《汉将王陵变》入韵套语的叙事功能

Abstract

An important formal feature of Bianwen is the alternation between poetry and prose. At the moment when a prose passage ends and the chanting of the rhymed verses starts, some routine formulae are often introduced. Commonly used rhyming formulae include "if I narrate", "now I might narrate", "and I will transmit the message" and so on. Bianwen of Han General Wang Ling, though short, is interspersed with rhyming formulae wherever a rhyming part succeeds a prose narration. These formulae are used as discourse markers to connect or change topics, introduce key information, and indicate pictures. The audience's following and comprehension of the story is thus effectively modulated and guided by the story-teller. It is precisely because of this that such formulae have been inherited and played an important role in the narration of later fictions.