本篇論文共分成七章，主要目的在探討中英古典詩人對秋天的反應的異同，並藉以顯示兩種不同民族，在不同的地理文化背景下所形成的一些特性。
首章在表明本論文寫作的意義、研究的範圍和理論的基礎，以及探討悲秋文學傳統的形成。人同此心，心同此理，中英詩人在不同地理文化背景下對自然界之一現象的秋天的反應有其異也有其同。本論文之意義即建立在分析這些極為細緻的異同上。在研究範圍方面，本文所謂之詩幾等於英文裡的「韻文」(verse)，採用其廣義之意義是為了使論文能包括諸如潘岳的「秋興賦」、歐陽修的「秋聲賦」和馬致遠的「漢宮秋」在內；而在英詩裡，「詩」即包括了抒情詩和敘事詩。
由於範圍頗為廣泛，故筆者特製圖表，從統計上來說明中英詩人對四季反應之差異，以防疏漏。英國詩人比較喜好夏冬，而中國詩人則比較愛好春秋，原因是英國夏季怡人而冬季凜冽，予人印象特深；中國詩人對春秋之愛好，有源自文學上的，也有來自哲學上的影響。比較而言，英國詩人的四季詩在數量上根本無從跟中國詩人的同類詩歌比擬。自從十八世紀以來，英人寫一百首只有半首涉及秋天，四分之一首涉及春天，而中國詩人從魏晉以來每寫一百首詩即有六首涉及秋天，兩首寫春天。至於提及春秋二字，中國詩人每百首即提到十九次和廿四次，而英國詩人每百首裡只各提及五次春秋。在中國（英國不論，因為英國未有如陰陽五行完全類似的系統），文學傳統，尤其是玄學傳統對於詩人之影響特大。民間詩歌（如郭茂倩之「樂府詩集」所收民歌）由於比較不受這些傳統之影響，寫春秋以及悲秋的詩也就顯著地減少。
本論文是一主題學研究。主題學研究可定義為對某一個或某些個主題演變之研究。主題學研究應建立在主題跟作者與其時代的肌膚關係上，若淪為有關主題知識的搜集就會顯得枯燥無味而沒太大意義。主題學之研究源自十九世紀德國人對民俗學的狂熱研究，一向被認為是德國人之禁臠，一度曾顯得一無朝氣，近年來由於「套語」研究(topos studies)之貢獻而給它注入了新生命，擴大了它只關注民間傳統、神話人物的範圍。本論文是一新嘗試，企圖從意象、套語、母題和原型主題來做研究。所處理之五六個主題，大都與所謂的人物主題無關，冀望能因此擴大主題學研究的範圍。
第一章的後部從「秋」的字源、陰陽五行的玄學系統來探討秋收、悲秋和四季循環的主題，除了指出中國悲秋文學傳統外，並作為本文第六章之理論基礎。說文解字釋「秋」字曰：「禾穀孰也。」爾雅亦曰：「春為發生……秋為收成。」更早一點的金文和甲骨文對「秋」字俱有收成之義。此外，學者如荀況和司馬談等人亦有類似之言論。屬於早期的天文氣象記錄的「呂覽」十二紀、淮南子「時則訓」和禮記「月令」等篇章，對於如何遵照氣象以從事人文活動，都有極詳實之記載。難怪胡適、顯頡剛等學者以為，上提文獻之中的思想是「春生夏長，秋收冬藏。」
另一方面，禮記「鄉飲酒義」把秋天跟西方並比，認為秋天有收縮哀傷之意、此一解釋顯係後起，並已受到陰陽五行說的影響。陰陽五行係二系統，其統一肇始於鄒衍。在鄒衍及其弟子的觀念裡，秋即等於西方，等於金，等於商；秋天是收成之時，也是 「殺氣浸盛，陽氣日衰」（呂覽卷六）之時。他們一本王者生殺宜順時氣之原則，認為秋天可以行刑、斷獄。事實上，秋冬之肅殺的觀念也見於莊子「齊物論」，本論文第六章也指出它已具體地包括在「九辯」裡。此外，本章也提到四季循環的觀念。鄒衍的陰陽五行玄學系統裡的五行相生是循環的，這跟四季循環是配合一致。在西方，四元素之一特色也是循環的，惟由於四元素跟五行並不完全一致，其跟四季之配對也並非一致，故本文只提出其異同而不深論。在鄒衍之哲學系統以外，易經、莊子裡亦有文字記載四季循環、四季與陰陽的關係等觀念。本章最後提到，讀者若讀過「呂覽」、「月令」、春秋繁露和淮南子等文獻，對其欣賞描寫四季的自然詩會大有助益。比之英詩，「秋」字在中國古典詩裡是一個聯想極豐富的字。
