A Dazzling Pearl in Twelfth Night——A review on the character “clown”

摘 要：《第十二夜》是莎士比亞創作的最后一部喜劇，劇中情節安排巧妙，表現手法豐富，是一部不朽名作，受世人尊崇。本文重點研究劇中一個小人物——小丑費邊，分析其在劇中所起的重要作用：他是重要仆人、得力助手，用幽默風趣的語言為王公貴族出謀劃策，排解憂愁；他大智若愚，在尊卑分明的上流社會中掙得一席之地；面對差強人意的生活，他選擇樂觀的態度，處之泰然；此外，此角色還起著線索的作用，貫穿全文，是作者與讀者交流的樞紐。

關鍵詞：Shakespeare， Feste， wisdom， optimism

作者簡介：武子琪，女（1990.9-），山西原平人，學歷：本科 研究方向：英美文學、文化，語言學。

[中圖分類號]：I106 [文獻標識碼]：A [文章編號]：1002-2139(2011)-17-0013-01

Twelfth Night is the last comedy written by Shakespeare， drawing a close to his comic creation and standing out as a milestone among his plentiful works. As you are soaked in the principal melody of the love song， your eyesight will definitely be drawn towards a “minor” character， a clown named Feste， who owns an incomparable significance.

Both in ancient east and west， clowns are kept in imperial palaces by authority， for use of entertaining and running errands. Feste is more than an entertainer but aslo a commentator who can cause other’s reflection on their deeds. He is the only one distinguished to express one’s opinions straightforwardly.

Equipped with an aptitude accurately sizing up situation， Feste is a genius with knack for punning， word play， and witty repartee. Even though Feste is a \"fool，\" he's the “wisest cat in Illyria”. His hiding wisdom and disguised with little intelligence， precisely accords with our Chinese value concepts. We respect some modest sages， for they give guidance in tactful ways， whish can avoid them from embarrassment. In turn， the sages win more gratitude and appreciation. That’s why Feste is able to be favored by every character.

There is no doubt that Feste belongs to the lowest layer of the society. In this comedy， we can frequently encounter such revelation of his inferior rank. Instead of complaining the unfair destiny， he chooses to adopt an optimistic attitude and accept his fate unperturbedly. He fulfills his duties and gets deserved awards; He’d like to talk to everyone and enjoyed himself during the conversation; He seizes appropriate time to revel with pure happiness. He tells us， only when you abandon excessive desires can you hold the key to happiness.

Feste also acts as a transitional role in the drama. He criticizes， manipulates and entertains other characters while causing them to reflect on their behaviors， which is similar to the way Shakespeare interacts with his audience， breaking down the barrier between the audience and the characters on stage.

In conclusion， even such a minor character is able to shine through the whole play like a dazzling pearl decorated on a necklace. The figure reminds us， when reading literary works， we should never let go of trivial things， which possibly can be dug out much importance.

參考文獻：

1. 威廉·莎士比亞著，朱生豪譯《第十二夜》云南人民出版社，2009.07。

2.王艷，《角色凸顯與丑角復活——莎士比亞〈第十二夜〉中丑角分析》，2005年第5期，山東教育學院學報。

3. 嚴謹，《丑角角色與智慧的凸顯——莎士比亞〈第十二夜〉費斯特形象再解》，2009年3月下，《魅力中國》。