诗人、超灵与“解救万物的诸神”——爱默生论莎士比亚及其内在悖论

Poet,Oversoul and"Liberating Gods":Emerson's Reading of Shakespeare and Its Intrinsic Paradox

19世纪美国思想家爱默生对莎士比亚的持续关注,既不是出于猎奇或盲目崇拜心理,也不是纯粹文学批评意义上的作家作品研究,而是为了阐述和建构其超验主义哲学体系,归根结底是一种哲学和意识形态话语,并服务于美国国家利益。在爱默生评论和建构莎士比亚形象过程中有两大关键问题:一个是探究莎士比亚何以成为莎士比亚的奥秘,另一个则是其如何让每个美国读者都成为莎士比亚的雄心。此两种情怀无不与爱默生的超验主义哲学立场息息相关。

Ralph Waldo Emerson's continual reading of Shakespeare is driven neither by pure curiosity or Romantic bardolatry,nor merely an aesthetic pursuit,but a tireless effort to develop and elaborate his transcendental ideas.At its core,his reading constitutes part of the 19th century American ideological discourse,thus serving America's national cultural interest in the long run.There are two keys to understanding Emerson's criticism on Shakespeare:One is his inquiry into how Shakespeare became Shakespeare and the other is his ambition to discover"Shakespeare the Poet"in every American's inner self.By putting Emerson's reading strategy against the 19th century American cultural politics,this paper argues that Emerson's ambivalent and sometimes paradoxical attitudes towards Shakespeare is deeply rooted in the American transcendental movement itself.