EZCNN 易英网

Twelfth Night 莎翁《第十二夜》：男女变变变

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

繁體中文譯本

 

Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, also known as What You Will, was first staged in England in 1602. In the 407 years since, the play has remained a firm favorite with readers and theater-goers, and has lost little of its novelty. The title of the play refers to an old Catholic holiday during which the regular order of society was turned upside down: servants became master, men dressed as women, and vice versa, and people played all manner of tricks on each other. And that, more or less, is what the play Twelfth Night is all about.

莎士比亚的喜剧作品《第十二夜》，又名《随心所欲》，1602年时于英国首度登上舞台。首演之后407年以来，这出戏剧就一直是读者与剧场常客百看不厌的最爱，其新鲜感至今丝毫未减。《第十二夜》得名于天主教的一个古老传统节日，在节日当天，原本正常的社会阶级秩序会被完全颠覆：仆役会变成主人，而男人会扮成女人，反之亦然；不仅如此，人们还会使出各种整人的招数来捉弄彼此。而这差不多就是《第十二夜》的故事概要。

 

In the ancient and imaginary land of Illyria, Duke Orsino is feeling melancholy and a little annoyed that the rich countess Olivia has once again scorned his affections. Olivia’s reasons are easy to comprehend: she is mourning the death of her father and brother and wants nothing to do with men. Meanwhile, on the shores of Illyria, another young woman is also grieving over the loss of a brother killed during a storm at sea. Her name is Viola, and she is a stranger to Illyria. When she hears of the Duke’s struggles to win over Olivia, she hatches a plan to disguise herself as a young man and become a servant of the Duke.

在杜撰出来的古老伊利里亚岛上，奥西诺公爵心中怏怏不乐，还有些烦躁，因为富裕的女伯爵奥丽薇亚又再度拒绝他的原因并不难理解，她的父亲与兄长过世了，而她仍在守丧，并不想与任何男子来往。在此同时，伊利里亚岛的岸边，有另一名年轻女子也在哀悼她那在海上遭遇暴风雨而丧命的哥哥。她的名字是薇奥拉，初次来到伊利里亚岛。当她得知公爵费尽心思想要博取奥丽薇亚芳心时，她想出了一个妙计，于是就把自己乔装成一名年轻的男子，并投奔公爵的门下成为男仆。

 

The plot of Twelfth Night is now set in motion and, this being a Shakespearean comedy, you know mistaken identity is going to play a major role in it all.

《第十二夜》的故事就此展开，而因为这是莎翁喜剧，所以想也知道「身份错认」这个元素在剧中将发挥举足轻重的效果。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

firm [fɝm] adj. 坚定的; 稳固的

turn upside down 完全颠倒

vice versa【拉】反之亦然

play a trick on  捉弄, 戏弄, 对…玩恶作剧

more or less 差不多; 大约

melancholy [ˋmɛlən͵kɑlɪ] adj. 忧郁的; 郁闷的

annoyed [əˋnɔɪd] adj. 恼怒的; 气恼的

scorn [skɔrn] v. 拒绝; 轻蔑；藐视

comprehend [͵kɑmprɪˋhɛnd] v. 理解; 了解; 领会

mourn [morn] v. 哀痛; 哀悼

meanwhile [ˋmin͵hwaɪl] adv. 其间；同时

grieve [griv] v. 悲伤；哀悼

hatch [hætʃ] v. 策划

disguise [dɪsˋgaɪz] v. 把……假扮起来；把……乔装起来[（+as）]

 

More Information

单词发音

 

novelty [ˋnɑv!tɪ] n. 新颖，新奇

Catholic [ˋkæθəlɪk] adj. 天主教的

countess [ˋkaʊntɪs] n. 女伯爵; 伯爵夫人

affection [əˋfɛkʃən] n. 爱慕；感情

struggle [ˋstrʌg!] n. 努力；使劲

set in motion 启动  to start something moving

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

Viola, dressed as a man, and going by the name Cesario, quickly becomes a favorite servant of Duke Orsino. One day, the Duke sends her to woo Olivia for him. As it turns out, Olivia does fall in love – but with the charming, eloquent Cesario! This is an awkward turn of events, not least because Cesario (Viola) is also already in love – with the Duke!