第二章在探討：（一）感性的變遷與中英自然詩的興起，（二）中英田園詩傳統與自然詩之關係，（三）西方術語運用到中國古典詩之缺失。
英國人由於深受基督教思想的影響，一直到十七世紀中葉，跟自然界仍處於扞格不入的地位。十七世紀末葉是一個轉捩點，此時由於文學、神學，哲學、地質學和天文學等觀念之改變，以及那時頗為流行的到歐洲大陸旅遊的影響，在在都激起人們感性的轉變，而此種改變對真正的自然詩之興起卻是必要之條件。
中國人由於未受到基督教的影響，自古就跟自然界處得極和諸。對自然界之描繪片斷詩經和楚辭就有不少；但是它們只是傳情達意之襯托或背景，並非詩人之專注所在。真正的自然詩要到魏晉時代才出現，而這跟那時之社會、政治、哲學和宗教思想有關。
專就對自然界之熱愛而言，西方田園詩應是自然詩之始祖；在中國，田園詩和自然詩（山水詩）應是平行發展。創始於湯姆森的自然詩，其描寫大體而言是寫實的、客觀的，也極少提到羊及牧羊女等，而田園詩則是理想化的，往往依賴河流、草地、山林、羊和牧羊女這一類「道具」以及諸如重複句型、歌唱比賽、口語和套語等技巧來創作。田園詩之一片天真爛漫、純樸和新鮮只是一道煙幕，用以襯托出複雜的人生。而在中文詩裡，田園詩和山水詩雖云不同，惟對自然之描寫卻大都是客觀和寫寶的。中文的田園詩也絕少依靠上提之「道具」來創作。中國田園詩比較重視刻劃農耕細節、遯居之樂，而這些在英國田園詩裡並不太重要。因此筆者認為在運用西方術語來探討中國古典詩時，對於不同文化背景產生出來的術語應先加以釐清、調整，以免運用時混淆不清。
筆者在第二章中指出詩經「七月」、「考槃」和「十畝」等是中國田園詩之始祖，曹操之「觀滄海」是山水詩甚至自然詩之始祖，這種看法大體沿襲了游國恩和林庚二氏之論點，卻有些跟傅樂生(J.D. Frodsham)氏之見解不同。
第三章與第四章密切關聯。第三章從田園詩的發展和自然詩的出現來探討史賓塞的「牧童的月曆」和湯姆森的「四季」以及相關的詩。「牧童的月曆」的結構是一創舉，揉合了月曆架構和田園詩，所包括的人生面貌極廣。這首詩表現了好幾個主題，跟秋天有關的是生死再生的原型，社會、宗教批評，小千世界即等於大千世界。生死再生的原型是詩人常常探索的主題，社會宗教批評跟伊麗莎白時代的社會腐敗宗教世俗化有關，小千世界即等於大千世界是十六世紀極流行的觀念。湯姆森的「四季」是第一首自然詩。因為在此之前，就像中國古典詩在魏晉以前，自然通常只當作詩人傳情達意之襯托或背景，鮮為詩人專注之所在。
湯姆森的「四季」這首長詩，尤其第一版的「冬天」（一七二六年）在對自然的描寫上來說是一突破。即使是這樣，湯姆森由於並非一獨創性的大思想家，生性又習於順從時人之要求，因此在他往後出版的修訂版裡，說理的篇章不僅跟純粹的自然描寫並置，而且往往喧賓奪主。無論如何，十七、十八世紀之交的英國略似魏晉時的中國，是一感性丕變之時代，純粹描寫自然，從不可能變成可能。在探討了這方面的問題後，這一章即從四季循環，收穫以及秋天的憂鬱和哀傷這些母題或主題來探討「四季」以及與「四季」有關的「四季禮讚」。一般而言，湯姆森對景物之刻劃屢採累進的、定向的方式，從遠寫到近，從一般性的寫到具體，其風格是雄偉的。
