关键词: 古希腊神话, 狂欢文化, 假面喜剧, 人格面具, 作者面具

Abstract: Masks can be traced back to ancient Greek mythology and medieval carnival culture. In effect, masks are derived from the ancient and medieval performances. The literary “persona” from originated from masque comedies and masquerades in the 16th century, evolved in the romantic grotesque between the 18th and 19th centuries. Since the 20th century, a fission between “persona-fication of personality” and “impersonification of persona” has occurred in modern literature, and it has blossomed extensively in Postmodernism literature. The author’s mask, arising from the literary persona, has become one of the most legitimate and indispensable narrative strategies in Postmodernism literature. As the functions of the mask/persona are ever-changing from props to the present social role, the literary persona has experienced the mankind’s cognitive processes from “archetype” to “metamorphosis” and from “the missing of one’s true personality” to “the return to one’s id or true self”. Moreover, it has completed its aesthetic evolution from grotesque, irony, allusion, and metaphors to narrative strategies, etc. The literary persona, as a significant concept, has drawn earnest attention from writers and art critics alike.

Key words: ancient Greek mythology, carnival culture, masqued comedy, persona, the author's persona