“多长算是长”:论史诗的长度问题

“ How Long Is Long? ”——On the Length of Epic

史诗是文学中最重要的文类之一。在如何界定史诗的问题上,国际学界一直众说纷纭。虽然主流工具书都指明史诗是长篇叙事诗,但多长算长篇,没有形成一致意见。20世纪最有影响的史诗研究家劳里·杭柯认为,所谓长篇的标准应该至少达到1000诗行。笔者结合运用口头诗学理论和中外田野研究材料,论述了设定这一标准的不合理之处,进而认为,形式上诗行的多寡,并非是认定史诗的核心尺度,史诗内容诸要素才是鉴别的关键。

Epic is one of the most important stylistic types of literature. There are various opinions about the definition of epic. Although epic is defined as a long narrative poem in major reference books, the length of epic is still at issue. Lauri Honko, the most famous expert of epics in the 20th century, held that the length of epic should contain at least 1000 poem lines. The writer discusses the shortcomings of this standard based on the theory of oral poetics and filed research materials both at home and abroad, and then points out that the core standard for epic should be the content rather than the number of lines.