第四章即再從「牧童的月曆」和「四季」裡所包括的生死再生的原型，小千世界大千世界的類比，收獲與成熟、秋天的憂鬱和哀傷等主題來分析諸如雪萊的「西風頌」，濟慈的「人的季節」和 「給秋天」，布雷克的「給秋天」和胡德的「秋頌」。在探討過程中，這一章指出，生死循環的觀念可追溯到荷馬的「伊里亞特」和舊約聖經，並且略為觸及東西方對時間觀念之異同。本章也指出，中英詩人為了生動地表現豐收的主題，往往借助於非常繁富的意象以烘托出富饒成熟的印象。西方詩人把農業收獲看成Demeter的化身，而周人則把它目為后稷之遺產。濟慈的「給秋天」裡的人物事實上是Demeter的化身，胡德的「秋頌」也刻劃了同一個農業富饒的女神，詩經裡的「思文」、「豐年」和「良耜」都跟祭祀或報祭后稷有關。豐收的主題就像生死再生的型態一樣，是一原型。本章最後指出，中英有關秋天的詩常常涉及憂傷，但是刻劃憂鬱的詩卻不完全跟秋天有關。這一點說明極為重要，因為自從十六世紀末以來至十九世紀，歐洲極盛行所謂的「憂鬱文學」，十七世紀的英國作家哲學家柏頓特為此寫了一本「憂鬱解剖」（一六二一年出版），把憂鬱區分為「身體的憂鬱」、「心靈的憂鬱」、「愛情憂鬱」與「宗教憂鬱」四種。歐洲的憂鬱文學自成一統，就此點而言，實在有些像中國的悲秋文學。英詩裡零零星星幾首哀秋之詩似乎可列入憂鬱文學而成一小小支流，但是憂鬱文學裡的「憂鬱」卻跟秋天毫無瓜葛。最後必須一提的是，本章發覺雪萊「西風頌」裡生、死、再生循環的主題與詩人樂觀的重視理想的個性相關；濟慈在「給秋天」裡，以具象的文字來處理秋天的景象與他對詩的看法有關。
第五章和第六章用前兩章的觀點以及五個主題來分析中國古典詩裡的秋詩。在寫作前兩章時，筆者常常兼及理論層面之探討，為的是給第五、六章作為比較的標準。第五章首先指出，中國古典詩人刻劃自然時比較寫實，這是因為中國的山水田園詩俱為比較寫實之緣故，而西方的田園詩在一定的傳統下創作，其描繪大都是理想化的，蒸餾過的。中國的田園詩不像西方田園詩，創作時並不要依靠什麼「道具」，而且也比較重視刻劃農耕細節，強調遯居之樂趣。從對詩經「七月」的分析裡，讀者可以發現，「七月」的作者觀察非常細微，而且在描寫生活細節時隱隱透露出其生活的清苦。這種含蓄的透露可目為對社會的批評，惟此種批評跟李紳的「四海無閑田，農夫猶餓死」或史賓塞露骨的抨擊顯然有別。「七月」一詩裡有「蟋蟀」一詞，此詞就像英國秋詩裡的「蟋蟀」、「知更鳥」、「罌粟花」、「葡萄」、「梨」、「蘋果」等一樣，是普遍可靠的指示物，能指出詩之重點所在，故有套語的功能，也能指出主題之所在。
第五章同時指出三種處理自然的方式。曹操之樂府詩「觀滄海」是一首秋詩，也是中國第一首自然詩，讀者諸君在欣賞此詩時會自然地意識到一個介於他與景物之間的媒介的存在。第二種處理自然的方式可由王實甫西廂記第四本第三折的一段詩表現出來。在此段詩裡，作者把崔鶯鶯的悲情投射入自然景物，外物即等於其情感的外在化。上提之二種處理自然的方式英詩人是擅長的，惟如陶淵明、謝靈運和王維等人讓自然自己演出的方式，英國古典詩人卻是望塵莫及的。西方人善於把自然概念化，以達到征服的目地。而中國詩人很早就跟自然界和諧相處，泯滅了個體與外物之分別。
