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 Passage Eight (Wakefield Master’s Realism)

Moreover, insofar as any interpretation of its author can be made from the five or six plays attributed to him, the Wake field Master is uniformly considered to be a man of sharp contemporary observation. He was, formally, perhaps clerically educated, as his Latin and music, his Biblical and patristic lore indicate. He is, still, celebrated mainly for his quick sympathy for the oppressed and forgotten man, his sharp eye for character, a ready ear for colloquial vernacular turns of speech and a humor alternately rude and boisterous, coarse and happy. Hence despite his conscious artistry as manifest in his feeling for intricate metrical and stanza forms, he is looked upon as a kind of medieval Steinbeck, indignantly angry at, uncompromisingly and even brutally realistic in presenting the plight of the agricultural poor.

Thus taking the play and the author together, it is mow fairly conventional to regard the former as a kind of ultimate point in the secularization of the medieval drama. Hence much emphasis on it as depicting realistically humble manners and pastoral life in the bleak hills of the West Riding of Yorkshire on a typically cold bight of December 24th. After what are often regarded as almost “documentaries” given in the three successive monologues of the three shepherds, critics go on to affirm that the realism is then intensified into a burlesque mock-treatment of the Nativity. Finally as a sort of epilogue or after-thought in deference to the Biblical origins of the materials, the play slides back into an atavistic mood of early innocent reverence. Actually, as we shall see, the final scene is not only the culminating scene but perhaps the raison d’etre of introductory “realism.”

There is much on the surface of the present play to support the conventional view of its mood of secular realism. All the same, the “realism” of the Wakefield Master is of a paradoxical turn. His wide knowledge of people, as well as books indicates no cloistered contemplative but one in close relation to his times. Still, that life was after all a predominantly religious one, a time which never neglected the belief that man was a rebellious and sinful creature in need of redemption, So deeply (one can hardly say “naively” of so sophisticated a writer) and implicitly religious is the Master that he is less able (or less willing) to present actual history realistically than is the author of the Brome “Abraham and Isaac”. His historical sense is even less realistic than that of Chaucer who just a few years before had done for his own time costume romances, such as The Knight’s Tale, Troilus and Cressida, etc. Moreover Chaucer had the excuse of highly romantic materials for taking liberties with history.

1. Which of the following statements about the Wakefield Master is NOT True?

[A]. He was Chaucer’s contemporary.

[B]. He is remembered as the author of five or six realistic plays.

[C]. He write like John Steinbeck.

[D]. HE was an accomplished artist.

2. By “patristic”, the author means

[A]. realistic. [B]. patriotic

[C]. superstitious. [C]. pertaining to the Christian Fathers.

3. The statement about the “secularization of the medieval drama” refers to the

[A]. introduction of mundane matters in religious plays.

[B]. presentation of erudite material.

[C]. use of contemporary introduction of religious themes in the early days.

4. In subsequent paragraphs, we may expect the writer of this passage to

[A]. justify his comparison with Steinbeck.

[B]. present a point of view which attack the thought of the second paragraph.

[C]. point out the anachronisms in the play.

[D]. discuss the works of Chaucer.

Vocabulary

1. clerically educated 受過教會教育的

2. lore 口頭傳說，口頭文字

3. patristic 有關早期基督教領袖的

4. vernacular 方言

5. boisterous 喧鬧的

6. metrical 韻律的

7. stanza 詩節

8. medieval 中世紀的

9. plight 悲慘的命運

10. secularization 世俗化，脫離教會

11. pastoral 鄉村的

12. bleak 荒涼的

13. documentary 記錄文獻的

14. monologue 獨白

15. burlesque 詼諧或游戲詩文的，諷刺或滑稽的

16. Nativity 基督的誕生

17. epilogue 收場白

18. deference 敬意，尊重

19. atavistic 返祖的，隔代遺傳的

20. slide back to 滑回，這里指返回

21. raison d’etre 存在的理由

22. all the same 即便如此

23. paradoxical turn 自相矛盾的說法

24. cloistered 隱居的

25. contemplative 好冥想的人（如僧侶）

26. the contemplative life 宗教上冥想的生涯

27. redemption 贖罪

28. mundane 世俗的，現世的

29. erudite 博學的，飽學之士

30. anachronism 時代錯誤，與時代不合的事物

難句譯注

1. Moreover, insofar as any interpretation of its author can be made from the five or six plays attributed to him, the Wake field Master is uniformly considered to be a man of sharp contemporary observation.

