歷來對《水滸傳》的研究多從「忠義」角度詮釋，這個角度顯然展現了官方的政治正確。隨著西方文化理論的興盛，本文藉用俄國學者巴赫汀1的「狂歡詩學」重新詮釋《水滸傳》，希望提供讀者閱讀《水滸傳》時不同的審美趣味。首先，本文嘗試簡要陳述巴赫汀「狂歡詩學」的內容，並說明巴赫汀「狂歡詩學」理論應用於《水滸傳》的可行性及其局限；接著從小說中民間廣場的人物、節慶以及飲食進行分析，可以看出小說充斥著庶民的狂歡氣氛。本文認為《水滸傳》中的人物之多，行業之廣，勾勒出一幅庶民日常生活的圖像，小說六十六回、七十二回都利用「元宵節」呈現了「化裝」、「節日」、「喧囂」等狂歡元素，飲食亦是《水滸傳》中的重要意象，大塊吃肉、大口喝酒是構成《水滸傳》情調重要的元素。除此之外，小說擺脫了官方嚴肅的規範，大量使用俚語、俗諺、粗話、雙關語，呈現出樂觀、詼諧的語言風格。魯智深和李逵如同動物般的怪誕形象，更體現「狂歡詩學」中的人體敘述與想像。本文希望透過以上討論，突出《水滸傳》中所呈現出來的庶民性格。

In most studies, Outlaws of the Marsh are interpreted in the light of "loyalty and justice", which is evidently politically correct. This thesis reinterprets Outlaws of the Marsh based upon Bakhtin's poetics of carnival. First a brief introduction on Bakhtin's carnival theory is proposed. I then explain the limitation of our analysis of change the type face grounded on Bakhtin's theory. Analysis of the characters in marketplace, festivals, feats and foods identifies the novel's carnival spirits.Numerous characters from all walks of life represent lives of common people. In chapter 66 and 72, features of carnival, feats, costumes, and Heteroglossia are represented on the day of Lantern Festival. Feast and foods also become a powerful image in Outlaws of the Marsh. Wide use of slang, idioms, and wordplay build an optimistic and humorous language style, which breaks away from serious conventional regulation. More over, "lu zhi shen"(魯智深) and "li kui" (李逵)act like grotesque animal figures, realizing the description and imagination of the body in the poetic of carnival. This article seeks to manifest the characteristic of common people in Outlaws of the Marsh through discussion.