记叙文中主位推进模式的运用

记叙文是以写人记事为主的文章，写人的记叙文以人物为中心，通过人物的语言和行为来表现人物的性格、思想、感情、品质等。下面以“A Man From Stratford—William Shakespeare”这篇记叙文为例，分析语篇的主位推进模式。

A Man From Stratford—William Shakespeare

On March 25th, 1616 (T1), fifty-two-year-old Master William Shakespeare signed his will leaving the famous legacy of his “second best bed and furniture”to his wife and the greater part of his estate to his married daughter, Susanna Hall (R1). It (T2) was the will of a comfortably off man, for the income from the estate probably amounted to about 200 a year, which was a lot of money over three hundred and sixty years ago (R2). For historians (T3), the most interesting part of the will was that signature, because it and other signatures are all we have left of the handwriting of the world’s literary genius (R3). There (T4) is no country where Shakespeare’s work is not read with something very like awe because there is something fascinating about a man whose work was so much better than that of anyone else (R4). Yet in spite of the thousands of books that have been written about this amazing writer (T5), almost every detail of his personal life is supposition rather than fact (R5). Historically speaking, Shakespeare (T6) lived only yesterday but his activities, like those of nearly every playwright of his day, are so vague that he could have been born in Roman times (R6).

Shakespeare’s birthplace (T1), the little town of Stratfordupon-Avon, in Warwickshire, had made a thriving business out of its most famous citizen for a long time (R1). It (T2) is a popular place for tourists from all over the world, even though many of them would have the greatest of difficulty in understanding Shakespeare’s Elizabethan English (R2). However, he (T3) has such a fine reputation that it is well worth the journey just to be able to look at the swans that swim on his river, and gaze at the cottage where Anne, his wife, lived before their marriage, and then to see his plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (R3).

To plot Shakespeare’s life (T1) is to become involved in a kind of detective story where there are plenty of clues but very little else (R1). Nobody (T2) even knows the exact date of his birth, although the register of the Parish Church confirms that William Shakespeare was baptized there on April 26th, 1564 (R2). Nor can (T3) it be proved that he went to the excellent local grammar school, although he probably did as there was nowhere else for him to go (R3). At the age of 18 (T4) he married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years older than himself, and they had three children (R4). Then in 1585 (T5) this young married man apparently left Stratford and his family, for there is absolutely no record of him for seven long years (R5).

Exactly what happened to William Shakespeare during those seven years (T1) has puzzled scholars ever since (R1). There (T2) are different theories, but of all the probabilities the most likely one is that he traveled abroad, spending a good deal of time at sea (R2). Shakespeare (T3) wrote with great conviction about storms and shipwrecks and eating the hard ship’s biscuits “with aching teeth”(R3).

What is quite certain (T1) is that, during the time Shakespeare lived there, Stratford-upon-Avon was visited by a great number of theatrical companies (R1). It (T2) can never be proved, but it seems quite possible that the young Shakespeare saw some of these performances, realized in a flash that this was the life for him and talked one of the managers into giving him a job (R2). At least nobody (T3) questions the fact that he can next be traced in 1592 in London, earning his living as a dramatist and generally getting well known in the theatre (R3). Whatever else had happened during the lost years, plays that followed, such as Richard III and The Taming of the Shrew (T4), were proof that the greatest literary career of all time had begun (R4). Shakespeare (T5) soon became sufficiently well known for managers and other influential people to refer to him in writing (R5). We (T6) know that as well as working on old plays he rapidly made a name for himself as an author of entirely new ones and also performed as an actor at court (R6). During his fifteen years as a working man of the theatre (T7), Shakespeare wrote more than thirty plays as well as marvellous verse (R7).

After his death on April 23rd, 1616 (T1), Shakespeare left behind a mass of questions that experts have been trying to answer ever since (R1). What (T2) was the source of Shakespeare’s amazingly detailed knowledge of so many different subjects (R2)? Who (T3) was the beautiful but apparently heartless “dark lady”who seemed to have first inspired him and then caused him a lot of sadness (R3)? So far we (T4) do not know (R4). There (T5) have even been foolish attempts to prove that William Shakespeare’s plays were in fact written by someone else (R5).

