Abstract

Law and literature is a vital engagement, in the strictest sense of the word. Constantly evolving as it reaches further across disciplinary margins. The purpose of this article is to take a closer look at one such reach; into history. From both sides, it might be supposed. Revisiting two historical texts, and two modern texts set in the past. The first part of the article explores the idea of writing history, more particularly still the possibility that it might be an intrinsically literary enterprise. The second and third parts then revisit these historical texts. In part two, we will re-read Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Milton’s Samson Agonistes. And then, in part three, two plays written by Caryl Churchill, both set in the seventeenth-century. For the same essential reason; to contemplate the possibility that reading texts such as these might make us better historians, whilst also perhaps making us better literary critics, and better lawyers, too.

摘要

从最严格的意义上来说，法律和文学是一种至关重要的接触。随着它进一步跨越学科边缘而不断发展。本文的目的是仔细研究这样一个范围；进入历史。从双方的角度来看，这或许是可以理解的。重温两部历史文本和两部过去的现代文本。本文的第一部分探讨了书写历史的想法，更具体地说，它可能是一项本质上是文学事业的可能性。第二部分和第三部分随后重新审视这些历史文本。在第二部分中，我们将重读柯勒律治的《古水手咏》和弥尔顿的《参孙阿冈尼斯特斯》。然后，在第三部分中，有两部由卡里尔·丘吉尔（Caryl Churchill）创作的戏剧，故事背景均以十七世纪为背景。出于同样的根本原因；思考阅读此类文本可能使我们成为更好的历史学家，同时也可能使我们成为更好的文学批评家和更好的律师的可能性。