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As lines of verse go, the alexandrine is just two syllables longer than Shakespeare's iambic pentameter, but it's a lot less hurtling. It feels… stately.
就诗行而言 亚历山大体比莎士比亚的抑扬格五音步长了两个音节 但却少了很多冲击力 感觉有些……威严
But, a genius like Racine can harness that stateliness and turn it into something awesome, and pure and furious.
不过 像拉辛这样的天才可以驾驭这种威严并把它变成令人敬畏的、纯洁的和激情的东西
Racine's diction is formal and his vocabulary much narrower than Shakespeare's, but this gives his plays a feeling of concentration and force.
拉辛的措辞很正规 他的词汇量比莎士比亚少得多 但这使得他的戏剧给人一种专注和力量的感觉
Most of Racine's plays are simple stories focused on tormented women.
拉辛的大多戏剧都是简单的故事 焦点在于饱受折磨的妇女
They include long, wrenching speeches where women explain to their maids just how tortured they are.
其中包括冗长、痛苦的讲话 女人们向她们的女佣讲述自己是如何遭受折磨的
And not much else happens: they're about intensely observed feelings that overwhelm the characters.
除此之外也没发生太多其它的什么：关于令角色难以忍受的强烈的被观察的感觉
Racine's characters feel compelled to act on their feelings even when they know better.
拉辛笔下的人物是：即使知道该怎么做 也会被迫跟随自我的感觉行事
They can't escape their emotions or their fates.
他们无法逃避自己的情绪或者命运
Other playwrights twist themselves into knots trying to observe the unities, but Racine makes it look easy.
为了遵循一致性 其他剧作家绞尽脑汁 但拉辛却把这点变得看起来不那么地费力
He sets his plays right before an emotional crisis and most of his conflicts are internal, so upholding the unities of time, place and action isn't a struggle.
他将戏剧置于情感危机之前 他的大部分冲突都是内在的 所以遵循时间、地点和行动的一致性并没有那么地难
Voltaire called him "indisputably our best tragic poet, the one who alone spoke to the heart and to reason, who alone was truly sublime without being overdone."
伏尔泰称他是“无可厚非我们最好的悲剧诗人，他是唯一遵从心灵并用理性说话之人，是唯一真正崇高而又谦虚之人。”
Man these guys REALLY knew how to compliment one another.
天哪 这些家伙太懂得恭维别人了
Racine's most famous play is the five-act tragedy Phedre, from 1677, based on the Greek myth of, well, Phaedra.
拉辛最著名的戏剧是五幕悲剧《菲德拉》 创作于1677年 根据希腊神话 嗯 《费德拉》改编
Phaedra is married to the great hero Theseus.
菲德拉嫁给了伟大的英雄忒修斯
But while Theseus is away, she develops an overpowering passion for her stepson, Hippolytus.
但是在忒修斯不在的时候 她对她的继子希波吕图斯产生了一种无法抑制的情愫
She would rather die than act on it, but when she gets word that Theseus is dead, she confesses her love.
不过她宁死也不愿表白 直到她得到忒修斯死了的消息时 才向继子希波吕图斯表白了她的爱
Hippolytus is freaked out, because duh, but also in love with another woman.
希波吕图斯吓坏了 因为 呃 他爱着另外一个女人
So he rejects her. Phaedra wants to die.
所以菲德拉被拒绝了 于是她产生了寻死的想法
She wants to die even more when it turns out Theseus is alive and almost home.
在她发现忒修斯还活着并且快要回到家的时候 寻死的想法变得更加强烈
Trying to save Phaedra's life, her maid makes up a story that Hippolytus tried to rape Phaedra.
为了不让菲德拉寻死 她的女仆编造了一个故事 说是希波吕托斯试图强奸菲德拉
Theseus banishes Hippolytus and curses him.
忒修斯驱逐了希波吕托斯并诅咒了他
He dies, offstage, with some help from a sea monster.
希波吕托斯死去 在舞台下 某只海怪作祟
Phaedra's maid kills herself. Phaedra confesses everything and then kills herself.
菲德拉的女仆自杀了 菲德拉坦白了一切 之后也跟着自杀了
Theseus adopts the woman that Hippolytus loved.
忒修斯收养了希波吕托斯爱的那个女人
So maybe that seems like a lot–because it is–but in Racine's hands, the compressed action works, and actually doesn't seem ridiculous.
剧情看上去似乎有些曲折 因为本身就很曲折 不过在拉辛的笔下 他的压缩工作做得不错 所以实际上并不显得荒谬
The unities of time and place feel like natural choices.