[結構簡析] insofar 義：只能，在……范圍，常和as 連用。Attributed 過去分詞，這里指屬于韋克菲爾德大師寫的劇本。

[參考譯文] 再則，就以五六本，被認為是韋克菲爾德·馬斯脫所寫的劇本為依據來分析說明這位作者，他是一位公認為對時代具有敏銳洞察力的戲劇作家。

寫作方法和文章大意

這是一篇文學評論，評韋克菲爾德·馬斯脫的戲劇。他是喬叟的同時代人，采用對比手法，作者對比了他和別的批評家對韋評價之差異來論證韋克菲爾德本人的觀點，立場和作品的文體，語言，內容等各個方面。然后把他跟同時代人喬叟作比較，指出他的不足。

答案祥解

1. C. 他象斯坦貝克一樣寫。第一段作者說他是一位公認的對當時代具有敏銳洞察力的作家。現在仍然享有盛名。主要在于“他對被壓迫和被遺忘的人民的同情，有著對人物性格了解的犀利眼光，對日常方言的曲折轉意的“耳朵”。他的幽默粗放而又喧鬧，粗魯而又愉快。因此，盡管他有意識的藝術效果（性），明顯表現在他對復雜韻律和詩節的感受力上，人們仍然尊他為中世紀的斯坦貝克，對貧苦農民悲慘命運的疾首憤怒，給以毫不妥協地甚至野性地真實描述”。這段話說明，文內兩位作家之共同點是在內容觀點上。而不是指一樣的藝術形式上。韋克菲爾德寫的是詩歌形式--韻文，而斯坦貝克是小說和散文劇。所以說他像斯坦貝克那樣寫就錯了。故選C.

A. 他是喬叟同時代人，見最后一句“他的歷史觀點的現實主義稍遜于喬叟。喬叟在幾年前就為其時代寫了一本傳奇。” B. 他是作為五或六本現實之劇本的作者而為人紀念。本文第一句話“只能從他寫的五個或六個劇本來說明這位作者。” D. 他是一位有成就的藝術家。

2. D. Patristic 義：為關于早期基督教領袖的。第一段中his Biblical and Patristic lore indicate的意思是“他那有關圣經和早期基督教領袖們的歌謠。”

A. 現實主義的。 B. 愛國的。 C. 迷信的。

3. A. 在宗教劇中介紹世俗之事。見第二段中的secularization義：世俗化，脫離教會。這一整段都講了韋劇中對世俗之事的描述：“拿劇本和作者兩者一起講的話，現在習慣于把他的劇本看作中世紀戲劇世俗化的一個頂點。因此，對他世俗化強調常以一個例子來說明，即他現實主義的描述12月24日一個寒冷的夜晚，在約克郡西區荒涼的山里的那種粗陋的習俗和鄉村的生活；在常被人認為幾乎是‘記錄文獻’的三個牧人三段連續的獨白之后，批評家們繼續認為他的現實主義在此時被強化到以諷刺嘲弄的口吻處理了基督的誕生。最后，作者收場白或事后的補充，對材料的來源圣經表示敬意。劇本又滑回到早期純潔無邪（天真）的崇敬，一種返祖基調中去。事實上最后一幕不僅是全劇的高潮，也許還是“現實主義”引言存在的理由。”這一段清楚表明。批評者認為宗教只是作者的收場白，計劃外的添加劑而已。

B. 表現淵博知識材料。 C. 應用當代材料。太籠統。當代也有宗教之事。

D. 介紹早期宗教題材。

4. B. 表達抨擊第二段思想的觀點。這個問題最難回答，其所以選擇B，是因為本人作者并不同意流行的觀點。他在講完“常規看法”有，用引導來談“紀實文獻”和“現實主義”。這說明作者之含義并不是這兩個詞的本義。這段最后一句話“事實上，最后一幕……”表明：最后一幕有宗教內容，而“現實主義”不過處于 introductory階段。第三段點明作者的觀點“現在的戲劇表面上有許多支持世俗現實主義模式的觀點。韋之‘現實主義’有一個自相矛盾的特點。他對人和書本的廣泛的了解表明：“他不是與世隔絕，而是和時代緊密相連的。再說，那時的生活畢竟是全方位的宗教。那時代絕不會忽視這種信仰--人是叛逆和有罪的生靈，需要贖罪。大師是那么深沉含蓄的信奉宗教，因而他比布羅姆作者更不可能（更不愿）現實主義地表現真正的歷史。他的歷史感現實性甚至比喬叟更不現實主義。喬叟早在前幾年為他的時代寫了‘類似’騎士的故事”。“特羅依拉斯和克萊西德”等傳奇。再說，喬叟以高度浪漫的材料為借口對歷史事實任意處理。”所以說，我們可以期望作者在下面一步發揮自己的觀點，抨擊第二段的看法。

A. 他和斯坦貝克的比較是公平的。 C. 指出劇中時代錯誤。 D. 討論喬叟作品。

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