-
Analysis of the Images of Nightingale in
English
Poems and Cuckoo in Chinese
Poems
A Thesis Submitted to
the
Department of Foreign Languages of
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College
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Province
in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the
Degree of Bachelor of Arts
in English
Language and Literature
by
Number:
Supervised by:
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March 2011
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my
gratitude to all those who have helped me during
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writing
of
this
thesis.
I
gratefully
acknowledge
the
help
of
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I also owe a special debt of gratitude
to all the professors in Foreign Languages
Department, from whose devoted teaching
and enlightening lectures I have benefited
a lot and academically prepared for the
thesis.
I
should
finally
like
to
express
my
gratitude
to
my
beloved
parents
who
have
always
been
helping
me
out
of
difficulties
and
supporting
me
without
a
word
of
complaint.
ii
Abstract
For
English
poems
or
Chinese
poems,
an
image
is
one
of
the
basic
elements
which form the
poetic arts. It is the soul of a poem. In nature,
nightingale and cuckoo
are two kinds of
the most common bird images in English and Chinese
poems. There
are similarities and
differences between them. The cuckoo in Chinese
poems and the
nightingale
in
English
poems
usually
appear
as
grievous
images.
Both
of
them
originate in their sad legends and,
they symbolize mournful emotion in poems. And
differences
between
them
can
be
described
from
two
sides.
First,
the
nightingale
sometimes
also
represents
happiness
while
the
cuckoo
shows
grief
all
the
time.
Second,
they
have
different
relationship
with
poetic
schools.
By
reading
and
comparing,
readers
can
deeply
understand
cuckoo
and
nightingale
’
s
symbolized
meaning and
emotional tone.
Key words:
poetic image;
nightingale; cuckoo, differences and
similarities
iii
摘要
无论是对英诗，
还是对汉诗来说，<
/p>
意象是构成诗的艺术的基本条件之一。
它
是诗歌的灵魂。
在自然界中，
夜莺和杜鹃分别是英诗和汉诗中最
常见的两种鸟类
意象。
然而它们之间既包含了相似性，
又具有差别性。
英诗中的夜莺和汉诗中的
杜鹃通
常都以悲伤凄凉的意象出现。
一方面它们都来源于忧伤的传说；
另一方面
它们在诗中都象征一种忧伤的情感。而它们之间的差异性也可以从两个方面阐<
/p>
述。
一是夜莺有时也象征一种快乐，
而杜
鹃则一直是忧伤的代表；
二是它们与诗
歌流派之间的关系是不同
的。
通过研究比较，
读者能够更加深刻了解夜莺与杜鹃
的象征意义和情感基调。
关键词
：
诗歌意象；夜莺；杜鹃；异同
iv
Contents
Acknowledgements
…………………………………………………………
..
ii
Abstract (English)
…………………………………………………………
...
iii
Abstract (Chinese)
…………………………………………………………
..
iv
1.
In
troduction
……………………………………………………………
...
1
2.
Significance
of Using Images in Poems
………………………………
....
2
3.
Similarities
and Differences of the Images of Nightingale in
English
Poems and Cuckoo in
Chinese Poems
………..............
............................
4
< br>
3.1 Similarities Between the Images
of Nightingale
and Cuckoo
……………………………………………………………
...4
3.1.1 Coming from Grievous
Legends
……………………………………
5
3.1.2 Symbolizing the Sad Feelings
………………………………………
7
3.2 Differences Between the Images of
Nightingale
and Cuckoo
………………………………………………………………
9
< br>
3.2.1 The Happy Image
of
Nightingale
…………………………………
..10
3.2.2 The Different
Relationship Between the Images and
the Schools
……………………………………………
...................11
4. Conclusion
………
…………………………………………………………
.
13
Bibliography
…………………
………………………………………………
..
14
v
1.
Introduction
In all ages, poetry is an important
part of literature both in China and the western
world,
and
is
one
of
the
most
ancient
literary
forms.
In
poems,
an
image
is
an
essential and creative device to
express poet
s’
feelings.