中國古典詩人極少很抽象地處理四季。春秋對比，且常放在循環的層面來觀照。中國詩人有異於英國詩人，較少把時間循環當一主題處理；它常常是一母題，出現在幾行詩裡。離騷有「日月忽其不淹兮，春與秋其代序」之句；江淹「四時賦」也有「測代序而饒感，知四時之足傷」的詩行。在白居易的「早秋曲江感懷」一詩裡，循環的時間以及直線時間觀念扮演了同樣重要的角色，因此使主題更為繁複化，全詩充滿張力。
就像英國詩人一樣，中國古典詩人常常把秋天比擬為老年之蒞臨。潘岳「秋興賦」固然有「悟時歲之遒盡兮」的句子，歐陽修的「秋聲賦」的後半段，楊萬里的「感秋」更具體地強烈地描寫了「知老年已至」的心理反應。歐陽修以為人非金石，豈能與草木爭榮？楊氏在一陣哀戚之後企圖以酒來暫時忘懷自我和時間。中國人大體比較人文化，未在植物生死循環中抽繹出諸如Demeter、酒神、Adonis等植物神話來，而只悟覺到生命之短暫脆弱。
第五章最後探討的是中國的秋詩裡豐收的主題。正如在西亞和歐洲，收獲在古代中國是與祭拜儀式密切相關的。「月令」有言曰：「孟秋之月，農乃登穀，天子嘗新，先薦寢廟。」此段記載與詩經 「豐年」和「良耜」所描寫祭拜后稷的儀式是一樣的。「月令」和詩經二詩所提秋報社稷神祇以初登之穀跟佛萊則爵士在「金枝」(The Golden Bough)裡所提在古代希臘人每年秋天在伊留西斯以初收之大麥小麥獻給Demeter與其女兒隱然配合。周人以及後代帝王秋冬報祭之用意在感恩，與希臘人祈求來年豐收略有不同。中國農人春祈秋報，惟誰人敢說在感恩之時就沒有邀寵之成份存在？比較而言，濟慈在十九世紀寫豐收時仍會提到Demeter，但是中國的古典詩除了朝廷的祭拜樂歌外，其餘描寫秋收的鮮少提到后稷。英詩描寫秋收時會提到Demeter，然而它們卻不像詩經「豐年」和「良耜」是祭拜儀式的一部份，是樂歌。中國後代描寫收獲的詩如范成大「四時田園雜興」、孔平仲的「禾熟」和張？的「福昌秋日效張文昌二首」遵循的是詩經「七月」的傳統，描寫親切動人，細膩寫實，甚至蘊含有批評腐散官吏的話，卻未見神話質素。
第六章探討秋與愁的關係，悲秋文學傳統的形成以及其變異。正如在英詩裡，秋與憂傷有關，但是處理憂愁的詩卻未必與秋扯上關係。樂府「悲歌」，曹植的「九愁賦」和張衡的「四愁賦」就是例子，因為它們俱未涉及秋天。在中詩裡愁與秋之關係可由「愁」字本身見之。說文釋愁為「息」也，這一表意字應比「秋」字為後起，具體地表現了秋天加諸於心靈的重壓。史達祖「戀繡衾」就說「愁便是秋心也，又隨人來到畫樓」。更有甚者，秋字甲骨文一作「？」 ，唐蘭、郭沫若和高鴻縉俱以為似蟋蟀之形，是一象形、形聲兼會意字，蟋蟀至秋而嗚，其聲啾啾然，最會撩人愁緒，此一解釋也最能說明何以後來造一個表示憂鬱的字時是「秋」加在「心」上。
向來人云悲秋，莫不溯自宋玉之「九辯」，此蓋因其地位與篇幅故也。事實上，悲秋之文字見諸屈原「九章」者至少三見，詩經「四月」亦有「秋曰淒淒，百卉具腓」之句。本文從文字上考察，認為「悲秋」早就深植於中國人之記憶裡(racial memory)，應是一原型。
