【正文】 n easily find another similarity, that is, both of them use the mon language to write their poems. The employment of the mon language in writing their poems is actually a great contribution to the development of pastoral poetry, and can be called a poetic revolution in the literary history. Wordsworth publishes the second edition of Lyrical Ballads. The most important thing about this edition is that Wordsworth adds a Preface to Lyrical Ballads. In the Preface, Wordsworth puts forward his two viewpoints about the poetic language, and both of the viewpoints are revolutionary in the English poetic history. Firstly, Wordsworth proposes poetry should be written in the real language of mon speech, rather than in the lofty and elaborate “poetic diction”. In the Preface, Wordsworth emphasizes his viewpoint about the poetic language for many times, such as “real language of men in a state of vivid sensation”, “l(fā)anguage really used by men”. Secondly, Wordsworth argues “there neither is nor can be any essential difference between the language of prose and metrical position”. And he also says, “If in a poem there should be found a series of lines, or even a single line, in which the language, though naturally arranged and according to the strict laws of meter, does not differ from that of prose.” Wordsworth uses as much a colloquial language as possible for the purpose of simplicity and direct munication. Although this sometimes borders on the prosaic, it conveys ideas and emotions without evident poetic artifice. Wordsworth strives, as he says in his Preface, to make the incidents of mon life interesting by tracing in them the primary laws of our nature. This is the charm and greatness of Wordsworth?s poetic language, and “some of the most interesting parts of the best poems will be found to be strictly the language of prose when prose is well written.” “Wordsworth is a master of simplicity.” His viewpoint on poetic language is revolutionary and thus has exerted extreme influence on the later poets in the English literature. Unlike Wordsworth who proposes his poetic tes in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Tao Yuanming does not leave us his poetic theory in any written form, but his poems prove that it is he that starts the revolution of using simple language in poetrywriting. He is a special case whose fresh and simple language in his pastoral poetry surpasses the dry and tedious phraseology in the “Metaphysical Poetry”.Tao Yuanming is the first among the poets in the Eastern Jin Dynasty to throw off the recondite language, and the essential reason lies in his persistence in seeking for the value of life. Tao Yuanming opposes the socalled “pure discussions (清 談 )” but he accepts the Taoist thought about nature. Therefore, worshiping nature turns out to be Tao Yuanming?s philosophy. “He is dedicated to the question of how to mune harmoniously with nature.” After Tao Yuanming returns to the rural life from the officialdom, he gradually knows the essence of life by means of farming. By describing his farming experiences and feelings of the rustic life in his poems, Tao Yuanming voices his understanding of life. Being close to the rustic life and the rural people, Tao Yuanming writes his pastoral poems in a language that is simple and fresh without any intentional ornament. Tao Yuanming is not only the founder of Chinese pastoral poetry school but also the pioneer of the simple poetic style. His pastoral poetry is a unique phenomenon, and his poetic language is a revolutionary creation that has exerted great influence on the later poets, especially those in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Wordsworth once claims, “I bring my language near to the language of men” and Tao Yuanming actually employs “the language of rural men” in all his pastoral poems. In advocating and practicing a simple poetic style, the two poets echo each other through their creations. In fact, the literature today owes much to the revolutions they started. 3. Wordsworth’s and Tao Yuanming’s Pastoral Poetry: Differences Poetic Realm Although nature holds the same strong attraction to both Wordsworth and Tao Yuanming and bees the focus of their literary creation, there still exist differences in their pastoral poetry in that the two poets construct different poetic realms. Wordsworth uses his rich imagination and makes much meditation upon the objects of nature in his pastoral poems, while Tao Yuanming is apt to melt into nature without much contemplation. Wordsworth builds up a poetic realm of selfexistence. When reading Wordsworth?s poems, readers can always find that Wordsworth puts his personal opinions in the lines. On the contrary, Tao Yuanming seeks for another poetic realm where he identifies himself with the outer world. In other words, when reading Tao Yuanming?s poems, readers fail to encounter the poet?s personal opinions. Actually, this difference finds its origin in the different cultures of the West and the East. For instance, Wordsworth is willing to inquire into the root of the matter when he is enjoying the beauty of nature, and so he writes: To me the meanest flower that blows can give Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tear. (Ode Intimations of Immortality) On the contrary, Tao Yuanming thinks that the “veritable truth” of life cannot be expressed with words but rather can only be sensed with the heart: The view provides some veritable truth, But my defining words seem to me uncouth. (Drinking Wine, the Fifth) On the basis of Christianity and the pantheism, Wordsworth constructs his own viewpoint on nature. According to the Old Testament, God creates both nature and human beings, so that they are equal in essence. Furthermore, the pantheism further con