論明清傳奇名作中「情境呈現」與「情節發展」之關聯性

The Relations Between the “Situational Presentation” and the “Plot Development” in the Masterpieces of the Ming and Qing Chuanqi Drama

中國戲曲發展至明代，由於文人染指日深，詩文文學中所固有的「主題意識」與「結構觀念」曾啟示，或誘發了部分文人對於戲曲中所必有之「抒情性」與「戲劇性」之結合產生深刻之反省，並亦使之有了具體改革的嘗試， 因而逐漸呈現出意圖將戲曲之創作予以理論化之趨勢。本文所探討之「情境呈現」與「情節發展」即為在此種趨勢中，特定劇作家為求展現戲曲「抒情特質」與「戲劇特質」時所特為關注之要點。此種對於戲劇表現手段的關注，使明清傳奇中部分劇作整體之「戲劇性」逐漸增強，因而得以與中國戲曲傳統之抒情特質陶熔出新的境界。在少數傑出之傳奇劇作中，甚而可以見出一種企圖將整部劇予以「詩化」的努力，如明代湯顯祖的《牡丹亭》，清初洪昇的《長生殿》及孔尚任的《桃花扇》皆是其例。不過由於大部分地方戲曲之發展，仍受限於其所依存社會條件之限制，此種潛藏之發展，在近代西方戲劇觀念輸入以前，並未獲得充分伸舒之機會，明清部分劇作家所實際推動與企圖達成之目標，乃是隱晦而不彰。即就今日治文學史者之所論觀之，仍尚少能於此深入討論之者。本文之著眼欲在戲曲成為「詩劇」之表達特性的基礎上，分析明清傳奇中聯繫「情境呈現」與「情節發展」之種種線索，表明傳奇名作之唱辭中此項「抒情性」與「戲劇性」彼此間相互的滲透，藉以揭示明清劇作家在提昇中國戲曲「戲劇性」方面努力之成果。

In the development of Chinese drama, owing to the literati's participation in playwriting, the “thematic consciousness” and the “structural concept” derived from traditional poetry and prose aroused the Ming literati's reflection on the “lyricism” and the “dramaticism” of Chinese drama, urging them to make concrete improvements on dramaturgy. The Ming literati's efforts formed a new trend of theorizing the writing of Chinese drama. The “situational presentation” and the “plot development” explored in this paper were the central concerns of some Ming and Qing playwrights for presenting the “lyrical” and “dramatic” characteristics of Chinese drama. Such concern about the expressive methods of dramatic art strengthened the integral “dramaticism” of some chuanqi plays, which, together with the traditional lyrical characteristics of Chinese drama, opened a new dramaturgical realm. In a few outstanding chuanqi plays, we may even find the playwrights’ attempt to “poeticize” the whole play, for example, Tang Xianzu's Mudanting (The Peony Pavilion), Hong Slieng's Changshengdian (The Palace of Eternal Life) and Kong Shangren's Taohuashan (The Peach Blossom Fan). However, since the development of most regional dramas were still confined by their social conditions, the Ming and Qing's new dramaturgy was not fully explored before the importation of the modern western dramatic theories and concepts. The goals aimed at and propelled by some Ming and Qing playwrights were thus veiled and obscured. In the light of the expressive features of the “poetic drama, ” this paper analyzes various clues which connect the “situational presentation” with the “plot development” in the Ming and Qing chuanqi plays. By explicating the mutual interaction of the “lyricism” and the “dramaticism” in the chuanqi lyrics, the Ming and Qing playwrights’ painstaking efforts in elevating the integral “dramaticism” of Chinese drama is disclosed.