On The Collision And Harmony Of "Love And Knowledge" In Robert Penn Warren's Poetry

Robert Penn Warren (1905—1989) is one of twentieth-century America's most distinguished men of letters. Honored with three Pulitzer Prizes, Warren is the only writer who has been a Pulitzer Prize winner in two different genres—poetry and fiction. In 1986, Warren was crowned as the first American Poet Laureate. Though he is a Renaissance man of letters in many genres, the central thrust of Warren's literary career lies in the field of poetry. Warren has a strong sense of morality and that makes him concerned about human's moral dilemma in his fictional and poetic works. Love and knowledge are the two themes which penetrate his sixty years' poetic career. Based on textual analysis, applying the method of close reading, the present study intends to explore the collision and harmony between love and knowledge. Tension, imagery, and the "impure" elements are the technical devices which reinforce the theme of love and knowledge.One of the main aspects of pursuing knowledge lies in the meditation of history and time. Knowledge is composed of man's experiences in nature and society. It reflects the natural surroundings, man's mission in history, his moral dilemma and the endurance and other virtues in life. Through seeking self-knowledge, man may reach harmony between love and knowledge.Firstly, the thesis introduces Warren as a writer in America's Southern Renaissance and he thinks dialectically in his poetic imagination. In the early period of his poetry, Warren focuses on time and history.Following the brief introduction to the research, is the main body of the thesis and consists of three chapters.Chapter One begins with the definition of knowledge in the context of "Poetry as a way of knowledge"(C. Day Lewis.). It then reveals how Warren explores the human experience in his imaginative world. Augustinian time influences Warren's poetic imagination. This influence is seen through three dimensions of pursuit of knowledge: pursuit of knowledge in nature, quest for man's mission, and pursuit of knowledge in time and history. Based on the theory of morality, Chapter Two focuses on the notion of love and its three senses: Eros, Philia and Agape. These senses are embodied in Warren's poetry as romantic love, maternal love, and divine love. Self-love is of importance in pursuing self-knowledge, but the true love Warren pursues is an unconditional and sacrificing other-love. Through analysis of the theme of love, this thesis discusses the three phases of collision between love and knowledge: the collision between knowledge and innocence, the collision between knowledge and responsibility and the collision between knowledge and the dignity of life.Chapter Three further explores the special features of Warren's poetry as well as his creative use of tension, imagery and "impure elements" in poetry. These devices help reinforce the theme of love and knowledge. For the thematic aspect, the thesis further elucidates how self-knowledge links the seeking of knowledge and the pursuit of love.