诗歌与不朽:论中英诗歌中的一个重要主题  

On the Theme of Poetry and Immortality in the Chinese and English Poetic Traditions

作　　者：吴伏生 WU Fusheng(Department of World Languages and Cultures,University of Utah,USA)

机构地区：[1]犹他大学世界语言文化系

出　　处：《国际比较文学（中英文）》2022年第4期21-39,共19页International Comparative Literature

摘　　要：中英诗歌中诗歌与不朽这一主题均可上溯到各自文化传统中凭借文章流芳万世的信念,而且在早期,这一信念均被置于立功或经国业绩之下。后代诗人在表现这一主题时,均试图提高诗歌创作的意义与价值,以便令其从经国业绩的阴影当中摆脱出来。在这一过程中,本文所评述的中英诗人选择了不同的途径。中国诗人似乎从未能够把诗歌创作(“立言”)与经国大业功(“立功”)分离开来。虽然他们不时强调诗歌的不朽要胜过功名富贵,但功名富贵始终是赞美诗歌的背景和语境,似乎没有这一对比,诗歌本身便失去了其意义与价值。与此不同,英国诗人在赞颂诗歌的不朽时,似乎能够摆脱以往对政治业绩的依赖。他们把诗歌与不朽这一主题移植到爱情诗中,因而赋予这一主题以强烈的感性与个人特征。在他们的笔下,诗歌的不朽意义与价值成为他们表述忠贞爱情的一个艺术手段,在这当中已经很少看到功名富贵的影子,仿佛强烈的爱情已经令诗人把尘世的其他顾虑都置之度外,将其净化。反之,后代中国诗人的相关汉诗则在赞美诗歌不朽的同时,仍然不能忘怀社会的期待与仕途的挫折。此外,中英诗人在失意潦倒之际,也都曾对诗歌创作的意义和价值表示过怀疑甚至鄙视,使得他们对诗歌与不朽这一主题的表现变得更加复杂多面。The link between poetry and immortality is an important theme in the Chinese and English poetic traditions.It has its root in the ancient belief in Chinese and Western cultures that writing can confer immortality to its author and to its contents.During the early periods,however,this belief was often overshadowed by a stronger desire to achieve immortality through a political/official career.Subsequent poets attempted to cast away this shadow,and in doing so the Chinese and English poets discussed in this essay undertook different paths.The Chinese poets were never able to completely separate poetic composition from a political/official career.Although they repeatedly emphasized that poetic immortality surpasses immortality won through fame,wealth and power,those same forces-fame,wealth and power-often form the context in which they voiced their praise for poetry,as if without this context poetry itself would be deprived of its meaning and value.The English poets,on the other hand,were able to leave these factors behind when celebrating poetic immortality.They transplanted this theme to the area of amorous love,thereby endowing it with a strong sensual and personal dimension.Under their pens,the theme of poetic immortality became a means by which to express their devotion to love,the intensity of which purges other worldly concerns such as fame,wealth and power.However,despite their celebrations,these poets,when down in spirit and fortune,also expressed doubt and even contempt toward poetic composition and its value,thereby complicating their treatment of this important theme in Chinese and English poetry.

关 键 词：诗歌 不朽 立言 李白 莎士比亚 

分 类 号：I106.2[文学—世界文学]