英语毕业论文：论福斯塔夫的性格.doc

论福斯塔夫的性格AbstractThe personal character not only contains what they do, not also contains how to do. So the personal character plays an important role in ones life. Falstaff is the most famous figure in the Henry and The Merry Wives of Windsor. What are the characters of Falstaff? Because of the diversities of Falstaffs character, different people hold different views on the character of Falstaff. In order to make people know Falstaff more clearly and objectively, this paper seeks to find out characters of Falstaff from several aspects according to Liu Zaifus theory. The first part is to compare King Lear with Falstaff to find out the special character of Falstaff. The second part is to discuss the characters of Falstaff. It is easy to find that there are complication and romanticism and realistic meanings existed in the character of Falstaff. The third part is to find out the causes of shaping the character of Falstaff and get all-side recognition.Key WordsFalstaffs character; Complication; Romanticism; Realistic meanings; Causes; 摘要恩格斯说：“人物的性格不仅表现在他做什么，而且表现在他怎样做”。福斯塔夫是莎士比亚的历史剧亨利四世和喜剧温莎的风流娘们儿中著名的喜剧人物, 也是世界戏剧史上最令人难忘的艺术形象之一，那么福斯塔夫到底有着什么样的性格呢？历来的评论家对他性格的分析有着不同的意见，但往往是要么太偏激要么太主观，因此本文根据刘再复性格组合论的相关理论探讨福斯塔夫的性格。第一部分，通过福斯塔夫和李尔王的对比，寻找两个人性格的异同点，从而凸现出福斯塔夫的性格；第二部分，具体探讨福斯塔夫的性格，主要是从福斯塔夫性格的复杂性，浪漫性和现实性入手；第三部分，追溯福斯塔夫性格形成的原因，一方面，从骑士的历史背景及福斯塔夫的社会地位着手；另一方面，从人自身的心理因素着手。从而让人们看到一个全新的福斯塔夫，既生动逼真又客观合乎情理。关键词福斯塔夫的性格；复杂性；浪漫性；现实性；成因； IntroductionThe character Sir John Falstaff plays a crucial part in Shakespeare's Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Falstaff gives a deep impression to people on the world since he has stepped the stage. What draws us in and makes us like Falstaff? If you ask what he enjoys, no doubt the answer is, first and foremost, eating and drinking, then relaxing at the inn with his other merry friends and companions. These things are what really matter to Falstaff, but Falstaff portrays one aspect of life that is both brutal and harsh. This is important because Falstaff is noble like all other main characters in the play. Unlike Falstaff, the other nobles in the play behave well as real noble persons. Falstaff acts more like the lower class people. In order to satisfy his needs and desire, Falstaff has to ignore his status and does some ridiculous things. At the same time, he talks big and ignores the social honor and conventions. To him, honor is just a word and nothing dying over. It is easy to find that the character of Falstaff is a typical example for research. So many people on the world have done some research on him. Sun Qi had compared Falstaff with AhQ in order to find the character of Falstaff. Other critics have done similar researches. Besides some advantages we have find that those studying have some disadvantages. As we know personal character is a complex system. Liu Zaifu has said in his work The Combination of Character that there are three methods to analyze the personal character. The first one is to compare between different personal characters; the second is to compare between the phenomenon and essence existed in one person; the last one is to compare the two opponent factors of character in one person. According to those rules we discuss and analyze the character of Falstaff. We seek to find out the similarities and differences between Falstaff and King Lear, then analyze the complex character of Falstaff from several aspects. It is easy to find that there are complication and romanticism and realistic meanings existed in the character of Falstaff. In addition, we try to find the causes of shaping the character of Falstaff and get all-side recognition. On one hand, the birth of Falstaff is not casual, at that time the knight system has been decayed and the humanism is in the embryonic stage, Falstaff represents the special class that should be doomed to die, because they do not want to do anything for themselves and idle about. On the other hand, the character is a pursuing system and this kind of pursing system is motivation that forces the human being to do something for themselves and others. Falstaff is a knight and has decent status, in order to live and get the love he has to talk big, tell lies and often be teased by others. I. Comparison between Falstaff and King LearThe strength of Shakespeares plays lies in the absorbing stories they tell, in their wealth of complex characters, and in the eloquent speechvivid, forceful, and at the same time lyricthat the playwright puts on his characters lips. It has often been noted that Shakespeares characters are neither wholly good nor wholly evil, and that it is their flawed, inconsistent nature that makes them memorable. Hamlet fascinates audiences with his ambivalence about revenge and the uncertainty over how much of his madness is feigned and how much genuine. Falstaff would not be beloved if, in addition to being genial, openhearted, and witty, he were not also boisterous, cowardly, and, ultimately, poignant. Because