Transcending Suffering:A Comparative Study On The Melancholy Poetry Of Li Shangyin And Thomas Gray

Li Shangyin and Thomas Gray were both known for their melancholy poetry,which coincidentally present a common course of experiencing and transcending suffering.Zhang Longxi put forward the “seeking-for-the-common” strategy in his The Tao and the Logos: Literary Hermeneutics,East and West.In line with the purpose of Professor Zhang,this thesis examines,through the influence study method in comparative research and the text analysis method,how the two poets whose cultural backgrounds are a far cry from each other,poetically go through suffering and transcend suffering,with a focus on the similarities of such a process so as to highlight the aesthetic dimension,the depth of philosophies,the moral strength and the wisdom of life and provide some lessons and enlightenment for modern people.Besides,this thesis will also broaden the scope of current academic research in this field and provide some insights to strengthen cross-cultural exchanges between China and the world,especially Western countries.There has been a long tradition for human beings to transcend suffering,and a series of in-depth explorations have been conducted at this field.The Aristotelian tragic catharsis,the insights about pain and suffering in the philosophy of religion,for instance,the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path in Buddhism,the Original Sin and idea of Rejoicing amidst Suffering in Christianity,all have similar effect on inspiring people to understand and transcend suffering.This thesis finds,after analysis,that Li Shangyin and Thomas Gray's melancholy poems contain a lot of melancholy and beautiful images,profound allusions,and magnificent imagination,which can make the poems pleasing to the readers aesthetically while calming and pleasing their turbulent souls.Besides,Li Shangyin's lifelong suffering led him to a profound realization that “all conditioned phenomena are impermanent” and “all conditioned phenomena are dukkha”,so he pursued his equanimity through right mindfulness and right concentration.Thomas Gray,likewise,learned to rejoice in the midst of his suffering through meditation on mortality and life's transience.Hence it can be learned from their melancholy poems that experiencing and transcending suffering can not only cultivate human being's mind but also provide them with a kind of spiritual strength,which in turn guides them to find their inner peace and makes them more perseverant and mature.Showing compassion and love for other things finds its expression in quite a number of poems of the two poets.Because compassion removes the heavy bar and opens the door to freedom and happiness.The works of the two poets interpret the following wisdom of life: transcending suffering in the course of experiencing suffering is conducive to expand our aesthetic dimension,and it also offers us some moral strength—not-self,perseverance to live a much more meaningful life.In a nutshell,the conclusion draws from this thesis is that the two poets share a common pattern in their course of going through and transcending suffering: first of all,being aware of the transient nature of suffering;next,acquiring some aesthetic pleasure from within;then recognizing that people can draw moral strength from suffering—no self,perseverance,and finally attaining the wisdom of life of showing compassion and love for others.Through such a process,they eventually manage to transcend their suffering and live a meaningful and full life.