「肖像東顧」：阿爾弗烈德・丁尼生《國王牧歌》中作為曖昧他者的東方

Abstract

維多利亞時期的桂冠詩人阿爾弗烈德・丁尼生男爵被時人廣泛的視為人民詩人，他的詩在建立英國身份認同上扮演著非常重要的角色。本研究在英國帝國主義的脈絡下檢視丁尼生在其極受歡迎並極有影響力的亞瑟王詩歌《國王牧歌》中如何再現東方。本研究的目的在於推敲丁尼生如何透過他的詩歌在隨著大英帝國擴張而逐漸變得顯著的他者的面前協商出一穩定的英國身份認同。本研究根基於前人對十九世紀帝國主義、東方主義及國族認同的研究。我採用了歷史與政治的研究取徑，企圖將文本放置於適當的參照座標中，並不時援用愛德華・W・薩伊德及荷米・K・巴巴等人的批判理論。本研究首先概論丁尼生詩作中的東方主義，歸納出丁尼生再現東方正面及負面的兩大方式。我接著細讀數首牧歌，討論他們如何對應到這兩種再現東方的模式。本研究發現東方在丁尼生的亞瑟王世界中是一曖昧的他者 —— 當東方做為討論殖民地抗爭與愛爾蘭問題的場域時它被呈現為威脅；至若東方提供實踐英雄主義與靈性復興的機會時則被給予了解救英國本土問題萬靈丹的形象。本研究對詩作的分析揭露了丁尼生與東方及帝國關係是比以往以為的還要複雜，也推翻了《國王牧歌》是帝國樣板文宣的常見迷思。

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the Poet Laureate of the Victorian era, was widely considered “the people’s poet” by his contemporaries. His poetry played a critical role in the formation of English identity at the height of British imperialism, which was closely related to Orientalism. This study examines how Tennyson’s representation of the Orient in his immensely popular and influential Arthurian poem Idylls of the King contributes to the forging of English identity. The purpose of this study is to interrogate how Tennyson through his poetry negotiates a coherent English identity in face of cultural otherness, which became more visible concurrently with the expansion of the British Empire. This thesis is built on previous studies on nineteenth-century imperialism, Orientalism and national identity. I adopt a historical and political approach with the intention of understanding the poetry in its literary frame of reference, while from time to time recoursing to critical theories, especially those of Edward W. Said and Homi K. Bhabha. The study begins with an overview of Tennyson’s Orientalism, arguing that Tennyson represents the Orient in two different ways: one positive, the other negative. I then perform close readings of several idylls, discussing how they correspond to the two modes of representation. The study discovers that the Orient serves as an ambivalent Other in Tennyson’s Arthuriad: The Orient is represented as a threat when it serves as an arena for discussion about colonial rebellions and the Irish Question, whereas when the Orient offers a chance for heroism and spiritual revival, it is represented as a solution to the problems back in Britain. Analysis of the poem reveals that Tennyson’s relation with the Empire and the Orient is more complicated than commonly thought, and therefore I argue against the common myth that Idylls of the King is an imperial propaganda.