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In 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death, two fellow actors in the King's Men, John Heminges and Henry Condell,
1623年 莎士比亚去世的7年后 国王剧团的两位演员约翰·海明和亨利·康德尔
decided to collect and publish Shakespeare's works in an authoritative edition, to honor their friend.
决定收集并出版莎士比亚作品的权威版来纪念他们的朋友
Their luxury volume, known as the First Folio, included 36 plays organized as Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies.
他们的豪华卷 被称为“第一对开本” 包涵了36部戏剧 按顺序是喜剧、历史剧和悲剧
It left out Two Noble Kinsmen and Pericles, which are common now,
里面漏掉了《两贵亲》和《伯里克利》 现在这两部剧很常见
as well as Cardenio, the one Shakespeare play that's definitely lost.
还有《卡德尼奥》 这是一部肯定丢失了的莎士比亚的戏剧
We'll start with the histories because they were some of the earliest plays Shakespeare wrote:
我们将从历史剧讲起 因为历史剧是莎士比亚最先创作的戏剧：
King John, Richard II, the two Henry IVs, Henry V, the three Henry VIs and Richard III. Henry VIII was written a lot later.
《约翰王》、《理查德二世》、两部《亨利四世》、《亨利五世》、三部《亨利六世》以及《理查德三世》 很久之后出来了《亨利八世》
With the exception of King John and Edward III, the rest of these plays describe the rise of the Tudors,
除了《约翰王》和《爱德华三世》 其余的历史剧都讲述了都铎王朝的兴起
the royal house of Elizabeth I, queen during the early years of Shakespeare's career.
即莎士比亚职业生涯的早期 女王伊丽莎白一世的王室
So you may ask: why are these "history plays,"but not Julius Caesar or Macbeth or Cymbeline?
你可能会问：为什么说这些是“历史剧” 而《尤利乌斯·凯撒》、《麦克白》或者《辛白林》不是历史剧呢？
Well, these distinctions are fuzzy.
嗯 挺难区分的
They were created by the editors of the First Folio, not Shakespeare himself.
它们是由“第一对开本”的编辑 而不是由莎士比亚本人撰写的
But as scholar Lily Campbell puts it: "Tragedy is concerned with the doings of men which in philosophy are discussed under ethics;
但正如学者莉莉·坎贝尔所言：“悲剧与在哲学中属于伦理范畴的人的行为相关；
history with the doings of men which in philosophy are discussed under politics.
历史剧与在哲学中属于政治范畴的人的行为相关。”
So Richard II is a history because it's about Richard's eventual defeat by Bolingbroke,
所以说《理查德二世》是一部历史剧 因为它讲述了理查德最终被博林布鲁克击败的故事
but Macbeth is a tragedy because it's about Macbeth's personal conflicts.
而《麦克白》是一部悲剧 因为它讲述了麦克白的私人矛盾
By the way, this isn't really a theater. So I'm perfectly comfortable saying Macbeth.
顺便说一下 因为这里不是真正的剧院 所以我非常乐意讲讲《麦克白》
I'm no longer perfectly comfortable saying Macbeth.
我已经不乐意讲《麦克白》了
What was the point of history plays?
历史剧的意义是什么呢？
Well, a straightforward history play is a patriotic exercise that celebrates past greatness
嗯 简单易懂的历史剧具有爱国意义 它颂扬过去的伟大、
and commiserates over past suffering, without stopping to question God's providence.
对过去的苦难表示怜悯、对上帝的旨意保持质疑
History plays were designed to keep people in line: Thomas Heywood wrote in the 1612 "An Apology for Actors"：
创作历史戏剧是为了管理国民：托马斯·海伍德于1612年在《对不起，演员们》里写道：
these plays (History Plays)are writ with this ayme… to teach their subjects obedience to their king,
这些戏剧(历史剧)都以此为目的——教导臣民臣服于国王
to shew the people the untimely ends of such as have moved tumults, commotions, and insurrections,
向人们展示那些引起骚动、发动叛乱的人的下场
to present them with the flourishing estate of such as live in obedience, exhorting them to allegiance.
以及那些听话顺从的国民的幸福生活 规劝人们效忠。
Basically, when it comes to tumults and insurrections, don't start none, won't be none.
总之就是：对于骚乱和叛乱 不要打无准备之仗 否则你将一无所有
But Shakespeare isn't that straightforward.
当然 莎士比亚说得没有那么直白
A couple of his plays are about men who usurp the throne from kings and then become kings themselves,
莎士比亚有几部戏剧是讲人们从国王手中篡夺王位然后自己成为国王的
so his works are hardly a wholesale condemnation of tumult, or a rubber stamp on the divine right of kings.
所以说他的作品并不是对骚乱的全盘谴责 也不是对国王神圣权利的贬低
Early critics claimed that he upheld the Tudor myth, but later ones have argued that he's up to something more subversive.
早期的评论家认为莎士比亚支持都铎王朝的神话 但是后来的评论家认为他在从事某种更加颠覆性的活动
For an example, let's look at one of his best-known history plays, "Richard III" in the Thoughtbubble.
