学校代码 10475 学 号 104752007 河南大学研究生博士学位论文 Bad Luck for Poets, Good Luck for Poetry A Comparative Study of John Donne and Wang Wei 诗人不幸 诗之幸 约翰 邓恩与王维比较研究 专 业 名 称 英语语言文学 专 业 代 码 050201 研 究 方 向 英语诗歌 年 级 2000 级 研究生姓名 王改娣 导师姓名 职称 王宝童 教授 完 成 日 期 2003 年 4 月 论文主题词 约翰�邓恩/王维/诗歌/比较 Bad Luck for Poets, Good Luck for Poetry A Comparative Study of John Donne and Wang Wei A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By WANG Gaidi Supervisor: Professor WANG Baotong Henan University April, 2003 Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………… i Abstract (English)………………………………………………………………… iii Abstract (Chinese)…………………………………………………………………. vii Introduction………………………………………………………………………... 1 Chapter 1. John Donne and Wang Wei in Common…………………………….. 9 1.1 Similar Position at Home………………………………………………….. 10 1.1.1 Donne and Wang Wei’s Influence in Home Literature………….…….. 11 1.1.2 Whence the Understatement…………………………………………... 14 1.1.3 Mistakes Must Not Go on…………………………….……………….. 19 1.2 Similar Life Experiences…………………………………………….…….. 23 1.2.1 Smooth First Period………………………………...……………….… 24 1.2.2 Frustrated Second Period…………………………………...…………. 26 Chapter 2. John Donne and Wang Wei Each in His First Period: Non-religious Poetry……………………………………………….. 33 2.1 Love and Women……………………………………………………………. 34 2.1.1 Donne’s Poetry of Love and Women……………………………….…. 35 2.1.2 Wang Wei’s Poetry of Love and Women……………………….….….. 54 2.1.3 Differences between Donne and Wang Wei on Love and Women………………………………………………… 59 2.2 Politics in Donne and Wang Wei’s Poetry……………………………….….. 72 2.2.1 Politics in Donne’s Poetry……………………………………………... 72 2.2.2 Politics in Wang Wei’s Poetry…………………………………………. 83 2.3 Grief of Parting in Donne and Wang Wei’s Poetry …………….……….…... 92 2.3.1 Donne’s Poetry on Parting……….……………………………………. 92 2.3.2 Wang Wei’s Poetry on Parting………………………………………… 97 Chapter 3. John Donne and Wang Wei Each in His Second Period: Religious 102 Poetry.…………………………………………………..3.1 Donne’s Divine Poetry………………………………………….…………...... 102 3.1.1 Influence of Christianity………………………………………………. 103 3.1.2 Religious Meditation in Donne’s Poetry…….………………………... 105 3.1.3 Secular Feature in Donne’s Divine Poetry……………………………. 123 3.2 Wang Wei’s Chan Poetry……………………………………………………. 129 3.2.1 Influence of Buddhism………………………………………………... 129 3.2.2 Chan Spirit in Wang Wei’s Poetry…………………………………….. 134 3.2.2.1 Poetry in Chan Terms…………………………………………... 135 3.2.2.2 Poetry in Chan Spirit…………………………………………… 139 3.2.3 Painterly Qualities in Wang Wei’s Chan Poetry………………………. 149 3.3 Differences between Donne and Wang Wei’s Religious Poetry…………….. 153 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………. 172 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….. 178 Acknowledgements At the time when this dissertation is finally completed, all sorts of feelings well up in me, all fused into one word: THANKS. Thanks first go to my respected supervisor, Professor Wang Baotong, under whose guidance, I have studied poetry for three years, and from whose generosity and care I have inestimably benefited. In the process of my working on the dissertation, he has taken all the trouble to read and re-read the drafts and made priceless suggestions. I am also much indebted to Lady Liu Gang, associate researcher of library science and my supervisor’s wife, who has given me a great deal of encouragement during these years and never hesitated to lend me a hand. Equal thanks go to Professor Shirley Wood, who in her readiness to help a young pupil judged every word of the draft and replenished my thought in the making; and to Professor Gao Jihai and Professor Lü Changfa of the Research Institute of the Faculty of Foreign Language and Literature, Henan University, who have kindly read through my humble work and offered many useful and valuable suggestions. Special thanks must go to Professor Joseph Price of the English Department of Pennsylvania State University, an expert in poetry with great accomplishment, who has over the past year since I had the honour of making his acquaintance at the International Conference on Shakespeare Studies held in Kaifeng in the fall of 2002, always cared for me and been pleased to answer any of my questions by E-mail, and has read through the whole draft and given me such a lot of precious comments and advice. In addition, I owe a great debt to my parents and parents-in-law, without whose support and understanding, it would have been impossible for me to go on with my doctoral studies. I really hope I can repay them with a happy and carefree life for all. Also, I want to present my heartfelt thanks to my dear husband, Zhang Yanzhao, whose love and support, both spiritual and economical, have helped me tide over my MA study years and paved the