A Study of the Metaphoric Middle Stratum of the plays of Shakespeare

有许多批评家从意象的角度来研究莎士比亚的戏剧。但他们都没有考虑到意象和隐喻在戏剧结构中的地位。在我的研究中，我把它们看作是存在于游戏的表层和深层结构之间的中间层。这个中间层对应于人类心智的中间层，例如，人类心智产生梦、炼金术和民间传说。如果莎士比亚戏剧中的隐喻可以被认为是与这些在人类思想的中间层产生的东西相对应的，我们可以利用科学研究的成果来处理它们。从这一角度出发，本文进行了以下研究.《仲夏夜之梦》中隐喻性的中间层是以月亮的民间传说为基础的。弓和箭的意象被编织到这个隐喻结构中。弓和箭本来就有魔法元素。它与五月运动会，罗宾汉和底部作为一个傻瓜的地球。《暴风雨》的中间层是由炼金术的隐喻构成的。这出戏利用了一种民间传说中的“底层精神”来塑造阿里尔。有一个关于炼金术士帕拉塞尔苏斯的传说。这一事实表明，这出戏的隐喻中间层是一个炼金术。《麦克白》中中间阶层隐喻的核心主题是“美即是丑”。“剧中的各种形象和隐喻都与这一主题有关。

There are many criticisms which study Shakespeare's plays from the point of view of imagery. But none of them considers what position the imagery and metaphors occupy in the structure of the Shakespearean plays. In this study of mine I regard them as forming the middle stratum which exists between the surface and the deep structure of the play. This middle stratum corresponds to that of human mind which produces, for example, dreams, alchemy and folklore. If the metaphors of the plays of Shakespeare can be considered to be corresponding to these things which are produced at the middle stratum of human mind, we can utilize the achievements of the scientific studies which treat of them. From this point of view the following research has been done.1. The metaphoric middle stratum of A Midsummer Night's Dream is based on the folklore of the moon. The imagery of bow and arrow is woven into this metaphoric structure. Bow and arrow originally have a magical element. It is related to May Games, Robin Hood and Bottom as a fool of the earth.2. The middle stratum of The Tempest is composed of the metaphors of alchemy. This play makes use of a type of folklore called 'the spirit in the bottom' for the formation of Ariel. There is a legend of this type about an alchemist Paracelsus. This fact suggests that the metaphoric middle stratum of this play is an alchemical one.3. The core motif of the metaphoric middle stratum of Macbeth is 'fair is foul.' The various images and metaphors of the play are related to this motif.