Every poet must be cautious
about
choosing the image, because it maybe influences
the result that whether a poem
is
successful or not.
In the history of
global culture, the image is a vital concept for
poetry. Therefore,
a large number of
scholars have researched poetic images. Most of
them study poetic
image as a whole,
such as what is a poetic image, what is origin of
images, how to
apply to images, what is
the theory of the poetic images, and so on. They
can research
poetic images from the
point view of aesthetics, and analyze the
connection between
poetic images and
culture. And then they also compare the
similarities and differences
between
Chinese
poems
and
English
poems
when
poets
choose
poetic
images.
In
general, scholars discuss poetic images
from a wide scope.
Besides,
a few of scholars have already researched some
kind of specific images.
For
example,
what
cultural
meaning
the
image
of
snake
reflects
in
English
poems.
And what conception the moon reveals in
Chinese poems, etc. However, few scholars
have compared one image in
Chinese poems
with
another similar image in
English
poems.
This
situation
implies
that
it
is
not
all-sided
for
poetic
image
research
nowadays.
As
birds
in
nature,
the
nightingale
in
English
poems
and
the
cuckoo
in
Chinese
poems
are
great
and
important
bird
images.
Many
scholars
have
studied
respectively
the
two
images.
Some
analyze
the
similarities
and
differences
of
the
cuckoo
image
in
English
culture
and
Chinese
culture.
And
some
just
interpret
the
nightingale image in
“
Ode to a
Nightingale
”
.
However, few researchers compare the
cuckoo in Chinese with the nightingale
in English poems.
After
studied,
it
can
be
seen
that
there
are
some
similarities
and
differences
between them.
They are both grievous images and originate in
mournful legends. But
vi
the nightingale is sometimes regarded
as a joyful image in English poems while the
cuckoo
always
represents
grief
in
Chinese
poems.
Second,
they
have
different
relationship with
poetic scholars.
2.
Significance
of Using Images in Poems
The poetic image is a hot topic in
Chinese and west poetic researchers, and it is a
difficult point in poetry. The poets of
imagism are skillful in using images to create
poems
and
express
their
thoughts.
In
fact,
they
use
Chinese
approach
to
produce
poems for their
reference. As the origin of the theory of poetic
imagery, China has a
key
position
in
producing
poems
via
images.
Poetry
theorists
devote
themselves
to
exploring
poetic
imagery
for
a
long
time.
They
have
accumulated
a
wealth
of
experience of the definition and
function of images, and their efforts finally have
an
answer.
It is an
important means for creating poetic art to form
image, and is an essential
part to
create poetic artistic. But what is an image? An
image refers to that
“it
is
the
language
that
produces
picture
in
the
minds
of
people
reading
or
listening
”
(A.
S.
Hornby,
2004: 877). It is a basic way for poets to show
passion, express thoughts and
sublimate
consciousness.
In brief, an image is
the aid
for poets
to
express
emotion.
When
a
poet
is
in
the
outside
world,
at
this
time,
an
object
in
the
outside
world
arouses a
poet
’
s feelings, how does he
change his feelings into lines? The existence of
image is necessary. It is one way for a
poet to express his feelings.
For the
definition of image, some domestic scholars put
forward their theories.
Ai Qing thinks
that an image is a kind of specific feeling (Yan
Taotao, 2005: 43). Zhu
Guangqian
considers that an image is a shadow which an
object that a poet is aware of
reflecting
in
heart
(Yan
Taotao,
2005:
43).
And
then,
Jiang
Ying
has
quoted
Ezra
Pound, the poet
of imagism
in
America, to
explain
his
viewpoint: An image is
that
which presents an
intellectual and emotional complex in a certain
and short period of
time
(Cong
Zihang,
2007:
188).
Therefore,
the
essence
of
image
can
be
a
thing
in
vii
poetic art which is
in
a
stage of
being stated.
It
is
bestowed with
a poetic
meaning
because of its merging into
poetic art and being described.
