Narrative Analysis: Time and Space in Shylock开题报告

1. 研究目的与意义

Sherlock is a British crime dramatelevision series based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle''s Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The TV series is set in the present day in London, while theone-off special features a fantasy of Victorian period resembling the originalHolmes stories. Holding audiences spellbound around the world with its perfectcasting and witty, compelling plots, it has been nominated for numerous awardsand has been sold to 180 territories. In Sherlock, sophisticatedtemporal lines and smooth transformation between different locations keepaudience in dispense until the end. Besides, those classic locations chosen inthe drama take out classical British features. All those fabulous effects canbe attributed to the time and space narratives in Sherlock, whichtherefore is well worth a study.

2. 研究内容和预期目标

1. the introduction of theorieson time and space narratives.

3. 国内外研究现状

Welive in a world of narratives. People cannot make sense of the world until itis put in a narrative mode. Herman (1991) defines narratives in his Introduction: Narratologies as ‘publicand personal stories that we subscribe to and that guide our behavior’.Narratives are so ubiquitous that a study of narrative and narrative structurecame into being in 1960s in France, namely narratology. Its theoretical lineageis traceable to Aristotle (Poetics)but modern narratology is agreed to have begun with the Russian Formalists,particularly Vladimir Propp. He said in his Morphologyof the Folktale (1968) that after the initial situation is established, thetale takes a sequence of 31 functions. Alongside these functions, Propp deviseda list of characters which are apparent in many narratives: the Villain, theDispatcher, the Helper, the Princess (or Prince), the Hero, the Donor and theFalse Hero. Genette (1983) further developed narratology in his The Narrative Discourse：AnEssay in Method by varyingtemporal narrative into order, speed and frequency. While studies of spatialnarrative began later than temporal narrative. Joseph Frank (1991), points outin his early study The Idea of SpatialForm, ‘every narrative work of art necessarily includes elements that maybe called spatial since the relations of significance between such elementsmust be constructed across gaps in the strict causal-chronological order of thetext.’ It was a significant contribution to provide a focused attention on theexistence of elements of spatial form in all narratives.

There are plentyof domestic researches on adaptation from the novel of Sherlock Holmes to the television drama. Most of them appreciate the adapted versions fromperspectives of aesthetic values, communication theories and editing arts.Regarding foreign research about Sherlock, studies vary from bromancebetween two protagonists, transmedia fandom and Gothic conventions and tropesin this detective work. However, domestic studies on Sherlock''s temporal and spatial analysis are rare. While theadapted Sherlock distinctivelydiffers from its original work in narrative and time, with a new time line andtypical British-style locations refreshing both the audience and readers ofHolmes. Therefore, there is room for further study.

4. 计划与进度安排

1. introductio

2. theoreticalbasis of the study

5. 参考文献

arthur cd.(1986). sherlock holmes: the complete novels and stories [m]. deluxe: bantamclassics.

chatman,s.(1980). story and discourse [m]. ithaca and london:cornell university press.

frank, j.(1991). the idea of spatial form [m]. new brunswickand london: rutgers university press.