英美文学毕业论文

塔里木大学毕业论文 2013 届毕业生毕业论文 An Analysis of Emily Dickinsons Views on Death浅析艾米莉狄金森的死亡观学生姓名 常平 学 号 4031209234 所属学院 人文学院 专 业 英 语 班 级 13-2 指导教师 日 期 2013年1月2013年5月塔里木大学人文学院外语系 AbstractEmily Dickinson (1830-1886) was not only one of the most remarkable and productive poets in American literature, but also a strikingly independent intellect and an original talent, writing poetry far ahead of her time. Because of her uniqueness and enormous productivity, the research on her poems, her most eye-catching and striking works, is very meaningful.This thesis intends to discover Emily Dickinsons death views and her contradiction over eternity. On the one hand, she calmly accepts death because she knows that death is inevitable and she believes that death is toward eternity; on the other hand, she doubts whether death is heading toward immortality. Another purpose of this thesis is to find out what factors have formed and influenced her death views, deepening readers understanding of Dickinson as well as her works.In order to achieve these purposes, this thesis does not put her background information and literary status as a complete chapter. It uses two overarching parts, which are more precise and direct. First and foremost is an analysis of Emily Dickinsons death views, which are shown in the poem consecutively, including her calm acceptance of death with the inevitability of death and death heading toward eternity, then followed by the question of death or eternity. The second section analyzes the reasons behind her death views, exploring in great detail in terms of several key factors, including her religious belief, and the influence of her homestead. The more research done, the greater Emily Dickinson is. The better understanding of Emily Dickinson, the more contradictory she is. Her death view is her precious legacy to the offspring. Key Words: Emily Dickinson; death view; inevitability; immortality; religion; homestead 摘 要艾米莉狄金森不仅是美国文学史上最优秀、最多产的诗人之一，也是极具独立思想、创新的天才。她的作品远远超出了所处的时代。由于狄金森的独特性和惊人的创作力，对其诗作的研究就显得更加有意义。本文旨在探讨艾米莉狄金森的死亡观以及她对死亡和永恒的矛盾心理。一方面她静静地等待着死亡的来临，因为她知道死亡是无法避免的，也相信死亡是通向永恒的桥梁；而另一方面，她却在怀疑死亡是否能真正地通向永恒。此外，本文亦全面探索了影响并塑造其死亡观的各种因素，以加深读者对狄金森及其作品的理解。为了更直接、更精确地实现这些目的，本文没有将艾米莉的生平和文学地位作为单独的一章，而是选择了最主要的两部分进行分析。第一章重点分析了她的死亡观，其中包括两个小节，第一节揭示其平静地等待死亡的来临，第二节分析艾米莉对于死亡和永恒的怀疑态度。第二章主要讨论了影响艾米莉死亡观的因素，包括宗教因素，家园因素等。研究越深入，狄金森的伟大越鲜明。理解越深入，狄金森的矛盾心理便越明显。这便是艾米莉狄金森留给后代的宝贵财富。 关键词：艾米莉狄金森；死亡观；必然性；永恒；宗教；家园ContentsAbstracti摘 要ii1. Introduction12. Dickinsons Views on Death22.1 Calm Acceptance of Death22.1.1 The Inevitability of Death22.1.2 Death Heading toward Eternity42.2 Death or Eternity? That is a question43. The Reasons behind Her Death Views63.1 Religions Influence63.2 The Homestead Influence73.2.1 Home-Destiny73.2.2 Homestead-Sense of Safety84. Conclusion10References11Acknowledgments121. IntroductionEmily Dickinson, the short name for Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, was an “American best-known female poet and one of the foremost authors in American literature” (Cao, 1999:187). She is considered as “the most important female poet in America” and “one of the best American poets of United States” (Porter, 1981:16). Biographer Richard Chase once said, “Emily Dickinson is the greatest female poet, and so is her counterpart Walt Whitman who has the greatest achievements. Perhaps some critics have agreed so” (1951:3). All the comments demonstrate her irreplaceable literary status in American literature.Among all her poems, death poems occupy a large part. Research on her death poems has been developing over a long period of time. “Emily Dickinson was obsessed with death, so about one third of her poems were relevant to it” (Yang, 2012: 22). Peter Nesteruk also acclaimed that “death is important to Emily Dickinson. Out of some one thousand and seven hundred poems, perhaps some five to six hundred are concerned with the theme of death” (1997:25). Other estimates suggest that the figure may be nearer to one half of all her works.Among these are many of her best loved and critically acclaimed poems, including “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”, “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died”, and “Twas Just This Time, Last Year, I Died”.Yang pointed that “Emily Dickinsons attitudes toward death were complex, from fearing death, facing death and embracing death” (2012:22). This is the contradictory theme of her death poems, “Death as circumference dominated her thoughts” (Eberwein, 1987:199). Eschatology, doctrine of the “last things,” or the end of the world appeared in her poems many times. This may be the immortality and eternity view, which relatively seems to be true but is absolutely unproved by Emily Dickinson because of her contradictory view on the question of death or eternity.Though the previous scholars have done many researches on Emily Dickinsons death