装扮成男子模样的薇奥拉用了西萨里奥这个假名，很快就成为奥西诺公爵最得宠的仆人。有一天，公爵派她去向奥丽薇亚示好。结果，奥丽薇亚确实是坠入爱河了，不过她爱上的却是魅力十足、辩才无碍的西萨里奥。事情变得越来越棘手，因为西萨里奥（薇奥拉）也坠入情网，爱上了公爵！

 

Shakespeare always loved to add layers upon layers of complexity to his plays. He also seems to have never been satisfied with just one storyline when he could have two. In Twelfth Night, the second storyline centers on the people who live with Olivia in her grand estate: namely, her uncle Sir Toby, her suitor Sir Andrew Aguecheek, the maid Maria, and the jester Feste. The four characters have a great love of games and parties. Because of their boisterous, imprudent behavior, they are inevitably the object of criticism by Malvolio, Olivia’s steward.

莎士比亚一向喜欢让他的戏剧裹上层层复杂的情节。如果能够有两条故事线，要他只用其一他似乎绝不会满足。《第十二夜》的第二组故事，焦点放在与奥丽薇亚一起在大庄园生活的人物上──这些人就是她的叔叔托比爵士、她的追求者安德鲁．艾古契克爵士、随身女侍玛丽亚，以及弄臣费司特。这四个角色热爱游戏和派对；由于他们喧闹不休、轻率鲁莽的行径，于是不可避免地成为奥丽薇亚的管家马伏里奥批评的箭靶。

 

Malvolio is an arrogant, disagreeable man, who takes himself too seriously, and he is rather vain to boot. In fact, so great is his vanity that he thinks Olivia secretly hopes to make him her husband. With the approval of the others, Maria, whose handwriting resembles that of her mistress Olivia, composes a letter to Malvolio in which she poses as Olivia. She tells the steward to disclose his true feelings by dressing in yellow socks and smiling endlessly. As Olivia is in mourning, she is in no mood for smiles or bright clothing. She wonders if Malvolio has lost his mind and asks the others to deal with him.

马伏里奥是个傲慢、不讨喜的人，他的自我意识过盛而且又爱慕虚荣。实际上，他的虚荣心强到他居然以为奥丽薇亚暗地里想要招他入赘。于是，在经过大家一致同意后，笔迹与女主人奥丽薇亚极为相似的玛丽亚便写了封信给马伏里奥，并假装信出自于奥丽薇亚手笔。信里，她要马伏里奥藉由穿上黄色的袜子且不断微笑，来表达他真实的情意。想当然尔，正在守丧的奥丽薇亚没有心情理会满脸微笑或是鲜艳的衣服。她怀疑马伏里奥是不是疯了，于是吩咐其他人应付他。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

turn out 结果成为

eloquent [ˋɛləkwənt] adj. 雄辩的，有说服力的

awkward [ˋɔkwɚd] adj. 笨拙的；棘手的

not least 尤其是; 特别是 especially

layer [ˋleɚ] n. 层

complexity [kəmˋplɛksətɪ] n. 复杂（性）

center on 以…为中心, 集中围绕…

namely [ˋnemlɪ] adv. 即，那就是

inevitably [ɪnˋɛvətəblɪ] adv. 不可避免地；必然地

arrogant [ˋærəgənt] adj. 傲慢的；自大的

vain [ven] adj. 爱虚荣的

approval [əˋpruv!] n. 赞成；同意

disclose [dɪsˋkloz] v. 透露；公开

deal with  应付；处理  to punish; to take action on

 

More Information

单词发音

 

by the name (of) 名叫 known as

woo [wu] v. 向……求爱，向……求婚

storyline [ˋstorɪ͵laɪn] n. 故事情节

estate [ɪsˋtet] n. 庄园

suitor [ˋsutɚ] n.〔女子的〕追求者

jester [ˋdʒɛstɚ] n.（中世纪宫廷或贵族家中的）逗乐小丑，弄臣

boisterous [ˋbɔɪstərəs] adj. 喧闹的；爱闹的

imprudent [ɪmˋprudnt] adj. 轻率的；鲁莽的

steward [ˋstjuwɚd] n. 管事；管家

disagreeable [͵dɪsəˋgriəb!] adj. 不友好的; 脾气坏的

to boot 而且; 【古】除此以外 in addition; besides

vanity [ˋvænətɪ] n. 虚荣（心）

pose [poz] v. 假装，冒充；装腔作势[（+as）]

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

Things are getting complicated in Illyria. Duke Orsino loves Olivia, but Olivia loves Cesario, who is really another woman (Viola) dressed as a man. Viola, for her part, not only has to fight off Olivia’s advances, but also must keep her own feelings of love for the Duke a secret.