of those reasons we have to analyze the character of Falstaff. Liu Zaifu has said in his works The Combination of Character that there are three methods to analyze the personal character. The first one is to compare between different personal character; the second is to compare between the phenomenon and essence existed in one person; the last one is to compare the two opponent factors of character in one person. According to those rules we discuss and analyze the character of Falstaff.A. The Character of King LearShakespeare's tragedy King Lear is a detailed description of the consequences of one man's decisions. This fictitious man is Lear, King of England, whose decisions greatly alter his life and the lives of those around him. As Lear bears the status of King he is, as one expects, a man of great power but sinfully he surrenders all of this power to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards her. This untimely abdication of his throne results in a chain reaction of events that send him through a journey of hell. King Lear is a metaphorical description of one man's journey through hell in order to expiate his sin. As the play opens one can almost immediately see that Lear begins to make mistakes that will eventually result in his downfall. This is the first and most significant of the many sins that he makes in this play. By abdicating his throne to fuel his ego he is disrupts the great chain of being which states that the King must not challenge the position that God has given him. This undermining of God's authority results in chaos that tears apart Lear's world. Leaving him, in the end, there is nothing. Following this Lear begins to banish those around him that genuinely care for him as at this stage he cannot see beyond the mask that the evil wear. He banishes Kent, a loyal servant to Lear, and his youngest and previously most loved daughter Cordelia. The result in Lear surrounding himself with people who only wish to use him which leaves him very vulnerable attack. This is precisely what happens and it is through this that he discovers his wrongs and amends them. Following the committing of his sins, Lear becomes abandoned and estranged from his kingdom which causes him to loose sanity. While lost in his grief and self-pity the fool is introduced to guide Lear back to the sane world and to help Lear find that was once lost behind a hundred knights but now is out in the open and scared like a little child. The fact that Lear has now been pushed out from behind his Knights is dramatically represented by him actually being out on the lawns of his castle. The terrified little child that is now unsheltered is dramatically portrayed by Lear's sudden insanity and his rage and anger is seen through the thunderous weather that is being experienced. All of this contributes to the suffering of Lear due to the gross sins that he has committed. The peak of this hell that is experienced by Lear in order to repay his sins is at the end of the play when Cordelia is killed. Lear says this before he himself dies as he cannot live without his daughter. All of this pain that Lear suffered is traced back to the single most important error that he made the choice to give up his throne. This one sin has proven to have massive repercussions upon Lear and the lives of those around him eventually killing almost all of those who were involved. And one is left to ask one's self if a single wrong turn can do this to Lear then what difficult corner lies ahead that may cause similar alterations in one's life.B. The Falstaff's Ludicrous TraitsFalstaff in Henry IV is a very different composition. The main character of Falstaff is clearly a prankster, and not nearly as many horrible things happen to him. Falstaff is the character we laugh at, a mock King in Henry IV. Hal is the ideal King and Falstaff is a Lord of Misrule. Up to certain point Falstaff is merely an object of pure entertainment. His character is present chiefly for the humor that arises by showing his ludicrous traits. Why should we laugh at a man with a huge belly and an appetite to match, at the way he suffers on a hot day, his cumbersome size and the liveliness of his spirit. His timeless age and his youthful lightness of heart show his true nature. Why do we find comedy in the enormity of his lies and the suddenness of their exposure and frustration. The contrast between his reputation and his real character, seen most absurdly when, at the mere mention of his name, a rebel surrenders to him. What is it about Falstaff that causedus to laugh at these and many such things? Here we have them poured out in endless profusion and with that air of careless ease which is so fascination in Shakespeare. But while they are quite essential to the character, there is much more than just fun in him. These things by themselves do not explain why, besides laughing at Falstaff, we are made happy by him and laugh with him. But