英文摘要 |
The Book of Sir Tristram de Lyones in Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur had, until recently, been long neglected. The character Dinadan, who makes his formal appearance in the book as a mere foil to the major characters, is therefore thought to have only marginal status in a marginal text of Malory's Arthurian monument. In fact, Dinadan is an indispensable mediator whose interactions with the major characters weave in and out the configurations of the chivalric world. Dinadan's detached role of a poet-like jester opens up a critical space in which the reader is led to reflect on the inherent tension and conflict among the Round Table knights as well as the deadly rupture of theory and practice that lies at the core of the knightly enterprise. Consequently, the peripheral Dinadan turns out to be a central figure whose engagement and detachment reveal the core problematics of the Round Table world. |