元戏剧视角下的《马尔菲公爵夫人》

A Metatheatrical Analysis of The Duchess of Malfi

约翰·韦伯斯特的《马尔菲公爵夫人》通常被认为是一部社会悲剧,揭露了严苛的等级秩序对人性的压迫。但若从阿贝尔与霍恩比提出的"元戏剧"视角分析,该剧则可被视为韦伯斯特对戏剧本质的探索。就形式而言,他在戏剧高潮时运用了舞台死亡、戏中戏、角色中的角色扮演等多种元戏剧手法,从而不断模糊观众对虚拟与现实、舞台与生活的区分。就人物而言,马尔菲公爵夫人、费迪南德和博索拉三位主要人物分别代表了被压抑的戏剧想象,突破束缚且疯癫的戏剧想象,以及戏剧身份不断转换的过程。该剧因而暗合元戏剧的主要特征,是一部真正意义上的元戏剧。

John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi is often considered a social tragedy,exposing the oppression of humanity by the strict hierarchical order.But from the perspective of"metatheater"presented by Lionel Abel and Richard Hornby,the play can be regarded as Webster’s exploration of the nature of theatre.In terms of dramatic form,he employed a set of metatheatrical forms,such as the death on stage,the play within the play,and role playing within the role,to constantly blur the boundary between fiction and reality,stage and life.In terms of characterization,the three major characters,the Duchess,Ferdinand and Bosola,respectively represent the oppressed dramatic imagination,the unrestrained and mad dramatic imagination,and the process of the transformation of dramatic roles.The play thus embodies the main characteristics of metatheatre and is metatheatrical in its true sense.