简论约翰·斯坦贝克小说的诗性语言

On the Poetic Language of Steinbeck's Fiction

斯坦贝克对音乐的爱好以及他深厚的诗歌素养使他在自己的小说创作中有意识地追求语言的诗性特征。他的诗性语言主要体现在小说题目的隐喻性、人物口语的形象哲理性和叙述语言的诗意性等方面。它们对于表达作品的宏大主题、丰富小说文本的肌质功不可没。但在以《烈焰》为代表的某些小说中 ,斯坦贝克对诗性语言的追求达到了极端 ,结果使小说语言显得抽象和做作 ,因而也就失去了诗的美感。

Steinbeck's love for classical music and his profound knowledge in poetry inspire him to pursue the effect of poetic language in his fiction. The poetic language of his fiction is characterized by the allusiveness of the titles of the fiction, the figurativeness and philosophy of the character language and the poetic effect of the narrative language. But sometimes Steinbeck goes to extreme in pursuing the poetic effect as to make his language abstract and pretentious, laking any poetical beauty