1 河南省高等教育自學考試英語專業本科畢業生 畢業論文 （英文題目） Lake Poets in the history of English literature （ 中文題目 ） 英國文學史上的 “ 湖畔詩人 ” 專 業 名 稱 ： 英語專業本科 論文作者姓名 ： 劉志輝 準 考 證 號 ： 078203200008 論 文 類 型 ： 文學批評 論文完成日期 ： 2006/08/26 聯 系 方 式 ： 河南省輝縣市第二職業高中 （ 2 Lake Poets in the history of English literature 摘要 : 湖畔詩人就是一組英國詩人 ,Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, and William Wordsworth.他們居住在英格蘭東北的 湖區 ,是 18世紀至 19世紀時期浪漫主義運動的一部分 .受到法國大革命和英國工業革命的影響 ,他們在詩歌創作方面做了大膽的 改革 ,無論是在詩體語言還是在主題。的選擇上都有獨到的見解 . William Wordsworth 被人喻為自然的膜拜者 . Samuel Taylor Coleridge 不但是著名的詩人也是一流的文學批評家 . 然而 Robert Southey卻更為將精力注意到人人平等的大同社會上來 . Abstract: The Lake Poets or Lake School was a group of English poets: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, and William Wordsworth. They lived in the Lake District in northwestern England. This group was part of the Romantic Movement of the late 1700s and early 1800s. They were inspired by The French Revolution and The English Industrial Revolution. They made bold experiments on poetry writing, no matter on poetry language seeking or subjects. Wordsworth was regarded as worshipper of nature. Coleridge was not only a poet but also a critic. While Southy pay more his attention to his democratic community in America known as Pantisocracy. 3 關鍵字 : 浪漫主義時期 ,自然 ,超自然 ,想象 ,改革 ,簡化語言 ,內在世界 ,精神實質 ,平常生活 ,民主 ,大同社會 Key words: The Romantic Period, nature, super nature, imagination, innovation, simple language, inner world, spirit, common life, democratic, Pantisocracy Outline Thesis: Lake Poets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, and William Wordsworth, marks the beginning of Romanticism. They improve the poetry writing with an entire new conception, especially they composed their poems about nature and imagination, which is very different from those in neoclassical period. (1) The background of Lake Poets: 1 The French Revolution and the English Industrial Revolution 2 Influence of the economic exploitation (2) Features of Lake Poets: 1 They explored new theories and innovated new techniques in poetry writing. 2 They believed that poetry could purify both individuals and society. A Nature B Imagination and inspiration (3)William Wordsworth 4 1 Career 2 Mayor features in poetry writing and classification of his works Samuel Taylor Coleridge his works. 1 career 2 mayor features in poetry writing and classification of his works Robert Southey 1 career 2 mayor features in poetry writing 5 Lake Poets in the history of English literature The English romanticism as a historical phase of literature, is generally said to have began in 1798 and ended in 1832. However, at this great period, there are three great poets who cannot be ignored, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, and William Wordsworth. These three poets are known as the Lake Poets, because they once settled at Dove Cottage in Crasmere, Westmoreland, the loveliest spot in the English Lake District. The Lake Poets play a transitional role between old and new styles in the poetry development in literature history especially in the English history. In their works we see the influence from both the past and the modern. (1) During the Romantic period, there have been great changes in both European society and economy, which were actually provoked by two important revolutions, the French Revolution and the English Industrial Revolution. And as a result, some of the great imaginative writings in the Romantic period sprang from the confrontation of radicals and conservatives at the close of the 18th century. While the lake poets choose nature, imagination as their poetic subjects, other great poets, such as George Gordon 6 Byron, showed a lasting contempt for what he considered the commonplace and vulgarity of the lake poets. Because they think the lake poets, to some extent, are too conservative in their period. The other key element for the exiting of the lake poets is the cruel economic exploitation. As a consequence of the English Industrial revolution, the European Society emerged a new Labor Class. Though the social wealth had been increased by several times, it was only the rich who owned this wealth. The majority of the people were still poor, or even poorer. The romantics with the lake poets as a leader saw both the corruption of the feudal societies and the exploitation in modern capitalist society. Under such condition, the lake poets emphasized the special qualities of each individuals mind. Wordsworth The Solitary Reaper, Coleridge frost at night, Southy Winter are all such poems. So we can see they pay more attention to portray the individuals experience. Its a typical character of the lake poets to place the individual at the center of art in order to express his or her unique feelings and particular attitudes. (2) With the coming of the French Revolution in 1798, and the primarily agricultural society replaced by a modern industrialized one, these three poets inspired an entire new poetic revolution. 