A Study On Terry Eagleton's Theory Of Reconstructing Body Discourse

Terry Eagleton(1943—) is one of the world's greatest cultural theorists and literary critics, who constructs the influential ideological criticism. He puts the body in the core of aesthetics and ideology and reconstructs a kind of body discourse, which futher facilitates the body turn in contemporary western thought field and enriches the new meaning of body aesthetics. The thesis involves the fundamental theoretical viewpoint, theoretical foundation and theoretical significance about Eagleton's theory of reconstructing body discourse. Therefore, the thesis consists of three parts: introduction, text and conclusion.Firstly, the introduction mainly demonstrates the necessity and importance of Eagleton's theory of reconstructing the body discourse, and to a certain degree, involves the misunderstanding of body discourse in current domestic literary theory and critical field. Besides, it expounds the goal and significance of the thesis and states the creativity of scientific reseach and the value of the thesis.Secondly, the text part is divided into four chapters. Chapter One articulates the difference and connection among the meanings of human body, animal body, corpse and flesh by comparison. According to this method, it reveals the complicated connotations of body, which is the logical premise of the study. Chapter Two expounds the fundamental viewpoint of Eagleton's theory of reconstructing body discourse, including four aspects as follows: stating the relationship between body discourse and ideology; regarding body as the material foundation in the aesthetic activities; regarding body as the important component in reconstructing a kind of complete feeling discourse; explaining Eagleton's aesthetic assumption on the basis of body. Chapter Three discusses theoretical foundation of reconstructing body discourse in the development history of western aesthetics, and explores the theory relalted to body of Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud and Michel Foucault by Eagleton. They respectively regard the body as labour, aesthetics, Libido and power, which originates from ontology of sense and emotion, body, desire and free will. Chapter Four expounds theoretical significance of Eagleton's theory of body discourse in the contemporary western context, including four aspects as follows: First, Eagleton's theory of reconstructing the body discourse becomes the main component in the body turn of western aesthetics, which connects the last with the future, i.e. it is a turning point. Second, it means the rebellion against rational autocracy. Third, it advocates a kind of bodily subject. Last, it offers the possibility of rebuilding the materialistic aesthetics.In conclusion, the thesis briefly reviews and summarizes Eagleton's theory of rebuiding the body discourse. By analyzing Eagleton's theory of reconstructing body discourse, we can conclude that Eagleton enriches cultural connotations of body discourse and makes it a kind of new cultural sign, rather than the meaning of animal body, flesh or corpse. Besides, as cultural sign, body discourse is influenced by both outside world and inner feelings. In other words, it is imprinted by labor practising and power discipline. The inner passionate demand is generated from aesthetic and desirable part of human body . As we can see, body is deeply ingrained by all kinds of strength, such as politics, power, society, culture, history and so on. Therefore, body becomes certain field of contradiction called the ideology of the body. Last but not least, as the material foundation of aesthetic activity, body is also the main element of rebuilding the integrated passion discourse. On the basis of human body, Eagleton reconstructs a kind of materialistic aesthetics and promotes the development of body turn in the 20th century's thought field, which represents rebellion against the tradition of theoretical autocracy and highlighting of the bodily subject.