TheDevelopmentofIdeaNaturefromAncientClassicismtoNeoclassicism-最新文档

1、The Development of Idea “Nature” from Ancient Classicism to Neoclassicism:What ancient classicism,Renaissaneeneoclassicismand the eightee nthcen tury Neoclassicism, share in com monis that their premises and fun dame ntal aims bel ong to something classical. There are many ideas and propositions sha

2、red by those represe ntatives in literary criticism.Their expla nati on and expo unding of Nature can be categorized as such an example. But of course, they also exte nd their theories by add ing new eleme nts, which show the con ti nuance and developme nt from former phases. This thesis will an aly

3、ze how those represe ntatives from the three periods embody herita nee and con ti nuance of idea Nature in their critical theories.In a broad sense, from ancient classicism toRenaissance neoclassicism and then to the eighteenthcentury Neoclassicism, what the critics share in commoris that their prem

4、ises and fun dame ntal aims expressed in their literary critical works are all to some exte nt related to someth ing classical. Then what is classical? Though a comprehensive term, when applied to historical terms, itmeans the prin ciples and values that characterize the art and thought of the an ci

5、e nt Greece, and also the later attitudes and developme nt in western culture, which are obviously and directly in flue need by thoseprin ciples andvalues (W.J.Bate 3). There are many ideas and propositions shared by those representativesin literary criticism. Butof course, they also develop their t

6、heories by add ing new elements, which are distinctlydifferent from theories informer phases.Here I trace and expound the idea “ Nature ” expressed in works of Aristotle, Horace, Longinus, Sir Philip Sidney, Boileau, Joh n Bryde n, who are represe ntatives of an cie nt classicism, Ren aissa nee n eo

7、classicism and the late 17th-middle 18th century Neoclassicism. These critics not only form their own expla natio n or defi niti on of the idea of Nature, but also embody heritance and continuance of Nature in their critical theories. In all, until the middle 18th century, the three phases of critic

8、al theories present a continuous development.In an cie nt classicism, critics basically con sider Nature as an object of imitati on, the persisti ng or objective form in uni verse. The represe ntatives areAristotle, Horace and Longinus,Aristotle s Poetics is the first extant treatise on poetry in th

9、e western world and it is not on ly the most important work in the ancient classics, but also has great influence on the literary criticism history. Particularly critics in Renaissanee and early 18th century took Poetics as a guide for literary criticism. In Poetics Aristotle does n t give an explic

10、it defi niti on or specific expla natio n about what is Nature. He shows his idea ofNature in the process of expo unding the idea of poetry. He considers that poetry is the imitation,but differentiatesfrom Plato s opinion that poetry is only the copies or appearances, far removed from reality. Arist

11、otle believes that the poet s imitati on is such a process that poets take the form from the Nature and reshape it to produce a ki nd of moral purpose,“ through pity and fear effect ing theproper purgation of these emotions. ” (Aristotle 5) In chapter IV of poetics, Aristotle expla ins that poetry i

12、n gen eral has sprung from two causes the in st inct of imitation,and the instinet of harmony. Aristotle takes thepersisti ngforms (e.g. various objects in the uni verse) andgen eral truth (e.g. through imitatio n man lear ns hisearliest less on), as the model of the imitatio n and reproduce or rema

13、ke it with“n atural gift developed bydegrees their special aptitude ” (3) into a new harmony, one of which is the birth of poetry. The poet uses this principle to prevent abused imitation, and to produce ultimate form of Nature. I n this sen se, the poet is both an imitator and creator. He imitates

14、Nature by mea ns of being a Maker. So for Aristotle, Nature is reality, the source of Art, the object of imitati on, and through imitati on by means of being a maker to bring Nature to a completion.Ano ther represe ntative of classicism is Horace. Amain thread goes through Horace s Art of Poetry is

15、about Nature, Art and their relati on shipin poem s creati on. Hesucceeds Aristotles idea that poetry is imitation, buthis in terpretatio n of imitatio n not on ly recog ni zes the importa nee of imitati ng Nature, but also emphasizes the Arts in imitatio n(Adam 67). I n Art of Poetry, Horace expla

16、ins the con cepti on of Nature, mai nly in two aspects: first, it means the commorthing,the truthful life in thereal world. In his opinion, the poemshould take materialsfrom world, Nature. Takereal life and mannersas hismodel of writing,as the source and fountain of the writing,draw the Ianguage tha

17、t will see like that of real life from com mon places and n atural world. This is also his main idea of Nature. While duri ng the process of imitati ng Nature, the poet must take careof and obey certa in lawsand rulesof Art, because guided by Art, the poet can produce decorum in poems, can avoid fau

