An Interpretation Of The Irishness In Paul Muldoon's Poetry

Paul Muldoon is an excellent contemporary Irish poet,and he also works on plays and translates poems at the same time.Muldoon is the student of Seamus Heaney,the winner of Nobel Prize in literature.Muldoon's poetry,closely related to his life experience,presents his special feelings toward Ireland,whose content includes ancient Celtic culture which Muldoon is familiar with,the turbulent society Muldoon personally experiences,his missing hometown,Moy,his modern Irish poems fused with foreign elements,and so on.And those poems all express Muldoon's concentration on Irish history,politics,nation,religion,language,etc.Therefore,the remarkable characteristic of Muldoon's poems is the consistent Irishness.The writer of the thesis interprets the Irishness in Paul Muldoon's poetry by close reading.The main body of the thesis consists of three chapters.Chapter One aims at defining Irishness and discussing the relationship between Irishness and Paul Muldoon's poetry.Irishness is the blueprint to construct the new image of modern Ireland.It includes Irish history,nation,politics,religion,language,modernization,and so on.Because of Paul Muldoon's unique life experience and writing style,the interpretation of Irishness in Paul Muldoon's poetry is embodied in the inheritance of ancient Celtic culture,struggle for Irishness and the fusion of Irishness and foreign elements.Chapter Two and Three mainly interpret the Irishness in Paul Muldoon's poetry,which are the vital parts of the main body.The second chapter presents Paul Muldoon's persistence for Irishness,including the inheritance of ancient Celtic culture and the struggle for Irishness.Muldoon's poems depict Celtic mythological heroes,which not only presents the ancient Celtic homeland's glory to increase national confidence but also reflects the decline of modern Ireland.In addition,he also creates his own-styled poems based on the core elements of Celtic culture.Thestruggle for Irishness in Paul Muldoon's poetry includes the pursuit of national identity,denouncement of the war and violence,protection of Irish language and opposition to religious oppression.The struggle is full of difficulties and obstructions,but Paul Muldoon is undaunted.He shows his confidence and determination to insist on the Irishness.Chapter Three interprets the fusion of Irishness and foreign elements in his poems.Paul Muldoon assimilates foreign elements,especially American writing materials and Japanese Haiku,in his poems,which not only strengthens the connection between Irishness and foreign elements,but also shows Muldoon's persistence of Irishness in his poems.The three chapters closely connect with each other.Firstly,to define “Irishness” is the foundation for interpretation.Secondly,Paul Muldoon's persisitence for Irishness embodies Irish distinct politics,history,nation,religion,language,etc.At last,alien cultural factors in Muldoon's poems indicate the fusion of Irishness and foreign elements,which firms the Irishness in his poems as well.The interpretation of Irishness in Paul Muldoon's poetry shows Muldoon's close attention to Ireland.No matter where the poet is,he always concerns about his homeland,country and nation.