When one remembers that he lived in an age when printing was still very expensive and that it was rare for anything written to be thrown away (T1), it seems astonishing that nothing remains of the busy writer’s own handwriting but the signature (R1). Sooner or later someone (T2) may discover a bundle of letters that will answer the questions that have puzzled so many people for so long (R2).

(A New English Course Revised Edition, Students’ Book 4, p31-32)

笔者根据第一章提及的篇章层级链式主位系统构建了这篇文章的篇章主位、述位结构树形图。

图5-4-1　《来自斯特拉福德的人—莎士比亚》层级链式主位系统

如图5-4-1所示，篇章的主位是标题，篇章的述位则是第二段到第七段。篇章的主位是篇章叙述的起点，后续的段落都应该和莎士比亚有关，由此可以预测后面的记叙与莎士比亚相关。

根据上图，第一段是第二层级的主位，第二段到第七段是第二层级的述位；第三层级的主位是每一段的第一句话：“On March 25th, 1616 (T1), fifty-two-year-old Master William Shakespeare signed his will leaving the famous legacy of his ‘second best bed and furniture’ to his wife and the greater part of his estate to his married daughter, Susanna Hall (R1).”; “Shakespeare’s birthplace (T1), the little town of Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, had made a thriving business out of its most famous citizen for a long time (R1).”; “To plot Shakespeare’s life (T1) is to become involved in a kind of detective story where there are plenty of clues but very little else (R1).”; “Exactly what happened to William Shakespeare during those seven years (T1) has puzzled scholars ever since (R1).”; “What is quite certain is that (T1), during the time Shakespeare lived there, Stratford-upon-Avon was visited by a great number of theatrical companies (R1).”; “After his death on April 23rd, 1616 (T1), Shakespeare left behind a mass of questions that experts have been trying to answer ever since (R1).”; “When one remembers that he lived in an age when printing was still very expensive and that it was rare for anything written to be thrown away (T1), it seems astonishing that nothing remains of the busy writer’s own handwriting but the signature (R1).”。根据每段的第一句可以判断出作者是按照时间顺序（自出生至逝世）来记叙莎士比亚的一生的，作者在阅读时很容易抓住叙述的线索。

以下逐段分段分析语篇的主位推进模式：

第一段的主位推进模式：

作者在本段使用了延续型（T2＝R1，T5＝R4，T6＝R5）和集中型（R2＝R3＝R4）的主位推进模式，突出了莎士比亚的signature是其遗留在世界上唯一的笔迹，世界对他一生的了解不是基于事实而是设想。

第二段的主位推进模式如下：

这一段文字较短，只有三个句子使用了平行型主位推进模式，介绍了莎士比亚的故乡以及人们在莎士比亚故乡欣赏的景物。

第三段的主位推进模式如下：

作者在这一段路使用了派生模式（T1＝R2，R3＝T1，R4 ＝T1，R5＝T1）探讨性地记叙了莎士比亚模糊的生平和有明确记载的婚姻事实。

第四段的主位推进模式如下：

这一段文字的短少说明了对莎士比亚离开故乡后的七年经历是一种猜测，集中型和延续型主位推进模式的使用也强调了学者对莎士比亚这段历史的迷惑不解和推测。

第五段的主位推进模式如下：

作者在此段使用了延续型和集中型两种主位推进模式，叙述了莎士比亚在故乡时就有剧院经理登门造访，之后他前往伦敦开始了作为剧作家的生涯并且成为知名的经理和多产的文学巨匠。

第六段的主位推进模式如下：

在此段作者运用了和第三段一样的派生型主位推进模式，记叙了人们对于莎士比亚的一系列疑问。

第七段的主位推进模式如下：

作者在最后一段以集中型主位推进模式结束了对莎士比亚不确切一生的记叙，并给读者留下了想象的空间。

在这篇记叙文中，作者使用频率较高的模式不是平行型主位推进模式，而是延续型、集中型和派生型主位推进模式。这些模式运用前句中的主位或者述位延续下文，用最大的新信息量告诉读者关于莎翁的生平，使读者形象、具体地了解这一文学巨匠给我们留下的种种关于他生凭的疑问。