后疫情时代视域下的乔叟诗歌

Chaucer’s poetry in a context of post-plague era

乔叟生活在瘟疫最具破坏力的14世纪,一生经历数次黑死病爆发,然而后疫情时代这一特殊历史语境在乔叟诗歌研究中尚未受到足够关注。本文通过探究乔叟诗歌与其时代之间的内在关联,认为一方面乔叟在《坎特伯雷故事》等作品中对瘟疫历史进行了独特的呈现,另一方面瘟疫以其对欧洲社会文化的巨大重塑作用对乔叟的创作产生了形成性影响。将乔叟作品置于中世纪大瘟疫、大转型时期的历史文化语境中解读,可以帮助我们更透彻地理解其诗歌创作的复杂性,同时也能为思考人类社会与疫情之间的关系提供启示。

Plague was never so destructive as in the 14th century when Chaucer lived. Chaucer’s life witnessed repeated outbreaks of Black Death, yet this distinctive context of post-plague era hasn’t been fully addressed by Chaucer researchers. This article argues that on the one hand Chaucer makes unique representations of the plague in his works like The Canterbury Tales,and on the other, Black Death casts a shaping influence on Chaucer’s poetry via its tremendous reshaping of European society and culture. Interpreting Chaucer’s poetry in its historical and cultural context of the post-plague and transition era, we may understand more thoroughly the complexity of Chaucer’s creation and provide thoughts on the interaction between human society and plague.