way for the Ph. D. program. For six years, we have i shared weal and woe and rain or shine he has waded through without complaint. Whenever I was depressed, he would give me encouragement and confidence. His love is such as I can no way repay. Finally, I must hasten to extend my thanks to Professor Zhang Jin who has kindly taught me and taken pains to correct my papers, to Professor Xu Youzhi who found time out of pressing schedules to give me enlightening lectures, and to all people who have helped and cared for me during my study in Henan University. ii Abstract John Donne (1572-1631) of England and Wang Wei (701-761) of China, his senior by close to 9 centuries, have a lot in common both in life and work. Researches into Donne the leading metaphysical poet started right in his lifetime. Having suffered misreading for 2 centuries, Donne’s poetry experienced a renaissance in the early 20th century thanks to the recommendation by Professor H. J. Grierson (1866-1960) and the leading poet T. S. Eliot (1888-1965). In the 1940s and 1950s, “New Criticism” became very influential in America, which increased the popularity of metaphysical poetry in the English literary world. Up to the present day, interest in Donne has remained strong. However, in China, Donne’s significance has not been fully realized and there is a lot of work undone. On the other hand, researches into Wang Wei the leading Buddhist poet have a long history too. From the Tang Dynasty (618-907) through the Qing (1644-1911), critics on poetry rarely spared him. Even today, interest in Wang Wei remains keen. Nevertheless, researches into Wang Wei so far do not seem to match his superb achievements and contribution. It is for the above reasons that the author of this dissertation thinks it incumbent on her to make a special study of Donne and Wang Wei, and by bringing these two poets together over a space of about 9 centuries and a distance of 9,000 kilometers for comparison, to try to find some food for thought. This paper is designed in three chapters. Chapter one, consisting of two sections, mainly discusses the similarities between the two poets in life and career. In the first section, the author thinks that the literary position of Donne and that of Wang Wei in their home countries are alike. Traditionally, both poets have been labelled as “great minor” rather than “great major” poets. However, their achievements and influence have both proved that they deserve to rank among the first-rate poets or all-time greats. The second section analyzes the life experience of Donne and Wang Wei, each undergoing two phases, which naturally correspond to the two periods in their poetry composition. iii Chapter Two and Chapter Three are principally a probe into the poetical works of John Donne and Wang Wei. In Chapter Two, a comparative study is made between the non-religious poems by Donne and those by Wang Wei, each in his first period. Both poets were passionate and active. In terms of subject matter, Donne covered various aspects of love and women revealing his joys, frustrations and pains in the secular world, while Wang Wei extended his concern beyond love and women writing about friendship, folk feelings and frontier wars. There are three sections in this chapter. The first section deals with the differences and similarities between the two poets’ poems of love and women. Firstly, Donne’s love poetry is direct and passionate while Wang Wei’s is suggestive and delicate. Secondly, erotic love is prevalent in Donne’s poetry while spiritual love prevails in Wang Wei’s. Thirdly, their attitudes toward women, as reflected in their love poems, are totally different. Donne’s was one of contempt for women on quite a number of occasions while Wang Wei was always sympathetic for them. Last, love as a subject matter is dominant in Donne’s poetry while it is comparatively weak in Wang Wei’s. On the whole, however, a persistent pursuit of truth in love and life is striking in both poets. The second section analyzes the politics in Donne and Wang Wei’s poetry. In their early years, both poets had great expectations for their future and showed great concern for politics. Donne’s poems of love, as a rule, betray his politics while Wang Wei wrote a great number of frontier and satirical poems to express his. The third section concentrates on Donne and Wang Wei’s poems on parting. In Donne’s poems, this kind of feeling is extremely moving. Of all Wang Wei’s poems, more than one fourth are related to strong nostalgia and the grief of separation between friends. In sum, however their subject matter varies in this period, both Donne and Wang Wei used poetry to express their deep reflections on love, politics and other concerns.