| John Galsworthy(1867-1933),the winner of Nobel Prize for Literature,was an important British novelist and dramatist at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.In addition to the novel THE FORSYTE SAGA and its sequels,he wrote 27 dramas.His dramas show an unusual richness of ideas combined with great ingenuity and technical skill in the working out of scenic effect.From 1920s to 1940s,Galsworthy's dramas were spread in China.They expose the critical spirit of suffering,the humane sympathy of the disadvantaged groups,avocations of the modern values of fairness and justice,and the realistic style,which all played an important role in the spiritual connotation,the artistic appearance and the maturing of Chinese drama.However,the translation,introduction,performance and research of Galsworthy's dramas in China are relatively cold.After 1940s,his dramas gradually faded out of vision.Up till now,9 of his dramas have not been translated into Chinese,and there is no systematic research work of his dramas in China.In author's opinion,the significance of Galsworthy's dramas to Chinese drama is not only reflected in the past,but still has important value for today's Chinese drama creation.It is still worthy of continuous attention from Chinese theatre and academia.The earnest concern for disadvantageous groups,the call for fairness and justice,the lashing of indifference and selfishness,the praise for kindness,integrity,and responsibility in his dramas,hold very practical significance both for today's drama creation and for purification of the social morale.Therefore,the author attempts to re-awaken the memory of this world's famous dramatist in Chinese theatre and academia.Besides "Prologue",this dissertation is divided into five chapters,in addition to"Epilogue","The Chronology of John Galsworthy" and other four appendices.Chapter One introduces the historical and cultural context of Galsworthy's life.Galsworthy began his dramaturgy in the early 20th century,when he had already been an influential British novelist,and published his first play "The Silver Box" in 1909.He was born in the late Victorian era,the previous life experience,ideological tendencies,artistic concept had considerable impact on his dramas.Therefore,this chapter first examines the historical and cultural context of Victorian era,and then examines that of Edward and George V.Victorian era is the golden age of British history,during which it transited from the aristocracy to the bourgeois democracies,accompanying the economic transformation from agricultural country to industrial country.Its manufacturing developed unprecedentedly,which won its reputation of "the world's factory".But the common social realities----the disparity between the rich and the poor,which had been caused by the primitive capital accumulation,the class antagonism,social injustice,overseas colonialism----resulted in the misery of underlying people,the workers' movement and women's movement.During the period of George V,because of Britain's involvement in the First World War,the independence of overseas colonies,domestic strikes,insurrection and riots of coal mines and railroad workers,Britain sank into sharp social contradictions,great economic depression with soaring prices,general unemployment.All this led to deep-seated moral problems,especially the issue of faith and family ethics,and the national pessimistic mood instead of fanaticism.These had been reflected,more or less,clear or dark,in Galsworthy's dramas,hence,which can be called a vivid,blood and fire record of the times.Chapter Two analyzes Galsworthy's 12 dramas written before the First World War.Most of these dramas are "social dramas" which not only focus on labor conflicts,class antagonisms,dilemmas of lower-class,unfair trial systems,the deliriant prison management,colonial warfare,but also involve with moral dramas about marriage and family life,social ethics and other issues.Highlighting freedom,equality,justice and other modern values,these dramas show humanitarian spirit of denying apathy and protecting the sentient beings,sympathy and compassion for the weak.The thought and implication about social life in most dramas are rich and profound,full of time sense,criticism,and strong artistic charm.With a strong realistic and the characteristic style of times,Mrs.Barthwick,Jack,the son of John Barthwick,M.P.,Jones,the maid's husband in THE SILVER BOX;Molly Gwyn and her daughter Joy in JOY;the fearless worker leader Robert and the tough company chairman Anthony in STRIFE;Bill,the eldest son of Sir William Cheshire,and maid Freda in THE ELDEST SON;William Falder,the tortured clerk in JUSTICE;Christopher Wellwyn,the"fool" artist in THE PIGEON;the married woman Clare,pursuer of freedom and happiness in THE FUGITIVE;Stephen More,the "anti-war hero" and M.P.in THE MOB;the enthusiastic but misunderstood little man in THE LITTLE MAN;the priest Michael Strangway in A BIT O'LOVE;all the images are different from the previous characters on theater stage,and are with distinct personalities.From