cared les8forreligionthaneVer．⋯I锄continuallypuniIlgofrbecom· ingaChristian．Evilvoiceslispinmvear．“ Theseearlyexperiencesestablishedapattem，whichdoIIli． natedDickinson，sthinkin异andartfortherestofherlife．She couldnotembmceconventional c嬲to仔itsinnuence．It6uedA reli西on，butneithercouldshe poem8，dict8tingt|1efomland (下转第231页) 万方数据 2011年10月 渴求，同时也给全书定下了基调。 在《哈利波特与火焰杯》中，不光是三位主角在经历青春 期的困惑，实际上．不论十四岁还是四十岁，书中笨拙地探索 爱情的角色比比皆是。维克多·克鲁姆是代德姆斯特朗参加 i强争霸赛冠军，同时也是保加利亚魁地奇国家队的明星球 员，为了鼓起勇气和赫敏说话．他花了半年时间假装在图书馆 学习；禁林的看守巨人海格，为了追求布斯巴顿的女校长麦克 西姆女士，十几年来第一次整理了自己的头发；罗恩在得知赫 敏要与克鲁姆一同参加圣诞舞会后，感到无比的嫉妒，为了安 慰自己也为了报复赫敏，一有机会他便在公共场合亲吻拉文 德·布朗：这么做也让赫敏同样受伤与嫉妒。 很可惜，书中所有对爱情的探索与追求都以失败告终。哈 利暗恋的女生张秋开始和他的竞争对手塞德里克约会：赫敏 意识到自己和维克多共同语言太少．这段感情以维克多在学 期末返同保加利亚而结束：罗恩和拉文德最终恢复理智，发现 两人没有任何感情基础．不但做不成恋人，连做朋友都不合 适：海格冈为暗示说麦克西姆女士有巨人血统(她竭力隐瞒的 事实)．令她恼羞成怒，两人刚刚萌生的恋情又退回到友情的 状态：罗恩和赫敏虽然彼此有意，却无法表明心意更进一步， 相反。两人在全书中从头到尾争执不休。 看到这里，再联想到媚娃的角色以及她们在本书中的早 早登场。读者们会意识到媚娃不但是保加利亚魁地奇国家队 的象征，也是本书主题的象征原型，她们代表的是对感情求之 而不得的折磨．是伴随恋情起伏的令人心碎的痛苦。当主题以 这种形象的方式呈现出来时．罗琳的读者们。无论年长或年 幼．都能很好的感受到作者想要表达的青春期的萌动与困惑。 (上接第227页) rhythmoftheverses，providingherwithavocabulary，furnishing herwithimagery，andgivingherapointofview．Sheexplored thePuritanethosfromheruniqueperspective，daringtoquestion thefundamentaltenetsherfamily，friendsandcommunityem- bracedwithoutthedoubtsheherselffelt．Withtemerityremark— ableforaretiringNewEnglandmaidofherday，Dickinson forgedherwaythroughathicketofhumanandtheologicalques- tionsaboutIire，death，God，immortality，lore，andnature． 5Conclusion EmilyDickinsononcewrote．aftershecametoknowthelife afterdeathliespermanentlyinthebeloved'smemory．thatthe onewhobestowedeternityonhershewouldsendmemoryinre· turn．Indeed．onemightsaythatEmilyDickinsonembarkedupon alifelongiourney，whichWaShersearchforanewcreed，anew” faith”ofsomesorttotaketheplaceoftheConnecticutValley Congregationalism。whichshecouldnotaccept．Therecordofher search--herpoetry--invites．perhapsevencompels，themodeNl readertoabandonhisorherownreligiouscomplacencyandCOU- fronttheessentialquestion：HOWfirmismyownhith?Would ouranswerechothelinesDickinsonwrotein1877：”Howbritile 奉拦日寅任壕辑：夤菲荸 而那些有过暗恋经历的读者更是能体会到当你坠人爱河时， 就好比中了媚娃的魔咒一般无可自拔。罗琳运用媚娃作为象 征原型有效地构成了“召唤结构”，具有想象力的读者通过对 作品的阅读和阐释。意识到媚娃代表着青春期特有的尴尬、害 羞和荷尔蒙失调，同时也预示着书中一段段失败的恋情，从而 实现了对作品意义的重新建构。 3结束语 毫无疑问。哈利波特系列小说是一部成功的作品；作者罗 琳原本期待它是一部儿童作品．然而它也让众多成年人如痴 如醉。原冈就在于书中神话的成功运用触动了读者内心，进而 引发了强烈的共鸣，罗琳也得以向读者传达自己的观点与看 法。在下一步的研究中，可以更为深入的分析罗琳是如何对神 话原型进行调整和改动．在挑战读者的阅读期望，给读者带来 一次次的意外和惊喜的同时．用古老的神话传达现代社会价 值观念。 参考文献： 【l】Iser,Wolfgang．111eActofReading[M]．Baltimore：JohnsHopkins UniversityPress，1978． 【2】荣格．论分析心理学与诗歌的关g[M1．冯川，苏克，译，北京：改 革出版社。1997． 【3】荣格．心理学与文学【M】．冯川，苏克，译，北京：改革出版社， 1997． 【4】张中载．二十世纪西方文论选读【M】．上海：外语教学与研究 出版社。2002． 础thePiers／OnwhichourFaithdothtread?” HadherPuritanforefathersknownofherspiritualstruggle， theywouldprobablyhaveassuredherthatherveryyearningfor knowledgeofGodandhersearchforassuranceofiannortality weresignsthatGod"Ssavinggracehadalreadybeenbestowed． Perhapsinherqueskthen．thereisalessonforthemodernread- erwhohasaskedmanyofthesamequestionswhichDickinson wrestledwith．Intheend．perhapswemustconfrontwhatise8． sentiallyamatterofdeathandimmortality，asexpressedbythe poetinanearlypoem：”Ishallknowwhy--whenTimeisover-” 参考文献： 【l】盛宁，艾米莉·狄金森的自然情怀【J]．外国文学评论，2005(4)． 【2】刘晓辉，艾米莉·狄金森：谜一样的诗【J】．四川外语学院学报， 2001(5)． 【3】李宣夔，常耀信．美国文学选读IM]．天津：南开大学出版社， 1995． 【4】EmilyDickinson．111ePoemsofEmilyDickinson【M】．3vols． Cambridge．MA：BelknapPressofHarvardUniv．Press，1955． [5】PerryMilDer．E盯andintotheWilderness【MI．NewYork：Harper andRow．1964． 万方数据 Emily Dickinson:An Interrogator of Death and Immortality 作者： CHEN Han-ning 作者单位： 黄河水利职业技术学院 刊名： 海外英语(中旬刊) 英文刊名： Overseas English 年，卷(期)： 2011(10) 参考文献(5条) 1.Perry Miller Errand into the Wilderness 1964 2.Emily Dickinson The Poems of Emily Dickinson 1955 3.李宣夔;常耀信 美国文学选读 1995 4.刘晓辉 艾米莉·狄金森:谜一样的诗 2001(05) 5.盛宁 艾米莉·狄金森的自然情怀 2005(04) 本文读者也读过(2条) 1. 杨爽 Analysis on Death Poems of Emily Dickinson[期刊论文]-英语广场(下旬刊 )2012(7) 2. 王海莺 An Analysis of Dickinson' s poem[期刊论文]-青春岁月2011(20) 本文链接：http://d.g.wanfangdata.com.cn/Periodical_hwyy-z201110294.aspx