Pound
once said, an image has been divided into two
kinds. When it appears in
mind,
at
this
movement,
it
is
subjective
…
;
next,
it
is
objective
…
.
(Ezra
Pound,
1989:15)
In
these
circumstances,
an
image
is
not
just
a
concept.
It
is
a
series
of
thoughts
which
are
mixed
together.
This
theory
shows
the
importance
of
poetic
imagery. And it also
indicates the close relationship between poetic
image and poet
’
s
feelings.
The
function
of
image
in
poems
is
great.
Usually
it
is
regarded
as
a
cell
of
a
poem.
Few
researchers
have
deeply
analyzed
its
function,
so
that
people
pay
little
attention to it, and
they cannot appreciate poems precisely.
With the formation of
images, poets can express their feelings in an
implicit way,
and make abstract
feelings specific to increase the appeal of a
poem. From common
sense people have
known that if a poet hasn
’
t
found a suitable image, no matter how
strong his sentiment is, how deep the
thought is and even how rich the imagination is,
his feelings belong nowhere, like the
duckweed in water. It
’
s
difficult to form a poem.
An image is
the technique of a poem (Jiang Dengke, 1999: 36).
In reality, it is
another way to show a
poet
’
s life and experience.
Poet
’
s life and experience
can be
reflected
via
imagination
in
poems.
In
other
word,
an
image
reflects
all
of
poet
’
s
personality and will. Besides, it is a
combination of poet
’
s
sentiment, realization and
expectation.
The
main
role
of
image
is
to
change
poet’
s
subconsciousness
into
consciousness, in order to be more real
and specific.
Image is an important
factor in poetry. In Chinese and Western poetry,
all kinds
of
images
appear
one
after
another
and
beyond
counting.
But
in
those
images,
the
connotations
of
some
images
in
Chinese
poems
and
in
English
poems
are
similar,
such
as the
“
rose
”
which always symbolizes love or enthusiasm because
of its color.
For example, in Robert
Burns
’
s famous poem,
“
A Red Red
Rose
”
, he had compared
his lover to a red rose; and Yang Wanli
in Song Dynasty had written a poem,
“
Red
Rose
”
,
to
express
romantic
relationship.
However,
some
images
are
completely
different, such
as the
“
west
wind
”
. Because of different
geographic position, people in
viii
countries have
different ideas about west wind. In western
countries, west wind can
bring warm and
wet airstreams and abundant rainfall, so they
usually compose odes to
west wind. But
for Chinese, west wind can cause dry air and a
cloud of dust filled the
whole sky,
thus Chinese people are very evasive about this
topic. This shows that the
connotations
of
poetic
images
in
Chinese
and
Western
poetry
are
either
equal
or
different.
For
example,
Percy
Shelley
had
praised
the
west
wind
in
“
Ode
to
West
Wind
”
,
but
Yan
Shu
’
s
ideas
in
“
Butterflies
in
Love
with
Flowers
”
had
run
directly
counter to
Shelley
’
s:
Last night the western breeze
Blew withered leaves off trees.
I mount the
tower high.
（昨夜西风凋碧树，
独上高楼，
望尽天涯路。
）
（
Xu Yuanchong, Xu
Ming,
2009: 58
）
3. Similarities and Differences of the
Images of Nightingale
in English Poems
and Cuckoo in Chinese Poems
As birds in nature, the nightingale in
English poems and the cuckoo in Chinese
poems
are
great
and
important
bird
images.
When
we
are
talking
about
the
bird
images, necessarily, cuckoo and
nightingale will be around
people
’
s minds, because
they
occur
frequently
in
Chinese
and
English
poems.
Following,
we
will
compare
their similarities and differences
between them.
3.1 Similarities Between the Images of
Nightingale and Cuckoo
Firstly,
let
’
s appreciate several
lines in two examples of poems in Chinese and
English about cuckoo and nightingale.
One is Zheng
Xie
’
s poem:
“
One Evening on a Bridge
over the Brook
”
(
《
溪桥晚
兴》
):
ix