举个例子 我们来看看他最著名的历史剧《理查德三世》 思想泡泡出场
Edward IV is back on the throne after putting down a rebellion.
爱德华四世平定叛乱后重新登上王位
His little brother Richard, aka, that "foul bunchback'd toad,"isn't psyched about it.
他的弟弟理查德 就是那个“一肚子坏水的驼背蟾蜍” 对此并不兴奋
Richard contrives to have his other brother, Clarence, sent to the Tower of London and then seduces Lady Anne,
理查德设法将他的另一个兄弟“克拉伦斯”送到伦敦塔去勾引安妮夫人
even though he murdered her father and her brother… and she knows about it.
即使安妮夫人知道克拉伦斯谋杀了自己的父亲和兄弟
Richard has Clarence drowned in a large cask of wine, which helps push Edward IV into an early grave.
理查德将克拉伦斯淹死在一个大酒桶里 这样就能加快爱德华四世的死亡
Edward's sons will succeed him, though, so Richard has more murdering to do!
之后爱德华的儿子们就将继承爱德华的王位 所以理查德的谋杀之路还很漫长~
After arranging to have a bunch of people executed, Richard has the two princes held in the Tower.
在设计处决了一批人之后 理查德把两个王子关在了伦敦塔里
He tries to convince the people that the princes are illegitimate and he is the rightful heir to the throne.
他试图说服人们王子继承王位是非法的 而他自己才是合法的王位继承人
The other lords more or less go for it, but just to be sure, Richard has the princes murdered anyway.
其他贵族多多少少地也都支持他 但是要明确一点：说到底是理查德谋杀了王子们
Now that he's king, Richard poisons his wife so he can make a more dynastically savvy marriage.
理查德当上国王后 他毒死了自己的妻子 这样他就能再来一段高端大气的皇室婚姻
But all this villainy starts to catch up with him, and rebellions break out.
但是当这一件件邪恶的构思开始逐渐成真的时候 叛乱爆发了
One of them is led by Richmond who—spoiler alert—will become Henry VII.
其中一个叛乱组织的头头是里士满——剧透警告——他就是后来的亨利七世
On the battlefield, Richard is haunted by his victims, famously offers his kingdom for a horse, and then dies,
理查德在战场上被他伤害过的人的灵魂缠住 他很棒 为了一匹马便献出了自己的王国 之后就挂了
with Richmond announcing: "Now civil wounds are stopped; peace lives again. / That she may long live here, God say ‘Amen.’
理查德大喊：此时国内的创伤已经停止；和平将再次到来。愿和平永存，阿门。
Thanks, Thoughtbubble.
谢谢思想泡泡
So a happy ending! Unless you're Richard. Or one of the many people that he murdered.
所以 结局很美好 除非你是理查德 或者是被他杀害的人
It's easy enough to read this play as rah-rah Tudor propaganda. Boo Richard! Yay Richmond!
这部戏剧很容易被解读为 好啊好啊 “都铎王朝的代言” 逊爆了理查德！耶里士满！但是
but all the play shows Richard as a tyrant and a usurper, it isn't a wholly negative portrayal.
虽然本剧将理查德刻画成了一个暴君和篡位者 但并不全都是对他的负面刻画
Shakespeare's Richard is a genius and a charmer… and a villain and a killer.
莎士比亚笔下的理查德是一个天才、极具魅力 也是一个恶棍、杀手
So while the historians were busy confirming his wickedness, Shakespeare also shows him as attractive and theatrical.
所以当历史学家忙于证实理查德的邪恶时 莎士比亚也展现了他的魅力和戏剧性
He's the character you can't stop watching and the one that great actors want to play.
他是一个让人欲罢不能的角色 一个让所有伟大的演员都想扮演的角色
Also, just quick aside, people used to accuse Shakespeare of making up the fact
此外 说点儿题外话哈 人们曾经指责莎士比亚编造了理查德驼背的事实
that Richard had a hunchback just to make him seem extra evil,
认为莎士比亚塑造驼背的理查德仅仅是为这个角色增添邪恶色彩
but a few years ago they found Richard's bones in a parking lot,
然而几年前他们在一家停车场里发现了理查德的尸骨
and it turns out while he may not have been a full on hunchback, he did have scoliosis.
结果显示理查德并不是真正意义上的驼背 而是患有脊柱侧凸
While we don't know all the circumstances of where and when and how Shakespeare became a writer,
虽然我们不知道莎士比亚何时何地以及如何成为的剧作家
his early work shows him taking the straightforward form of the chronicle play
但是他早期的作品表明他是直接采用了历史剧的形式
and molding it into something more exciting and ambitious.
并将其塑造成了更令人兴奋、更雄心勃勃的作品
He added breathtaking poetry, penetrating insight and fun scenes of people being killed in wine..
他还在戏剧里面加入了扣人心弦的诗歌、敏锐的洞察力和在酒里杀人的有趣场景
Next time we'll look at how those scenes were probably acted, and we'll discuss Shakespeare's tragedies.
下集我们会来讲讲这些场景是如何进行表演的 届时我们将探讨莎士比亚的悲剧
But until then… curtain!
下集见……谢幕！
