Why should you read Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”? - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Yichen Huang 校对人员: Ziyao Wang

Claps of thunder and flashes of lightning illuminate a swelling sea,

轰轰雷声和明灭的闪电 照亮了澎湃的海洋，

as a ship buckles beneath the waves.

一艘船在汹涌波涛中左右摇晃。

This is no ordinary storm, but a violent and vengeful tempest,

这不是普通的风暴， 而是一场暴虐的复仇的暴风雨，

and it sets the stage for Shakespeare’s most enigmatic play.

为莎士比亚最神秘的剧本设下舞台。

As the skies clear, we are invited into a world

随着乌云散去，我们被邀请到 一个看似离我们很远的世界。

that seems far removed from our own, but is rife with familiar concerns

但这个世界也充斥着 我们所在乎的熟悉事物，

about freedom, power, and control.

比如自由、权利和控制。

The Tempest is set on a desert island, exposed to the elements

《暴风雨》的背景是一个 饱受风吹雨打的荒岛，

and ruled with magic and might by Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan.

此岛被流放的米兰公爵普洛斯彼罗 用魔法与力量统治着。

Betrayed by his brother Antonio, Prospero has been marooned on the island

普洛斯彼罗被弟弟安东尼奥背叛后， 便一直隔离在这个岛上。

for twelve years with his daughter Miranda and his beloved books.

他在这已经十二年了， 同他的女儿米兰达和他深爱的书一起。

In this time he’s learned the magic of the island

在这些时间里， 他学会了运用岛上的魔法，

and uses it to harness its elementary spirits.

并用之征服了岛上的精灵。

He also rules over the island’s only earthly inhabitant,

他同时也统治着这个岛上唯一的土著，

the dejected and demonized Caliban.

沉闷丑陋的凯列班。

But after years of plotting revenge, Prospero’s foe is finally in sight.

但经历了数年的策划之后， 普洛斯彼罗的仇敌终于近在眼前。

With the help of the fluttering sprite Ariel,

在缥缈的精灵爱丽儿的帮助下，

the magician destroys his brother’s ship and washes its sailors ashore.

魔法师摧毁了他弟弟的船只， 并把船员都冲上岸。

Prospero’s plotting even extends to his daughter’s love life,

普洛斯彼罗的计谋 甚至包括了它女儿的情感生活，

whom he plans to fall for stranded prince Ferdinand.

他计划让女儿爱上 搁浅而困于岛上的王子腓迪南。

And as Prospero and Ariel close in on Antonio,

当普洛斯彼罗和爱丽儿接近安东尼奥时，

Caliban joins forces with some drunken sailors,

凯列班加入了一群醉酒的水手，

who hatch a comic plot to take the island.

他们想出了一个滑稽的计划， 要夺得小岛。

The play strips society down to its basest desires,

《暴风雨》将社会拆解到了最底层的欲望，

with each faction in hot pursuit of power- be it over the land, other people,

剧中每个阵营都一心追求权力：

不管是要统治小岛，奴役他人， 还是掌控自己的命运。

or their own destiny.

But Shakespeare knows that power is always a moving target;

但莎士比亚知道权力不是一成不变的目标；

and as he reveals these characters’ dark histories,

当他揭露出角色们黑暗的过往时，

we begin to wonder if this vicious cycle will ever end.

我们渐渐怀疑这恶毒的循环是否会终结。

Although Prospero was wronged by Antonio,

虽然普洛斯彼罗被安东尼奥背叛，

he has long inflicted his own abuses on the island,

但他长久以来剥削小岛，

hoarding its magical properties and natural re-sources for himself.

为自己囤积岛上的魔力和自然资源。

Caliban especially resents this takeover.

凯列班特别痛恨普洛斯彼罗的掌权。

The son of Sycorax,

凯列班的母亲西考拉克斯是先前统治小岛的女巫，

a witch who previously ruled the island,

he initially helped the exiles find their footing.

