摘 要

《飞鸟集》创作于1913年完成于1916年，其中很大一部分是泰戈尔旅居日本时所作。《飞鸟集》一共有325首小诗，在诗中他饱含了对自然的热爱，也流露出他对于人生的感悟。《飞鸟集》不仅仅只是一首首清丽的小诗，也是一段段优美的旋律，更是一首首对自然和生命的颂歌。本文旨在分析泰戈尔在《飞鸟集》中的生态观以及对自然的看法。本文分为四个部分：第一部分是引言；第二部分探讨泰戈尔的人生经历对《飞鸟集》的创作以及其中生态观的形成的影响；第三部分系统地阐述泰戈尔在《飞鸟集》中的生态观。此部分又分为两小部分。第一小部分主要探讨泰戈尔在《飞鸟集》中的自然意象，体会其中的人与自然和谐相处融为一体的生态观点，第二小部分主要探讨泛神论对于泰戈尔生态观形成的影响以及《飞鸟集》中神与自然的关系；第四部分为结论。泰戈尔在《飞鸟集》中的每一首小诗都蕴含着丰富的哲理，值得我们去发掘和探讨。

关键词：《飞鸟集》; 生态观; 泰戈尔

Abstract

Stray Birds, which collects 325 short poems, was written in 1913 and completed in 1916. Most of its contents were written when Tagore was living in Japan. He showed his love for the nature and his thinking for life. Stray Birds is not only a collection of poems but also a collection of melodious songs and a collection of compliments for the nature and life. This thesis is going to analyze Tagore’s ecological views in Stray Birds. The first part is an introduction. The second part focuses on the influence of Tagore’s life experience on his ecological view. In the third part, Tagore’s ecological viewpoint will be discussed systematically. The third part will be divided into two small parts. The first small part is an analysis of images in Stray Birds. From these images readers can feel Tagore’s ecological viewpoints toward the relationship between human beings and the nature. In the second small part, the relationship between pantheism and Tagore’s ecological viewpoints, the relationship between the god and the nature in Stray Birds will be discussed. The forth part is the conclusion. Every poem in Stray Birds is full of meanings. They are deserved to be read and enjoyed.

Key Words: Stray Birds, ecological view, Tagore

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Background information 1

2.1 Background of writing Stray Birds 1

2.2 Tagore’s life experience 2

2.3 Stray Birds 3

3 Tagore’s Stray Birds from ecological perspective 4

3.1 Images in Stray Birds from ecological perspective 4

3.1.1 Animals and plants 4

3.1.2 Landscapes and other natural things 4

3.2 Tagore’s ecological viewpoints 7

3.2.1 Pantheism and Tagore’s ecological viewpoints 7

3.2.2 The god in Stray Birds 7

3.2.3 Tagore’s ecological viewpoints on nature 8

4 Conclusion 11

References 13

Acknowledgments 14

An ecological perspective of Tagore's Stray Birds

1 Introduction

What is the rule in nature? How does the ecological system work in nature? What’s the position of human beings in nature? This is what ecological views talk about. And the third question is the most important one among these three questions in ecological views. In Stray Birds Tagore made many images about animals, plants and landscapes. These images not only show his love for the nature but also show his thinking about the nature and the world. Readers can find his ecological view from this collection of poems. Studying his ecological view can not only make us get a deeper understanding about Stray Birds but can also give modern people some advises about how to treat with the nature and find a balance between human beings and the nature.

2 Background information

2.1 Background of writing Stray Birds

Tagore had many great literary works. His works are different from western literature in which Indian culture and thinking can be found in them. In Stray Birds he mixed western and eastern culture together. All poems are wrought in English but the thinking in it is eastern style. He wrought it after his coming back from Japan. He said these short poems are influenced by Japanese haiku which is short in structure. He wrought Stray Birds totally in English. When he began his writing, he wrought in Bengali, then, in English. A large part in Stray Birds comes from his another collection of poems Kanika which was wrought in Bengali. It is said that if these poems are read in Bengali, they will be more rhythmical. It is a pity that readers can’t enjoy this either in English version or Chinese version. Readers can feel the influence of Indian culture to him in this collection of poems. The phrase”stray birds” has meaning of being lost and wandering. In first two poems of Stray Birds, Tagore gives the main ideal of this collection of poems.

Stray Birds of summer come to my window to sing and fly away.
And yellow leaves of autumn, which have no songs,
flutter and fall there with a sign. (the first one)

O troupe of little vagrants of the world,

Leave your footprints in my words. (the second one)(Tagore, 1916)
Stray birds leave footprints when they are on their long trips. The poet also leaves footprints on his way of life. These footprints are his thinking. He is like a tourist traveling on the way of finding truth. These poems are spots that flash into his mind when he is on his trip.

When reading these short poems, it is like readers are in a morning after rainstorm. Opening the window, they can see a bright and clean world. The river runs faster than usual. They can hear that she is singing all the way. Sunshine falls onto leaves which are just waking up. The dewdrops on leaves are bling bling under the sunshine. On the grassland, a squirrel enjoys his meal. It seems that he is going to be submerged in this “green ocean”. From these beautiful scenes they can see Tagore’s natural and economy ideals. These scenes are simple but beautiful, so as the words Tagore used in Stray Birds. He used these simple but meaningful words to describe his thinking and philosophies. This is why Stray Birds has attracted so many readers. Now, Stray Birds has been translated into many languages in the world.

2.2 Tagore’s life experience

His achievement is not only because of his talent but also because of his family and his life experience, which had influenced his thinking a lot.

Tagore came from a big family with 14 sisters and brothers. He was the youngest kid and called “rabbi” by other family members. This family was not only kept their Indian culture but also opened to western cultures. They usually held concerts and poetry-reading activities in their home. Many famous poets, musicians and actors came to their house which was always full of talking about philosophy, religion and so on. Tagore grew in this environment and was influenced by this very much. He was loved by every family member but was not pampered.

His several family members are also very brilliant in literature. His first brother was a poet and philosopher, once introducing western philosophy into India. His another brother was the first Indian who entered the British administration in India. His older sister was the first woman writing novels in Bengali. His fifth brother was a musician, dramatist, poet and journalist. He encouraged Tagore a lot and guided him into the way of literature. Tagore’s mother died when he was a child and his father traveled many places. Sometimes he took Tagore with him. Tagore family was at the forefront of the Bengal renaissance. They hosted the publication of literary magazines, theatre and recitals of Bengali and western classical music featured there regularly. No wonder that Tagore will become a famous writer. His family had given him a lot of influence.