The Study Of The Fusing Religious Paradigm Of The Second Generation Of British Romanticism

The poetry of the second generation of British Romanticism is an important milestonein the history of British literature, and has gained attention from generation to generationbecause of their unique artistic styles, aesthetics, powerful imagination, and politicalidealism. However, as the literary review indicates, hitherto, the research perspectives ofthe second generation seem to have been over-exploited. Yet, the religion is always animportant source of the poets' creation, and their writings featured with the aura of religionis an important cultural phenomenon of the early 19^th century England. Nevertheless, inChina, scholars show little concern about the poets' religion; while at abroad, despite ofcriticisms on the poets' religion, scholars rarely study from the perspective of Marxist pointof view of religion.Based on the above understanding, this study is originated from a desire to establish afresh religious paradigm approach to the poetry of the second generation, for religion is animportant source of their creation. To understand their religious thoughts and attitudes candefinitely help understand their works. Besides, to take the second generation as a group,and paradigmize their religion can illustrate the resources of their literary creation and theirsharing characteristics of religious features more clearly.The dissertation comprises five chapters with one introduction and a conclusion.Introduction scans the previous studies of the second generation at home and abroad, andthen proposes the central argument and eventual conclusions of the study of thedissertation. Chapter One takes Marxist theory of religion and T. Kuhn's theory ofparadigm as the theoretical foundation to construct a religious paradigm as the researchstrategy of the dissertation. Chapter Two first reviews the coming-up and transitions of thetwo traditional religious paradigms: the Christian oriented northern religious paradigm andthe Greek polytheistic oriented southern religious paradigm. And then it illustrates theshaping of the fusing religious paradigm which not only covers the traditional twoparadigms but also contains the features of the Eastern Mysticism. After that, it manifeststhe characteristics of the fusing religious paradigm and its reflection on the thoughts,behaviours and works of the second generation of British Romanticism. Hence, thischapter expects to show an overview of the sharing religious elements in the poetry of thesecond generation under the concept of the same paradigm—the Fusing ReligiousParadigm. Chapter Three, Four and Five take Byron, Shelley and Keats as the typical casesof the fusing religious paradigm to further prove and illustrate the characteristics of thisFusing Religious Paradigm. Meanwhile, they also explore the uniqueness of each poet'sreligion because of their different growing-up experiences. Thus, with the"voice"ofparticular cases, these chapters expect to make the religious paradigm illustrated in ChapterTwo more vivid, concrete and persuasive. Conclusion of the dissertation first summarizesthe views of this dissertation, and then reassesses the value of this fusing religiousparadigm. Consequently, through interdisciplinary research of the religion of the secondgeneration, this dissertation expects to understand the poets and their poetry, the Romanticliterature profoundly. Meanwhile, through constructing a new research strategy--religiousparadigm to study the romantic poetry, the dissertation expects to broaden and deepen thestudy of British Romantic literature. Besides, through this research, the dissertation expectsto provide an effective research case to foster a new perspective of Romantic literatureresearch, and make it more scientific, comprehensive.