Dialogue, Balance And Transcend

Seamus Heaney is considered as one of the greatest Irish poets after William Butler Yeats and James Joyce in the20th century. His main publications, up till now, amount to12poetry collections,4critical essays collections, and11translations. He has been awarded many world-level prizes, the biggest of which undoubtedly is the Noble Literature Prize in1995."For works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past" commented by Royal Swedish Academy is also the incisive reason for his winning.This dissertation aims to study Heaney as a whole, involving his life, poetry, translation as well as his poetics, philosophy and his nationality identity. Multination, decenter and fragmentation are some factors to featurize the postmodernist context. Due to the rapid development of electronic media, postmodernist culture becomes accordingly the platform owned and shared by the public with highly complanation. From the perspective of time and space, Heaney’s interaction with reality, history, tradition and with the society and the whole world, account for much the wholeness of Seamus Heaney as a phenomenon and latitude. And just because of this, he is also identified as a universal individual.The thematic significance of Heaney’s poetry with highly philosophical latitude, though focused on daily issues, exemplifies Heidegger’s concept of "poetic dwelling". On this extraordinary art of poetry, the insight into the in-depth essence through the surface reaches the original appearance of the life, the world, and even the whole universe, the real state of which is just what Heidagger seeks and advocates. The context in which Heaney writes is complicated. He is always trying to establish individual spiritual order on the base of the sense of responsibility and social ethical order. During this course, Heaney ponders at the original meaning of life, pursues the right of freedom, affirms reasonable human nature and culture mode as expected, and displays ideal human nature concern as expected when facing realities. In postmodernist context, the writing mode is of great significance for human beings’existence and significance, thus allowing the study in this aspect to reveal its vitality.The underlying deep structures have been found out through superficial dialogues in Heaney’s writing. From the beginning, dialogues aim to set up an order, which integrates the individual spiritual order based on the sense of responsibility and social ethical order. Meanwhile, the order is to assure the realization of personal right for freedom.This dissertation, including four chapters and the introduction, is based on the text close-reading, trying to explore the dialogues between politics and aesthetics, multicultural and identity, individual consciousness and social responsibility. Introduction reviews briefly the research results at home and abroad. The research method and framework are proposed here.The first chapter "Dialogue with Literary Influence:Heaney and Modern British poetry" grooms the relationship and interactions between Heaney and modern British and Irish poetry. The international and local literary influences will be involved.The second chapter "Dialogue with Reality:the Description of Real Context" analyzes Heaney’s first five collections Death of a Naturalist, Door into the Dark, Wintering Out, North, Field Work and four main translations, to explore Heaney’s contemplation on the history, reality, tradition and dialogue models.The third chapter "Dialogue with Self:the Contraposition of Diverse Identities " combines four critical essays collections to explore the contrapositions among identities of nationality, culture and poet. Dialogue models and reflection vary with different stages and context.The fourth chapter "Reconstruction and Transcendence:Freedom Authenticity" focuses on four collections after1995, including The Spirit Level, Electric Light, District and Circle, and Human Chain. Heaney tries to provide a common platform for dialogue to maintain diverse cultures, traditions and beliefs to develop simultaneously without denying differentiality, thus creating transcendental balance to bear freedom and originality in multi-perspective fusion.This dissertation speaks well the interactive significance between Heaney and other forces with the help of some theories. And with the analysis of such a typical and individualistic poet, critic and translator with multi-identities, the consciousness of problematic realities and histories will be aroused in contradictory society, which can be also a reference for new thinking style. To a great extent, just through dialogues and reconstruction, readdress and balance, perfection and transcendence, which are all pinpointed to the real state and freedom, Heaney’s poetry does reflect the experience of our times. It is also referred to the methodology to solve the spiritual confusion in postmodern context.