AComparativeStudyonTaoYuanmingandWilliamWordsworth

【Abstract】Tao Yuanming and Wordsworth are supposed to be the forerunners of nature poetry in China and Britain. They make an epoch-making contribution to the world literature and their works are precious treasures of the whole world. This paper aims at the comparative study on Tao Yuanming and William Wordsworth in different aspacts， laying the possible foundation for the future culture teaching.

【Key words】Tao Yuanming； Wordsworth； nature； poety

【作者簡介】吉冰冰，河南检察职业学院。

Ⅰ. Literary Backgrounds

Chinese poet Tao Yuanming lived in a time with multi-culture colliding and constructing. The Metaphysicism was prevailed in the literature field and the Buddhism was promoted widely， while the Confucianism had lost its firmly status for the time being. Most of the writers at that time led an extravagant and degenerated life and turned to Metaphysics to find shelter， or chose to escape from the reality. So the natural poetry was gradually becoming prevalent. TaoYuanmings poems were original and creative， paving a way for the latecomers to return to nature. Hu Shi， a famous writer in the contemporary time in China， had praised that “Tao Yuanmings poetry is a great revolution in the literary history. He swept away all the polished language and ornate style at that time.” Indeed， Tao Yuanming achieved the highest peak of the poetry in Wei and Jin Dynasty.

Collaborated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge， Wordsworth also aroused a revolution in literature， by leading the Romanticist Movement. In the eighteenth century in Europe， poetry was eclipsed by prose. The theme of poetry was tailored to the courts and nobles liking. It seemed that poetry only served aristocratic tastes and expressed poets sentiments which had nothing to do with common life. This became the trend of poetry at that time. Wordsworth reacted against the stagnant poetic diction and limited themes of neo-classicism and started the new literary tradition of romanticism， by glorying the natural world and using the simple language of common people.

Ⅱ. The Two Poets Outlooks of Nature

Nature is the common interest of Tao Yuanming and Wordsworth. The glory of lakes and mountains， the wonder of the fairy world and the splendor of peoples life all become the fountainheads of their inspiration. They write lots of great nature poems during their life. As the great poets of nature， they are the first to find words for the most elementary phenomenon. However， the two poets with different ideas and styles give the readers different kinds of appreciation of nature.

In Tao Yuanmings view， nature is a symbol of freedom. Nature is a way for him to escape from the secular world and to regain the freedom. This kind of freedom is a perfect state of humans internal world， i.e. people is totally carefree in their soul. What is more important， the so-called nature by Tao Yuanming is the original human nature rather than the objective and material one we-called. So as a matter of fact his returning to nature means that he hopes to keep his pure nature and naive character， just like a tree or a bird living freely in nature. In this point， he is distinct from Wordsworth.

In Wordsworths eyes， nature is not only the charming view sight but also contains the universal spirit and the outstanding divinity， so there is a religious color in his poems. He realizes that nature leads him to a compass beyond nature， i.e. the eternal pursuits of truth， kindness and beauty. So through his probing into the relationship among human， nature and divinity， he tries to find an ideal world with glorifying human nature. In addition， nature is also the symbol of reason， which is different from the Rationalism in the eighteenth century. Combined with the almighty God， nature can become humans firm belief and console humans spirit and soul through her harmonious trait and eternal power. Furthermore， nature has human characters as well. Nature， the inhabitation of all the living things， is realistic and inhabitable.

Ⅲ. Writing Styles and Principles

The choice of subject and matter， themes and language is similar for Tao Yuanming and Wordsworth. Both of them choose nature as their eternal topic and ordinary people who live in close touch with her as their subject. In addition， they both try to use the simplest language to express their emotions.

The distiction lies in that Tao Yuanming likes to choose the most common views， such as cottages and farms， chicken and dogs， trees and flowers to express his feelings. While Wordsworth gives more emphasis on reminiscences of his own childhood and youth， because he considers that poetry is recollected in tranquility by men of deep feeling and much thought. What is more， Tao Yuanming not only sings high praise of nature， but also attends the farm work by himself. So nature in his poems is much more realistic and vivid. In contrast， though he lives on the farm， Wordsworth leads a life with the aid of his friends and the subsidy of government. Therefore， he is not truly a part of nature. As an observer， he describes nature and her people just out of his emotions and imaginations. In the true sense， Wordsworth is parted with nature as an individual.

Generally speaking， Tao Yuanmings diction is much simpler， for he likes to use exact and common words. His poems like lotuses out of the clear water， simple but agreeable， whereas Wordsworth believes that the main function of poetry is to give the charm of novelty to subject of everyday life， and between the feeling and the word there is a process of mediation. Thus， with his colorful imagination， he often applies Trope and Personification to describe his impressions for the subjects.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

In the world literature， Tao Yuanming and Wordsworth are both representatives of great poets of nature. Although they come from different countries and belong to different times， they have a lot in common. They are great master hands in describing nature and her nearest people， only by using of simple diction. However， they have different ways to express their love for nature. This thesis aims at probing the similarities and differences between the the two poets， which can make readers get a clear mind of similarities and differences of their nature poetry and even come to know the differences between Chinese literature and Western literature.

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