美国文学史考试之WallaceStevens

美国文学史考试之WallaceStevens • Wallace Stevens’s Works • Harmonium (1923) won critical acclaim, but no real popularity, and Stevens did not publish again until 1936. • He carefully-worked poems in such volumes as Ideas of Order (1936) were gathered in Collected Poems (1954). • His other publications have included: Owl’s Clover (1936), The Man with the Blue Guitar (1937) ; Parts of the World (1942), Transport to Summer (1947) Auroras of Autumn (1950)秋天的晨曦 • He described his philosophy in a collection of essays under the title The Necessary Angel (1951). • He constantly dealt with the nature of poetry, he became in his later works increasingly meditative and philosophical. • Harmonium • Harmonium (1923) established his stature among the few poets of ideas. • Harmonium was revised and somewhat enlarged in 1931; Meanwhile Stevens’ accumulation of new poems, while slow, was steady, and the occasional appearance of one of them in magazine gave evidence of his continued absorption with ideas of increasing subtlety. • He perfected a style that brilliantly embodied his extraordinary wit in corresponding rhythmic and tonal effects, and in his ability to recall simultaneously the essential meaning and the connotative suggestions of a particular word. • Harmonium, his most important poetic work, was part of a revolution in American poetry. He adapted a variety of experimental styles, odd sounds, curious analogies, and inscrutable titles. • He confronted the contemporary abandonment of traditional values and sought to come to terms with the confusions of his time. • The problem of the interrelation between the ideal and the real became a constant theme in his later poetry and led him to elaborate a series of oppositions between inner and outer worlds --- between subject and object, • perceiver and the perceived, fiction and fact, or as he most often phrased it, between “ imagination and reality”. : Anecdote of the Jar广口瓶轶事 : It is a strange poem in some ways and not very easy to interpret. : Here he agrees with T.S Eliot’s notion of poetry as an autonomous construction capable of more than one interpretation. : So we can only decipher the meaning by placing it in the larger contest of his aesthetic credo and thematic concerns. : I placed a jar in Tennessee 我把一只坛子放在田纳西 : And round it was, upon a hill. 它圆圆的，矗立在山顶 : It made the slovenly wilderness 原本凌乱的荒野 : Surround that hill. 因它而向小山环聚 : The wilderness rose up to it, 荒野向它涌来 : And sprawled around, no longer wild. 并向四周蔓延，不再狂野 : The jar was round upon the ground 圆圆的坛子在地面上格外突出 : And tall and of a port in air. 高的像空中的海港 : It took dominion everywhere. 它统治着所有地方 : The jar was gray and bare. 虽然它光秃秃、灰溜溜 It did not give of bird or bush, 它既不长鸟又不长植物 : Like nothing else in Tennessee.但它与田纳西的任何一样东西就是不同Here lies the wild --- and chaotic and formless – rural Tennessee, which let us assume is a symbol of the world of nature : The “I” of the poem places in the world of art, and by extension, the world of imagination. : What happens when the jar is standing there is almost a miracle: it controls the whole disorderly landscape. : The poem seems to be talking about the relationship between art and nature. The world of nature, shapeless and slovenly, takes shape and order from the presence of the jar. : The world of art and imagination gives form and meaning to that of nature and reality, thus suggesting, as Stevens may be doing, that any society without art is one without order and that man makes the order he perceives, and the world he inhabits is one he half creates. : Stevens firmly believes that the poet is the archetype of creative power on which all human understanding depends. The poet is an instrument by means of which man is made to see life. : After reading and thinking about the poem above, have you understood something out of those lines? It is only about a jar literally, but