形式与思想的审美变革者:论爱默生心中的理想诗人

The Aesthetic Reformer of Form and Thought:On the Ideal Poet in Emerson's Mind

在技术理性统治下,19世纪的美国呈现出形式僵化、信仰缺失的社会状况。爱默生渴望发挥诗人的审美功用予以拯救:在形式上,爱默生指出诗人可以凭借神圣思想有机统一物质形式,让形式服务于思想的变化。这样一来,理性主义的形式逻辑、科技成果都将归结于诗人的思想内容中,受思想引领。在思想上,爱默生强调诗人的想象力和崇高情感都是受心灵本性的指引,并将其与宗教、伦理紧密相连,从而促使诗歌灵感、上帝启示、伦理法则都归拢于诗人的心灵,让神圣精神重新回到世俗生活中。然而,在实践上,爱默生的“理想诗人”并未取得预期效果,没能切实扭转技术理性下的信仰危机,但其在精神上却给当时的美国注入了一剂强心针。

Under the rule of scientific and technological rationality,the United States in the 19th century showed a social situation of rigid form and lack of faith.Emerson is eager to play the poet's aesthetic function to save.In terms of form,Emerson pointed out that poets can use sacred thoughts to organically unify material forms and let forms serve the change of thoughts.In this way,the formal logic and technological achievements of rationalism will be attributed to and led by the poet's thought.In ideology,Emerson emphasized that the poet's aesthetic imagination and sublime aesthetic emotions both originate from the nature of the soul.They are also closely connected with religion and ethics,so that poetry inspiration,divine revelation,and ethical laws are all fall into the poet's mind,and the sacred spirit returns to the secular life.However,on the practical level,Emerson's“ideal poet”did not achieve the expected results,and failed to effectively reverse the crisis of faith under scientific and technological rationality,but it gave the United States a boost in spirit at that time.