Analysis of the Images of Nightingale in English Poems and Cuckoo in Chinese Poems.doc

analysis of the images of nightingale in english poems and cuckoo in chinese poemsabstractfor 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 nightingales symbolized meaning and emotional tone. key words: poetic image; nightingale; cuckoo, differences and similarities摘要无论是对英诗，还是对汉诗来说，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contentsacknowledgements.iiabstract (english).iiiabstract (chinese).iv1. introduction.12. significance of using images in poems.23. similarities and differences of the images of nightingale in english poems and cuckoo in chinese poems.43.1 similarities between the images of nightingale and cuckoo.43.1.1 coming from grievous legends53.1.2 symbolizing the sad feelings73.2 differences between the images of nightingale and cuckoo9 3.2.1 the happy image of nightingale.10 3.2.2 the different relationship between the images and the schools.11 4. conclusion.13bibliography.141. introductionin 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 poets 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 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 poemsthe 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 poets 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 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 poets 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 hasnt 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. its 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 poets life and experience. poets life and experience can be reflected via imagination in poems. in other word, an image reflects all of poets personality and will. besides, it is a combination of poets sentiment, realization and expectation. the main role of image is to change poets 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 burnss 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 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 shus ideas in “butterflies in love with flowers” had run directly counter to shelleys: last night the western breezeblew 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 poemsas 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 peoples 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 cuckoofirstly, lets appreciate several lines in two examples of poems in chinese and english about cuckoo and nightingale.one is zheng xies poem: “one evening on a bridge over the brook”(溪桥晚兴): at sunset on the stream leisurely i stand alone(一川晚照人闲立), to hearmid willowdown cuckoos home-going song(满袖杨花听杜鹃).(cao shunfa, 2007: 58)although this poem describes the scene in spring, it betrays the poets loneliness. the poem is written after the poet loses his country as a conquered minister. it shows the poets tormenting sadness and loneliness. in the last sentence, cuckoos sad singing causes the poets sentimental feeling after hearing it. the other is an english poem: “the nightingale” written by samuel taylor coleridge: and hark! the nightingale begins its song most musical, most melancholy bird! but some night-wandering man whose heart was pierced with the remembrance of a grievous wrong, or slow distemper, or neglected love, he, and such as he, first named these notes a melancholy strain. (samuel, t. c, h. nicholas, 2003: 83)“the nightingale” was created in april, 1798. it describes that the poet, his friend and friends sister sat together to have a rest. the poet heard nightingales song. it reminds him of nightingales being called “previous bird”.if the reader has read a lot of chinese and english poems, he can know that there are at least two similarities between the two images, both of them coming from grievous legends and both of them symbolizing the sad feelings.3.1.1 coming from grievous legendsthe cuckoo, translated into chinese, is called dujuan. it has other names, such as duyu, zigui, zijuan, etc. its call always invokes literary mens sorrow. in chinese literature, there are several different versions of the legend of cuckoo. among these versions, one folk version is as follows: it is said that once there were a couple of youngers who both loved each other very much. one day, the man died suddenly, and then the woman couldnt accept this cruel fact. she had a tearful face every day. eventually she could not dismiss the suffering from her mind and became a cuckoo. when spring arrived, she flew from east to west, south to north, without distinction between day and night. her call was extremely sorrowful as if she was complaining tearfully for the mans suffering.there is another tale which is the most popular. duyu, the king of shu, was called wang emperor. someone said there would be flood in shu. one minister did a deed of