本章在分析宋玉之「九辯」時指出「九辯」為宋玉自傷並同時憫憐某前輩屈原之作，由於其外在化其悲憫之情，故其主題是有普遍性之基礎，跟後代無病呻吟之作大有不同。悲秋跟秋天之肅殺，跟詩人身處叔世或亂世有關。本章在分析「九辯」第三段後指出，「肅殺」之觀念不僅最早見諸呂覽卷六、莊子「齊物論」，也見諸「九辯」第三段，詩人把悲情外射，外界蕭條凜例之景，又為產生積愫之導因。
後世悲秋之詩繁多，尤其在魏晉禪替之時，由於動亂頻仍，荒塚纍纍，詩人感物興懷乃為不免，故在某一層次而言，悲秋之詩除了反映詩人之心境，實能反映時代之面貌。宋玉悲秋仍因時代使然，其社會批評政治批評乃師承自屈原之離騷，其社會批評與史賓塞在「牧童的月曆」的表現者有些一樣，惟其政治批評跟史氏之宗教批評顯然有別。很可惜的，此一批評傳統後世詩人們繼承者不多（杜甫秋興第四首顯係例外）。後世悲秋之作卻繼承了遯居高遊之傳統。秋乃萬物成功之時，生性比較樂觀之詩人乃有抗拒之舉，葉夢得乃作了其美秋賦「鷓鴣天」。
本文最後一章指出，在中國秋天詩裡，秋有作為離情之背景者或與哀戚之故事吻合者，或有提昇為宇宙性之象徵者，類此二者之詩，數量頗鉅，然而讀者卻無法在英詩裡找到比較之對象。此一點亦足以說明，秋天在中國古典詩裡幾乎到了無處不出現之地步，以及中國詩人對其寵愛之深。此二類詩與悲秋詩實構成一種很奇特的三分局面，愛好中國古典詩者實在不能不讀。
中英詩人對秋天之反應有類似也有迥然不同者。從描繪自然景物而看，英詩人常把純粹描寫與說教之片斷混合，很少會讓景物自己演出。批評家如傅樂生便因此認為曹操之「觀滄海」並非上乘之自然詩，因為詩人只寫景，並未在景物裡發掘意義，提出哲思。羅威爾等人便認為濟慈之「給秋天」除了具體的景物描寫以外使一無其他。英國人善於把自然界概念化，而中國人向來便與外物和諧相處。在探索時間與人生時，英詩人如雪萊等深具神話意識，而中國詩人之觀念感受卻是人文化的。中國詩人也認為時間是循環的，常常在幾行裡提到此一母題，卻鮮少像英詩人把此母題擴大成為一個主題來處理。在刻劃豐收的主題時，英詩人認為農業富饒是Demeter之化身，而中國詩人認為它們是后稷之遺產。中國後代詩人很少再刻劃后稷。
本文所探討的五個主題，只有生死再生的原型，收穫的主題此二者多多少少跟神話人物攀上關係。探討意象、母題、套語和原型主題是近年來套語研究帶給主題學研究的貢獻。本文從這些方面看手，冀望能因此擴大了主題學研究的領域。套語是一種文學傳統，運用得恰適只會使詩篇顯得活潑生動，展示出傳統之活力，並無其他弊病可言。

This thesis is divided into seven, chapters. It concentrates on studying the similar and different responses of the classical English and Chinese poets toward autumn along the line of thematic aspects. In the process of writing. It also attempts to illuminate some of the apparently elusive temperamental traits and mentalities of the Chinese and the English peoples.