18、lts by seem ing visi on of art, such as aiming as smooth ness, but rather faili ng of sinew and spirit, i ntending the grand style, but bombastic (Horace1); because guided by Art, poets can make the com mon materials mold ing of poems placed and orga ni zed in order and arrangement, to show the dign

19、ity; because guided by artistically skills, the poem coming from real life, commonplaces will characters vividness, plot beauty and values, and draw reader more attention rather than let them say “devoid of substanee, more truthful trifles ”(6). So Horace suggests lett ing the imitatio n of Nature c

20、oalesce with the law of the Art. With regard to the old quotati on“ whether a praise worthy poem is the creati on of Natureof Art. ” His answer is “so muchdoes each ask of the order and swear eternal allianee” (8).To Horace, Nature alsomeans a n ative gift, an inborn en dowme nt give n by God. Hesay

21、s,“ It was the Greeks who had at the Muse s hand then ative gift, the Greeks who had the uttera nee of fini shed grace, for their sole gr eed in ess was for glory. ” (7) Sueh as Homer, who is endowed with great gift, employs his great in bor n, n atural abilities to compose those great works.This ki

22、nd of gift, due to its preciousness,which is ownedby rare people, is“ someth ing happier tha n poorrules ofart ” (6). According to Democitus, so some instanee, sec on d-rate poets, who n either men nor gods nor bookstore will attach any value to him, would neither shorten nails, beards, nor bath in

23、order to win the regards and name of poets. But even though this kind of gifts of is important, the writ ing of poem is still in n eed of the study ing the rules and laws of art,“ whe nee the wealth of matter isgained , what nurtures and forms the poet, what becomeshim and what not, what is the resu

24、lt of right doing and of wrong. ” (7)In the treatise concerning sublimity, Longinus gives the idea of Nature in his expla nati on of how to get to the Sublimity. Directed against the idea hold by somebody that“ all who would bring such terms (sublimity) un dertechnical ru les to be entirelymistaken.

25、 ” (Longinus 3) and“ Genius (the ability of acquiri ng sublimity) is in bred, not taught; there is one art for the things of geni us, to be born with them. ” (3) He confutes that “in a sense all great ness is exposed to a dan ger of its own, it left to itself without scienee to control.” (4) So does

26、 Nature.“ Nature, a law to herself as she mostly in all that is passi on ate and lofty. ” (3)“ She is in deed herself thefirst and originating principles which underlines all things. ” (4) Nature lik e a horse, also needs bit. Only Nature is controlled, is trained, can greatness be achieved. “ yet i

27、s so creature of ran dom impulsedelighting in more absenee of method,” (4)“yet rules ofdegree, of fitti ng occasi on, of unerring practice, and of application can be determined by method and are its contribution.” (4) Only Nature combining with scienee ofcontrol can achieve the sublimity and the gre

28、atness. Here Longinus makes a metaphor by appl ying to literature.“ Nature fills the place of good fortune, Art of goodcounsel. ” (4) As to their place, he points out Nature and Art complete each other. Neither of them is more important than ano ther. Here, for Longinus, Nature is the outset, basis;

29、 Art is no Ion ger the imitatio n of Nature, but asindependence, which guides and restrainsNature toward theopposite.“ That of all good things the great ness is goodcoun sel, and what where the latter is wanting, the former is at once can celled.”（4） In expo unding the relati onbetwee n Nature and A

30、rt, Longinus displays some similarities with Aristotle in that with order and law. Art improves Nature , complete Nature. But their conception of Nature differs much. For Aristotle, Nature is the source imitated, reshaped by Art in certa in order. But in Concerning Sublimity, Longinus expla ins Natu

31、re as greatness of man s soul gained by imitationand emulationof previous great poets and writers. In Chapter VIII, from the source of Sublimity,Longinus expo unds that sublimityis unit of Nature, which contains the faculty of grasp ing great conceptions, thoughts and ideas and an inspired and vehem

32、e nt passi on, and of thought and dicti on, the n oble phraseology and dig ni fied and spirited compositi on. And due to this sublimity contained by great poetry and produce beautiful and genius effects“w hich please always andplease all. ”But a poet who owns the force of div in ity is not satisfied

33、 with such a direct subjecti on to Nature likeother artists, he extracts the esse nee of the First Nature and elevates with his in spired inten ti on onto Ano therNature, to bring forth new forms such as “never in Nature, as the Heroes, Demigods, Cyclopes, Chimeras, Furies and such like. ” (Sidney 4