时间和地点的一致并没有让人觉得违和
Racine has an incredible gift for entering into extreme psychological states.
拉辛拥有一种令人难以置信的天赋 能够进入极端的心理状态
And Phaedra's long speeches about her passion, horror and self-disgust are breathtaking.
而且剧作中菲德拉对自己的激情、恐惧和自我厌恶做出的长篇大论令人惊叹
But when Phedre first premiered, it wasn't a success.
但是《菲德拉》的第一次公演并不成功
Probably because audiences were so hyped up about Racine's rival Corneille.
可能是因为观众对拉辛的竞争对手 高乃依 太过兴奋了
Born in 1606, he trained as a lawyer before moving on to playwriting.
他出生于1606年 在转向剧本创作之前曾接受过律师培训
Corneille had his first successes with comedies before moving into tragedies.
在转向悲剧之前 高乃依在喜剧上取得了第一次成功
While he was aware of the neoclassical rules, Corneille never adhered to them as carefully, or as elegantly, as Racine did.
高乃依虽然知道新古典主义的规则 但他从来没有像拉辛那样完全地按照规则进行创作
And sometimes that got him into trouble.
这一点时而给他招来麻烦
Corneille's most famous play is the 1636 tragicomedy Le Cid.
高乃依最著名的戏剧是1636年的悲喜剧《勒熙德》
Remember how Racine is sublime but not overdone? Well, Corneille has overdone on lock.
还记得拉辛是多么的崇高而又不过分崇高的吗 嗯 高乃依就是做得过分了
Le Cid is based on the youthful adventures of a medieval Spanish military figure, and hoooo boy did it cause some controversy.
《勒熙德》是根据一个中世纪西班牙军事人物年轻时的冒险故事进行改编的 呼~小伙子 这部剧确实引起过一些争议
Before it pops off, let's take a look at the action in the Thoughtbubble:
在它离场前 咱们先来看看思想泡泡里的情节
Chimene, a noblewoman in medieval Seville, likes Rodrigue. Rodrigue likes Chimene.
中世纪塞维利亚的贵妇人施曼娜喜欢罗德里格 罗德里格也喜欢施曼娜
Unfortunately, their fathers quarrel: one slaps the other, and Rodrigue is forced to duel Chimene's father.
不幸的是 他们的父亲之间产生了矛盾：一个巴掌下去之后 罗德里格被迫和施曼娜的父亲进行决斗
Rodrigue kills him. WHOOPS.
罗德里格杀死了施曼娜的父亲 哎呀不妙！
Chimene is understandably upset. Oh, and also: the Moorish navy is about to attack. There's a lot going on.
施曼娜自然很是失望 噢 还有：摩尔海军就要进攻了 剧情还很长
Crushed, Rodrigue goes to Chimene's house and tells Chimene's maid, Elvire, that he wants Chimene to kill him.
极度绝望的罗德里格来到施曼娜的家里 他告诉施曼娜的女仆埃尔维说想让施曼娜将自己杀死
Elvire tells him to chill out, and he hides while Chimene confesses that she both loves and hates him.
埃尔维让他冷静一下 在施曼娜坦白说自己对罗德里格是既爱又恨的时候罗德里格藏了起来
Her plan: Kill him and then kill herself.
她的计划是：杀了罗德里格 然后再自杀
French neoclassical drama is real big on suicide.
法国的新古典主义戏剧酷爱自杀
Rodrigue reveals himself and is like, great plan, here's my sword.
罗德里格现身了 他说：好主意 来吧 给你我的剑
But Chimene can't do it, and Rodrigue has to leave to go defeat the Moors. Which he does. Offstage. Very quickly.
但是施曼娜下不去手 之后罗德里格必须离开去击退摩尔人 他确实离开了 下了舞台 速度极快
Even the Moors are impressed, naming him Le Cid, or the Lord.
甚至连摩尔人都对他印象深刻 称他为“勒熙德” 或者“耶和华”
But Chimene's like—hey, great, way to save Spain, but hello? We both still have to kill ourselves?
但是施曼娜说：嘿 很棒 拯救西班牙 但是你好？咱俩还是得自杀呀
The other nobles are like, nuh-uh, and they set up another duel—have they learned nothing!—and force Chimene to agree to marry the winner.
其他的贵族说：没门 于是他们建立了另一个决斗场 (难道不吸取教训的吗！) 并强迫施曼娜同意跟获胜者结婚
Rodrigue tells her he's not even going to try to win.
