「誠然，時間造就了我們」－－菲利普•拉金的時間觀

Abstract

菲利普•拉金(1922-1985)不只是小說家、文學與爵士樂批評家、以及全職圖書館員，他也是二十世紀最受歡迎的英國詩人之一。本論文的第一章首先簡述拉金的生平，並在重點摘錄過去文學批評家對他的詩學的探討後，推翻過去批評家對拉金的詩中的時間性的錯誤見解。以往的評論普遍認為拉金所有時期的詩都反應著時間的流逝對人的影響，以及人對於無法避免的死亡的恐懼。實際上，時間性在拉金早期、中期、晚期的詩有不同的面貌。他早期的詩著重在過去，中期的詩強調現在，而晚期的詩放眼未來。 第二章藉由分析拉金早期的作品，主要收錄在「少受欺騙者」以及「降靈節婚禮」，以反映拉金早期的詩作常採用文物如果醬、照片、名字、唱片等來呈現時間流逝以及轉瞬的概念。第三章分析拉金中後期的作品。他的詩不再回首過去而是著眼現在。有些詩理性地接受人終將一死，有些詩反應及時行樂的概念，而有些詩強調人應該在有限的生命中創造價值。第四章分析拉金晚期的詩作。邁入晚年，此時拉金對時間性的關注來到未來。許多收錄在最後一本詩集「高窗」中的詩不再執著於個人生命的有限性。反之，此時的詩作樂觀的反應出生命可以在儀式、世代交替、以及自然週期中長存。 在第五章的總結裡，我簡述這篇論文的發現並強調本篇論文的貢獻在於推翻過去批評家對拉金詩中時間性過於精簡且淪於偏差的描述。在批評家們普遍強調拉金詩作裡悲觀、強調死亡的聲浪中，本論文希望能凸顯拉金詩作中樂觀、正向的價值。

A sometime novelist, literary and jazz critic, and full-time librarian, Philip Larkin (1922-1985) was one of the best-loved English poets of the twentieth century. This thesis begins with a chapter summarizing Larkin''s life and past critics'' evaluations of Larkin''s poetic contribution, adopting a focus on temporality to argue against past critics'' general view that the temporality in Larkin''s poetry never changes, the consistent view being that humans are subject to time and only death awaits at the end of one''s life. The three body chapters analyze poems mainly from, but not restricted to, Larkin''s three major collections, The Less Deceived (1955), The Whitsun Weddings (1964), and High Windows (1974), to survey the change in temporality throughout Larkin''s writing career. Chapter II charts Larkin''s early concern about the transience of life expressed in poems that truthfully reflect the passage of time through a range of artifacts. Chapter III reveals that in the middle period of Larkin''s writing career, his focus shifted from the past to the present and the future, with many poems emphasizing the concept of carpe diem and the importance of making meaning of this life. Chapter IV moves on to Larkin''s later concern about the future. Poetry from this period reflects an optimistic view of the continuation of human life through ritual, through the cycle of generations, and through the natural cycle. In the last chapter, Chapter V, I summarize the findings of this thesis and debunk the popular belief that Larkin''s view on life was entirely pessimistic. While some of Larkin''s poems reveal a fear of inevitable death, this respectable poet left the world plenty of poems that remind us of the value of life.