The Scientific Rationalism in James Thomsons The Seasons开题报告

1. 研究目的与意义

By studying JamesThomson''s poems, we can recognize that his acceptance of the philosophy ofscientific rationalism directly influenced his poetic art. Judging from thepast, science appears to provide the poet with new materials and inspirations.This paper especially studies the scientific rationalism in Thomson''s mostfamous long poem The Seasons, and it can let people better understand hisrelation to the romantic treatment of nature in 18th century''s literature andlater. This is the reason why I choose to study the scientific rationalism inJames Thomson''s The Seasons.

2. 研究内容和预期目标

James Thomson makes use of plentiful scientific theoriesand truths in The Seasons, which aretransfigured by his imagination; meanwhile, passages embracing these evidencesare cautiously blended into the overall structure of the poem.

3. 国内外研究现状

The Mid-Eighteenth-Century longpoem is best and in greatest complexity represented by James Thomson#8217;s The Seasons. Since the time of its firstpublication in 1730, it has enjoyed enduring popularity. The Seasons is ostensiblysimple and thematically available to almost any level of reader. Beyond thissurface accessibility, however, TheSeasons consists of an unexpected internal and thematic complexity. Accordingto Douglas Grant, Thomson was introduced to some Newtonian ideas by RobertStewart, who #8220;slowly discarded Cartesianism and became a cautious convert toNewtonianism#8221;. Grant supposes that Stewart#8217;s #8220;lectures must have sown some ofthe seeds of James Thomson#8217;s deep interest in the modern scientific andphilosophic changes which were altering man#8217;s whole conception of hisuniverse#8221;. Likewise, Walter H. Keithley hails Thomson as a dedicatedproponent of Newton, and labels him a Newtonian. He argues that the generalstatus of The Seasons as anaffirmation of contemporary science is verified both by textual content and bythe historical development of Thomson#8217;s revisions to the work. William PowellJones, who is expert at poems of 18^th century, makes declarationthat James Thomson in his eclectic manner put a considerable amount of scienceinto the numerous revisions of TheSeasons, and much of it naturally ran to color in the natural history bothof the English landscape and of the exotic scenery from travel books. Also, PhilipConnell asserts The Seasonsis replete with allusions to the contemporary natural sciences and theirexperimental technologies, from the teeming realm of microscopic life, tometeorology, optical refraction, and the mysterious operations of gravitationalforce. Ralph Cohen argues that Thomson#8217;s unifying vision #8220;is that God#8217;s loveand wisdom, only fragmentarily perceptible in the beautiful and dangerousaspects of man and nature, will become fully perceptible in a future world.Thomson#8217;s #8216;vision#8217; evokes sentiments of beauty, sublimity, benevolence, fearand anxiety so that the reader may be led to believe in, to love, to trust, andto fear God#8217;s power#8221;. Jessie Leatham Wirkus holds that one of the key modes ofThomson#8217;s religious didacticism is the incorporation into The Seasons of many scientific discoveries of his day, which to hismind help to proclaim the goodness of the creator and glorify his works. Inthis way, Thomson#8217;s poems resemble to a degree other physico-theological poemswritten before The Seasons and inspired more thereafter.

Thescientific rationalism is a significant component of James Thomson#8217;s The Seasons. When we study Thomson#8217;spractice of his poetic ideas, as revealed in The Seasons, we see immediately that the scientific movementgreatly influences his attitude toward Nature as a theme for poetry. Thomson#8217;s assessmentand actuation of Newton#8217;s philosophy is nothing but an informed evaluation ofthe merits of science based on information spread within the public sphere.

4. 计划与进度安排

introduction

1. scientific rationalism inthe content of the seasons

5. 参考文献

cohen, michael. #8220;jamesthomson and the prescriptive sublime.#8221; southcentral bulletin, vol. 40, no. 4, 1980, pp.138-141.

cohen, ralph. #8220;spring:the love song of james thomson.#8221; texasstudies in literature language, vol. 11, no. 3, 1969, pp. 1107-1182.

connell, philip. #8220;newtonian physico-theology and the varieties of whiggism injames thomson''s the seasons.#8221; huntingtonlibrary quarterly, vol. 72, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1-28.