| ABSTRACT | 第1-5页 |
| 摘要 | 第5-6页 |
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 第6-8页 |
| Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION | 第8-17页 |
| A. The literary trend of modern B ritish novel | 第8-9页 |
| B. A brief introduction to A.S. Byatt's tetralogy | 第9-11页 |
| C. Synthesis of critical study of A.S. Byatt and the target works | 第11-15页 |
| D. Thesis statement | 第15-17页 |
| Ⅱ. METAFICTION | 第17-24页 |
| A. The definitions of metafiction | 第17-19页 |
| B. The characteristics of metafiction | 第19-21页 |
| C. A.S.Byatt's tetralogy as metafictional texts | 第21-24页 |
| Ⅲ. METAFICTIONAL FEATURES INVOLVED IN THE TETRALOGY | 第24-41页 |
| A. Reader-writer relationship | 第24-34页 |
| 1. The characters as readers | 第24-27页 |
| 2. The characters as writers and critics | 第27-29页 |
| 3. The real-life writers | 第29-31页 |
| 4. The intrusion of the writer | 第31-34页 |
| B. Fiction-reality relationship | 第34-41页 |
| 1. Reality of language | 第34-37页 |
| 2. Fiction of history | 第37-38页 |
| 3. The "real" in fiction | 第38-41页 |
| Ⅳ. METAFICTIONAL TECHNIQUES INVOLVED IN THE TETRALOGY | 第41-58页 |
| A. The method of parody | 第41-44页 |
| B. Intertextuality | 第44-49页 |
| C. The multi-textual layers | 第49-55页 |
| 1. The novel within the novel | 第49-51页 |
| 2. The story-telling | 第51-53页 |
| 3. The open form | 第53-55页 |
| D. The plays | 第55-58页 |
| 1. Characters as players | 第56-57页 |
| 2. The readers as players | 第57-58页 |
| Ⅴ. CONCLUSION | 第58-61页 |
| WORKS CITED | 第61-64页 |
