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Literature (文学)

A Case of Mistaken Identity: Twelfth Night 莎翁经典喜剧：《第十二夜》

详细资料: 创建于 2011年4月26日; 最后更新于 2024年5月25日; 发布于 2013年9月18日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：246

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

William Shakespeare is the world’s preeminent literary figure. His reputation has lived for centuries, and will live for centuries more. In every corner of the globe, and in every language, his works are read, studied, performed, and adapted. Yet, some people avoid Shakespeare’s works as it’s easy to be put off by the antiquated language or intimidated by the complexity of his plays. But look beyond this and you will find that Shakespeare needs not be feared because, above all, he is a storyteller whose tales do not age. His representations of human experience transcend time and place.

威廉．莎士比亚是世界的文学巨擘。他的名声已世代相传了好几世纪，且将继续在人间流传。他的作品在世界的每个角落以各种语言诵读、研究、演出或改编。但是有些人会回避莎士比亚的作品，因为我们很容易被古老的语言或复杂的剧情给吓到。但是跨越这部分时，你会发现不需要害怕莎士比亚，因为毕竟他是个说书者，且他的故事永不过时。他对于人类经验的描绘可说是超越时空。

There are few surviving records of Shakespeare’s life. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden in April 1564, and it is thought that he attended a good school in that area where he learned to read and write. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, and the couple had three children. In 1585, Shakespeare moved to London and began to work as an actor and a dramatist, quickly gaining fame and becoming the public’s favorite playwright. By the time Shakespeare passed away in 1616, he had written 37 plays and 154 sonnets.

莎士比亚存留下来的生平纪录是少之又少。他在1564年4月出生于雅芳河畔斯特拉福，父亲为约翰．莎士比亚，母亲为玛莉．阿登。据说他在该区不错的学校里读书识字。他在18岁时与安．哈瑟维结婚，并育有3名子如。1585年时莎士比亚搬到伦敦开始了演员及剧作家的生涯，并很快地声名大噪，成为大众最喜爱的剧作家。当莎士比亚于1616年去世时，他已经写了37出戏剧以及154首十四行诗。

Shakespeare’s plays are categorized as tragedies, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, for example, histories, such as Richard III and Henry VIII, and comedies, like A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The lighthearted tone of the comedies and the humorous situations that the characters find themselves in make this Shakespearean genre, in many ways, more accessible to the modern reader. Twelfth Night, written between 1601 and 1602, is a comic play with a small cast and simple plots. Its vibrant characters and timeless themes make this play as enjoyable to today’s audiences as it was to the audiences of Shakespearean England.

莎士比亚的戏剧被分类成悲剧（如《哈姆雷特》、《罗蜜欧与朱丽叶》）、历史（如《理查德三世》、《亨利八世》）以及喜剧（像是《仲夏夜之梦》）。喜剧中轻松愉快的气氛以及角色们陷入的可笑情境使莎士比亚的这种文类在许多方面让现代读者易于亲近。《第十二夜》于1601年与1602年间完成。它是部卡司少、剧情简单的喜剧。剧中充满活力的角色以及不受时间限制的主题使得这出戏为现今观众带来的乐趣就像是它为莎士比亚时期英国的观众带来的乐趣一般。

Vocabulary

单词发音

preeminent [priˋɛmɪnənt] adj. 卓越的

antiquated [ˋæntə͵kwetɪd] adj. 陈旧的，过时的

intimidate [ɪnˋtɪmə͵det] v. 害怕

age [edʒ] v. 变老

transcend [trænˋsɛnd] v. 超越

surviving [sɚˋvaɪvɪŋ] adj. 继续存在的

dramatist [ˋdræmətɪst] n. 剧作家

sonnet [ˋsɑnɪt] n. 十四行诗

categorize [ˋkætəgə͵raɪz] v. 分类

lighthearted [ˋlaɪtˋhɑrtɪd] adj. 轻松愉快的

accessible [ækˋsɛsəb!] adj. 易被理解的; 可（或易）接近的

vibrant [ˋvaɪbrənt] adj. 充满活力的

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片语发音

put off 使反感；使对…失去兴趣 make someone not want/like something; to cause to lose interest in or enjoyment of

