凡人的辛酸：西方现代悲剧之审美倾向 : Agonies of the Common Man:The Aesthetic Orientation of Modern Tragedy

自约瑟夫·伍德·克鲁契上世纪初发表《悲剧性谬误》以来，宣布悲剧已经死亡的评论家不乏其人。本文持相反观点，认为悲剧作为一门舞台艺术在现代社会依然存在，只不过它们在语言风格、情节结构、人物塑造、创作题材、思想主题等具体细节上与古典悲剧有所不同。就作品题材而言，古希腊悲剧侧重展现半神半人的传奇人物命运，文艺复兴悲剧侧重描写宫廷内部的倾轧与争斗，法国古典主义悲剧既讲神话故事，又写帝王历史，现代悲剧则将目光投向中产阶级和小市民的日常生活。现代悲剧与古典悲剧的另一个重要区别在于，现代作家对人性的理解更为宽容。在思想主题方面，现代悲剧还可以进一步划分为“社会悲剧”和“私人悲剧”两大类，它们以不同的形式，继续讲述人类的悲伤故事。

Since the publication of“Tragic Fallacy”by Joseph Wood Krutch in the early part of the 20th century, there have been many literary critics who think of tragedy as a thing of the past. This essay argues that tragedy as a form of theatric art continues to play a vital role in modern society even though it assumes a different form from those of its predecessors either in its language style, plot structure, character portrayal, subject matter or thematic emphasis. In terms of subject matter, Greek tragedy, Renaissance tragedy and French classical tragedy are characterized by their presentations of the legends of demigods and intrigues of royal courts, but modern tragedy turns its attention mostly to the lives of the bourgeoisie and common people. Another important feature of modern tragedy lies in the fact that its view of human nature is much more tolerant. Thematically, modern tragedy can be further divided into two large categories of “social tragedy”and “private tragedy”. Either way, they continue to narrate the sad stories of humankind as has been done in the past.