Why should you read "Hamlet"? - Iseult Gillespie

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

"Who’s there?"

在黑暗中輕問的問題：「誰在那裡？」

Whispered in the dark,

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

開啟的故事關於陰謀、 欺騙和道德的模糊地帶。

And in a play where everyone has something to hide,

劇中的每個人都有所隱瞞，

its answer is far from simple.

這問題的答案一點兒也不簡單。

Written by William Shakespeare between 1599 and 1601,

《哈姆雷特》是威廉莎士比亞 在 1599~1601 年撰寫的作品，

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

內容描述與書同名的角色 擺脫不了過去的糾纏，

but immobilized by the future.

而又被未來綑綁得動彈不得。

Mere months after the sudden death of his father,

他的父親意外死亡後僅僅幾個月，

Hamlet returns from school a stranger to his own home,

哈姆雷特自校返家， 在自己的家中像是個陌生人，

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

極不確定什麼潛伏在陰影中。

But his brooding takes a turn

但他的擔憂出現了轉折，

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

一個有著他父親面容的鬼魂造訪他。

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

幽靈宣稱自己是 「卑劣謀殺」的受害者，

and convinces Hamlet that his uncle Claudius usurped the throne

說服哈姆雷特 他的叔父克勞迪篡奪了王位，

and stole queen Gertrude’s heart.

偷走皇后葛簇特的心。

The prince’s mourning turns to rage,

王子的哀悼轉變為怒火，

and he begins to plots his revenge

開始策劃復仇，

on the new king and his court of conspirators.

向新國王以及他的共謀廷臣們復仇。

The play is an odd sort of tragedy,

這是齣另類的悲劇，

lacking either the abrupt brutality or all-consuming romance

沒有莎士比亞這類作品中 常見的突兀殘酷

或讓人著迷的浪漫愛情。

that characterize Shakespeare’s other work in the genre.

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

反之，它深入探究主角的優柔寡斷，

and the tragic consequences thereof.

以及因此造成的悲劇後果。

The ghost’s revelation draws Hamlet into multiple dilemmas–

鬼魂揭露的真相 讓哈姆雷特陷入多重兩難——

what should he do, who can he trust,

他該怎麼做、能相信誰，

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

以及他在伸張正義中扮演什麼角色？

These questions are complicated by a tangled web of characters,

這些問題被關係糾結的角色複雜化，

forcing Hamlet to negotiate friends, family,

迫使哈姆雷特得在朋友、家人、

宮廷顧問，以及愛人之間妥協——

court counselors, and love interests–

many of whom possess ulterior motives.

當中很多人有著不可告人的動機。

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

這王子一直推延和躊躇 要如何與他人建立關係，

and how he should carry out revenge.

以及要如何復仇。

This can make Hamlet more than a little exasperating,

這讓哈姆雷特頗令人惱怒，

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

但也讓他成為莎士比亞筆下 最有人性的角色之一。

Rather than rushing into things,

哈姆雷特並未匆忙行事，

Hamlet becomes consumed with the awful machinations of thinking itself.

反倒是被可怕的 思想陰謀詭計本身所耗。

And over the course of the play,

在這齣劇的過程中，

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

他無止境的問題漸漸呼應

我們奔馳的心神。

To accomplish this,

莎士比亞採用 最自省的語言辦到這一點。

Shakespeare employs his most introspective language.

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

從篡位國王對天堂和地獄的鮮明沉思，

to the prince’s own cackling meditation on mortality,

到王子自己對道德的生動默想，

Shakespeare uses melancholic monologues to breathtaking effect.

莎士比亞運用憂鬱的獨白 來製造讓人摒息的效果。

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

或許哈姆雷特對自己不安所做

最為人熟知的一段陳述

就是最好的例子：

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

「生存或毀滅——

乃是問題所在。

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

哪一種行為比較高貴：

是默然忍受命運的暴虐的毒箭，

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

或是挺身反抗世間無涯的苦難，

And, by opposing, end them."

奮力結束這一切？」

This monologue personifies Hamlet’s existential dilemma:

這段獨白具體呈現了 哈姆雷特的存在兩難：

being torn between thought and action,

在想法和行動之間掙扎，

unable to choose between life and death.

無法選擇要生還是要死。

But his endless questioning raises yet another anxiety:

但他無止境的質問造成另一焦慮：

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

到底哈姆雷特的瘋狂 是扮演來迷惑敵人的一部分，

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

還是我們正目睹 處於崩潰邊緣的角色？

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

這些問題重壓在哈姆雷特 和每位角色的互動上。

And since he spends much of the play facing inward,

正因為他在劇中的大部分時間 面對著自己的內在，

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

以致通常無視自己造成的損害。

He’s particularly cruel to Ophelia,

他對愛人歐菲莉亞尤其殘酷。

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

她注定逃不過厄運， 因他飄忽不定的行為而陷入瘋狂。

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

她的命運是悲劇原可容易避免的例子，

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

顯示哈姆雷特的心理推演 造成了毒害的連鎖反應。

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

類似的悲劇警告徵兆 在整齣劇中一直遭到忽視。

Sometimes, these oversights occur because of willful blindness–

有時肆意的盲目造成失察——

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

比如歐菲莉亞的父親不理會 哈姆雷特那些讓人擔憂的行為，

as mere lovesickness.

只視為是相思病。

At other points, tragedy stems from deliberate duplicity–

其他時候，悲劇源自 刻意的口是心非——

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

像是弄錯身分導致更多誤殺。

These moments leave us with the uncomfortable knowledge

這些時刻令我們不安，

that tragedy evolves from human error–

明知人類的錯誤導致悲劇——

even if our mistake is to leave things undecided.

儘管我們犯的是「不做決定」的錯。

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

基於這些理由，

或許我們不曾懷疑哈姆雷特的人性。

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

但我們必須持續思辨 到底誰是「真正的」哈姆雷特。

Is he a noble son avenging his father?

是為父親復仇的高尚兒子，

Or a mad prince creating courtly chaos?

還是在宮廷裡製造混亂的瘋狂王子？

Should he act or observe, doubt or trust?

他該採取行動還是持續觀察？

該懷疑還是該信任？

Who is he? Why is he here?

他是誰？為什麼在這裡？

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

等在黑暗中的又是誰？