The first chapter begins with a clarification of such terms as "classical English poetry," "classical Chinese poetry," "motif," "topos," "theme," and "topical words and phrases," the first two of which are related to the sphere of the dissertation and the last four to the branch of scholarship called "thematology." It then argues that thematology would be most challenging for it demands that the comparatist scholar possess a very solid knowledge of the historical and cultural backgrounds of the literary works as well as a thorough acquaintance with the characteristics of various genres. In the past, thematology means mostly the study of the evolution of a certain characterized theme. Recently because of the contribution of topos studies, the sphere of thematology has been greatly broadened to cover the study of the recurrent images, motifs, and even themes not necessarily connected with a mythical or legendary figure. The present study, through an analysis of the recurrent images, motifs and themes of classical English and Chinese autumn poems, anticipates that it can thus make some contribution to thematology.
The classical English, poets are infatuated more with summer and winter whereas classical Chinese poets are more fond of spring and autumn. In order to strengthen his position, the writer provides five tables of statistical figures demonstrating that after Thomson''s age, each English poet in writing one hundred poems only devotes half of a poem (0.53%) and another quarter (0.28%) to the treatment of autumn and spring whereas his Chinese peer since the Wei Chin Period （魏晉時代，220-420） dedicates six poems (5.68%) and two poems (1.99%) to the same treatment. In China, the anonymous folk-ballad singers wrote less poems about autumn and spring, especially about peich''iu 悲秋，for they are less conditioned and influenced by inherited conventions of literature and metaphysics.
The second portion of the first chapter focuses on investigating the themes of harvest, autumnal lamentation and seasonal cycle mostly from the perspectives of the etymology of ch''iu and the consolidation of yin-yang and the Five Elements （五行） in the hands of Tsou Yen （鄒衍， 345-275 B.C.） and his disciples. One of the meanings of the ideogram ch''iu is harvest. Another implication of it, already colored by Tsou Yen''s metaphysics, has to do with sadness and lamentation elicited by the bleak and inclement phenomenal world. The concept of cyclicality is closely linked with one of the aspects of the Five Elements "which give birth to one another." Outside Tsou Yen''s hierarchy of thought, however, this concept is also documented in Chuang-tzu, The Book of Changes, and other sources. The ancient Chinese of the Shang Dynasty （商朝，1766-1123 B.C.） and the early Chou Period might have only conceived of two constraetive and complementary "seasons, " spring and autumn, to constitute a cyclical year.
