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1、1 FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT Declaration of Academic Integrity I promise that the thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any institutes of higher learning and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material
2、previously published or written by another person, except when due reference is made in the text of the thesis. I understand that to do so would mean that I had committed plagiarism, and that it is my responsibility to be aware of the Universitys regulations on plagiarism and their importance. Signe
3、d: Date: May 5, 2008 2 A Comparative Study of Romeo and Juliet and The Peony Pavilion Abstract: William Shakespear is one of the most famous writers in Britain. His famous play Romeo and Juliet was written in 16th century, portraying a classical love story. The protagonists are from hostile families
4、, but hoping to gain the love and happiness through their struggle, they devoted to it, died for it.William Shakespeare presents us an innovative spirit in fighting against feudalism and pursuing for pure love. At the same time, “Chinese Shakespeare” -Tang Xian-zu is one of the most famous dramatist
5、s in China and he wrote The Peony Pavilion in the same century. Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet and Tang Xian-zus The Peony Pavilion share many similarities, though each has some different Aesthetic value. This paper is dedicated to study the cultural and artistic manifestations in these two plays by
6、analyzing their background and theme, plot and conflict, and Aesthetic value to depict their similarities and differences respectively. Key words: Comparative literature； Romeo and Juliet；The Peony Pavilion 摘要：威廉莎士比亚是英国最杰出的剧作家。他的著名剧作罗密欧与朱丽叶著于16 世纪，作品描写了一个经典的爱情故事，男女主人公的家庭是世仇，但他们希望通过其斗争获 得真爱和幸福。威廉莎士比亚
7、给我们呈现了一次反封建主义，追求真爱的革命。 与此同时， “中国的莎士比亚”-汤显祖，是中国最杰出的戏剧作家之一，他也于16世纪 写下了牡丹亭 。莎士比亚的罗密欧与朱丽叶与汤显祖的剧作牡丹亭同为经典爱情 故事，二者同于十六世纪写成；同为戏剧经典，二者之间存在很多相似之处，却也有着根本的 差异，具有不尽相同的审美价值。本文从故事背景、主题、情节、戏剧冲突、审美观念等对两 部剧作进行分析，探讨相同时代跨国界的文学著作蕴涵的文化和艺术表现形式，在作品中体现 两部著名爱情剧作在文学上不可思议的共通之处，以及不同文化背景下各自的特色。 3 关键词：文学；罗密欧与朱丽叶 ；牡丹亭 Contents 1.
8、Introduction.3 2. Background and Theme.4 3. The Character of Heroine . 7 3.1 The same age to yearn for love 7 3.2 The same constrains from society 7 3.3 The same dispassionate and logical personality 8 3.4 The same goal of individual liberty and pure love 8 4. Plot and Dramatic Conflicts. 9 5. Aesth
9、etic Distance 10 6. Conclusion 11 References.12 Acknowledgements.13 1. Introduction Love and marriage are the eternal theme of mankind, whose subject matter in literary works is ubiquitous, no matter in the West or East. In China, Tangs most 4 representative work is The Peony Pavilion which was writ
10、ten in 1598. Just three years before its accomplishment, in 1595， Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet was born in Britain. Tang Xianzu is called “Chinese Shakespeare”. Both Tang and Shakespeare are two dazzling writers which bring their influence all around the world. Its clear to see that there are many
11、cherished and similar literary value thoughout the two plays. This paper provides a comparative study of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet and Tangs The Peony Pavilion. Its aiming to post some of the same belletristic value in the world by comparing these two famous love stories. 2. Background and Theme
12、 Tang was born in 1550 and lived at the end of Ming Dynasty and Shakespeare was born in 1564 and lived during the Renaissance. Its just the time of germination of Capitalism both in West and East. Tang insisted his own idea on politics when he was an official so that he can not reach his goal on car
13、eer at that moment. When he was old, he became a writer on drama aiming to make his ideal by art. In some extent, what he can not own was reflected on his drama. Shakespeare had been an official, teacher, sever, merchant and so on. He suffered a lot and also enjoyed many colorful time throughout his
14、 life. Because of the experience, he was daring to make tragedy on his works. They had influenced and experienced the innovation of fighting feudalism. During each of their country, the trend of fighting feudalism had different themes. In China, It was embryo stage of capitalism in the 16th century.
