美国印象主义文学思想三维解析

Three-Dimensional Analysis of American Impressionist Literary Thought

1968年“印象主义文学研讨会”引发了印象主义文学批评,也推动了印象主义文学思想体系的建构。在哲学维度上,休谟将人类心智感知分为印象和理念的思想被佩特继承和发展,加以超验主义思潮的影响,形成了“完全在感觉流中建构现实”的思想。在艺术维度上,印象主义文学思想借鉴了印象主义绘画的核心理念,凭借“色与光”来把握现实,并强调印象的主观性瞬间性。在文学维度上,坚信现实的主观性,认为文学作品是“印象”,这一思想肯定了美国印象主义文学的存在和重大意义,将詹姆斯和克莱恩等重要作家明确归入印象主义文学旗下。作为印象主义作家,詹姆斯坚信印象是艺术创作的媒介,而克莱恩受“写真主义”影响,认为文学创作是对视觉印象的追求。

The “Symposium on Literary Impressionism” held in 1968 triggered the impressionist literary criticism, which pushed forward the systematic construction of the impressionist literary thought. In the philosophical dimension, thanks to Walter Pater, who inherited and developed Hume’s thought that perceptions of the human mind resolve themselves into impressions and ideas, and under the influence of transcendentalism, the idea of “constructing reality completely in the flow of senses” was adopted by the literary impressionists. In the artistic dimension, the impressionist literary thought borrowed the core concept of impressionist painting, namely, grasping reality through “color and light”, with an emphasis on the subjectivity and temporality of impressions. In the literary dimension, it is the core of the literary impressionist thought that reality is subjective and that literary works are just “impressions”. At the same time, American impressionist literature and their significance are recognized and affirmed. Some important writers such as Henry James and Stephen Crane are categorized under the banner of literary impressionism. As an impressionist writer, Henry James firmly took impressions as the medium of literary creation. Stephen Crane was influenced by “veritism” and pursued visual impressions in his literary creation.