merit in hewing wu mountain to regulate rivers and water courses. wang emperor thought he did little merits and virtues, therefore he abdicated the throne to that minister, but retired to west mountain. afterwards, he turned into a cuckoo. from the two tales above, it can be concluded that cuckoo is a sad and dreary image in chinese.meanwhile, in english poems, about nightingale, there also is a tragic legend.once upon a time, pandion, the king of ancient greece, had two beautiful daughters: procne and philomela. because the king of thrace, tereus, had helped pandion in a war, procne fell in love with him and became his queen. then they had a son, named itys. however, when philomela went to visit her sister, she was raped by tereus. in order to disguise his scandalous behavior, tereus severed philomelas tongue and imprisoned her into a castle in a forest. a poet in ancient rome, ovid continued this story in “metamorphoses” like this: philomela who was full of worries and indignation couldnt say a word, so she just wove her misfortune into a piece of brocade, and then sent it to her sister via a servant. angry procne saved her in a night. for the purpose of being revenged on tereus, procne killed her and tereuss son itys, so that tereus lost the successor to his throne. furthermore, procne cooked ityss flesh as a dish to tereus. when tereus knew this fact, he flew into a rage from shame and drew his sword to hunt down the sisters. in greek legend, procne changed into a nightingale, uttering sad calls for her son everyday. philimela changed into a swallow, intermittently narrated her sorrow.the plaintive tone of this story infused a saddened emotional keynote into the image of nightingale. in english, “philomela” is a name of princess of ancient greece. besides, it also means “sweet tone”. in english poetry, there are plenty of poems according to this legend. for example, the poet, matthew arnold in 19th century, wrote his best lyric poem by means of using it for reference, “philomela” (夜莺) which enjoys great popularity.in brief, the nightingale in english poems and the cuckoo in chinese poems can be a symbol of grief because they have rich and generous implication, but not by chance.3.1.2 symbolizing the sad feelingsat the beginning, still some extracts from two poems are selected to appreciate and compare.one is li chongyuans “recalls the descendants of princes”(忆王孙): luxuriant grass reminds me of my roving mate. in vain my heart breaks in willow-shadd tower high. “better go home!” how could i bear the cuckoos cry!（萋萋芳草忆王孙，柳外高楼空断魂，杜鹃声声不忍闻。）（gu zhengyang, 2006: 154）this is a poem which describes a ladys sentiment of departing with her lover. the poet uses the “cuckoo” to show intense sentiment. the lady extremely expects her lovers return, but it cannot be done. this is a kind of deeply sad feeling.the other is “philomela” written by matthew arnold: hark! ah, the nightingale the tawny-throated! hark, from that moonlit cedar what a burst! what triumph! hark! -what pain! (palgrave, f. t, 1928: 425) in this poem, arnold combines english tradition and greek legend. although the nightingales song is beautiful and nice, it is desolate. this shows that its sadness never fades away, and the atmosphere usually is dreary.the cuckoo is seen as a mournful bird, and the symbol of grief. for hundreds of years, the image of cuckoo has been adopted by poets. its calls remind poets of many things, such as homesickness. when travelers hear cuckoos calls, they naturally recall their hometown, which makes them be filled with the sorrows of parting. for example, in the poem “lin jiang xian”（临江仙）of zhu dunru, the poet described the feeling that after his country was conquered and his family ruined, with strong homesickness, he had not returned his native place and reunited with families for 14 years.besides, there are still many poems reflecting the homesickness by using this image, such as “thinking of the native place”（忆故园）of gu kuang, “lines”（杂诗）of a poet in tang dynasty, etc.meanwhile, cuckoo will display other sentimental mood. in a poem of bai juyi, “the song of a guitar”（琵琶行）, there are two sentences: “and what is to be heard here, morning and evening? - the bleeding cry of cuckoos, the whimpering of apes”（其间旦暮闻何物，杜鹃啼血猿哀鸣。）.（gu zhengyang, 2006: 14）the author used the image of cuckoo to express his misery for demotion and sentiment for having unrecognized his talents. then, in “the ornamental zither”（锦瑟）of li shangyings, the poet described his mourning for his dead wife. and in “the stories of stone”（红楼梦）, when lin daiyu thinks of the passage of her youth and her situation, she chants the “song of the burial of flower”（葬花吟）by using the cuckoo to indicate her desolate mood: “the cuckoo ceases its warbling