while they are quite essential to the character, there is an ugly side of Falstaff, but we overlook it in light of his great humor.C. The Differences and Similarities in themThe two compositions have humorous parts in them but both are distinctly different. Falstaff in Henry IV is clearly a comedy with almost all the traits of a comedy while King Lear is a sad character. Falstaff and King Lear are somewhat dissimilar. King Lear deals with all of the problems from one of his actions-abdication of his throne. Falstaff deals with the situations surrounding the prince and he can take different paths with his life. The two characters share a troubled past and an even more troubling future but that is the extent of their similarity. Compared to King Lear who is extremely unhappy and is on a quest to regain his happiness which is ultimately impossible, Falstaffs indulgences cause him to slowly lose his life and alienate the people around him. Like King Lear they both lose possessions along their journey. They are alike in many ways but take different ways to meet their ends. Their experiences are different but their end is the same. The Several Aspects of Falstaff's CharacterA. The Complication of Falstaff's CharacterWhat draws us in and makes us like Falstaff? If you ask what he enjoys, no doubt the answer is, first and foremost, eating and drinking, then relaxing at the inn with his other merry friends and companions. These things are what really matter to Falstaff. Falstaffs indulgences cause him to slowly lose his life and alienate the people around him. This is perhaps the most substantial comic character that ever was invented.First of all, I want to help the readers recognize the complex character of Falstaff through discussing about it. As we know, the personal character plays an important role in literary works, it also shows personal way of life and mental movement. Western writers often pay attention to this point and regard it as the values of literary, while Chinese people do not take care of it and divide human being into two groups. So the personal character in literary is simple and unique, the characters between the perfect and the worst are very clear as God and beast. Some Chinese people regard the character of Falstaff as bad hooligan while others take opposite view. At the same time, in the study of human nature there is one method which certainly cannot lead to reliable results. This is to ask people about their own personality. Nevertheless, many serious psychologists and sociologists still have a naive confidence in this method, and practice it by sending out questionnaires to thousands of individuals. The sociologist who uses this method in order to establish the presence of certain psychological traits in masses of people, does not know the most elementary characteristic of human nature, which is that people do not know themselves. We might hope that people's actions are more characteristic than their opinions. Actions are indeed more valuable than words, and questionnaires on behavior would yield more interesting results if one could rely on the correctness of the answers. In fact, human nature is complex system, there is no perfect man except God, also there is no bad man except beast. In order to get rid of this unreasonable view I suggest we should hold the right stand to judge the character of Falstaff.Falstaff carries a most portly presence in the mind's eye, and in him, not to speak it profanely, "we behold the fullness of the spirit of wit and humor bodily." We are as well acquainted with his person as his mind, and his jokes come upon us with double force and relish from the quantity of flesh through which they make their way, as he shakes his fat sides with laughter, or "lards the lean earth as he walks along." Other comic characters seem, if we approach and handle them, to resolve themselves into air, "into thin air", but this is embodied and palpable to the grossest apprehension: it lies "three fingers deep upon the ribs," it plays about the lungs and the diaphragm with all the force of animal enjoyment. His body is like a good estate to his mind, from which he receives rents and revenues of profit and pleasure in kind, according to its extent and the richness of the soil. Wit is often a meager substitute for pleasurable sensation, an effusion of bad temper and petty spite at the comforts of others, from feeling none in itself. Falstaff's wit is an emanation of a fine constitution; an exuberance of good-humor and good-nature; an overflowing of his love of laughter and good-fellowship; a giving vent to his heart's ease, and over-contentment with himself and others. He would not be in character, if he were not so fat as he is, for there is the greatest keeping in the boundless luxury of his imagination and the pampered self-indulgence of his physical appetites. He manures and nourishes his mind with jests, as he does his body with sack and sugar. He has jokes with other