views, it is still necessary, significant and eye-catching to probe her death views. The former research provides a clear direction and paves the way for the research in this thesis. Following the traditional analysis of Emily Dickinsons death views, this thesis aims to specifically discuss Dickinsons contradictory views on death as well as explore the reasons why her death views come into being.12 2. Dickinsons Views on DeathThe death views of Emily Dickinson deserve to be analyzed intensively, including her attitude toward death, and her reaction to death. Based on some typical and representative poems, such as “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died” and “Twas Just This Time, Last Year, I Died”, the poets views of death can be figured out naturally and deeply. When talking about Emily Dickinson, her death views may be more remarkable and eye-catching. It can be divided into two major parts. The first part is her calm acceptance of death. The second part is her contradictory view on eternity and her revolt against religion.2.1 Calm Acceptance of Death The very first death view of Emily Dickinson is her calm acceptance of death. She held this view in her whole life. Death is a part of nature, death is a natural phenomenon and death is inevitable. 2.1.1 The Inevitability of DeathAll lives are doomed to die and so are the humans who are greedily pursuing eternal life stubbornly. Therefore, contemplating on life and death formed the greatness of Emily Dickinson who believed that death was inevitable and unconquerable. The following analysis will approve that.In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, the second line in the first stanza, “He kindly stopped for me” (Dickinson, 2005: 479) vividly shows that death is inevitable. Death is like a person waiting for the speaker and the speaker has no intention to refuse him because he is so kind. The speaker finds it hard to refuse an invitation of a kind person, with warm-hearted hospitality. On another aspect, the first line of the first stanza “Because I could not stop for death” is also an evidence of the inevitability of death. Death is just there but the speaker can not wait, since she knows that she will die and death is inevitable for her.In the first and third lines of the third stanza of “Because I Could Not Stop for death”, “We passed the School, where Children strove / We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain” (2005:480), children give readers an impression of youth and vitality. Seeing those children, the speaker immediately rethinks of herself-she has grown up and become mature and she is now like a ripe grain or a riotous flower in a full bloom. However, spring comes and goes away, just like a blooming flower implies its fading. The speaker knows that it is a natural phenomenon that people have no capability of resisting, and so is death. From the above analysis, one death view Emily Dickinson held is quite clear, that death was inevitable.In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, the author employs personification to break the traditional stereotype of death, which is horrible, cold-blooded and broken-hearted. Death has changed his horrible and ferocious face in the past. The author personifies death as a new and different gentleman who is extremely polite, hospitably inviting the speaker into death. The poet endows death with humanized behavior, for instance, “He kindly stopped for me”, and the action of death reveals his goodness, kindness and consideration; while “slowly drove” and “knew no haste” illustrates deaths calmness with personal image; “His Civility” further displays deaths gentleness like a polite man. In Dickinsons description, death totally reversed the normal impression, altering to a suave gentleman. The speaker is deeply attracted by this gentleman that she happily sets the daily trivial things aside and willingly embarks on a journey together with him.Besides, “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died” (Dickinson, 2000:118) is also an evidence of her calm acceptance of death.“I heard a fly buzz when I diedThe stillness round my formWas like the stillness in the airBetween the heaves of storm.The eyes beside had wrung them dry,And breaths were gathering sureFor that last onset, when the kingBe witnessed in his power.I willed my keepsakes, signed awayWhat portion of me ICould make assignable-and thenThere interposed a fly,With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,Between the light and me;And then the windows failed, and thenI could not see to see.”In this poem, the speaker is a not only a patient but an observer, not only a subject but an object. She always keeps a calm, objective attitude to describe the whole process of death occurrence which shows the poets attitude-Since it is inevitable, stay there and enjoy it, treating