论中古英语谣曲与“中世纪式”传统英国民谣

On Middle English Ballads and“Medievalized”Traditional British Ballads

尽管谣曲这一古老的诗体在英语诗歌史上占据着十分重要的地位,但它在中世纪文学研究中却处于边缘化的状态。从少量有原始手抄本存世的中古英语谣曲,到大批以早期现代英语或现代英语写就的"中世纪风格的"或"中世纪式"传统英国民谣,无论在形式上还是内容上,一首谣曲成型的过程就是它被不断改写、增删、地域化、个人化的过程,在此过程中,它保存和呈现着各个时代的语言、韵式和修辞特色。本文拟通过对一首中古英语谣曲和两首"中世纪式"传统英国民谣进行原文细读和版本对比,来窥测中世纪谣曲文本演变的可能性,以期动态地理解这一诗体的文类特性。

The marginal status quo of ballad study is disproportionate to the importance of the ballad genre in medieval English literature.From Middle English ballads preserved in medieval manuscripts to traditional British ballads presented in early modern or modern anthologies,a ballad takes shape in the process which witnesses its constant adaptation,amplification,localization and individualization,in terms of both form and content.Such a poetic text in flux preserves and demonstrates the linguistic,metrical and rhetorical features of each period in which it was rewritten.This article analyzes one Middle English ballad and two traditional British ballads in their original languages,and compares different versions of them,attempting to explore the possible ways in which a medieval ballad evolves and to facilitate a better understanding of the ballad genre and its stylistic features.