Why should you read "Hamlet"? - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: 晓彤 纪 校对人员: 潘 可儿

"Who’s there?"

“是谁在那儿？”

Whispered in the dark,

黑暗中，有人悄声问，

this question begins a tale of conspiracy, deception and moral ambiguity.

一个有关阴谋、欺骗和道德模糊的故事 由这个问题开始。

And in a play where everyone has something to hide,

在剧中每个人都有所隐瞒，

its answer is far from simple.

因此答案并不简单。

Written by William Shakespeare between 1599 and 1601,

《哈姆雷特》由威廉·莎士比亚 写于 1599 至 1601 年，

"Hamlet" depicts its titular character haunted by the past,

它讲述了主人公哈姆雷特被过去所困，

but immobilized by the future.

面对未来又踌躇不前。

Mere months after the sudden death of his father,

他父亲突然去世的仅仅几个月后，

Hamlet returns from school a stranger to his own home,

他从学校回到家， 像一个陌生人一样归来，

and deeply unsure of what might be lurking in the shadows.

他很不确定黑暗中有什么在潜行。

但在一个顶着他父亲的脸的鬼魂 找过他后，

But his brooding takes a turn

when he’s visited by a ghost that bears his father’s face.

他的忧虑发生了转变。

The phantom claims to be the victim of a “murder most foul,”

鬼魂声称死于一场“最狠毒”的谋杀，

and convinces Hamlet that his uncle Claudius usurped the throne

还使哈姆雷特相信 他叔叔克劳狄斯篡夺了王位，

and stole queen Gertrude’s heart.

还勾引了皇后乔特鲁德。

The prince’s mourning turns to rage,

王子哈姆雷特的悲痛转为愤怒，

and he begins to plots his revenge

他开始策划一场 对新国王和他同谋的朝廷的复仇。

on the new king and his court of conspirators.

The play is an odd sort of tragedy,

这部戏剧是一部有些奇怪的悲剧，

lacking either the abrupt brutality or all-consuming romance

它缺少突然爆发的暴力， 以及不顾一切的爱情，

that characterize Shakespeare’s other work in the genre.

而这些都是莎士比亚同类作品的特点。

Instead it plumbs the depths of its protagonist’s indecisiveness,

相反，它极力表现了主人公的犹豫不决

and the tragic consequences thereof.

以及由此引发的悲剧。

The ghost’s revelation draws Hamlet into multiple dilemmas–

鬼魂对真相的揭露 使哈姆雷特陷入了许多困境——

what should he do, who can he trust,

他应该做什么， 可以相信谁,

and what role might he play in the course of justice?

在伸张正义的过程中， 他可以扮演什么角色。

These questions are complicated by a tangled web of characters,

这些问题因复杂的人物关系 变得更为复杂，

forcing Hamlet to negotiate friends, family,

迫使哈姆雷特与朋友、家人、

court counselors, and love interests–

朝臣、爱人周旋，

many of whom possess ulterior motives.

这些人中很多人都别有用心。

The prince constantly delays and dithers over how to relate to others,

哈姆雷特在如何理解别人、 如何实施复仇的问题上，

and how he should carry out revenge.

一直在拖延和犹豫不决，

This can make Hamlet more than a little exasperating,

这令他显得非常令人生气，

but it also makes him one of the most human characters Shakespeare ever created.

但又让他成为莎士比亚笔下 最有人性的人物之一。

Rather than rushing into things,

哈姆雷特没有冲动地做事，

Hamlet becomes consumed with the awful machinations of thinking itself.

而是沉浸在思考复仇计划本身。

And over the course of the play,

并且，在整部剧中，

his endless questions come to echo throughout our own racing minds.

他的无数问题 也在我们飞快的思绪中引起了共鸣。

为了达到这样的效果，

To accomplish this,

莎士比亚运用了他最内省的语言。

Shakespeare employs his most introspective language.

From the usurping king’s blazing contemplation of heaven and hell,

从篡位国王对天堂和地狱的激烈思考，

to the prince’s own cackling meditation on mortality,

到王子对死亡必然性的反复思索。

Shakespeare uses melancholic monologues to breathtaking effect.

莎士比亚用忧郁的独白打动人心。

This is perhaps best exemplified in Hamlet’s most famous declaration of angst:

也许，最经典的例子就是 哈姆雷特最著名的那段忧虑的宣言：

"To be or not to be—that is the question:

“生存还是毁灭—— 这是一个值得考虑的问题：

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

是默然忍受

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

命运的暴虐的毒箭，

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

或是挺身反抗人世间的无涯的苦难，

And, by opposing, end them."

通过斗争把它扫清，哪一种更高贵？”

This monologue personifies Hamlet’s existential dilemma:

这段独白体现了哈姆雷特 关于存在的困境：

being torn between thought and action,

在想法和行动间左右为难，

unable to choose between life and death.

无法选择生还是死。

But his endless questioning raises yet another anxiety:

但他无休止的疑问引起了另一个忧虑：

is Hamlet’s madness part of a performance to confuse his enemies,

哈姆雷特疯癫的表现是为了迷惑敌人，

or are we watching a character on the brink of insanity?

还是真的处于精神失常边缘？

These questions weigh heavily on Hamlet’s interactions with every character.

哈姆雷特的疑问深深影响了 他与每个角色的交往。

And since he spends much of the play facing inward,

由于他花了很多时间向内思考，

he often fails to see the destruction left in his wake.

常常看不到自己造成的破坏。

He’s particularly cruel to Ophelia,

他对欧菲利亚特别残酷，

his doomed love interest who is brought to madness by the prince’s erratic behavior.

他绝望的爱人 因他难以捉摸的行为变疯。

Her fate is one example of how tragedy could have been easily avoided,

她的命运反映了悲剧本应可轻易避免，

and shows the ripple effect of Hamlet’s toxic mind games.

也表现了哈姆雷特致命心理游戏的 连锁反应。

Similar warning signs of tragedy are constantly overlooked throughout the play.

在整部戏剧中， 类似的悲剧警示一直被忽视。

Sometimes, these oversights occur because of willful blindness–

有时，这些疏忽是因为有意的无视——

such as when Ophelia’s father dismisses Hamlet’s alarming actions

比如欧菲利亚的父亲不理会 哈姆雷特可怕的行为，

as mere lovesickness.

只把它当作相思病。

At other points, tragedy stems from deliberate duplicity–

在其它方面，悲剧源于故意的欺骗——

as when a case of mistaken identity leads to yet more bloodshed.

比如因为一次认错人，引发更多的死亡。

These moments leave us with the uncomfortable knowledge

这些情况让我们难过地认识到，

that tragedy evolves from human error–

悲剧是由人们的错误演变而来的。

even if our mistake is to leave things undecided.

即使我们只是错在不去做决定。

For all these reasons, perhaps the one thing we never doubt is Hamlet’s humanity.

综上，也许我们唯独不应怀疑的 是哈姆雷特的人性，

But we must constantly grapple with who the “real” Hamlet might be.

但我们应该不断设法想出 “真正的”哈姆雷特可能是谁。

Is he a noble son avenging his father?

他是一个为父报仇的贵族子弟吗？

Or a mad prince creating courtly chaos?

还是一个制造宫廷混乱的疯掉的王子？

Should he act or observe, doubt or trust?

他应该行动还是观察， 怀疑还是相信？

Who is he? Why is he here?

他是谁？为什么在这里？

And who’s out there– waiting in the dark?

还有谁在外面——在黑暗中等待？