十九世紀末期，愛爾蘭文藝復興運動最偉大的成就是在戲劇方面。一

八九九年，在大詩人葉慈的倡導，格雷哥里夫人的資助下，愛爾蘭文學劇

場才得以成立，其後改名為「亞貝劇場」 ( The Abbey Theatre)。在這聞名

遐邇的劇場上，辛約翰相當成功捕捉了愛爾蘭戲劇精髓，本論文嘗試以人

類生存之困境來解讀辛約翰的『捕海人』一劇。

本論文共分為四章，在引介部分中，本人概述了愛爾蘭劇作家辛約翰

代表作─『捕海人』以及中國唐代作家柳宗元代表作─『捕蛇者說』，並

剖析人類存在的困境。在第二章中則探討辛約翰的生長背景，藉以瞭解其

作品『討海人』所反映出來的現實生活之無情與殘酷。論文第三章則是介

紹中國的偉大政治家兼人本作家─柳宗元，在其政治流亡之生涯，讓他深

切關注到當時的社會狀況，由於對當地的平民所發生的不幸感同身受，促

使柳宗元完成了『捕蛇者說』。在結論的部分，本人將以這兩個作品的思

想作一比較，進而從跨文化的觀點闡釋他們所提供的人類生存之道。

One of the more remarkable achievements was the phase of the drama in the so-called “Irish Literary Renaissance” . In 1898, W.B. Yeats, together with the sponsorship of Lady Gregory, founded The Irish Literary Theatre, later called “ The Abbey Theatre”. Among them, Synge’s plays most successfully captured the Irish spirit and are generally regarded as the most important contribution of Ireland. This thesis is an attempt to present J.M. Synge’s Riders to the Sea as a microcosmic expression of the universal human predicament.
In the introductory chapter, I am going to introduce Synge’s Riders to the Sea as well as Liu Tsung -yuan’s The Life of a Snake-Catcher . Both of them do share something in common in terms of the predicament of human existence.
Chapter Two deals with Synge’s life along with his Riders to the Sea. Synge discloses his intention of writing the drama based on the Aran Islands to offer a mirror to reflect his ironic universe. The people living on the Aran Islands lead a quite primitive life and the sea , the antagonist , is their only source of livelihood. The protagonist, Maurya, symbolizes suffering humanity. Confronted with such a dangerous environment, men must struggle with nature and women have to endure misery and bereavement. The play manifests the harsh reality that the young tend to go before the old in a perpetual confrontation with nature on the Aran Islands.
In Chapter Three, I turn my interest to Liu Tsung-yuan ‘s The Life of a Snake-Catcher , a socio-political satire of the mid-T’ang dynasty, in which it portrays the story that due to political corruption and oppression, the snake-catcher would rather run the risk of losing his life to survive.
In the concluding chapter, I will compare both writers’ thoughts and further discuss their survival philosophies from an angle of the cross- cultural perspective.

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