figuratively reflect more about the relationship between nature and humans, the meaning of art, as well as the philosophy of comprehending the world which we are living in every single second. : Without a jar, the wilderness is the wilderness. The living things there have their own ways to live without any order among them. Birth, existence, survival and death, no emotion, no more thought, the circulation of species would be impassively on-going. This quietness of nature can be maintained millions of years if no interruption occurs. : Till appears the jar, everything in the wilderness changed dramatically. Imagine that you are standing in the wild Tennessee and looking around, you must see nothing but the jar---definitely the focus. You would think how it is there? why it's been left there? Whether it is nice? What your feelings are when seeing it? etc. Suddenly, the whole place of Tennessee becomes meaningful and it's no longer desolate anymore. : The jar means humanity, means culture, means art and artistic imaginations. With a jar being there, the wilderness got a center, and then, an order for everything. The soil, the sand, the patches of grass and clumps of bush are soon under dominance of it. The jar adds some thought to this place, just like art, turning the dead to live. Art is magic. It fantasizes the nature. Without art, we are nothing and dead. : In the poem, Anecdote of the Jar, Stevens portrays the complex relationship of human to nature through confusion of who is greater than whom, how they depend on each other, the connection between the two, and the form the poem is written in. Stevens forces the reader to feel the confusion and chaos present between the jar (a symbol for humans) and nature. This relationship can be felt and read through the form the poem is written in. : The poem uses confusing wording to show the relationship of humans to nature. For example, line 9 says, "It took dominion everywhere." "It" referring to nature, means the power that nature has over the jar (humans). Nature's dominant overpowering weakens humans. Humans then become powerless and vulnerable to whatever nature has become. Another line proving this dominance states, "The jar was gray and bare." This line describes the jar of being plain and simple. This normalcy becomes ineffective and powerless. The ordinary doesn't have as much power as the objects that stick out from the crowd. Humans don't seem to stand out in the vastness of the wilderness. : The next line turns the control in an interesting way: "It did not give of bird or bush." Because the jar was in the previous line, it is natural to think "it" in this line refers to the jar. The plot begins to thicken as it was previously suggested that the wilderness had all the control in the relationship. The jar now becomes an authority because it will not give into the natural world. To the reader, the relationship just became undefined. The power was turned over from nature to man. : Stevens also shows the dominance issue in the beginning of the poem. He says, "It made the slovenly wilderness /Surround that hill." The authority is placed again in front of the jar. The wilderness is careless and aware of this new object placed in its environment. Then the poem states, "The wilderness rose up to it, / And sprawled around no longer wild." The roles are reversed once again. The wilderness is now in charge. The reversal of the roles contained the poem in an environment of utter confusion. Stevens showed the audience that this relationship really was chaotic, throughout the poem, to prove his point. : Stevens created this confusing state to allow the reader to really feel what the relationship is between the two. This relationship is hard to understand and is something that cannot be set. Using irregular rhymes and wording, Stevens is able to create this unsolvable