摘要
不少西方学者认为莫里斯的许多诗歌是因为逃避现实而写的,然而如果我们仔细阅读莫里斯的相关作品,并考察它们的文化语境,就会发现它们并非高蹈绝俗之作。莫里斯的早期诗作大都以中古传奇故事为题材,看似远离了19世纪的英国现实,但是有了"序诗"和"歉词"中的现实图景,就是从总体框架上给那些传奇题材设置了一个参照体系,时时提醒读者把不乏英雄的中古时期和19世纪那"空虚时代"两相对比。伊莎贝尔·阿姆斯特朗提出过一个值得我们借鉴的观点,即《吉尼维亚的自辩及其他》等诗歌是莫里斯捕捉现代人意识活动的一种尝试。不过,莫里斯的早期诗作除了折射现代人意识受到囚禁,想象力受到挫折等精神现实之外,还具有其他现实意义,尤其反映了19世纪英国的文化焦虑。相对弥漫于莫里斯作品中的总体文化焦虑,阿姆斯特朗的研究显得过于狭窄。
A great number of Westem scholars hold the view that much of Morris＇ s poetry was deliberately escapist. A close reading of Morris＇ s poems in their cultural context, however, reveals that they are actually not meant for retreat and escape. It is true that the subjects of many of his erly poems are by ang large derived from ancient or medieval myths and legends, but the realistic pictures unfolded in such parts as the ＂Prologue＂ and ＂Apology＂ serve as frames of reference constantly reminding the reader of the need to make a comparison between the old days, which boasted numerous heroes and heroic deeds, and the ＂empty days＂ of the 19th century. Isobel Armstrong has once developed a View which merits attention, namely, the works such as The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems are an attempt to be the form in which modem consciousness works. The present paper seeks to prove that, in addition to refracting the imprisoned modem consciousness and the dashed modem imagination, Morris＇ s early poems are realistically significant in many other ways, especially in refracting the cultural anxiety in the 19th century Britain. In view of the overall cultural anxiety permeating through Morris＇ s works, the scope of research conducted by Armstrong is a bit too narrow.
出处
《外国文学研究》
CSSCI
北大核心
2010年第1期80-88,共9页
Foreign Literature Studies
基金
国家社科基金项目"‘文化辩护书’--文化主义传统中的19世纪英国文化批评"【项目批准号:06BWW021】的阶段性成果
关键词
莫里斯
现实
逃避
文化
焦虑
Morris reality escape culture anxiety
