Why should you read "Macbeth"? - Brendan Pelsue

翻译人员: Riley WANG 校对人员: Sylvia He

“拇指怦怦动， 必有恶人来。” ——莎士比亚, 《麦克白》

有这样一部戏剧，它拥有强大的力量，

There's a play so powerful that an old superstition says

甚至有古老传言认为 不能在剧院提起它的名字。

its name should never even be uttered in a theater,

a play that begins with witchcraft and ends with a bloody severed head,

这部剧以巫术开场， 以血腥的身首异处结束，

a play filled with riddles, prophesies, nightmare visions,

它充满了谜团、预言、 梦魇 以及大量残忍的谋杀。

and lots of brutal murder,

a play by William Shakespeare sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Play"

这部剧由威廉·莎士比亚所著， 有时被称为 “那部苏格兰戏剧”，

or the "Tragedy of Macbeth."

它就是悲剧《麦克白》。

First performed at the Globe Theater in London in 1606,

这部剧最初于 1606 年 在伦敦环球剧场上演，

"Macbeth" is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy.

在莎士比亚的悲剧中， 《麦克白》是最短的一部，

It is also one of his most action-packed.

也是情节最跌宕的一部。

In five acts, he recounts a story of a Scottish nobleman

莎士比亚用五幕戏 讲述了一位苏格兰贵族的故事，

who steals the throne,

他窃取王位，

presides over a reign of terror,

施行恐怖统治，

and then meets a bloody end.

最终落得悲惨下场。

Along the way, it asks important questions about ambition,

这部剧提出了野心、

power,

权力

and violence

和暴力等重要的问题。

that spoke directly to the politics of Shakespeare's time

这些问题直指莎士比亚 所处的时代

and continue to echo in our own.

并延续至今的政治形势。

England in the early 17th century was politically precarious.

17 世纪早期，英格兰政局十分动荡，

Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603 without producing an heir,

伊丽莎白一世于 1603 年去世， 却没有子嗣。

and in a surprise move,

而令人惊讶的是，

her advisors passed the crown to James Stewart, King of Scotland.

女王的大臣将皇位传给了 苏格兰国王詹姆士·斯图尔特。

Two years later, James was subject to an assassination attempt

两年之后，詹姆士遭遇了 一次暗杀，险些丧命，

called the Gunpowder Plot.

此次事件被称为“火药阴谋”。

Questions of what made for a legitimate king

一时间，人们都在讨论

were on everyone's lips.

一位称职的君主 究竟需要拥有何种品质。

So Shakespeare must have known he had potent material

莎士比亚必定确信 自己拥有丰富的素材，

when he conflated and adapted the stories

于是将这些事件进行合并和改编，

of a murderous 11th century Scottish King named Macbeth

撰写出了 11 世纪一位名叫 麦克白的凶残的苏格兰国王

and those of several other Scottish nobles.

和其他几位苏格兰贵族的故事。

He found their annals in Hollinshed's "Chronicles,"

他借鉴了霍林现特的《编年史》，

a popular 16th century history of Britain and Ireland.

这是一部 16 世纪流行的 英国及爱尔兰史书。

Shakespeare would also have known he needed to tell his story

莎士比亚也知道， 他要用能够立刻吸引

in a way that would immediately grab the attention

那个年代鱼龙混杂、 吵嚷喧闹的观众的方式

of his diverse and rowdy audience.

讲述这个故事。

The Globe welcomed all sections of society.

环球剧院向社会各个阶层开放。

Wealthier patrons watched the stage from covered balconies

富有的顾客从有凉篷的阳台看戏，

while poorer people paid a penny to take in the show

穷人们则只需付一个便士就可入场，

from an open-air section called the pit.

在剧院露天的“正厅后座区” 观看演出。

Talking, jeering, and cheering was common during performances.

在表演期间， 喧哗、嘲弄、欢呼此起彼伏，

There are even accounts of audiences throwing furniture when plays were flops.

甚至有观众在演出失误时 朝台上扔家具。

So "Macbeth" opens with a literal bang.

《麦克白》以一声巨响开始。

Thunder cracks and three witches appear.

伴随着电闪雷鸣，三个女巫登场。

They announce they're searching

她们念叨着自己正在寻找

for a Scottish nobleman and war hero named Macbeth,

一位苏格兰贵族和战争英雄， 他的名字是麦克白。

then fly off while chanting a curse that predicts a world gone mad.