15、 At that time craft had great growth. Printing, metallurgy, textile, weaving and the making of ceramics had developed remarkably. Commerce and trade had thrived. The Dutch and British merchants opened trade with China in 1514. The result was the population of town increased. The urban class wanted c
16、ulture life and literature and art to voice their feelings, thoughts and hopes. All these stimulated the developed of literature, including drama. In the field of eastern religious philosophy, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, the tree main schools of thought decided to tolerate each 5 other and c
17、onsidered themselves as stemming from a single source after along struggle for supremacy. All concepts of right and wrong, good and evil merged to be divided into two major schools: Orthodox and Heterodox. The feudal ethics were orthodox, and the idea of freedom of love and emancipation of individua
18、lism were taboos. There were still some people daring to pursue freedom and love, to turn against anti old concepts. Tang Xian-zu is one of them. When Tang was young, he learned this from Luo Ru-fang and made friends with Zi Bo. All of them were opponents on old etiquette, old tradition and old auta
19、rchy. At most extent, their mind affected Tangs thinking. In Britain, the hatred and feud among aristocracies originated during the Elizabethan age which were still deep rooted. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was rooted in a family feud as well as in the feud ideas of that time. Matrimony was contr
20、olled by father. The tradition had its influence. Shakespeare just experienced this age of asceticism, and rising coexisted and produced many antinomies in his mind. That was also the first Age of his producing career. All these same ideology makes Tang and Shakespeare create their famous and classi
21、cal works by the similar subject under different kinds of constrains imposed by feudal society and strive to gain individual liberty and pure love to post anti-feudalism. Both of the two works are comedy tragedy reflected in different modes. In The Peony Pavilion, it depicts a young girl named Du Li
22、-niang who was 16 years old, restrained by old etiquette, old tradition and old autarchy; as the only child of Du Bao, perfect of Nanan, she lived in his fathers mansion for three years without even visiting the garden or any social activities. All her days are required to broider and learn ole etiq
23、uette that performed “proper behavior.” She never has opportunity to meet males except her father Du Bao and her tutor Chen Zui-liang, let alone fall in love with somebody. Living under such lonely and joyless circumstances, this adolescent girl can not help but fell unhappy and sorrowful. One day,
24、she was guided by her maid and got her first time to visit garden. She saw many beautiful flowers booming in the garden while no one would appreciate them. She thinks that she just like those flowers, though with good youth and appearance, they are completely neglected. And then she has a dream that
25、 she dates with a young man 6 named Liu Meng-mei in the garden and they fall in love with each other, even having body connection. Her dream was disturbed by her mother and made her dear not say goodbye to the young man. After that, she suffered a sickness of love and then died. After her death, she
26、 becomes a spirit and finds Liu Meng-mei in her dream, who turns to be a scholar who is on his way to capital city for taking part in an imperial examination. She takes the initiative and expresses her love to him, and they are married as soon as her spirit reenters her body and she becomes alive ag
27、ain. During the story, she resolutely struggles for individual liberty, pure love and happiness and marries Liu Meng-mei at last. In Romeo and Juliet, the same adolescent girl Juliet was 14 year-old, lived in Capulet family while this family just the hostile one to Montague family whose son named Ro
28、meo are Juliets lover. Each is devoted to the other but thery union is impossible because of the hostility between their families. Juliet falls in love with Romeo at first sight in her family ball. And then, they are going to marry in private. However, at the moment, Romeo happens to kill Juliets br
29、other Tybalt and is banished; Juliet is also engaged by her parents to someone else, for whom she has no affection. Juliet consults Fair Lawrence, whom suggests a daring scheme to free her form an enforced marriage and give Romeo an opportunity to take her away. After she gets suggestion from him, s
30、he feigns, unfortunately Romeo misses the massage and thinks that his lover Juliet is dead. He kills himself in the funeral near the tomb. After a while, Juliet wakes up and finds out her Romeo is dead and she commits suicide at once. Tang Xian-zu posted Chinese feudal society under which people hav
31、e no freedom on individual and no right to gain happiness. People have to restrain their human requirements and follow various old rules on behavior and mind. Tang also gives us a beautiful story of seeking pure love without materialism. Shakespeare shows that mankind need to liberate from any hatre
32、d and constrains. He thinks that all the victory of humanism and individual liberty has to sacrifice some cherished things. He arranges the dramatic personae to dead at the end. Both of Tang and Shakespeare give our human history an impact on seeking innovative mind and eternal pure love. 7 3. The c
