在去經典化的後現代情境中，大眾小說從低俗、不入流的文本中擢升為熱門的文化研究題材。過去二十年，大眾小說的相關研究不勝枚舉，其方向不外乎是從文化研究的觀點，探討資本主義社會與文本商品化的文化現象以及從結構的內涵中，建構大眾文學的形式與指涉。大眾小說以公式化寫作(formula writing)為主，但類似故事以不同的形式組合與文本相互指涉(intertextuality)的運作，往往帶給讀者創新的感受，將我們從純粹的結構思維拉進入美學層次。本文將針對此美學議題，提出討論，從狹隘的結構與形態論述出發，來分析大眾驚悚小說的美學意涵。 本文選擇了三本美國當代驚悚作家丁.昆士(Dean Koontz)的驚悚小說(thrillers)Watchers, Mr. Murder以及Phantoms，運用Propp在故事形態學(Morphology of the Folktale)一書中所提出的敘述功能(narrative functions)以及戲劇人物(dramatis personae)來分析此小說的敘述形式，指出此敘述功能的複製，並非Koontz小說成功的唯一要素，而是要從形式美學的觀點出發，才能透視其小說的獨特性與大眾性。因此本文進一步使用Santayana在其The Sense of Beauty一書中形式(form)之美學理論來探討文本的美學脈絡。 Propp在Morphology of the Folktale中提出了敘述功能及戲劇人物兩個觀念來分析任何公式寫作的基本架構。敘述功能與戲劇人物的夾雜運用，產生了小說結構的複雜性。從此一形態學的理論出發，來檢視Koontz的驚悚要素，不得不進入美學的討論，才能完整地看出小說吸引人或成為bestsellers的特質。Santayana在The Sense of Beauty中提到美學最重要也是最有特色的問題就是形式美。他解釋並歸納出事物的形式美，存在於 “對稱性(symmetry)”、“單一形式的多樣性” (multiplicity in uniformity)”以及“心靈自然的創造性(the spontaneous creation in mind)”等形式標準。從形態與結構的研究進入美學的範疇，正是本文的主要架構。 本文第一章分析美學的基本論述，從Propp的形態學到Santayana的形式美學作為本論文的理論基礎；第二章討論Watchers中的敘述功能及戲劇人物如何體現對稱性的美學元素；第三章試圖挖掘Mr. Murder裡符合單一形式的多樣性之美學結構及角色設計；第四章則是分析Koontz如何善用心靈自然的創造性來運用類型(types)及想像力(imagination)的結合，幫助塑造Phantoms中的The Ancient Enemy一角；第五章總結本文是如何結合大眾小說的結構研究及美學思維，突破以往驚悚小說的狹隘結構與公式論述，也超越文化研究忽略文本的內在性與美學性，希望透過挖掘驚悚小說的美學價值，來解釋大眾小說的大眾性與美學之間的關係，重新定位驚悚小說的文學地位與小說家Koontz在此文類寫作的獨特性。 / During the recent two decades, the reputation of the popular genre, especially of those popular fictions, has been raised from chintzy stories for the purpose of entertainment to literary or cultural works, attracting great attention from academics. Popular fictions have been studied culturally and structurally to probe into the social phenomena and cultural significance. Known as the formula writings, popular fictions employ the intertextuality and the various combinations of elements used in similar stories to create the freshness for the reading experience, and, by those narrative strategies, elevate themselves into the realm of aesthetics. Here, the noted American thriller writer Dean Koontz’s three novels, Watchers, Mr. Murder, and Phantoms, are brought into discussion. Using Propp’s ideas of 31 narrative functions and the dramatis personae in his Morphology of the Folktale alone with Santayana’s three elements in the beauty of form stated in his The Sense of Beauty, this thesis strives to see through the regular formula writings and uncover their aesthetic uniqueness in these three thrillers. The three elements in terms of the beauty of form discussed here are “symmetry,” “multiplicity in uniformity,” and “the spontaneous creation in mind.” This thesis aims to pinpoint the aesthetic values in popular thrillers, illustrating the relationship between the popularity and aesthetics by morphologically analyzing the finite patterns and structures and aesthetically unspooling the beauty elements in them. It is anticipated to relocate the position of popular thrillers in literature and to redefine Koontz’s status as the master of popular and classical thriller writings