look beyond 往更远处看 to try to see to a point farther than someone or something

课文朗读

课文讲解

Twelfth Night uses the plot device of mistaken identity. It is a play about love, and about how love can prevent us from seeing things as they really are. The twists and turns of the tale depend on the characters failing to realize that they are being deceived.

《第十二夜》利用的是身份被误认的情节设计。此剧是关于爱以及爱如何使我们看不到事情的真相。故事里的曲折离奇就是因为主角们没能了解他们被蒙在鼓里。

At the beginning of the play, we met Duke Orsino. Completely besotted with Lady Olivia, he is desperate to win her love and sends his servants on constant errands to woo her on his behalf. Olivia, however, shuns his advances because she is mourning for her dead brother and refuses to return Orsino’s love. Meanwhile, a woman named Viola is washed ashore after a shipwreck. She believes her twin brother, Sebastian, has drowned at sea, and feels alone on a strange land. She hears about Duke Orsino and decides she will work for him. For a nobleman to employ her, though, she must present herself as a male, so she dons a disguise and adopts the name Cesario.

在此剧一开始，我们看到奥西诺公爵。他对奥莉维亚极为痴迷，因此拼命地想赢得她的芳心且不断地派遣仆人代他追求奥莉维亚。但奥莉维亚却避开他的追求，因为她正在吊念死去的哥哥所以拒绝回复他的爱。同时，一名叫做薇奥拉的女子在一场船难后被冲上岸。薇奥拉认为她的孪生哥哥赛巴斯丁已经溺死，因此在陌生的岛上感到孤独。她听说了奥西诺公爵这个人，于是决定服侍他。但为了要让贵族雇用她，她必须以男性的身份出现，所以她穿上伪装，并改名为西赛里欧。

Soon, Cesario is under Orsino’s instructions to deliver further messages of love to Olivia. Cesario – or Viola – agrees, but this will be difficult for she has fallen in love with her master. Hiding her true feelings, she goes to Olivia’s court. Olivia, again, rejects Orsino. Instead, she finds something quite charming about Cesario and, completing the love triangle, she promptly falls in love with him!

不久，西赛里欧便受到奥西诺的指示传送更多爱的讯息给奥莉维亚。西赛里欧（也就是薇奥拉）答应了，但是对于已经爱上奥西诺的她而言非常困难。奥莉维亚再度拒绝奥西诺，但她反而觉得西赛里欧颇为迷人，于是立刻爱上她，就这样形成了三角恋爱。

Much frivolity and confusion ensue. Orsino is smitten with Olivia, who has been swept off her feet by Cesario, who in turn has fallen for the duke. It is only when, to the bewilderment of all, Sebastian appears that Viola’s real identity is revealed. Olivia gets her man in Viola’s twin, Sebastian, and Orsino is glad that Cesario, with whom he has formed a deep bond, is, after all, a woman.

更多的轻率行为及混乱状况接踵而来。奥西诺痴恋奥莉维亚，而奥莉维亚则败倒于西赛里欧的脚下，而西赛里欧（薇奥拉）则是爱上奥西诺公爵。让所有人感到困惑的是赛巴斯丁出现了，也只有在这个时候薇奥拉真实的身份才被揭露。奥莉维亚得到她心爱的男人：薇奥拉的孪生手足赛巴斯丁，而奥西诺也很高兴已经和他建立起深厚情谊的西赛里欧终究是个女人。

