《燃毁的诺顿》：“时间现在”的救赎和沉沦——艾略特《四个四重奏》重读

Burnt Norton:The Redemption and Fall of Time Present:A Re-reading of Eliot's Four Quarttes

一个时期以来,人们对艾略特《四个四重奏》的文本理解多有错谬。该诗四首分别是对现在、过去、未来及时间整体的救赎问题的思想与体悟,《燃毁的诺顿》则集中于“时间现在”。也许人曾拥有过“静止点”的永恒性时间,但罪使人堕落入“不健康的肺”般的现在,在过去与未来的夹缝中沉沦,没有得救的希望,人不能通过时间征服时间,求助于将时间心灵化以及艺术,也都于事无补。现在已成了“可笑的消费了的悲伤时间”,可人们对此却还茫然不觉。

For a long period, there is much misunderstanding of Eliot＇s important work Four Quarttets. The four poems are, respectively, the reflection and intuition of the redemption problem of four parts, namely, the present, past, future and the whole of time. And ＂ Burnt Norton＂ focuses on the time present： Perhaps man ever possessed the eternal time of ＂ the static point＂. However, sin has caused man to descend into the time ＂present＂ as the ＂unwholesome lungs＂ sink into the crevice of past and future, and have no hope to be redeemed. Man cannot conquer time through time, and it is of no help to resort to literature or to make time conscious. The time ＂present＂ has become the ＂ the ridiculous sad time being consumed＂, but people have not realized it yet.