试析燕卜荪“双重情节分析法”

A tentative study of the double-plot analysis by William Empson

燕卜荪在《牧歌的几种变体》中所提出的"双重情节分析法"是从情节入手对作品进行细读的方法。燕卜荪认为,一切文学作品都存在着"史诗—牧歌"的双重结构,这种双重结构的特点在于并列性、一致性和内在联系。因此,从双重情节入手,是分析一切文学作品的最佳途径。双重情节分析法存在着一定的局限,但它在文学作品、特别是叙事性作品的分析方面,确实具有启发意义。正是由于燕卜荪不懈地探索,才使得批评方法越来越引起人们的重视,从而避免了大而无当的理论研究,使文学研究逐步走上从作品实际出发的健康发展道路。

The double-plot analysis, created by William Empson in his Some Versions of Pastorals, is a method of analysis of literary works via plot. Empson holds that all literary works have dual structures of epic pastoral with juxtapositions, agreement, and interrelationship. However, it is claimed that the double-plot analysis has limitations despite its positive features.