A 'Bending Author' in A Wedding: An Occasional Perspective of Reading Offence and Pardon in A Midsummer Night's Dream

《仲夏夜之夢》在文本結構上的問題，一直難有令人滿意的解讀，主因是這些解讀罔顧原來演出的場合之故。David Wiles的研究，基於占星術與節慶的象徵意涵，認為《仲夏夜之夢》的首演是1596年2月19日，場合是莎士比亞劇團贊助人孫女的婚禮。然而，WiIes並沒有注意到演員在伊莉莎白時代卑屈的社會地位在這貴族婚禮中扮演的角色，也因此對《仲夏夜之夢》的結構，以及該劇的第五幕欠缺更深入的探討。基於David Wiles的研究，這篇論文重啟對《仲夏夜之夢》的調查，並指出《仲夏夜之夢》在不同節慶上的混淆，是在象徵意義的層次上可能帶來的冒犯，並請求觀眾的原諒，並根據這個觀點，重新審視全劇文本上的結構。

關鍵字

《仲夏夜之夢》；婚禮；假面舞劇；占星術；節慶

並列摘要

The structural problem of A Midsummer Night s Dream (MND) has not been satisfactorily explained In an occasion -free approach. Yet David Wiles's research, which has persuasively shown that the dramaturgy of MND cannot be detached from its original staging occasion, i.e. the wedding of Carey and Berkeley on 19 February 1596, in the light of the symbolism associated with the calendar, in particular the symbolical implications of festive and astrology. However, due to his insufficient consideration of the infiltration of the 'bending' social status of players in the Elizabethan age, the meaning of its Act V has not been explored in depth. Based on David Wiles's research, this essay is an attempt to reopen the investigation of an assumption that MND was written for the wedding of Carey and Berkeley, and will further argue that, due to the ideology behind Elizabethans' astrological symbolism that one's personal fate was linked with the changes in the universal order, violating this symbolism and lumping together varying symbolic meanings, as is the case with the encapsulation of the unfitting festive times into MND, amounts to bringing about the disorder of the universe and consequently must have resulted in 'offence' to and asking for 'pardon' from MND's audience. Along with this line, this essay will bring a close metatheatrical examination of MND's Act Five, and show how a 'bending' author, in order to ironically present his blessing to the couple, embarrassed himself in Act V to mitigate the possible offences caused by his ironic strategy, which reveals a macrocosm-based dramaturgy.

並列關鍵字

A Midsummer Night's Dream ； wedding ； masque ； astrology ； festival

參考文獻

Astington, John H.(2010).Actors and Acting in Shakespeare's Time: The Art of Stage Playing.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.

Google Scholar

White, Paul Whitfield(ed.),Westfall, Suzanne R.(ed.)(2002).Shakespeare and Theatrical Patronage in Early Modern England.Cambridge, UK:Cambridge University Press.