33、haracter of heroine 3.1 The same age to yearn for love Juliet, having not reached her fourteenth birthday, she is of an age that stands on the border between immaturity and maturity. This case also happens to 16 year-old heroine Du Li-niang. These two adolescents lived in different countries, but th
34、ey are of the same requirements spiritual and physical quality. 3.2 The same constrains from society Juliet seems to have no friends of her age, and she is not comfortable in talking about sex (as seen in her discomfort when the Nurse goes on and on about a sexual joke at Juliets expense in Act I, s
35、cene iii). “Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen. Susan and she,-God rest all Christian souls.Were of an age: well, Susan is with God; She was too good for me:-but, as I said, On Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen; that shall she, marry; I remember it well. Tis since the earthquake
36、now eleven years; And she was weand,-I never shall forget it-, Of all the days of the year, upon that day: For I had then laid wormwood to my dug, Sitting in the sun under the dove-house wall; My lord and you were then at Mantua: Nay, I do bear a brain:-but, as I said, When it did taste the wormwood
37、 on the nipple Of my dug and felt it bitter, pretty fool, To see it tetchy, and fall out with the dug! Shake, quoth the dove-house: twas no need, I trow, to bid me trudge. And since that time it is eleven years; For then she could stand alone; nay, by the rood She could have run and waddled all abou
38、t; For even the day before, she broke her brow: And then my husband,-God be with his soul! A was a merry man,-took up the child: Yea, quoth he, dost thou fall upon thy face? Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit; Wilt thou not, Jule? and, by my holidame, pretty wretch left crying, and said
39、 Ay To see now how a jest shall come about! I warrant, am I should live a thousand yeas, I never should forget it; Wilt thou not, Jule? quoth he. And, pretty fool, it stinted, and said Ay.” The same things happen to Du Li-niang as well. When her tutor Chen teaches her a poet named Guan Jiu (a kind o
40、f birds name) about sylphlike lady. One of sentences is “Gentleman is willing to dangle after sylphlike lady”. （窈窕淑女，君子好逑） It makes Du and her maid Chun Xiang discussed this topic a lot. Nevertheless, her tutor stops their discussion at once because it is forbidden for a girl to think or to talk abo
41、ut under that feudal social background. The same reason on leading to the tragic part in these two plays are also the constrains from the feudal society. There is no specific reason or personal misfeasance or demerit producing the tragic during the story. The reason of Romeo and Juliets death is the
42、 hatred and the feudal society. The cause why Du dead suddenly is the constrained 8 power from the feudal society and the realistic circumstance. Just as the tragic fate happens in ancient Greece, dramatic personae have no ethic or moral disfigurements, having no misfeasance, either. However, they a
43、re destroyed by fate at the end. 3.3 The same dispassionate and logical personality Juliet as a simplicity girl was brought up in a strict family. After Romeo kills Tybalt and is to be banished, Juliet does not follow him blindly. She makes a logical and heartfelt decision that her loyalty and love
44、for Romeo must be her guiding priorities. Essentially, Juliet cuts herself loose from her prior social mooringsher Nurse, her parents, and her social position in Veronain order to try to reunite with Romeo. Du shows her dispassionate personality when Liu Meng-mei asks her to marry, she refuses and s
45、uggests him to get her parents permission so that they may get together formally under that feudal society. After Lius great efforts on persuading her parents and getting permission from the emperor, they married and had a happy life at last. 3.4 The same goal of individual liberty and pure love Jul
46、iet obeyed her parents arrangement that is going to marry with Paris. Everything has changed after she met Romeo. She begins to fight to feudal society and family for seeking individual liberty to choose her true love and happiness. She dated with Romeo in private, even plan to marry Romeo by her ow
47、n decision. She refuses to be a docile daughter and begins to dispute with her father. She posts one of the most classic love in human history that she just loves Romeo without any purposes. She says “Go ask his name: if he be married, my grave is like to be my wedding-bed.” This is the mark she giv
48、es when she gets the first sight of Romeo. Of cause, Romeo fell in love with her at the same time. They dont know much about each other. They are just inspired by the true affection from each other. They pay out their precious life to each other. This is the most chaste and self-giving love in the w
49、orld. It is also the most ideal pattern in Shakespeare literature. Du also submits to her parents 16 years and to be a gentlewoman as her fathers requirements. After she dreamt Liu and fell in love with him, she gives the most powerful retort to the long term constrains by feudal society. She chooses to die and leave the realistic world. She seeks her happiness from the shadow of shade. Tang gives his The Peony Pavilion epigraph: “As Du Li-niang