英文摘要 |
Courtroom drama constitutes over ten percent of the Yuan zaju plays still available today. This is a special genre about crime, investigation, and trial. It often presents cases of injustice reversed or of the real criminals punished by wise judges. The subject matter of this genre, covering many aspects of litigation, is unique in the repertoire of Yuan zaju. This article discusses presentations of the Yuan dynasty courtroom drama in three aspects: 1) Tears shed as well as farces enacted in the courtroom and their dramatic effects, 2) Displays of courtroom eloquence, and 3) Applications of legal elements to the plays for literary and entertaining purposes. To put my discussion into perspective, I have applied Baktin's theory of the carnival to analyze the sarcastic functions of the farces and to see how laughter works with the opposing force of tears. |