The second chapter first deals with the ingredients facorable to the introduction of genuine nature poetry into English and Chinese literature. These ingredients are numerous, primarily theological, philosophical and literary in England; theological, philosophical, sociological, political and literary in China. This chapter then goes on to discriminate the extent to which nature poetry converges with and diverges from its antecedent, the pastoral. As long as the enthusiasm and love for nature is concerned, nature poetry is virtually the heir and continuation of the pastoral. But in actuality, it ahares very few of the underlying assumptions of the older tradition such as the use of "trappings" in writing, the manner of idealizing the landscape, and the art of disguise to work out the poet''s tenor. As for the issue of the originator of Chinese nature poetry, this thesis argues that it all depends on how one defines the terms "pastoral," "nature poetry," and "shan-shui shih," In applying such terms as pastoral" and "nature poetry" on Chinese poetry, the critic should be on guard against abusing them and be mindful that they are formulated from a different literary tradition. They are not altogether equivalent to t''ien yuan shih and shan-shui shih. In agreement with Yu Kuo-en（游國恩） and Lin Keng （林庚）, the present study thinks that "July 七月" of Shih Ching should be taken as the first pastoral poem in Chinese literature and Ts''ao Ts''ao''s （曹操， 155-220） "Kuan ts''ang-hai 觀滄海" the first nature poem. J.D. Frodsham''s effort to rewrite the history of "the development of Nature poetry" is futile for the issue has long been taken care of and resolved.
The third and fourth chapters are closely related. The third chapter deals with Spenser''s Shepheardes Calender and Thomson''s Seasons and their related pieces from the perspectives of the sophistication of the pastoral and the phenomenological treatment of nature. In actuality, the most conspicuous themes in most autumn poems such as the mythical pattern of death and rebirth, the microcosmmacrocosm equation, harvest and maturity, autumnal sadness and lamentation, and even nature itself, are more or less embodied in the works of Spenser and Thomson. Spenser''s pastoral is most original in that it succeeds in skilfully combining two alien genres, the literary calendar and the pastoral. Thomson''s originality lies in the fact that it is he who begins to treat nature for its own sake and not as setting for human action. In order to court the favor of hie times, however, he incorporated more didactic passages into the later versions of his masterpiece.
The fourth chapter proceeds to investigate the pattern of death and resurrection as exemplified in the anonymous sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight, Shelley''s "Ode to the West Wind," and some others; the microcosm-macrocosm equation in Keats'' sonnet "The Human Seasons," and Words-worth''s Excursion, Book V; harvest and maturity in Blake''s "To Autumn," Keats'' "To Autumn," Hood''s "Ods: Autumn," and some others; sadness or melancholy in Nashe''s "Autumn," Thomson''s "Autumn," Shelley''s "Autumn: A Dirge," and Hood''s "Ode: Autumn" so as to manifest their persistency. That these themes and motifs are treated and not the others is simply because they are the most prominent and significant and thus they can function as a frame of reference for the following two chapters. In the process of analysis, the writer never forgets to differentiate the Occidentals'' and Orientals'' outlooks of time, to trace the cyclical motif back to Homer''s Iliad and the "Ecclesiates," to link harvest with Demeter in the West and Hou Chi 后稷 in China, and to preclude the so-called "melancholy literature" prevalent in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Europe from the dissertation for it is not connected with autumn. Meanwhile, this chapter shows that the cyclical pattern of death and rebirth perpetuated in "Ode to the West Wind" has much to do with Shelley''s sanguine disposition and visionary temper. Keats'' treatment of the harvest scenery mostly in concrete terms in "To Autumn" has something to do with his theory of a poet as an effaced medium.
Chapters Five and Six function as a counterpart for the previous two chapters. The first part of Chapter Five finds that classical Chinese poets usually treat nature in a relatively more realistic and naturalistic manner. The most important factor for this is that the pastoral poets, unlike their Western counterparts, seldom idealize nature. The Chinese poets, unlike their English counterparts who are prone to impose their egocentric feelings upon whatever thing they touch, take the natural objects as their peers and live harmoniously with nature. After this introductory part. Chapter live continues to analyze the cyclical motif, the microcosm-macrocosm equation, and the theme of harvest In terms of a couple of poems. Classical Chinese poets seldom deal with the four seasons on a purely abstract level. Nor do they take pains to develop or amplify the cyclical motif to the full-scale of a theme, like what their English counterparts have done, classical Chinese poets also tend to equate man''s life, a microcosm, with the phenomenal world, a macrocosm. Like Wordsworth and Keats, they describe the stages of man''s life in a rather naturalistic manner. Their responses, however, are more intense and effusive. The last part of this chapter points out the fact that harvest in ancient China, like in Western Asia and Europe, is ritualistic. Hou Chl, the ancestor and deified god of the Chou people, is in many aspects comparable to Demeter. However, there is hardly any English autumn poem, unless with the exception of Blake''s "To Autumn," which can be compared with "Harvest豐年" and "Liang-szu良耜" in Shih Ching, positively ritualistic and probably sung impromptu in honor of Hou Chi and other local deities propitious to the growth of crops. The ritual and mythic elements have all been superseded by more humanistic concerns in the harvest poems of later ages which mostly follow the pastoral tradition of "July," intimate and realistic in their descriptions.
