1 William Shakespeare: Hamlet 莎士比亚：《哈姆莱特》

《哈姆莱特》为莎士比亚四大悲剧之一，该剧沿用丹麦王子为父复仇这一传统题材，通过独特的艺术手法塑造了哈姆莱特——一个灌注了作者人文主义理想的典型人物形象。剧情大致如下：哈姆莱特（Hamlet）之叔父克洛狄斯（Claudius）毒死哈姆莱特的父亲，篡夺王位并娶王后为妻。冤死的国王亡魂显灵，将自己遇害的经过告知王子，要求王子为父报仇。得知真相后的哈姆莱特万分震惊，陷入忧郁和苦闷之中。他一面暗中观察，通过“戏中戏”的策略证实了亡魂所言，一面又故意装疯卖傻，以防克洛狄斯对其复仇的计划有所觉察。大臣泼洛涅斯（Polonius）以为这种精神异常表现为王子与其女奥菲莉娅（Orphelia）的苦恋所致，于是建议克洛狄斯在暗处窥视二人的会面。哈姆莱特与母后谈话时发觉有人在幕后偷听，以为是国王，遂拔出佩剑将其刺死，不期误杀泼洛涅斯。克洛狄斯发现王子已得知真相，便设计把哈姆莱特送至英国国王处，以借刀杀人。哈姆莱特在途中识破阴谋，巧妙地调换了书信，然后秘密地返回丹麦。在蓄意安排的一场决斗之中，泼洛涅斯之子莱欧提斯（Laertes）与克洛狄斯被刺死，王后误饮毒酒死去，王子终于完成复仇，但也被毒剑所伤而死去。

《哈姆莱特》（Hamlet）为莎剧中最长的一部，仅王子的台词就有1,500多行。台词多用长段的独白来表现主人公的内心矛盾。选文1为哈姆莱特对“人”（而非神）的赞美和自己郁闷的表白，使用的是散文体；选文2为哈姆莱特著名的一段关于生与死的独白，使用的是无韵体诗行。两段选文都有助于我们了解所谓的“哈姆莱特的延宕”。

Excerpt 1 Act II, Scene II

Hamlet: …I have of late—but wherefore I know not—lost all my mirth, foregone all custom of exercises; and indeed, it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most exellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire—why, it appearth no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! And yet to me what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me—no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.

朱生豪译文：

哈姆莱特：……我近来不知为了什么缘故，一点兴致都提不起来，什么游乐的事都懒得过问；在这一种抑郁的心境之下，仿佛负载万物的大地，这一座美好的框架，只是一个不毛的荒岬；这个覆盖众生的苍穹，这一顶壮丽的帐幕，这个金黄色的火球点缀着的屋宇，只是一大堆污浊的瘴气的集合。人类是一件多么了不起的杰作！多么高贵的理性！多么伟大的力量！多么优美的仪表！多么文雅的举动！在行为上多么像一个天使！在智慧上多么像一个天神！宇宙的精华！万物的灵长！可是在我看来，这一个泥土塑成的生命算得了什么？人类不能使我发生兴趣；不，女人也不能使我发生兴趣，虽然从你现在的微笑之中，我可以看到你在这么想。

Excerpt 2 Act III, Scene I（Line64—98）

Hamlet: To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles，

And by opposing end them.To die—to sleep—

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The headache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to.'Tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wished.To die—to sleep，

To sleep—perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub！

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off the mortal coil,

Must give us pause.There's the respect

That makes calamity of so long a life.

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time，

The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,

The pangs of despised love, the law's delay，

The insolence of office, and the spurns

That patient merit of the unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear，

To grunt and sweat under a weary life，

But that the dread of something after death—

The undiscovered country, from whose bourn

No traveler returns—puzzles the will，

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of？

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all，

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought，

And enterprises of great pitch and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry

And lose the name of action.—Soft you now!

The fair Ophelia! —Nymph, in thy orisons

Be all my sins rememb'red.

朱生豪译文：

生存还是毁灭，这是一个值得考虑的问题；

是默然地忍受命运的暴虐的毒箭，

或是挺身反抗人世的无涯的苦难，

通过斗争把它们扫清，这两种行为，

哪一种更为高贵？死了，睡着了；

什么都完了；要是在一种睡眠之中，

我们心头的创痛，以及其他无数血肉之躯

所不能避免的打击，都可以从此消失，

那正是我们求之不得的结局。死了，睡着了；

睡着了也许还会做梦；嗯，阻碍就在这儿：

因为我们摆脱了这一具朽腐的皮囊以后，

在那死的睡眠里，究竟将要做些什么梦，

那不能不使我们踌躇顾虑。人们甘心

久困于患难之中，也就是为了这个缘故；

谁愿意忍受人世的鞭挞和讥嘲、

压迫者的凌辱、傲慢者的冷眼、

被侮辱的爱情的惨痛、法律的迁延、

官吏的横暴和费尽辛勤所换来的小人的鄙视，

要是他只要用一柄小小的刀子，

就可以清算他自己的一生？

谁还愿意负着这样的重担，

在烦劳的生命的压迫下呻吟流汗，

倘不是因为惧怕不可知的死后，

惧怕那有去无回的神秘之园，

是它迷惑了我们的意志，

使我们宁愿忍受目前的折磨，

不敢向我们所不知道的痛苦飞去？

这样，重重的顾虑使我们全成了懦夫，

决心的赤热光彩，被审慎的思维盖上了一层灰色，

伟大的事业在这一种考虑之下，

也会逆流而退，失去行动的意义。

且慢！美丽的奥菲利娅！——女神，

在你的祈祷之中，不要忘记替我忏悔我的罪孽。

Topics for discussion

1．Why does Hamlet lose interest in anything even life itself though he is singing very high praise for man？

2．Why sleep is so frightening, according to Hamlet, since it can “end” the headache and the thousand natural shocks？

3．Why would people rather bear all the sufferings of the world instead of choosing death to get rid of them, according to Hamlet？

4．What, after all, makes people lose their determination to take action? Please explain in relation to the so-called hesitation of Hamlet.

William Shakespeare also wrote 2 long poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, and 154 sonnets, usually numbered in order, of which over 100 are addressed to a

young man, some 20 are concerned with a Dark Lady, and 2（No.153/154）are free translations of Greek poems.Attached here are two of his sonnets: No.18 and No.29.

XVIII

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day？

Thou art more lovely and more temperate：

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May，

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:（a limited period oftime）

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,（the sun）

And often is his gold complexion dimmed；

And every fair from fair sometime declines,（beautiful object）

By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;（stripped ofbeauty）

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest；

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,（its darkness）

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st：

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see，

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.（this poem）

XXIX

When, in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes，

I all alone beweep my outcast state,（weep over; being ignored）

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,（useless, unaavaailing）

And look upon myself and curse my fate，

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,（to resemble someone）

Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,（with his appearance）

Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,（learning; ability）

With what I most enjoy contented least；

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising，

Haply I think on thee; and then my state（fortunately, luckily）

（Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth）sings hymns at heaven's gate：

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings；

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.（chair ofstate; throne）