英国诗人Matthew Arnold简介
2007-09-24 15:06阅读：
Matthew Arnold(1822～1888)
Key words: Contravention矛盾, melancholy忧郁, responsibility责任
Life Story:
马修·阿诺德是英国维多利亚时代的诗人，批评家。阿诺德是十九世纪英国最悲观的诗人之一。早年阿诺德经历过浪漫与古典的撞击。He was a
man with contravention. His poems and his critics showed the two
sides of his soul.
His Major Works: Poetry:
n The Scholar
Gypsy
n Empedocles at
Atna《恩培多克勒斯在埃特纳火山》
n “Dover
Beach”
n “Lines Written in
Kensington Gardens”
n
Thysis
n Stanzas from
the Grande Chartreuse
The Scholar Gypsy表现一种沮丧、忧郁和麻木。Empedocles at Atna
《恩培多克勒斯在埃特纳火山》(1852)是阿诺德最长的一首诗，由于诗中有太多“悲观”、“怀疑”“心灵与自我的对话”等“现代”成分，而在1853年出版时未被阿诺德收入诗集。阿诺德主张诗人应该创作能给读者带来极大愉悦、并使其振奋的诗歌，而这首诗中的古希腊哲人恩培多克勒斯有太多精神上的迷惘与苦闷。他在1853年的《诗集·序》中还批评了忧郁颓靡的“现代诗”，认为这些作品中“精神上的痛苦永无休止，无法通过
事变、希望、反抗来缓解；一切只能忍受，终将一事无成。恩培多克勒斯的心智与感情分离：“不再是一个活生生的人！／只是一簇吞没一切的思想烈焰，——／只是一个赤裸裸、永不安宁的心灵！”思想的烈焰追求永无止境的高远，而违背了自我情感的真实，最终拒绝接受自我的局限，他纵身跃入埃特纳火山。
阿诺德之所以不愿发表这首诗，就是因为他内心体验到的黑暗、忧郁无法和自己所宣扬的光明和美好合拍，这首诗也许正预示了他最终会放弃诗歌写作而转向文化批评。恩培多克勒斯的影子在他脑海挥之不去。生日那天，苦闷无法释怀，Empedocles又闪现出来：“真的不想活了，学Empedocles的向火山口一跳，倒也简单。”阿诺德自己不敢学Empedocles跳火山，而最终又觉得他不满意他的时代，其实就是不满意人生的表现而已，即使叫他生在希腊，他仍是个Empedocles。He
went through the gloomy separation of poetry and himself.
“Dover Beach”是1867年发表的，但其实这首诗写与1850年左右，当他还是个忧郁的诗人的时候。
“Dover Beach” is almost Arnold’s signature
poem. Compact(短小精悍) and powerful, it is the most effective
expression of his temperament as a poet, his hypersensitivity to
the subtle change then creeping imperceptibly into Victorian life,
and his gloomy, stifling, and essential melancholy. 从美学角度来讲，“Dover
Beach”是首“感受”之诗。它的文辞（从various一气呵成流转到nor help for
pain)、音律(悠长的元音OA、嶙峋的辅音CG)、意境(月光、海浪、思古、忧今)都很好。
His Prose works:
n Essays in
Criticism(1865)
n Culture and
Anarchy文化与无政府状态(1869)
n Literature and
Dogma(1873)
They revealed his another soul. Here are some comments on his
critics and ideas.
It is Arnold’s strong and consistent belief that literature shapes
culture. In his collection of essays, Culture and
Anarchy(1867~1868), he defended culture against scientific
materialism. He talked about culture constantly. But it is not
clear what exactly that word means in his philosophical theory.
Often it means qualities of independent thinking and intellectual
open-mindedness.
In Culture and Anarchy he advocated that culture perfection
can prevent corruption and help to curb the worship of material
wealth. “The pursuit of perfection is the pursuit of sweetness and
light.” In his vocabulary, “sweetness and light” suggests
reasonableness of temper and intellectual insight. He wanted to see
a society “permeated by thought, sensible to beauty, intelligent
and alive.”
Arnold’s concept of culture includes the political, the social and
the religious aspects of life. In fact, he was advocating that
culture, not class struggle, or violent revolution, should be the
most effective way to cure the ills of a sick society. He thought
that the future of England belonged to the middle classes. But
unfortunately they were narrow minded and corrupted by materialism
and therefore the world was in fact dominated by a group of people
who were not qualified enough to play a leading role in the
development of society. He desired to awake these people, making
them aware of the importance of improving themselves
culturally.
In Essays in Criticism (1865 and 1888) Arnold expressed his
understanding of the social function of an artist in the Victorian
age. To him, literary criticism means a great deal more than simple
book-reviewing. Good criticism is “a disinterested endeavor to
learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the
world, and thus to establish a current of fresh and true ideas.” So
critics have the responsibility to help people “see the object as
in it really is.” Thus, the scope of criticism extends beyond
literature; criticism has a social function to foster the sublime
spirit of the age.
Arnold wrote prose as gracefully as he wrote poetry. He had a
talent to invest memorable phrases to add attraction to his
thought. He was eager to change the world as a social reformer yet
he never failed to provide delight to his reader when he explained
the thought.
回顾：Arnold的诗体现了维多利亚后期信仰缺失的悲情，有点像Hardy那样的悲观，他的诗作为以后的自然主义发展种下了萌芽。但他在文化批评及政论里却是极力想挽回一种古典的责任感，又是维多利亚价值观的捍卫者和执行者。他的人格充满了矛盾，自己写的诗犯了自己文学批评理论准则的忌讳。体现了维多利亚时期，旧的信仰被打破，新的信仰没有被建立，人们心里的一种悲观空虚，但又希望秩序、责任。他认为文化的力量可以完善这个社会，也算是还有一定的希望吧。