Chapter Six concentrates on studying the relationship between ch''iu 秋 and ch''ou 愁, the formation and variation of autumnal lamentation. In classical Chinese poetry, like in its English equivalent, autumn is often linked with sadness but not vice versa. Ths ideogram ch''ou, a later coinage than ch''iu epitomizes the whole weight and impact of autumn upon a human heart. The responses following the contact are cosmic sadness. Sung Yu''s（宋玉，296-235？ B.C）"Chiu-pien 九辯，" owing to its strong sentiments and the status of the poem as an effort to consolidate and perpetuate the fu tradition, ie generally taken as the fountainhead of "autumnal lamentation 悲秋." la actuality, the tradition should trace itself back to three verses in Ch''u Yuan''s （屈原，343-290 B.C.）Chiu-chang 九章 and even to the "April 四月" of Shih Ching. Pei-ch''iu, like harvest and the mythical pattern of death and rebirth, is also an archetype.
Chapter Six also argues that Sung Yu''s "Chiu-pien" is a confessional work in which the poet superimposes his experiences upon those of Ch''u Yuan, his spiritual mentor. The notion of su-sha 肅殺， besides being documented in Lu-shih ch''un-ch''iu 呂氏春秋 and the "Ch''i-wu lun 齊 物論" chapter of Chuang-tzu, is also concretized in the third section of "Chiu-pien, " which is prototypic in many aspects. The topical words and phrases, the images and expressions of natural objects, and above all the central significance articulated, are what one will frequently encounter in the poetry of later ages. However, poets of more sanguine disposition such as Li Po （李白， 699-762）and Yeh Meng-te （葉夢得，1077-1148） are goaded into revolting against Sung Yu. The last part of Chapter Six remarks that the motifs of seclusion, social and political criticism, are only a variation of the key tone of sadness and lamentation.
The last chapter first explores the other possible dimensions of Chinese autumn poems and then makes a conolusion for the thesis. In comparison, English autumn poems are relatively few. In addition to those covered in this thesis, classical Chinese poetry is still replete with categories of autumn poems not readily amenable to comparison. One of these is to treat autumn as a setting for various types of activities. In another category, the phenomenal world, such as in Su Shih''s （蘇軾，1036-1101） "The Red Cliff, I 前 赤壁賦 " and Ma Chih-yuan''s（馬致遠，1260?-1334?） Autumn in Han Palace 漢宮秋, is often elevated to the status of symbols. These two categories of autumn, poems, together with the tradition of autumnal lamentation, constitute a very peculiar tripartition which could not be overestimated by any reader of classical Chinese poetry. In conclusion, the English poets'' responses to autumn are not so passionate, effusive, nor so sentimental as their Chinese counterparts which are in many aspe-ts conditioned by literary and metaphysical conventions. However, even on the common grounds where similarities are most likely to reveal themselves, there are still differences in degree though not in kind. Finally, this thesis discovers that the study of those themes not necessarily connected with either a mythical or a legendary figure is significant: the same themes might reveal the different working of mentalities. And those repeatedly-used words and phrases when employed well can manifest the flow and life forces of convention.