爱德华·阿尔比早期作品的喜剧性及喜剧审美

【作者】 连幼平；

【导师】 宫宝荣；

【作者基本信息】 上海戏剧学院 ， 戏剧戏曲学， 2012， 博士

【摘要】 爱德华·阿尔比是美国戏剧1960年代最闪亮的名字。我国于上世纪60年代初译介阿尔比其人其作，但至今只有七部作品被译成汉语，国内研究普遍将其定位为荒诞剧作家，主要研究对象是已经译成中文的七部作品，所以，众多研究论文具有主题接近，对象较窄的问题。本论文从喜剧性及喜剧审美切入是国内目前关于阿尔比作品研究的新视点。任何客体，由于审美主体、审美时空、审美角度的不同，都有可能是喜剧性的。对一部戏剧作品的审美也是多角度的。正是基于以上两点，本论文展开了论述。阿尔比的早期作品与西欧荒诞戏剧和美国黑色幽默小说具有紧密关系。它的出现是文学发展一定阶段的必然产物，而不是偶然现象，它的喜剧性倾向符合这一时期文学审美的潮流。本论文遵循传统文学要素的观点，从叙事特点和人物特点两个方面分析阿尔比早期作品的喜剧性及喜剧审美。在传统喜剧中，剧作家利用计谋、误会、巧合、夸张、倒置和突转等基本手段制造喜剧效果。而在现代戏剧中，一方面，把潜在的矛盾做静态处理，避免了悲剧性的直接舞台呈现，从而遏制了审美主体的悲情摄入；另一方面，利用怪诞手法积极制造喜剧效果。阿尔比早期剧作中的《法姆和亚姆》继承了传统喜剧创作方法，加以部分超现实主义表现手法，产生了不错的喜剧效果。《沙箱》一剧中刻意为姥姥的死制造了柔和的氛围，《贝西·史密斯之死》中始终回避贝西之死的直接舞台呈现，从而遏制了审美主体悲情的摄入。《动物园的故事》、《美国梦》和《微妙的平衡》三剧中的残缺叙事是阿尔比喜剧叙事方法与荒诞戏剧最明显的相关性。而阿尔比喜剧叙事的独特性主要在确定性叙事与不确定性叙事的故意背离之上：一方面说明构成故事的基本要素，并说明故事的最终结局，但另一方面，不断把这种确定性衍生的确定叙事拉向背离的一端，通过毫不相关内容的无原则堆砌破坏理性的完整叙事，从而造成主体出其不意的喜剧性审美体验。传统喜剧人物和现代喜剧人物虽有不同的思想基础和现实基础，不同的社会身份，穿梭于不同的喜剧机制中，但却具有作为喜剧人物的共性：即低劣性、自由性和英雄使命感。阿尔比的喜剧人物具有这些共性之外，也具有明显的独特性。阿尔比喜剧人物的语言无序肮脏，具有明显返归动物本性的冲动。他们虽然没有确定的人生目标，却实现了精神世界的自我超越与自我胜利，大胆地悖反了传统的身份制。这些人物明显的主观意识是他们不同于荒诞戏剧人物的主要体现。本论文的后续研究需要在两个方面继续深入：一是关于喜剧性研究的微观论题有待深入，二是戏剧宏观研究的视角需要拓宽，对文本研究与舞台实践，作家作品与作家舞台实践经历的研究尚有较大交叉的空间。更多还原

【Abstract】 Edward Albee is the most shinning name of American theatre in1960s.Commonly acknowledged as a playwright of Theater of the Absurd, he is firstintroduced to China in early1960s, but only seven of his plays have been translatedinto Chinese. In China today, criticism alike is dotted on the seven-translated plays.The research perspective in this dissertation, the comic mechanism and the audience’sacceptance, is a very new access to his work.Any object can be taken as something comic when it is valued by differentsubjects from different angles in different places and times. And so can be a theatre.This dissertation is grounded on this law.Albee’s plays (1958-1968), so closely related to European Theatre of the Absurdand American fictions of Black Humor, is, not by accident, a certain product ofAmerican literature and the comic tendency in these plays agrees the aestheticalstandard of that age.This dissertation explores the comic mechanism in Albee’s plays and theaudience’s acceptance in two parallel ways: its narration and personage, which arealways taken as two basic elements of a literature work by traditional literaturecriticism.Traditionally, the playwrights employ some narrative devices like intrigue,misunderstanding, coincidence, exaggeration, inversion and sudden-turn to producecomic effect. But in modern theatre, on one hand, with the conflicts calmed down andhidden from the stage show, the aesthetic acceptance is immune to the tragic effect; onthe other hand, the revival of grotesque brings about projecting comic effect. Fam andYam, a play of Albee’s early achievements, with the together-work of the devices oftraditional comic narration and that of surrealism, makes very good comic effect. InThe Sandbox, a soft atmosphere is intentionally created for the death of Grandma; inThe Death of Bessie Smith, the dodge of the direct show of Bessie’s bloody deathhelps to make the audience away from a tragedy. The fragmentary narration in TheZoo Story, The American Dream and A Delicate Balance indicates the relevancebetween Albee’s plays and Theatre of the Absurd. The peculiarity of Albee’s narrationlies in the willful inter-deviation of definite and indefinite narration. For one thing, thebasically needed elements for a story and the end of the story are definite; for another,the story develops in a way opposite to that such a story should always have followed,with the arbitary piling of irrelated information, which surprises the subject of the aesthetic acceptance and stirs laughter.Traditional and modern comic personages, based on different social facts andtheory backgrounds, play an active role in different comic mechanisms with differentsocial identities. But, inferior, free and heroic, they share the common features ofcomic personage. Albee’s comic personages have these features, and also theiruniqueness. They speak dirty words in very poor logic and even thirst for thecome-back of man’s animal nature. Without definite ideal for life, they boldly say“no” to the traditional expectation of their social identities, seek their own way toexceed the straight jacket of unlucky life and spiritually win at last. In this way, theyexpress very strong subjective intent and get detached from the images in Theatre ofthe Absurd.The research here needs furthering in two ways: some microcosmic problemsabout comedy should call for more attention; the macroscopic angle of the furtheringresearch should be launched out of the mixed field of text study and stage practice,and that of the playwright’s writing and his artistic practice.更多还原