凯列班起初帮助流放者们安置下来，

But he’s since become their slave, and rants with furious regret:

但在此后却成了他们的奴隶， 凯列班悔恨地悲吟：

“And then I loved thee,/ And showed thee

“那时我以为你是个好人，

把岛上的一切富源都给你知道, 什么地方是清泉，盐井，

all the qualities o’ th’ isle/ The fresh springs,

brine pits, barren place and fertile./

什么地方是荒地和肥田。

Cursed be I that did so!”

我真该死让你知道这一切！“

With his thunderous language and seething anger,

带着这样雷鸣般的话语和怒火，

Caliban constantly reminds Prospero of what came before:

凯列班一直提醒着普洛斯彼罗他到岛上之前的事：

this island’s mine by Sycorax my mother, Which thou takest from me.

“这岛是我母亲西考拉克斯 传给我而被你夺了去的。“

Yet Sycorax also abused the island,

但西考拉克斯也剥削了小岛，

and imprisoned Ariel until Prospero released him.

她囚禁了爱丽儿直到普洛斯彼罗解放了他。

Now Ariel spends the play hoping to repay his debt and earn his freedom,

剧中的爱丽儿期望还清 亏欠的人情，争得他的自由，

while Caliban is enslaved indefinitely, or at least as long

而实际上只要掌权的是普洛斯彼罗， 凯列班就被无期限地奴役。

as Prospero is in charge.

For these reasons and many more,

因为许多诸如此类的原因，

The Tempest has often been read as an exploration of colonialism,

《暴风雨》常被当做是一场对殖民主义 和发现“新世界”所带来道德危机的探讨。

and the moral dilemmas that come with en-counters of “brave new world(s)."

Questions of agency and justice hang over the play:

对统治力量和正义的问题贯穿全剧：

is Caliban the rightful master of the land?

凯列班是小岛合法的主人吗？

Will Ariel flutter free?

爱丽儿会重获自由吗？

And is Prospero the mighty overseer-

普洛斯彼罗是小岛强大的监管者——

or is there some deeper magic at work, beyond any one character's grasp?

还是说在每一个角色之上， 都有一些深妙的魔力运作呢？

Throughout the play,

在剧中，

Ariel constantly reminds Prospero of the freedom he is owed.

爱丽儿一直提醒着 普洛斯彼罗他被亏欠的自由。

But the question lingers of whether the invader will be able

但这个入侵者是否会 让出他的权力，却值得怀疑。

to relinquish his grip.

The question of ending one’s reign is particularly potent given that The Tempest

“终结一个人的统治”这个问题 在这里显得强有力

因为《暴风雨》被认为 是莎士比亚最后的剧作。

is believed to be Shakespeare’s final play.

In many ways Prospero’s actions echo that of the great entertainer him-self,

普洛斯彼罗的许多行动 和莎士比亚的行动相呼应，

who hatched elaborate plots, maneuvered those around him,

莎士比亚酝酿了 精妙的剧情并运用它们，

and cast a spell over characters and audience alike.

如魔法般支配着 剧中的角色和剧外的观众。

But by the end of his grand performance of power and control,

但当这场权利和控制的宏大演出落幕之时，

Prospero’s final lines see him humbled by his audience -

普洛斯彼罗最后的台词 则印证着他为观众所败——

and the power that they hold over his creations.

显出了观众对于 他剧作的控制力量。

"With the help of your good hands./ Gentle breath of yours my sails/

“赖着你们善意殷勤地鼓掌相助， 再烦你们为我嘘出一口和风

Must fill or else my project fails,/ Which was to please."

好让我们的船只鼓满帆蓬。 否则我的计划便落空。”

This evokes Shakespeare’s own role as the great entertainer

这和莎士比亚作为大剧作家的身份共鸣，

who surrenders himself, ultimately, to our applause.

因为他，最终， 也屈服于我们的掌声。