An analysis of Winter Recipes from The Collective from the perspective of figure-ground theory
《集体之家的冬日食谱》图形—背景理论分析

摘要

诺贝尔奖获得者、美国诗人路易斯·格吕克（Louise Glück）晚期诗作以表现老年主题而著称，2021年出版的诗集《集体之家的冬日食谱》标志着格吕克作品中老年主题的深化与精神境界的升华，其中的盆栽、《雉鸡图》等中国意象，不仅为诗人的创作注入了新意，而且拓展了其诗作的诠释空间。本文运用认知诗学的图形-背景理论，从植物图形化和主题图形化表现解读诗集《集体之家的冬日食谱》，探究诗人如何在逆境中重塑自我价值，进而展现诗人超然面对生死，珍惜当下的心境。

Abstract

Louise Glück, an American poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, is celebrated for her later works that explore themes of old age. Her 2021 poetry collection, Winter Recipes from the Collective, delves deeper into the motif of old age and elevates the spiritual dimensions in her poetry. The Chinese imagery in the poetry, such as “bonsai” and the“Album of Pheasants”, not only injects new ideas into the poet ' s creation but also expands the interpretive space of her poems. This article utilizes the figure-ground theory from cognitive poetics to analyze Winter Recipes from the Collective by examining the representation of the figurative plants and the figurative themes. It investigates how Glück reconstructs self-worth in the face of adversity, and thereby unveils the poet's transcendent perspective on life and death, emphasizing the value of the present moment.