34、). Poets bring forth the First Nature a very rich tapestry the First Nature can t achieve. Atthe same time, poets not on ly en dow his characters, e.g.Cynus, so right a prince in Xenopho s works, not only a particular excellency, as the First Nature might have done, but also to draw the un iversalit

35、y from Cynus, to bestowCynus as an archetype to produce manyCynuses. In this sense, Nature means universality,archetype renewed and elevatedfrom the God-madeNature. Thus Nature gains a more general pattern in meanings. This second Nature possesses such a universal truth as to be considered as a guid

36、e, a consultant in the Art.By the close of the 17th cen tury, n eoclassic theoryattained its most complete form and lasted until the middle of the 18th cen tury. This third phase is more in clusive, pen etrati ng and atta in a large ness of outlook and huma n applicability. Neoclassical theory, on o

37、ne hand, brings the mind back to classical legacy in ancient Greece, todiscover fun dame ntal aims and values; on the other hand,neoclassicaltheory gains further developments and endowsit with new meanin gs, and new characteristics.Nicholas Boileau Despreaux is one of mostin flue ntial critic in Fre

38、nch n eoclassicism and his Art ofPoetry is read as a codificati on of French n eoclassicism.Boileau and his theory produce a great in flue neeupon bothFrench and English writers, and critics in Neoclassicism period. In the Art of Poetry Boileau tells several principles in the composition of literatu

39、re. But above all, he emphasizes the good sense, the reason to be the guiding in whatever you write “ Never deviate from Nature ” (Boileau9). Because Boileau thinks that the good, the reas on is the first prin ciple, he says,“Love reas on ;letall that you write borrow both its luster and its worth f

40、rom her alone. ” To explain this, he takes the application of rhyme, for example, “ In writi ng poetry, from the outsetyou should accustom your mind; apply the good sense, though taking great efforts to search for the right rhyme” (1).Once you have always good sense to guide you, then “rhyme bends w

41、illing to the yoke of reason(1)” , just as theslave s duty is to obe y. Follow Nature, more in thedirecti onof good sen se,“ If you swerve from it a little,you ll be finished ” (1). Nature means good sense, the reas on. To follow Nature, means to always keep the good sense, avoid these excesses. Don

42、 t furnish your descriptionof subject with useless details. Keep the stylesimple and artistic and agreeable rather than let pride and artificiality to sullen your work. Let the sense put word sets in the right place and mark the final caesura. In Canto II, Boileau says that in compos ing poetry and

43、son gs, both good sense and Art are necessary. But how to gain Art?Boileau proposes to imitate the classical writers to imitate Nature, to learn from Homer. To follow an cie nt writers such as Theocritus and Virgil, and their graceful delic ate writ in gs,“ only their lear ned verses can teachyou an

44、 author s art of coming down to earth without vulgarity. ” (4) The art how to sing of Flora, field of Pomona, orchards; how to stir two shepherds into flute combat, sing the sweat lure of love, changes Narcissus into a flower, cover Daphne with bark; and art by which sometimes the eclogue stillmakes

45、 countryside and woods worthy of theconsul, comes from their profound love and keen perceptions for any wide kno wledge of Nature. So try to get passi ons and rapture from Nature, and love Nature, emerge yourself into Nature. So it is not eno ugh to have a good sen se, reas on to guide you in writi

46、ng, one must have the love for great Nature, so Boileau says, “ Yet if these blessed caprices are to be well expressed, it is not eno ugh to be a poet, one must be alover. ”(4) Let s combine reason and sen sibility together to produce great works.The expla nati on of Nature reflects the agreeme nt o

47、fBoileau with that of the ancient classics. They both think that Nature is real n atural world and the truthful life, all these matters being imitated by poets, artists. In his the Art of Poetry, Boileau s idea of Nature really is a more thorough and comprehensive one. Besides meaning reas on, n atu

48、ral world and truthful life, it also in cludes ano ther tier of meaning the huma n n ature. Whe n he talksabout the hero, the character, he insists that the hero should be a round character rather than those wonderful, flawless heroes of roma nee,“ give the great hearts a fewweakness. ” (7) Beca use

49、 this is the human nature that no person is absolutely perfect. Those flaws, little fault of character just represe nt the huma n n ature and mark the character. Just like Hamlet in Shakespeare, he isconsidered as an archetype due to his weakness and his flaws in his character to speak truth of human nature, so Hamlet gains the approbatio n for the time being and forever.Boileau takes“Achilles ” , for example“would beunsatisfasctory if he were