而罗德里格告诉她他并不打算争取胜利
But Chimene's like, I know I keep saying you have to die, but I really don't want to marry the other guy, so make it happen my dude.
但是施曼娜说：我知道我一直说你必须死 但是我真的不想嫁给其他人 所以去争取胜利吧兄弟
The other guy comes back all bloody, and Chimene believes that Rodrigue is dead.
当施曼娜看见一个浑身是血的小伙子回来的时候 她确信罗德里格也是必死无疑了
She tries to become a nun, but it turns out that he's alive!
施曼娜想去当修女 不过结果罗德里格并没有死！
And now she can marry the man who killed her dad! After he kills some more Moors.
现在她可以嫁给那个杀死自己父亲的人了！在他解决更多的摩尔人之后
Thanks, Thought Bubble.
谢谢思想泡泡
So all of that supposedly happens in twenty-four hours! That is one busy day.
所以所有这些剧情都要在24小时内表演完！真是忙碌的一天
Right away we can see how Corneille is different from Racine.
很快我们就能看出高乃依和拉辛的不同之处了
Corneille focuses on men with free will; Racine is interested in women doomed by fate.
高乃依喜欢刻画有自由意志的人 而拉辛则喜欢刻画被命运束缚的女人
Racine likes simple plots and complex characters, and Corneille is the other way around.
拉辛喜欢写简单的情节和复杂的人物 而科尼尔则恰恰相反
Le Cid was an immediate success and an immediate scandal, launching a thousand angry pamphlets—the seventeenth-century equivalent of a tweetstorm.
《勒熙德》出世后很快大获成功 但也很快引发了丑闻 出版了上千本愤怒的小册子 等同于17世纪的“推特风暴”
"This play betrays the unities!!!!", the cranky pamphlets said.
“这部剧违反了一致性规则！！！！”暴躁的小册子上写着
The battle is too short, they griped. There are multiple locations in Seville, they groused.
“战争结束太快了”他们抱怨说 “塞维利亚有很多这样的地方”他们不满道
It's mostly about Rodrigue and Chimene, but other action happens! It ends happily!
“剧情确实大都围绕罗德里格和施曼娜 但是却还有其它的情节！” “竟然是大团圆结局嘛！”
A woman can't marry the man who killed her dad!
“女人不能嫁给杀死了自己父亲的人！”
French intellectuals were in a pamphleteering uproar.
法国的知识分子都在小册子里喧喧嚷嚷
So Cardinal Richelieu turned to the newly created Academie Francaise and asked them for a verdict.
因此 红衣主教黎塞留向新成立的法兰西学院寻求判决
The Academy said look, we know people really like this play, but it violates pretty much all of our rules.
学院说：看 我们知道人们的确很喜欢这部剧 但是它违反了我们所有的规则
It's implausible, it's immoral, it takes a bunch of shortcuts with the unities.
它不具真实性 不道德 走了很多一致性的捷径
But Corneille was like, also look: I've created awesome, virtuous characters
但是高乃依说：看 我创造了非常棒、非常具备道德的角色
and I made the audience feel pity and fear just like Aristotle wanted, so back off, Academy. Mic drop.
而且我让观众感受到了怜悯和恐惧 这就是亚里士多德想要的效果 所以退下吧 学院 帅气地扔掉麦克风
But then he stopped writing plays for four years, and, when he returned, he followed the rules pretty closely. So I guess… mic pick back up.
但是后来他停止写剧本长达四年之久 当他再次创作的时候却开始非常严格地遵守规则 所以我想说……请再次拿好你的麦克风
Neoclassicism in France held sway for more than a century, and its austere style helped make France the dominant European cultural center of the day.
新古典主义在法国兴风作浪了一个多世纪 它简朴的风格使得法国成为了当时欧洲文化的中心
Neoclassicism is persnickety, and it's hard to adhere to.
新古典主义很挑剔 很难坚持下去
But when it's done well, the plays are incredibly forceful.
但是只要你做好了 戏剧就会非常给力
And if all you're reading from this period are the plays of Racine and Corneille,
而且如果你在这一时期读的都是拉辛和高乃依的戏剧作品
you'd be forgiven for thinking the French Renaissance had no sense of humor. But, ah ha mon cher, you'd be mistaken as well.
那么你会认为法国的文艺复兴毫无幽默感 这点可以理解 不过 啊哈亲爱的 大家都有被误解的时候
Next time: jokes, but French. Until then… curtain.
下一集讲：笑话 法国的笑话 下集见 闭幕！