女巫们念着咒语飞走了， 预言一个疯狂世界即将到来。

“美即丑恶丑即美，翱翔毒雾妖云里。”

"Fair is foul and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air."

As seen later, they find Macbeth and his fellow nobleman Banquo.

之后，她们找到麦克白和 他的朋友贵族班柯，

"All hail Macbeth," they prophesize, "that shalt be king hereafter!"

“万福，麦克白！未来的君王！” 她们预言着。

"King?" Macbeth wonders.

“国王？” 麦克白思忖着。

Just what would he have to do to gain the crown?

他要如何做才能夺得王位？

Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth

麦克白和夫人很快构想出一个计划，

soon chart a course of murder, lies, and betrayal.

一个充满谋杀、谎言和背叛的计划。

In the ensuing bloodbath,

在随后的血腥屠杀中，

Shakespeare provides viewers with some of the most memorable passages

莎士比亚为观众展现了英国文学中

in English literature.

最令人印象深刻的篇章。

"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" Lady Macbeth cries when she believes

比如，麦克白夫人大喊着， “消失，该死的血迹！消失！”

she can't wipe her victim's blood off her hands.

她发现自己无法将手中的鲜血拭去。

Her obsession with guilt is one of many themes that runs through the play,

她满心的内疚是整部戏剧的主题之一。

along with the universal tendency to abuse power,

其他主题还包括滥用权力、

the endless cycles of violence and betrayal,

无尽的暴力与背叛循环往复，

the defying political conflict.

以及互相对抗的政治斗争。

As is typical with Shakespeare's language,

莎士比亚的语言一向经典，

a number of phrases that got their start in the play

许多首次出现在这部戏剧中的词句，

have been repeated so many times that they now feel commonplace.

由于多次重复使用， 现已成为惯常表达。

They include "the milk of human kindness,"

包括 “the milk of human kindness,” 意为人类的恻隐之心，

"what's done is done,"

“what's done is done,” 意为木已成舟，覆水难收，

and the famous witches' spell,

以及那句著名的女巫咒语，

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble."

“Double, double toil and trouble, “不惮辛劳不惮烦，

Fire burn, and caldron bubble. ” 釜中沸沫已成澜。”

But Shakespeare saves the juiciest bit of all for Macbeth himself.

但莎士比亚将最精彩的部分 留给了麦克白。

Towards the end of the play, Macbeth reflects on the universality of death

在戏剧尾声，麦克白明白了， 众生皆有一死，生命毫无意义，

and the futility of life.

"Out, out, brief candle!" he laments.

他悲叹：“熄灭了吧， 熄灭了吧，短促的烛光！”

"Life's but a walking shadow,

“人生不过是行走的影子，

a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage

不过是一个在舞台上 指手画脚的拙劣伶人，只登场片刻，

and then is heard no more.

就在无声无息中悄然退下。

It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury

生命是一个愚人所讲的故事， 充满着喧哗和骚动，

signifying nothing."

却找不到一点意义。”

Life may be a tale told my an idiot, but "Macbeth" is not.

人生也许是愚人讲述的故事， 但《麦克白》却不是。

Shakespeare's language and characters have entered our cultural consciousness

莎士比亚的语言和人物 已融入我们的文化意识，

to a rare extent.

其程度称得上罕见。

Directors often use the story to shed light on abuses of power,

导演们经常用这个故事 说明对权力·的滥用，

ranging from the American mafia

从美国黑手党，

to dictators across the globe.

到全球各处的独裁者。

The play has been adapted to film many times,

这部戏剧曾多次改编成为电影，

including Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood,"

包括黑泽明的《蜘蛛巢城》，

which takes place in feudal Japan,

其故事背景是封建时期的日本，

and a modernized version called "Scotland, PA,"

以及现代版本的《苏格兰场》，

in which Macbeth and his rivals

在这部电影中，麦克白和其对手

are managers of competing fast food restaurants.

变成了相互竞争的快餐店老板。

No matter the presentation,

但是，无论其呈现方式 如何多样，

questions of morality,

对死亡、

politics,

政治

and power are still relevant today,

和权力的探讨，在今天依然意义重大，

and so, it seems, is Shakespeare's "Macbeth."

而莎士比亚的《麦克白》也同样不朽。