艾略特的詩歌理論“非個性化”在《荒原》中的應用

（武警警官學院，四川 成都 610000）

【摘要】：艾略特是20世紀西方文學批評史上最偉大的詩人之一。作為艾略特詩學的核心，“非個性化”的理論旨在反駁浪漫主義，主張詩歌尋求客觀化表達，從而脫離個人情感，做到間接表現詩人個性，以表達更為普遍的人類情感。在他的曠世之作《荒原》中，艾略特極大地施展了詩歌藝術技巧，將他的文學觀“非個性化理論”充分應用在作品的創作中，深化了作品的主題。本文要論述的內容正是艾略特文學理論“非個性化”在《荒原》創作實踐中的應用。

【關鍵詞】：非個性化理論；客觀性；荒原

【Abstract】： T. S .Eliot is one of the greatest poets in the west literary criticism history of the 20th century. As the cores of Eliot’s poetics， “impersonal theory” is for the purpose of confuting the romanticism. That is to seek the objective expression of poetry which leaves out the personal feelings， to express individual performance indirectly， and to express more common human's emotions. In The Waste Land， Eliot greatly extends and develops the poetic techniques. This thesis is focused on “the impersonal theory of Poetry” and its appliance in The Waste Land.

【Key words】： impersonal theory；objectivity；The Waste Land

T.S.Eliot’ s Impersonal Theory in “The Waste Land”

1. The Impersonal Theory

In “Tradition and Individual Talent”， Eliot points out the Impersonal theory of poetry， which is the relation of the poem to its author. The point of view that Eliot wants to struggle is related to the metaphysical theory of the substantial unity of the soul， which means that the poet has not a “personality” to express， but a particular medium， in which impressions and experiences combine in peculiar and unexpected way. He compares the poet's mind to the platinum that is the catalyst of a chemical reaction. The platinum is the agent of change but nevertheless remains \"inert， neutral， and unchanged\". For Eliot， the greater the artist， the more completely separate in him will be \"the man who suffers and the mind which creates\". The content is \"Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion， but an escape from emotion； it is not the expression of personality， but an escape from personality\". From Eliot’s perspective， great works do not express the personal emotion of the poet. The real poets draw on ordinary ones and channeling them through the intensity of poetry.

2. The Application of the Impersonal Theory in “The Waste Land”

In “The Waste Land”， the images of animals are expanded in reader’s mind， so that its allegoric meaning becomes more and more deep. These animal images successfully receive highly artistic effect on the aspect of expressing Eliot’s “Impersonal theory” and make his personality disappear. There are a lot of animal images in this poem， such as the cricket， dogs， rats， nightingale， thrush， bats， cock， swallow， and so on. In this essay， one of the examples： rats are analyzed here.The image of rat appeared in the second chapter “A Game of Chess “. Traditionally， rats represented death and molder. In this poem， rats represented the death in mind and also in carnal reality.

The line111-126 lead us to a kind of nervous and emotional world. Sheltering in the “rats’ alley” just like be blocked up the exit of alleyway. The entrance is towards to only one direction， that is death. The first four lines， which depicted the impatient and anxious feelings of that nervous woman. She hastened to let the man express his real thought in mind. Thus， she want him to think. However， his wordless answer just like a word of warning： “I think we are in rats’ alley， Where the dead man lost their bones”. Obviously， the couple cannot communicate with each other， and they cannot find any possibility to exceeding themselves. Because they are isolated， and rats’ alley is dark and narrow， people live in there， will render to lonely， indifference， paralysis and death.

Besides， there are some objects in the poem with special meanings. Using the symbols of some special objects are a very good application of the “Impersonal Theory”. In this way， the poet expresses his feelings and thoughts through these symbolic objects.

The first is the Tarot card， which is deemed as a kind of wicked card. It was originally used to predict the ebb and flow of the river of the Nile to direct the growing of crops； however， it now becomes a tool of superstition in the hands of physiognomies. Therefore， the tarot card loses its original magic in the poem and converts into a significant item much concerned with fertility. Nevertheless， the magic of the tarot card can’t be limitless because Madame Sosostris’ ability of prevision is limited. Therefore， the salvation of the Waste Land is uncertain.

The second image of object is the wheel， which appears twice in the poem. When Madame Sosostris makes prediction by the tarot card， she sees in the wheel the transmigration in Buddhism. It also refers to the crowds of people who walk round in a ring， a scene implying that everyone lives in transmigration of birth， aging， disease and death. In the fourth canto， the wheel reappears in the line “O you who turn the wheel and look to windward”. Here it is also a symbol of transmigration but the Gentile and the Jew were too ambitious to control it.

Though there are many more objects in the poem， such as the chair and the marble in the second canto， the most important are the three images mentioned above. They represent the basic elements of the destiny of the Waste Land—transmigration of suffering （the wheel）， force of salvation （the Holy Grail） and uncertainty of the future （the Tarot Card）.

References：

Eliot， T.S. Selected Essays. New York： Harcourt and Brace. 1950.

Shusterman， Richard. T.S. Eliot and the Philosophy of Criticism. New York： Columbia University Press， 1988.

Tamplin Ronald， A Preface to T.S.Eliot. Beijing： Peking University Press. 2005.

托.斯.艾略特.艾略特詩學文集.王恩衷編譯.北京：國際文化出版公司，1989.

艾略特.傳統與個人才能.李賦寧譯.艾略特文學論文集.南昌：白花洲文藝出版社，1994.