relationship. Taking a step away from the poem to real life proves that Stevens is correct in his undertaking of ideas from human to nature. For example, this very paper is from a tree that man has cut down, showing that nature was defenseless in the act. On the other hand, there are certainly a number of hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. happening in the world today. Humans can do nothing to prevent these disasters from happening. Neither human nor wilderness is the dominant source. : With all the confusion in the poem, Stevens reveals an underlying message to the reader. Line 7 in the poem reads, "The jar was round upon the ground. " This section of the poem shows the dependency of humans on nature. Through the rhymes of "round" and "ground", we can see the relationship. To achieve a rhyme such as this, the two words have to be consistent and dependent on each other. Stevens shows the dependent relationship of humans to nature through these two words. It is a very solid line that helps the reader not to be totally confused when reading the poem. This line also begins to show the base for the relationship. : The next line (8) also supports this hidden security of the relationship between human and the natural world. It says, "And tall and of a port in air." This line represents the unseen connection between human and nature. The "port" refers to a connecting force that ties the relationship together. The jar, being "tall" in the air, represents the depth of the relationship. Above the initial confusion and chaos, there is a deeper meaning to the relationship. The "port" runs through the confusion to get above it and reveal the true relationship. Stevens used the word "air" to represent the unseen connection. We, as humans, depend on air to survive. Although we have never seen, touched, or heard air, we know that it is there and depend on it to live. Stevens refers to air to show the unseen connection between mankind and the natural world. This connection is very important and crucial to the relationship. In fact, the relationship depends on this connection. : Another way to look at the connection of humans to the natural world is through the first and last lines of the poem. These two lines embody the poem to start and finish in a calm way. Both end in the word Tennessee. This can show the relationship outline as being simple. Just as the port went above all the chaos, the outline of the poem goes around the chaos The first line of the poem is the beginning of the relationship. This opens the reader in a confusing state to figure out what Stevens is really trying to get across. This mass confusion is the body of the relationship. : Somewhere in the poem, Stevens shows in a deeper meaning of the relationship through a connection. As the poem nears the end, the same word is used to end the poem. That is the end of the relationship; there is no more to be added. It leaves the reader feeling satisfied, even if he or she didn't understand the content of the poem. : Stevens truly does a wonderful job of portraying the relationship of humans to nature. By using the jar to represent man, he was successful in creating an environment not only expressed in the poem, but also felt by the reader. He used irregular rhymes and role changes to express the complex relationship. The reader is left with confusion but a slight understanding of the relationship. Stevens expressed the relationship of humans to nature very well in this piece of work. : The emperor of Ice-Cream : The crux/center of the poem is in the line: “Let be be finale of seem.” : What Stevens is trying to say is, perhaps “to let that which is put an end to what seems to be. : Let reality show up, accept the real world for what it is. : The emperor of Ice-Cream : 叫那个卷大雪茄的 : 肌肉男，催他舀些 : 淫欲的奶冻在餐杯里。 : 让妞儿们穿着平日的衣衫， : 四处闲荡，让小伙们 : 用上月的报纸带来鲜花。 : 让“是”是“似”的终曲。 : 唯一的皇帝就是冰淇淋皇帝。 : 从少了三个玻璃把手 : 冷杉木的梳妆台里，拿出那件床单， : 上面她曾经绣过扇尾鸽 : 展开以便盖住她的脸。 : 如果她粗糙的脚伸出来，只是 : 显示她多么冷，多无言。 : 让灯调定它的光 : 唯一的皇帝就是冰淇淋皇帝。史蒂文斯的“The Emperor of Ice-Cream”算是一例 以呼唤开头的诗歌，打头第一个词就是个“call”。不过，这声呼唤多少有点诡异， 完全没有惯常的深情或深沉，倒是大大咧咧，懒懒散散，腔调似乎故作粗鄙(“喂， 卷大雪茄的那个肌肉男～”)，却忍不住地逗着乐，虽然痞，却雅(瞧那一连串的短音 “i”――bid, him, whip, kitchen, 就算“k”紧跟着泛滥起来――cups, concupiscent, curds，里面还是掺和着个 “i”, 轻轻巧巧，像阳光下漂漂亮亮的气泡)。 : 据说史蒂文斯是个享乐派，师承桑塔亚纳(Santayana)、伯格森(Bergson)， 家传要是再往上追溯，可以揪出伊璧鸠鲁(Epicurious)、卢克莱修(Lucretius)。 这些人大概地有个共同特征，就是生命力强盛，不亦乐乎地活，活得不亦 乐乎――史蒂文斯的那个 “concupiscent”就很显享乐派的本色，而大雪茄， 肌肉男，再加上粘糊糊香喷喷、奶浆一样的冰淇淋，还有roll和whip这 样的动态，怎能否认有股热辣辣的生气迎面扑来, : 第二段，看到一张松木梳妆台，还缺了三只玻璃把手――破落吧，却还不 乏派头。第一段是“叫”(call)出来的，第二段却是“拿”(take)出来的， 拿什么,从梳妆台里拿布单子，上面曾经绣过扇尾鸽，而绣花的人现在躺 在地上，等那绣着鸽子的单子遮没她的脸。鲜花和旧报纸的对比是层窗户 纸，一新一旧，一今一昔，捅破了，说穿了，无非是一生一死。“生”与“死” 如何一一对应。“鸽子”和“绣花”其实也有深意。鸽子是飞禽，和天空有关，鸽子更 是圣灵的化身，天空显然地要进一步被理解为天堂。于是，女人绣鸽子――这几乎 是个向往天堂的意象。然而，天堂是人自己绣出来的，而被装饰了的幻想(布单) 最终还是要用来遮尸。人总是要死，更有甚者，死了，也没有天堂可去。史蒂文斯 并非无神论者，却从来不曾对教会抱过任何好感。在他看来，虚无的来生和僵死的 信条都是骗人且害人的东西，而踏踏实实地活着、真真切切地体验才是王道，才是 所谓的独一无二的冰淇淋皇帝。 “冰淇淋皇帝”也可以说是他的诗歌理想的写照吧: 香甜(活个痛快)、冷冽(死得通透)、不奢谈恒常，只求独一。 : 对史蒂文斯而言，只有此时此地的此生才是“是”，此“是”一出，谁与 争锋，那些似是而非的彼岸的幻想、死中的永生――即所谓的“似”，都 可以烟消云散了。所以，他才强调了一下死女人那瘦骨嶙峋的粗脚(horny feet):不管这女人曾经如何精心地绣鸽子并渴望飞翔，她却只有一双脚， 一双在她死后都仍突兀(protrude)着的脚，绣花单子即使沦落为尸布都 (dumb)。无法遮没的一双脚，注定只能踏在地上的脚。冰冷(cold)，无言 这句真绝，真是把某个东西打倒了还不忘踩上一“脚”――看来史蒂文斯 不仅雅痞，更是不乏“心狠手辣”的霸气，好一个冰淇淋皇帝～ 最后，又是那回旋，像是拳击场上胜负已定，灯光明晃晃地来照着霸 主: Let the lamp affix its beam. 让灯调定它的光。 The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. 独一的帝是冰淇淋之 皇。 : She is dead, and the fact cannot be hidden by any sheet. What remains after death, in the cold light of reality, is life – all of that life, with its coarse muscularity and crude hunger and greedy concupiscence, that is going on in the kitchen. The only god of this world is the cold god of persistent life and appetite; and I must look steadily at this true tableau – the animal life in the kitchen, the corpse in the back bedroom. Life offers no other tableaus of reality, once we pierce beneath appearances. : Stevens "plots" this story into two equal stanzas: one for the kitchen where the ice cream is being made, one for the bedroom where the corpse awaits decent covering. He "plots" it further by structuring the poem as a series of commands from an unknown master of ceremonies, directing--in a diction of extreme oddness--the neighbors in their funeral duties: "Call the roller of big cigars, / The muscular one, and bid him whip / In kitchen cups concupiscent curds. /. . . / / Take from the dresser ... / ... that sheet /... / And spread it so as to cover her face." : Both the symbolic kitchen stanza (life as concupiscence) and the symbolic bedroom stanza (death as final) end with the same third-order refrain echoed by the title: "The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream." Faced with life (however slovenly and appetitive) in the kitchen and death (with its protruding horny feet) on the bed, one must, however unwillingly, acquiesce in the reign of life. : We cannot know what personal events prompted this 1922 poem, apparently set in Key West (so the poet Elizabeth Bishop conjectured, who knew Key West, where Cubans worked at the machines in cigar factories, where blacks always had ice cream at funerals), but it derives resonance from Stevens's mother's death ten years earlier. : What is certain is that it represents symbolically, with the bed of its two rooms, the bitter moment of choosing life over death, at a time when life seems particularly lonely, self-serving, lustful, and over appearance. : Art is exposed as too scanty in its powers to cover up death; the embroidered sheet (a figure for the embellished page), if it is pulled up to cover the dead woman‘s face, reveals her “horny feet,” which show “how cold she is, and dumb.” In choosing to “let the lamp affix its beam， Stevens makes his momentous choice for reality :