哈羅德·布魯姆曾經批評默溫的早期詩作徒有末日之憂而不具超驗之明。本文聚焦默溫的動物詩,通過梳理貫穿默溫創作生涯的生態和詩學兩條倫理主線及相應的生態和詩學兩個倫理結先后形成、消解和統一的完整歷程,指出默溫在生態倫理上所持的生態整體立場與布魯姆"有益于人類"的倫理出發點不同。在詩學倫理上,默溫堅持詩歌是見證的藝術,詩歌形式是對一種聽見當下生命經歷的方式的見證。而默溫一以貫之的詩藝探索和實踐恰也見證了默溫一生對人類破壞力的深刻反思、對自然世界絕對存在的篤信不疑、對詩歌藝術召喚沉默之聲的畢生追求、以及詩內詩外知行合一的倫理操守。

Harold Broom criticized early Merwin for feeling impelled to prophesy yet having no Transcendental vision.In response,this paper reviews Merwin’s animal poems – how Merwin ties,unties and integrates his ecological and poetic ethical knots – and argues that Merwin’s belief in the inherent worth of living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs is what differentiates him from Broom who calls for ethical behaviors "of benefit to mankind." Merwin holds that poetry is the art of witnessing and poetic form is testimony of a way of hearing how life happens in time.In the same way,Merwin’s life-long poetic practice serves as testimony of a life devoted to the revelation of human destructiveness,the revival of the world of silence,and the integrity of existence as a whole.