7 At first, they started a rebellion against the neoclassical literature. They explored new theories and innovated new techniques in poetry writing. As we all know, the neoclassicists had some fixed rules and laws for almost every genre of literature. Poetry should be lyrical, didactic satiric or dramatic and be strictly guided by principles. The neoclassicists also emphasized upon reason and intellect. However, the romantics started a poetic revolution. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, and William Wordsworth, with the publication of Lyrical Ballads, were the major representatives of this movement. We can get such ideas from the following examples: The Ancient Mariner written by Coleridge； The prelude_(1) written by Wordsworth. In these famous poems, we can see they have made bold experiments in poetic language, versification and design. Second, they believe that poetry could purify both individual and the society. At one hand, they chose to live by the lakeside so as to escape from the rational and ugly society. At other hand, they also want to achieve their wishful society in the imagination. 1 Imagination and inspiration, defined by Coleridge, is regarded as something crucial for true poetry. “ Kubla Khan” , as we all know, was composed in a dream after Coleridge took opium. “ So twice five miles of fertile ground, With walls and towers were girdled round； 8 And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree； And here were forests ancient as the hills, enfolding sunny spots of greenery. ” _(2) When we read these great lines, we are deeply impressed by the image of the river, the magnificent palace and other marvelous. We can hardly believe they were worked out in his unconsciousness. Similar examples can also be found from works of Robert Souhey, which contained a lot of vaguely Hindu tales. 2 The nature world is the first thing coming into poets imagination. “ I wandered lonely as a cloud, The floats on high over vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils； Besides the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze._(3) Wordsworth wrote this beautiful poem of nature after he came across a long belt of gold daffodils along the waterside. In this poem, nature is not only his source of imagination but also his poetic subject. But when we read it a second time, maybe we can realize that the writer want to recollect the beauty of nature in his mind while he is in solitude. 9 (3) Since the lake Poets refers to three great English poets, lets appreciate them respectively. 1 William Wordsworth William Wordsworth is a leading figure of the English romantic poetry. The most important contribution he has made is that he has not only started the modern poetry but also changed the course of English poetry by using ordinary speech of the language and by advocating a return to nature. William Wordsworth was born in an attorney family. As a young boy, he developed a keen love of nature, which influenced all his rest life. After the French revolution, his heart was stirred and his imagination fired. However, William Wordsworth was conservative in politics, which Percy Bysshe Shelley and George Gordon Byron were strongly against. William Wordsworth had a long poetic career. Though his life, he finished many poem volumes. But maybe the most famous one is Lyrical Ballads. That is because this volume is different from his early poetry, with an uncompromising simple language and fusion of natural description. The Prelude is also among his best works and is regarded as one of William Wordsworths greatest works by many critics. Because he expressed his philosophy ideas in it .To him, life is a cyclical journey, in which the beginning finally turns out to be its end. 10 According to the subjects, William Wordsworths short poems can be classified into two groups: poems about nature and poems about human life. A. William Wordsworth emphasized the picturesque scenes and gave the reader the very life of nature. He is regarded as the worshipper of nature. But we can also find a deeper moral awareness in his poems. To him, nature acts as a bridge between human and certain circumstance. We stood together； and that I, so long A worshipper of nature, hither came Unwearied in that service: rather say With warmer love - oh! with far deeper zeal Of holier love. Nor wilt thou then forget, That after many wanderings, many years Of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs, And this green pastoral landscape, were