在伊利里亚岛上，事情越演越复杂。奥西诺公爵爱奥丽薇亚，但奥丽薇亚爱的是西萨里奥，但西萨里奥其实是个乔装成男子的女人（薇奥拉）。对薇奥拉来说，她不仅要抵抗奥丽薇亚的热情攻势，还要隐藏自己对公爵的情感。

 

If you think matters could not get any more complicated, guess again. Against the odds, Viola’s brother Sebastian, who was thought to have drowned at sea, appears on the scene. He looks almost exactly like Cesario, his sister in disguise, and is mistaken for her by Olivia. She proposes marriage, and he accepts her offer.

如果你觉得事情的发展还不够错综复杂，接下来发生的事也许会让你大吃一惊。最不可能发生的事竟发生了，薇奥拉那本以为已溺死于海中的哥哥赛巴斯辛出现了。他的容貌与女扮男装化名为西萨里奥的妹妹几乎一模一样，因此被奥丽薇亚误认成西萨里奥，奥丽薇亚向他求婚，他也一口答应。

 

Meanwhile, Malvolio, who is feared mad, has been placed in a dark cellar. The other servants of the house play all kinds of tricks on him, including pretending that he is really in a sunlit room. Though cruel, these scenes are some of the funniest in the play.

正在此时，被大家认为精神不正常的马伏里奥被关在阴暗的地窖里。庄园里其他的仆人用尽各种方式整他，包括骗他其实身处于一个采光充足的房间里。这听起来或许有些残忍，不过这些场景却是本剧中最好笑的几个桥段。

 

Twelfth Night wraps up rather tidily after a momentary bit of confusion where Sebastian and his sister appear together before both the Duke and Olivia. After discovering that her brother is alive, Viola reveals her true identity to all. The Duke, accepting that he cannot now have Olivia as his wife, asks Viola to marry him. All the loose knots of the plot are now tied up, but if you think this is a little too unrealistic, remember this is high comedy. Try to stop the fun, and you might just end up like Malvolio – alone in the dark.

在一阵短暂的混乱之后，《第十二夜》的收尾还算干净利落，赛巴斯辛与妹妹阴错阳差地同时出现在公爵和奥丽薇亚面前。发现哥哥还活着后，薇奥拉就向众人公开自己的真实身分。公爵接受了他无法娶奥丽薇亚为妻的事实，于是转而向薇奥拉求婚。故事里所有零散的情节在此时都已拼凑起来，如果你觉得这一切都太不真实，别忘了，这可是高级喜剧。要是你故作正经坏了大家的兴致，很可能会落得和马伏里奥一样的下场──一个人被蒙在鼓里，错过了所有的欢乐。

 

−by Robert Kelly

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

complicated [ˋkɑmplə͵ketɪd] adj. 复杂的

for one's part 对某人来说

fight off 击退; 竭力摆脱 to struggle to avoid or repress

against the odds  冲破万重的困难 despite many difficulties

drown [draʊn] v. 溺死

mistake for 误认...为

propose [prəˋpoz] v. 求（婚）

pretend [prɪˋtɛnd] v. 假装

wrap up 【美】【口】完成, 结束 to complete work on something; to bring something to an end; finish

momentary [ˋmomən͵tɛrɪ] adj. 短暂的；瞬间的

confusion [kənˋfjuʒən] n. 困惑; 混乱

reveal [rɪˋvil] v. 揭露；暴露；泄露

tie up 密切相关 to conclude and finalize something

unrealistic [͵ʌnrɪəˋlɪstɪk] adj. 不切实际的

end up 结果成为, 最终成为

 

More Information

单词发音

 

advance [ədˋvæns] n. 友好表示；殷勤

in disguise 伪装的; 假装的; 假扮的

fear [fɪr] v. 猜想

cellar [ˋsɛlɚ] n. 地下室，地窖

tidily [ˋtaɪdɪlɪ] adv. 整洁地，整齐地

high comedy  高级喜剧（主题严肃，含意深长的喜剧）

 

 

Trailer: Twelfth Night or what you will