本文在前人对拉尔夫•沃尔多•爱默生（1803-1882）散文 “自我”问题研究的基础上，将 “自我”主题进一步细化，从“自我实现”角度出发，以爱默生的八首诗歌为研究文本，从主题和形式两个方面展开深入细致的分析。爱默生 “自我” 的典范在他的“自然”、“诗人” 和其他的一些散文中都有所体现。诗人在他眼中就是一个完整永恒的个体，可以跨越时间，用直觉将万事万物与宇宙的统一联系起来，可以与自然交流并将自己的感受以象征性的语言表达出来。本文的分析均以文本分析和细读为主，同时辅以他的散文、日记和书信等作为阐释依据，以对他的诗篇进行更全面深入的理解。本文主要围绕爱默生“自我实现”的三步展开，自我发现、自立、自我完善。第一章主要以 “杜鹃花”、“日子”和 “自然” 为文本分析自我发现是如何实现的。爱默生认为自然界充满了象征，每种事物都映射着人们的精神，爱默生将这些在他的象征性语言中表达的淋漓尽致。同时，自然事物能够提供灵感让人们去发现自我，去思考更多关于自我存在的问题。在人与自然这种不断的相互交流中，自我发现得以实现。第二章主要讨论自立，它体现在爱默生的诗歌主题和形式两个方面。主题上，“尤利埃尔” 作为突破传统的代表，敢于从众天使中站出来说出真理。形式上，爱默生 不拘泥于传统的格律和形式，主张是诗歌的思想而不是诗歌的韵律成就一首诗，并采用问-答的模式代替原来的问-答-问的形式。第三章集中分析怎样在“个体” 和“整体” 的制衡中实现自我完善。一方面以 “个体与整体” 为文本研究如何让个体在整体中实现价值。另一方面，在他著名的“挽歌”中，爱默生描述了个人的情感是如何升华到一种超脱情感的。爱默生以诗人的身份，通过诗歌表达了个体是如何从自我发现到自立再到自我完善，以完成精神上自我实现的。

Based on the previous researches on Emerson’ concept of self, this thesis will concentrate on one specific aspect of the issue—self-fulfillment. Since the previous studies are mainly on Emerson’s essays while his poetry draws little attention in connection with the aspect, the present thesis aims to offer a tentative interpretation. Actually, Emerson’s perception of a model of self-perfection is reflected in his “Nature”, “The Poet” and other essays. The poet in his eyes is a complete and eternal individual who can penetrate the infinite time, comprehend by intuition the path of things and the divine unity of the universe, and communicate the feelings of contact with nature to his fellow human beings. Therefore his poems deserve our study with his visions on the self-fulfillment issue.The main body of the thesis is divided into three chapters corresponding to the three steps of self-fulfillment. Chapter one deals with self-discovery, mainly based on an analysis of “The Rhodora”, “Days” and “Nature”. The natural objects reflect the subjective mood of the individual, which is represented in Emerson’s symbolic language. Meanwhile, nature provides inspiration for individuals to discover themselves, to think more of the problem of their own existence. It is in the dynamic relation with nature that self-discovery is achieved. Chapter two will focus on the idea of self-reliance which is embodied in two aspects—the subject and the form of Emerson’s poems. Emerson chooses Uriel as a representative of the non-conformist, who stands out of the angels to speak out the truth. In terms of form, Emerson argues that “it is not meters, but a meter-making argument that makes a poem.” The last chapter discusses self-integration in the contradictory balance between “Each” and “All”. It concentrates on how the relationship between part and the organic whole is represented in “Each and All”, and how the personal sensibility develops to all-pervading sense in his famous elegy “Threnody”. In reading him, we have a feeling that we are communicating with an original poet as well as with an original person.