ABriefDiscussionontheOutlookonLifeandDeath

龔玉龍　張華園

【Abstract】Since ancient times，large numbers of poets throughout the world have elaborated their outlook on life and death through their works.Among them are Emily Dickinson and Alfred Tennyson，the outstanding poetess and poet in the 19th century，who have a unique and thorough meditation on life and death.From the comparative analysis of their view on life and death we could extract a good deal of spiritual treasure to provide a scientific guidance for people in modern society.

【Key Words】Emily Dickinson； Alfred Tennyson； outlook on life and death； comparative analysis； spiritual treasure

1.Introduction

In those death-themed poems of Emily Dickinson and Alfred Tennyson，their unique understanding of life and death is crystal clear，and as a kind of spiritual treasure of our human beings，it is significant to explore its value in guiding people in their life.In recent years，the study of the poetry of Emily Dickinson and those of Alfred Tennyson has mushroomed.A series of researches has been conducted from different perspectives.In this paper，much attention was paid to the comparative analysis of the outlook of Emily Dickinson and Alfred Tennyson as well as the significance of their outlook in modern society.

2.The Outlook on Life and Death of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was a quite prolific American poetess，who was obsessed with death.Her outlook on life and death varied from time to time with the change of the social background，her life experience and religious belief.And the change of her view on death went on in a positive direction during her lifetime.Her unique and impressive outlook on life and death can be specifically separated into four different aspects in various periods.Firstly，she regarded death as a fearful destroyer，which was the headstream of all the human bitterness as shown in “Dust Is the Only Secret”.Then in “My River Runs to Thee—”she deemed death as a shelter from miserable life，where people could eventually be free from endless toil and sorrow in the real world.Later on，she looked on death as a way to achieve beauty and perfection of life and at this period she found the real meaning of her life.Finally，she considered death as a threshold to eternity and she eventually realized that life and death were in a circumference.

3.The Outlook on Life and Death of Alfred Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson was also one of the famous Victorian poets，who were obsessed with death.A large number of death-themed poems were written by him and most of them were collected in In Memoriam，a series of 131 elegiac lyrics brought together，composed shortly after the death of his college friend Arthur Hallam.After seventeen years of brooding，it had grown from a personal lament over a particular loss to a philosophical poem on death and immortality，on doubt and faith.No English elegy deals so broadly and so deeply with the ultimate question of life and death.From his death-themed poems，it could be easily seen that Tennysons outlook on life and death has undergone a great change from pessimism to optimism.

For Alfred Tennyson，generally speaking，death comes to him at first with a huge shock，which has almost puzzled his will to go on living during a certain period of time as is shown in “Break，Break，Break”.But progressively，it begins to dawn on him that death is no more than an elegant and placid journey back to his “pilot”.And he eventually can pull himself together to brave the struggle of life.

4.Conclusion

Through the comparative analysis of the outlook on life and death of Emily Dickinson and Alfred Tennyson，we can come to the conclusion that although death is fearful and destructive，a positive view on life and death is extremely important to make our fragile and transient lifes blossom.Besides，we could extract a good deal of spiritual treasure to provide a scientific guidance for people in modern society.Firstly，the courage to face death in our daily life is necessary.Theres no doubt that we have to face the death of friends，relatives and ourselves sooner or later.And there is no need in losing in sorrow and despair.We must take it as it comes so that our own lives will not pass in vain.Secondly，to find the true meaning of our lives is crucial for us to achieve the perfection of life.A clear goal shall be set before we are determined to sail out to the torrent of life so that we will not lose our faith during the miserable and tortuous journey.No matter how hard life will be in the future we shall spare no effort to strive，to seek，to find and not to yield.

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