death as easy as daily trifles. The author chose a very important and the only live image-the fly, which makes a clear contrast between the vitality of fly and the silence of death. The fly was such a small creature that people nearly ignore it. The author chose fly as the image rather than any other creatures which were more valuable to show her view upon death. It is common sense that people always employ the most precious things to signify something meaningful and valuable. However, the authors selection indicated that death was not precious and valuable, and showed her calm acceptance of death. In Dickinsons view, death was just like the buzz of a fly. 2.1.2 Death Heading toward EternityAnother factor of Dickinsons calm acceptance of death is that she believes death was heading toward eternity and immortality. Some people think that there are no souls in human body, and even if souls do exist, after peoples death, they also disappear. However, in Dickinsons eyes, people had souls and souls would not disappear after the death of bodies, but go to another place, that was heaven or eternity. There is a quotation to prove that view, “influenced by the traditional Christian doctrines and the Transcendentalism of Emerson, Dickinson held a generous but realistic view. She pointed that “death was the bridge toward eternity. But whether souls can be immortal and eternal depends on herself” (Jiang, 1996:120). This is the true reflection of her death view. She was generous to death, because she believed that death was the bridge to eternity, which is the result of the religious influence. In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” (Dickinson, 2005: 480), the last stanza is a very good example.Since then-tis Centuries-and yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses HeadsWere toward Eternity-Here, the speaker experiences a chill because she is not warmly dressed. In fact, her garments are more appropriate for a wedding, representing a new beginning, than for a funeral, representing an end. Her description of the grave as her “house” indicates how comfortable she feels about death. There, after centuries pass, she is so pleasant to her new life while time seems to stand still. “Centuries” is a quite long time but in this poem, it gives the speaker a feeling of “shorter than the Day.” The last sentence “horses heads were toward eternity” indicates that death is toward eternity. Death is not an end but a new beginning, a new start. Death is just a moving from her home on the ground to another home which is under ground. This is the real Emily Dickinson, accepting death in leisure and in silence.2.2 Death or Eternity? That is a questionAlthough Emily Dickinson believed that death was inevitable and death was heading toward eternity, there was still a different aspect of probing and a different attitude toward death-whether death was a bridge leading to eternity. About this question, maybe the author has asked herself for thousands of times. Reading her death poems, it is very complicated even contradictory to give this question an answer. For example, the last stanza of “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” (2005: 480) is as following.“Since then-tis Centuries-and yetFeels shorter than the Day I first surmised the HorsesHeads Were toward Eternity”The last two lines show her contradiction. Here “surmised” indicates that the speaker wonders if she can really go to eternity and immortality. Although she believes in God, she still wonders, because only a dead person could tell if he is really seeing God. She regrets that no one can tell her. Death or eternity? That is a question with no answer in life.Another poem also shows her contradiction on death or eternity. The last stanza of “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died” (Dickinson, 2000:118) is an example. “With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,Between the light and me;And then the windows failed, and thenI could not see to see.”“Light” in this poem, is the “light” of heaven, and the “light” of God through which the speaker can find the way to heaven and eternity. However, the speaker is also contradictory and helpless. The common confusion is whether she can go to heaven and see God, or hear the calling voice of God. She is also confused because before she dies, what she has heard is the buzz of a fly rather than the voice of God. Actually, in Dickinsons eyes, she had no quite clear idea on whether “death” and “life” were contradictory, or they were mutually switching from one to another. Therefore, death or eternity? That is a question with no answer.In Dickinsons real life and poetry creation, she tried her best to remind herself to keep courage and calmness, aiming at facing death. Maybe this was the only way that could save her from fear, and could solve her question and confusion of belief and the hardness of life. In the poem of “Twas Just This Time, Last Year, I Died (Dickinson, 2005: 155), the poet uses a very strange synaesthesia to imagine the scene when “I” died.