Why should you read "Waiting For Godot"? - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Sam Bao 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

A shabby man named Estragon,

一个叫做爱斯特拉冈的人衣衫褴褛，

sits near a tree at dusk and struggles to remove his boot.

他在傍晚时分坐在树边， 奋力脱掉他的靴子。

He’s soon joined by his friend Vladimir,

很快朋友弗拉季米尔也来了，

who reminds his anxious companion that

爱斯特拉冈提醒他焦虑的朋友，

they must wait here for someone called Godot.

他们必须等待一个叫做戈多的人。

So begins a vexing cycle in which the two debate

两人于是陷入了无休止的激烈论战：

when Godot will come, why they’re waiting,

戈多什么时候来， 他们为什么要等戈多。

and whether they’re even at the right tree.

甚至于他们是否在对的树下。

From here, Waiting for Godot only gets stranger -

自此，《等待戈多》变得越来越奇怪。

but it’s considered a play that changed

但这样一出戏，

the face of modern drama.

改变了现代戏剧的面貌。

Written by Samuel Beckett between 1949 and 1955,

本剧作者塞缪尔·贝克特， 写于1949至1955年。

it offers a simple but stirring question -

它提出了一个简单但令人迷惑的问题：

what should the characters do?

剧中人物应该做些什么？

Estragon: Don’t let's do anything. It's safer.

爱斯特拉冈：什么也不要做，这样更安全。

Vladimir: Let’s wait and see what he says.

弗拉季米尔：让我们等等，看看他怎么说。

Estragon: Who?

爱斯特拉冈：谁？

Vladimir: Godot.

弗拉季米尔：戈多。

Estragon: Good idea.

爱斯特拉冈：好主意。

Such cryptic dialogue and circular reasoning are

这些晦涩的对话和圆环式的逻辑

key features of the Theatre of the Absurd,

是荒诞派戏剧的主要特点。

a movement which emerged after the Second World War

荒诞派运动诞生于二战后，

and found artists struggling

艺人们奋力地找寻毁灭行为的意义。

to find meaning in devastation.

The absurdists deconstructed plot, character and language

荒诞派解构了剧情、人物和语言，

to question their meaning and share

质疑这些东西的意义，

their profound uncertainty on stage.

在舞台上呈现它们深深的不确定性。

While this may sound grim,

虽然这些听上去很悲观，

the absurd blends its hopelessness with humor.

不过荒诞派在其无助之感中融入了幽默。

This is reflected in Beckett’s unique approach

这一点也反映在《等待戈多》中。

to genre in Waiting for Godot,

贝克特将该剧划为独特的门类，

which he branded “a tragicomedy in two acts."

将其称为“两幕悲喜剧“。

Tragically, the characters are locked in an

悲剧在于，两个人物陷入了

existential conundrum: they wait in vain

一个存在难题：他们徒劳地等待，

for an unknown figure to give them a sense of purpose,

等待未知的人给他们一个目的。

but their only sense of purpose

但他们唯一的目的，

comes from the act of waiting,

却是来自于这场等待。

While they wait, they sink into boredom,

在等待的过程中，他们陷入了困倦，

express religious dread and contemplate suicide.

流露出对宗教的恐惧，考虑过自杀。

But comically, there is a jagged humor to their predicament,

而喜剧在于，他们的困境 有一种生冷的幽默，

which comes across in their language and movements.

从他们的语言和动作中表达出来。

Their interactions are filled with bizarre wordplay,

他们间的互动充满着 奇怪的文字游戏，

repetition and double entendres,

重复、双关。

as well as physical clowning, singing and dancing,

他们还扮丑、歌唱、舞蹈。

and frantically swapping their hats.

发狂似的换帽子。

It’s often unclear whether the audience is supposed to

观众常常搞不清是该笑还是该哭，

laugh or cry - or whether Beckett saw

而贝克特自己又是否真的区别了二者。

any difference between the two.

Born in Dublin, Beckett studied English,

贝克特生于都柏林， 曾学习英语、法语及意大利语，

French and Italian before moving to Paris,

后来移居巴黎。

where he spent most of his life writing theatre,

余生大部分时光编写戏剧、

poetry and prose.

诗歌及散文。

While Beckett had a lifelong love of language,

贝克特毕生虽喜欢运用语言，

he also made space for silence by incorporating gaps,

他亦给沉默留下了空间，

将间隔、停顿及空白的片段， 插入其作品之中。

pauses and moments of emptiness into his work.

This was a key feature of his trademark

这一重要特点属于他标志性的

uneven tempo and black humor,

不均衡节奏和黑色幽默，

which became popular throughout the Theatre of the Absurd.

这种风格席卷荒诞派戏剧。

He also cultivated a mysterious persona,

他还有着一种捉摸不透的个性，

and refused to confirm or deny any speculations

他拒绝证实或否认关于他作品意义的猜测。

about the meaning of his work.

This kept audiences guessing,

这使得观众不断猜测，

increasing their fascination with his surreal worlds

使得他们更加着迷于他的怪诞世界

and enigmatic characters.

和令人费解的人物。

The lack of any clear meaning makes Godot

由于缺乏明确的意义，使得“戈多"

endlessly open to interpretation.

可以任意解读。

Critics have offered countless readings of the play,

评论家们对本剧做出了无数种解释。

resulting in a cycle of ambiguity and speculation

形成了无止境的模糊与猜测。

that mirrors the plot of the drama itself.

这与《等待戈多》的情节如出一辙。

It's been read as an allegory of the Cold War,

有人称它影射的是冷战、

the French Resistance,

或法国抵抗运动、

and Britain’s colonization of Ireland.

或英国对爱尔兰的殖民统治。

The dynamic of the two protagonists has

二位主角间的关系

also sparked intense debate.

也引起了激烈的辩论。

They’ve been read as survivors of the apocalypse,

有人认为他们是世界末日的幸存者，

an aging couple, two impotent friends,

或是一对年迈夫妇，或两个无助的朋友，

and even as personifications of Freud’s ego and id.

甚至是弗洛伊德“本我”和“自我”的化身。

Famously, Beckett said the only thing he could

广为人知的是，贝克特称他唯一确定的

be sure of was that Vladimir and Estragon

是弗拉季米尔与爱斯特拉冈

were "wearing bowler hats."

”戴着礼帽“。

Like the critical speculation and maddening plot,

同评论家的猜测及令人抓狂的情节一样，

their language often goes in circles as the two

两个人物的语言常常像绕圈子，

bicker and banter, lose their train of thought,

他们时而斗嘴时而打趣，迷失了思考的方向，

and pick up right where they left off:

又在他们停顿的地方开始。

Vladimir: We could start all over again perhaps

弗拉季米尔：或许我们可以重新开始，

Estragon: That should be easy

爱斯特拉冈: 应该不难。

Vladimir: It’s the start that’s difficult

弗拉季米尔：难的是开头。

Estragon: You can start from anything

爱斯特拉冈：你可以从任何地方开始。

Vladimir: Yes, but you have to decide.

弗拉季米尔：是的，但你得决定一个地方。

Beckett reminds us that just like our daily lives,

贝克特提醒我们，就像日常生活一样，

the world onstage doesn’t always make sense.

舞台上的世界并不总是说得通。

It can explore both reality and illusion,

它既可以探索现实，也可以探索虚幻，

the familiar and the strange.

既可以探索熟悉的，也可以探索陌生的。

And although a tidy narrative still appeals,

虽然人们仍喜欢有条有理的情节，

the best theatre keeps us thinking – and waiting.

但最好的戏剧让我们不断思考，

不断等待。