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1、TheAnxietyofInfluenceATHEORYOFPOETRYSECONDEDITIONHarold BloomNew YorkOxford OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1997OxfordUniversity PressOxfordNew York AthensAucklandBangkokBogotaBombay BuenosAiresCalcuttaCape.TownDares Salaam DelhiFlorenceHongKongIstanbulKarachi KualaLumpurMadrasMadridMelbourne Mexico CityNai
2、robiParisSingapore TaipeiTokyoTorontoandassociatedcompaniesin BerlinlbadanCopyrightman. Here itisofno use to have Abraham forones father, nor to have seventeenancestors-he who will not work must take noteofwhatiswritten about the maidens ofIs- rael, for he gives birth to wind,buthe whoiswilling to w
3、ork gives birth to his own father.YetKierkegaardsfatherhereis Isaiah,preternaturally strongpoet,andthetextcitedshatterswhereKierkegaard. seekstocomfort.Perhapsthelastwordlieswiththeanxi- etyofinfluenceafterall.andwithIsaiahsprophecyofthe returnoftheprecursors.WhatfollowsdidnotmakeKier- kegaardanxiou
4、s,yetitisthedismayofpoets:Likeasa woman with child,thatdraweth near the time of her delivery,isin pain, and criethoutin her pangs;so havewebeen in thy sight, 0 Lord. We have been with child,wehave been in pain,wehave asit were brought forth wind;wehave not wrought any de- liverance in the earth; nei
5、ther have the inhabitantsofthe world fallen. Thydead men shall live, together withmydead body shall they arise. Awake and sing,yethatdwell in dust: for thy dewisasthedew of herbs,andthe earth shall castout the dead.ThreeIftheyoungmanhadbelievedinrepetition,ofwhatmighthe nothavebeencapable?Whatinward
6、ness hemighthaveattained!KIERKEGAARDKenosisorREPETITION ANDDISCONTINUITYTheunheimlich,or“unhomely“ asthe“uncanny,“isper- ceivedwhereverweareremindedofourinnertendency toyieldtoobsessivepatternsofaction.Overrulingthe pleasureprinciple,thedaemonicinoneselfyields to a “repetitioncompulsion.“Amanandawom
7、anmeet, scarcely talk,enterintoacovenantofmutualrendings;re- hearseagainwhatthey find they haveknowntogetherbe- fore,andyettherewasnobefore.Freud,unheimlichhere inhis insight,maintainsthat“everyemotionalaffect, whateveritsquality,istransformedbyrepressioninto morbidanxiety.“Amongcasesofanxiety,Freud
8、findsthe classoftheuncanny,“inwhichtheanxietycanbeshown tocomefromsomethingrepressedwhichrecurs.“Butthis “unhomely“mightas wellbecalled “thehomely,“heob- serves, “for thisuncannyisinrealitynothingneworfor- eign,butsomethingfamiliarandold-established inthe mindthathasbeenestrangedonlybytheprocessofre
9、- pression.“ I offerthespecial caseoftheanxietyofinfluenceasa7778TheAnxietyofInfluencevarietyoftheuncanny.Amansunconsciousfearofcastra- tionmanifests itself asanapparentlyphysicaltroublein his eyes; apoetsfearofceasingtobeapoetfrequently manifests itself also as atroubleofhis vision.Eitherhe seestoo
10、 clearly,withatyrannyofsharpfixation, asthough his eyes asserted themselvesagainsttherestofhimas well asagainsttheworld,orelse his vision becomes veiled,and hesees allthingsthroughanestrangingmist.Oneseeing breaksanddeformstheseen;theother,atmost,beholdsa brightcloud. Critics,intheirsecret hearts, l
11、ovecontinuities,buthe wholiveswithcontinuityalonecannotbeapoet.The GodofpoetsisnotApollo,wholivesintherhythmofre- currence,butthebaldgnomeError,who livesattheback ofa cave;andskulksforthonlyatirregularintervals, to feastuponthemightydead,inthedarkofthemoon.Er- rorslittlecousins, SwerveandCompletion,
12、nevercome intohis cave,buttheyharbordimmemoriesofhaving beenbornthere,andthey liveinthehalf-apprehension thatthey will restatlast bycominghometothecave to die.Meanwhile,they too love contiriuity, foronlythere have they scope.Exceptforthedesperatepoets,onlythe IdealorTrulyCommonreaderlovesdiscontinui
13、ty,and suchareaderstill waits tobeborn. Poeticmisprision,historically ahealth,isindividuallya sinagainstcontinuity,againsttheonlyauthoritythatmat- ters,propertyorthepriorityofhavingnamedsomething first. Poetryisproperty,as politicsisproperty.Hermes agesintoabaldgnome,callshimselfError,andfounds comm
14、erce.Intrapoeticrelationsareneithercommercenor theft, unless youcanconceiveoffamilyromanceas apoli- ticsofcommerce,orasthedialecticoftheftitbecomesin BlakesTheMentalTraveller.Butthejoyless wisdomof thefamilyromancehaslittlepatiencefor suchminorenti- ties asmightentertaineconomistsofthespirit.ThoseKe
15、nosis or Repetition and Discontinuity79wouldbegenerous,littleerrors,andnotgrandErrorit- self.ThelargestErrorwecanhopetomeetandmakeis everyephebesfantasia:questantitheticallyenough,and live tobegetyourself. Nightbringseach solitarybroodertheapparentrecom- penseofaproperbackground,even asDeath,whichth
16、ey so wronglydread,properlybefriendsallstrongpoets. Leavesbecomemutedcries,andactualcriesarenot heard.Continuitiesstartwiththedawn,andnopoetqua poetcouldafford toheedNietzschesgreatinjunction: “Tryto live asthoughitweremorning.“Aspoet,the ephebemusttry to live asthoughitweremidnight,a sus- pendedmidnight.Fortheephebesfirst sensation, as newlyincarnatedpoet,isthatofhavingbeenthrown,out- wardanddownward,bythesame glory whoseapprehen- sionfoundhim,andmadehima poet.Theephebes first real