to me More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake Tintern Abbey is one of his masterpieces on nature. In this poem we can find the coordination between the wanderers thoughts and the natural scenes. B. The joys and sorrows of the common people are also his usual subject. His sympathy always goes to the suffering poor. The Lucy poems describes a young country girl living a simple 11 live in a remote village. In this poem, William Wordsworth used simple language to give the readers the scenes and events of everyday life. In his opinion, the speech of ordinary people was the raw material of poetry writing. By using limited language, Wordsworth worked out an eternal theme, love and loss, time and death. The solitary reaper To a highland girl are all his masterpieces about human life. 2.Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a son of a clergyman. When he was young, he was a lonely sad boy, full of dreams in his mind. However after having met Robert Southy, he was inspired by the radical thinkers with their idealism. He even joined the Robert Southy in plotting a democratic community in America, named pantisocracy. But generally speaking, he was a conservative poet. He opposed the rationalistic trends of the 18th century thought. In his opinion, A poet should realize the vague intimation derived from his unconsciousness without sacrificing the vitality of the inspiration._(4) Samuel Taylor Coleridge is also a good critic in his period. His lectures on Shakespeare proved to be very successful. As a poet, he maintained that the true end of poetry is to give pleasure through the medium of beauty. This conception is same with Wordsworths. However the two great poets also have something different with each other. For example, Samuel Taylor 12 Coleridge claimed that there was essential difference between the language of poetry and the language spoken by common people, while William Wordsworth thought the speech of ordinary people were the raw material of poetry writing. Samuel Taylor Coleridges achievement as poet can be divided into two groups: the demonic and the conversational. A. The demonic group includes his three masterpieces, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Chritabel and Kubla Khan. Mysticism and demonism with strong imagination are the distinctive features of this group. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner told a story of a sailor, who met a strange bird during his adventure trip. The mariner shot it and then disaster fell onto the ship. Finally only when the mariner blessed for the water snake the ship then can go back home. In this story, we can find out Coleridge a more spiritual and religious interpretation of life. While his predecessors emphasized reason, Coleridges demonic works is a great improvement of poetry writing. B: Among the conversational group, Frost at Midnight is the most important. This poem is a record of his personal thought about his infant son Harley in a midnight. Generally speaking, the conversational groups deal with the themes, such as, the desire to go home and wish someone he loves success or experience joy. But in order to get that he must fail or suffer. 13 3.Robert Southy As a young student, Robert Southy was expelled from School for criticizing the practice of flogging in the school magazine. This incident helped to fire his youthful revolutionary ideals, which found expression a few years later in his first long poem “Joan of Arc” (1796). His attention was taken up by a new friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his ideas about pantisocracy, a scheme to set up a democratic community in America, came out. Southey and Coleridge married two sisters, Edith and Sara Fricker. Though there were some ill-feelings over the abandonment of pantisocracy, the two men remained friends. Like Wordsworth and Coleridge, he became disillusioned by the progress of the French Revolution. I would like to suggest that his volume of Poems 1799 is some ways an answer to “Lyrical Ballads” and to describe the contents of that volume. And he was criticized as a political turncoat by the younger generation of Romantic writers, notably in Byrons “Don Juan”. About his revolutionary ideals we can see clearly from his poem winter Some merry jest, or tale of murder dire, Or troubled spirit that disturbs the night, Pausing at times to rouse the mouldering fire, Or taste the old October brown and bright_(5) 14 But also Southy write a lot of poems concerning the slave trade. Look at the following lines Hold your mad hands! for ever on your plain Must the gorged vulture clog his beak with blood? For ever must your Nigers tainted flood, Roll to the ravenous shark his banquet sla