A Study On The Golblatts' The Moon Opera From The Perspective Of Literary Stylistics

Qingyi,a turning point in Bi Feiyu's novel creation,is artistically valuable,both for its penetrating portrayal of the protagonist,in whom the universal dilemma of individual is embodied,and for its consummate narrative features.Its English version,The Moon Opera,translated by Howard Golblatt and his wife Sylvia Li-Chun Lin was included in 2008 in the final list of Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.The thematic significance and “aesthetic narration” of Qingyi have been recognized by academic circles;however,current studies on the translation of Qingyi are mainly centered around its translation and communication path,and the transference of its stylistic features and thematic meaning has not received enough attention.Literary stylistics,an intermediary discipline between linguistics and literary criticism,uses linguistic models to interpret literary text.By combining the objective description of linguistics,and the subjective interpretation of literary criticism,literary stylistics serves as an effective tool in the interpretation of literary effects.Literary stylistics can be used to deal with “deceptive equivalence” in fictional translation;deceptive equivalence refers to the translation which conveys approximately the same content with the original but fails to capture the stylistic value.Literary stylistics serves as an effective tool in exploring the perseverance of stylistic values in fictional translation.Inspired by Shen Dan's Literary Stylistics and Fictional Translation,this thesis sets out to analyze the stylistic effects and thematic functions of Qingyi and The Moon Opera from the perspective of literary stylistics.The stylistic analysis is carried out on various levels.At the lexical level,the deviation in the form of illogicality and reliability is discussed;at the syntactic level,the relationship between syntax and the importance of message,and the effect of pseudo-simultaneity generated by deviant juxtaposition are examined;at the level of speech and thought presentation,the transference of blend and slipping is discussed.After a detailed comparative analysis,the thesis comes to the conclusion that The Moon Opera fails to comprehensively reproduce the stylistic effects at the three levels,and deceptive equivalence occurs.It is hoped that through the discussion on the problem of deceptive equivalence,this thesis will serve to arouse fictional translators' awareness of stylistic value and deceptive equivalence,so that the aesthetic significance and thematic functions of modern and contemporary Chinese literature can be fully and successfully conveyed.