the aspect of expressive style and aesthetics,Galsworthy's dramas of this period contain both realistic dramas of naturalistic style and lyrical,romantic verse drama;mostly are lengthy multi-act dramas,one-scene play is also included;mostly are shocking but untraditional tragedy,tragic-comedy,comedy and farce are included.All these features show Galsworthy's mature in producing drama.Chapter Three analyzes Galsworthy's 15 dramas written after the First World War.Most of these dramas reflect the social reality in Britain after the First World War.They keep their characteristics as those before WWI,meanwhile,the concern for lower-class masses,the exposing and criticizing of the upper class are still the important spiritual orientation of dramas,such as DEFEAT depicting the First World War from side ways;THE FOREST exposing colonial evil directly;LOYALTIES showing the British lack of faith after the war;THE SKIN GAME condemning the fraudulence among the newly-emerging industrial mogul,country gentry,and tenants;EXILED reflecting the misery of unemployed British coal workers and improper settling-down of disabled soldiers,the internal political chaos,the serious party struggle;ESCAPE describing intolerance of prisoners toward the dog-like life and their desire for freedom;THE SHOW exposing unscrupulous journalists regardless of journalistic ethics.However,in this period some characteristics of the drama are different from those of the previous period.The most prominent one is that they emphasize on the reflection of ethic and human nature in content,and that they focuse on the"internality",introducing Symbolism,pursuing artistic philosophy,reducing the proportion of tragedies and increasing that of comedies,for example,THE SUN describing soldier Jack who was discarded by his fiancee after the war but left singing and peacefully;THE FOUNDATIONS symbolizing the national foundation-the masses by Lord William Dromondy's underground cellar;WINDOWS discussing the post-war belief and calling for the revival of the traditional knight spirit,the gentleman-style,as well as in OLD ENGLISH;THE FIRST AND THE LAST inquiring about human nature(ESCAPE also showing the human nature for Matt appearing initiatively in order to prevent the priest to lie);THE ROOF displaying people's mutual-help in the fire to regain their dignity.Obviously,DEFEAT,LOYALTIES,THE SKIN GAME,FOREST and other dramas also contain philosophical and reflective elements.Take DEFEATE as an example,it profoundly reflects on patriotism,with strong philosophical sense.In accordance with philosophical,symbolic pursuit,the drama characters in this period are less specific than those of the previous period.Chapter Four systemizes the artistic thoughts of Galsworthy,discusses the relationship between these ideas and the context of the times,and analyzes the relationship between Galsworthy's artistic thoughts and his artistic practice,especially drama creation.Galsworthy believes that art comes from life and nature,whose function is to promote social development;Artists,including dramatists must be fair and love life,dare to face reality directly,adhere to independent thinking,not influenced by surroundings,be good at discovering the truth and dare to reflect the truth;dramatists should have a high literacy and be humanitarian;The life of art lies in its "state" and "charm",and good works should reflect the dignity of life.These thoughts were the product of industrial times in which the newly-emerged moguls took the place of the old aristocracy,which embodies the essence of critical realism and resembles distinctive contextual characteristics.Galsworthy's dramatic practice fully proves these thoughts.Chapter Five examines the spread and acceptance of Galsworthy's dramas in China.The spread of Galsworthy's dramas in China began after the New Culture Movement,and the introduction,translation,research and performance of his dramas had been influenced by the Chinese historical and cultural context.During the period of the Republic of China,Galsworthy's dramas were mainly translated,introduced and evaluated.The performances,although not very common,made hits generally catering to the needs of the times.People mainly concern about the class conflicts and social unfairness in his dramas.By analyzing the relationship between Galsworthy's dramas and the dramaturgy of modern Chinese playwrights such as Chen Dabei,Guo Moruo,Cao Yu,Gu Zhongyi and Xiang Peiliang,the author analyzes the influence of Galsworthy's drama on Chinese modern drama.After the founding of the People's Republic of China,Galsworthy's drama was neglected,academics judged him as a bourgeois playwright,regarded him an.advocator of class reconciliation,and criticized his works.Since 1978,Chinese academia has boomed the research of foreign drama,but Galsworthy's dramas continued to be cold,the translation and research are fairly rare.The Epilogue elaborates on Galsworthy's dramas' influence on the status and future of Chinese drama. |
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