“Twas just this time, last year, I died.I know I heard the Corn,When I was carried by the Farms It had the Tassels on ”It is in a harvest season and a very busy farm when “I” leave this beautiful world, where the red apples, the golden maize stubbles joints, the pumpkins-the beauty of life itself has made “me” reluctant to leave. Always touched by pleasure existing everywhere in life, the speaker struggles in a hesitation mood when death opens its door to her. She has to turn to imagine.“I wondered which would miss me, least,And when Thanksgiving, came,If Fatherd multiply the platesTo make an even Sum” (2005: 155)The speaker says farewell to her family in the time of celebration of the harvest, which can be interpreted as a reflection of inner fear of being rejected by love and the beauty of the world. One reason why Emily Dickinson cared so much about death is that she feared of being abandoned. She hoped to get rid of all sorts of confusions by death, maybe the questioning of death or eternity will come into being. But at least, at this time, before her death, the speaker does not get the answer that she wants. Therefore, death or eternity? That is a question with no answer.3. The Reasons behind Her Death ViewsThe above chapter has discussed the authors death views. This chapter will concentrate on the reason analysis, including her religious belief influence and her attitude toward solitude. The homestead factor also plays a significant role.3.1 Religions InfluenceThe reasons behind Emily Dickinsons death views can be mostly owed to her religious belief. All the beliefs and emotions she wrote about were based, inone way or another, on the same aspect of her upbringing, which was religion. Puritanism allowed Dickinson to remain grounded in her faith of God, while the movement of Transcendentalism permitted her to release herself from limiting conceptions of humanity which enabled her to view herself as an individual with an identity. To understand the complexities of Dickinsons works, her relationship to religion must be examined.One of the major religious influences of Dickinsons life was Puritanism, which believes that the Church should be restored to the purity of the first-century Church. They accepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace of God. They believed in hardworking, piety, thrift and sobriety (Wu, 1990: 7). While Puritanism emphasized human goodness because of a belief that something of God existed in everyone, it also recognized the presence of evil in humans. Because of Puritanism, Emily Dickinson believed in God, she thought that she could be saved by God and that reaching God was eternity and immortality. This is one reason of her death view. To some extent, Dickinson was also influenced by the movement of Transcendentalism (Tao, 2009:6), which came into being as a reaction against Rationalism and Calvinism. Mainly it stressed intuitive understanding of God, without the help of the church, and advocated the independence of the mind. Influenced by it, Emily Dickinson began to doubt her previous belief. That is why the last sentence in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” reads, “First surmised the Horses Heads Were toward Eternity”. In summary, on the one hand, Dickinson believed in God for her family background and the tradition of American, but on the other hand, Transcendentalism influence can be also seen in her poems. This is truly controversial and contradictory.3.2 The Homestead Influence Since Emily Dickinson secluded at home for so long, most of her time was spent in her house. The house was therefore quite important and crucial for her death views. It held a wealth of meaning, both psychologically and physically. 3.2.1 Home-DestinyEmily Dickinson started to write poems at the age of 20. After 1858, she seldom went out, and was called “nun in Amherst”. She just stayed at home and wrote her poems. She did not get higher education and had been to school for only one year. After leaving school, she still lived in her home where she was born. Most of her life time was spent at home which was built in the Mainz Street by her grandfather. In this house, she lived in a reclusive life. She thought that the world was so noisy that she must get far away from it, and retreated to her own house and her own world built with soul. Therefore, home, to some extent, was the destiny place to Emily Dickinson.Besides, the words appearing in her poems are also good examples. “There is no doubt that the words “home” and “house” appear in her poems more often than any other words. Exactly, the word “home” occurred 86 times and “house” followed with