盡管謠曲這一古老的詩體在英語詩歌史上占據著十分重要的地位,但它在中世紀文學研究中卻處于邊緣化的狀態。從少量有原始手抄本存世的中古英語謠曲,到大批以早期現代英語或現代英語寫就的"中世紀風格的"或"中世紀式"傳統英國民謠,無論在形式上還是內容上,一首謠曲成型的過程就是它被不斷改寫、增刪、地域化、個人化的過程,在此過程中,它保存和呈現著各個時代的語言、韻式和修辭特色。本文擬通過對一首中古英語謠曲和兩首"中世紀式"傳統英國民謠進行原文細讀和版本對比,來窺測中世紀謠曲文本演變的可能性,以期動態地理解這一詩體的文類特性。

The marginal status quo of ballad study is disproportionate to the importance of the ballad genre in medieval English literature. From Middle English ballads preserved in medieval manuscripts to traditional British ballads presented in early modern or modern anthologies, a ballad takes shape in the process which witnesses its constant adaptation, amplification, localization and individualization, in terms of both form and content. Such a poetic text in flux preserves and demonstrates the linguistic, metrical and rhetorical features of each period in which it was rewritten. This article analyzes one Middle English ballad and two traditional British ballads in their original languages, and compares different versions of them, attempting to explore the possible ways in which a medieval ballad evolves and to facilitate a better understanding of the ballad genre and its stylistic features.