以自然做為文學作品的主題，長久以來頗受作家的喜愛。和大部份浪漫時期的詩人一樣，十九世紀偉大的美國女詩人－愛密莉、狄瑾蓀，也展現她對大自然的濃厚興趣，於詩歌的創作中。本論文即以狄瑾蓀的自然詩為主，分五部分進行探討。
　　第一章為緒論，說明研究動機和方向；並探討十九世紀超越主義思潮及傳統女性生活等社會文化對狄瑾蓀自然觀形成的影響。
　　第二章，乃是簡介狄瑾蓀的家庭教育環境背景；生長於新英格蘭的田園生活中讓她更易於接近自然，體會自然之美；此外，受清教思想及愛默生超越主義的影響，狄瑾蓀開始思索人，神和自然的關係於她的自然詩中。
　　在第三章，即以美國超越主義之父－愛默生的名著－＜大自然＞�堜珚鉔尷漱H和自然的關係和狄瑾蓀的自然詩做對比，試圖找出他們的相似及相異點－兩人都認為人應該和自然建立互相依賴的關係；愛默生強調人可以達到和自然合而為一的和諧狀態，但狄瑾蓀卻注意到自然的冷漠面而認為人和自然存在某種距離。
　　第四章，試以男女生理上的差異為出發點而衍生形成男性/文化、女性/自然二元對立的模式，進而影響普遍存在於19世紀美國社會男主外、女主內的空間結構，並運用愛密莉、狄瑾蓀自然詩中，有關母職和家庭主婦等居家角色的例證加以探討。
　　第五章為結論，總結以上各章之探討，整理出狄瑾蓀獨特且具原創性的自然觀，奠定她為自然詩人的地位並開啟了意象詩派的先河。

　　Nature as the subject of literary work has been favored among the men of letters for a long time. Like most Romantic poets, the greatest American woman poet in the nineteenth century, Emily Dickinson, also expressed her intense interest in nature in her poetic world. Seen in this light, this thesis is divided into five categories to probe into Dickinson’s nature poems.
　　Chapter one is introduction to reveal my study motivation and direction; meanwhile, I would like to discuss the essential concept of Transcendentalism and the traditional women’s living of manners which have some influences in shaping Dickinson’s distinctive outlook upon nature.
　　Chapter two offers some brief background information on Dickinson’s life; growing up in rural town of New England compels her to go closer to nature and appreciate it; further, under the influence of Puritanism and Transcendentalism, Dickinson sets out to meditate the relationship among God, man and nature in her nature poems.
　　In Chapter three, I attempt to make a comparison and contrast between Emerson’s remarkable book-Nature and Dickinson’s nature poems for the sake of finding out their similar and different viewpoints regarding Nature---both think that men are supposed to establish interdependent relationship with nature. However, Emerson stresses that man can maintain the harmonic relation with nature, while Dickinson discerns nature’s indifference, and thinks the self and the nature are kept quite alienation.
　　Chapter Four manages to adopt the different biologic factors between male and female as a departure point to further discuss the binary opposition mode which affects the (male) public/ (female) domestic sphere in the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, I intend to explore Dickinson’s using motherhood/ housewife images as a means of poetic expression in her nature poems.
　　Chapter five ends this thesis with a conclusion by summing up what I have discussed in the preceding chapters and dealing with Dickinson’s distinctive and original outlook upon nature; thus, Dickinson can be recognized not only as ‘a nature poet’ but also as ‘a forerunner of imagism.’

Table of Contents

Chapter One Introduction………………….1
Chapter Two Seeing “New Englandly”: The
Backgrounds, Influences
Affecting Dickinson’s views
of Nature……………….6
Chapter Three The Viewpoints of Nature between
Emerson and Dickinson 18
Chapter Four Women’s Domestic Roles in Emily
Dickinson’s Naature
poem...................52
Chapter Five Conclusion.............80
Works Cited and References Consulted…85
Index of the First Lines...............92

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