Vocabulary

单词发音

device [dɪˋvaɪs] n.手段；谋略

deceive [dɪˋsiv] v. 欺骗，蒙蔽

duke [djuk] n. 公爵

besotted [bɪˋsɑtɪd] (+with) adj. 痴迷（于）; 沉醉（于）; （为…）昏了头

desperate [ˋdɛspərɪt] adj. 极度渴望的

errand [ˋɛrənd] n. 差事，差使

woo [wu] v. 向……求爱，向……求婚

shun [ʃʌn] v. 躲开，避开

advance [ədˋvæns] n. 友好表示；殷勤 pl n personal overtures made in an attempt to become friendly, gain a favor, etc.

mourn [morn] v. 哀痛，哀悼

return [rɪˋtɝn] v. 回答; 回应 to answer or respond

shipwreck [ˋʃɪp͵rɛk] n. 船舶失事

don [dɑn] v. 穿上

disguise [dɪsˋgaɪz] n. 伪装，用作伪装的东西

frivolity [frɪˋvɑlətɪ] n. 轻薄，轻佻; 轻薄的举动

bewilderment [bɪˋwɪldɚmənt] n. 迷惑

More Information

片语发音

twist and turn 迂回曲折 complicated dealings or circumstances

on one’s behalf 代表某人 as a representative of someone

be smitten [`smɪtən] with〔一见钟情地〕爱上…的 mad, crazy about,

sweep one off one’s feet 使某人神魂颠倒 if someone sweeps you off your feet, you fall suddenly and completely in love with them

课文朗读

课文讲解

The play, as with all Elizabethan comedies, ends happily. However, one character gives a darker tone to the action, the “notoriously abused” Malvolio. He is Olivia’s steward, an arrogant man who is tricked into believing that Olivia is in love with him. The scheme against him leads to many hilarious situations, but results in Malvolio’s madness. When it is revealed that Malvolio has been the victim of a wicked conspiracy, he feels deeply wronged. As the play concludes, the lovers are joyfully united, but Malvolio is, in contrast, left angered and alone, and looking like a fool.

就如同伊丽莎白时代的喜剧一般，这出戏最后是皆大欢喜。但是有个人物却为这出戏注入较黑暗的色彩，他就是被「严重虐待」的马伏里奥。马伏里奥是奥莉维亚的高傲管家。人们捉弄他，让他以为奥莉维亚喜欢他。这个陷害他的计谋导致了许多非常可笑的状况，但却使得马伏里奥发疯。当马伏里奥成为邪恶共谋下的受害者这件事被揭露后，他觉得深受委屈。在故事结束时，所有的爱人都快乐地在一起，对照之下马伏里奥却被激怒且被留下一个人独处，看起来像个傻瓜。

Love, of course, is the main theme of Twelfth Night. Yet love is not achieved easily, and comes often from sacrifice. Viola is forced to woo Olivia for the man that she loves, while Orsino must endure Olivia’s many refusals. Questions of gender and sexuality are also raised in Twelfth Night. Shakespeare is able to approach these topics through the disguised Viola, in spite of the fact that these topics were certainly taboo at the time. Through Olivia’s attraction to Viola – although she thinks she’s a man – and Orsino’s fondness for Cesario, before he discovers her to be a woman, Twelfth Night questions the roles of masculinity and femininity and broaches the subject of homosexuality.

当然爱情是《第十二夜》的主题，但爱并不容易得到，且通常需要牺牲。薇奥拉被迫帮他所爱的男人追求奥莉维亚，而奥西诺则必须忍受奥莉维亚多次的拒绝。《第十二夜》也提出了性别和性向的问题。莎士比亚能透过伪装的薇奥拉处理这些议题，虽然这些议题在当时绝对是禁忌。透过奥莉维亚对薇奥拉的爱慕（虽然她相信她是男人）以及奥西诺对西赛里欧的喜爱（在他发现她是女儿身之前），《第十二夜》质疑男性与女性的角色，并切入同性恋议题。

As ever with Shakespeare, there are numerous interpretations of the play and many themes to debate. Its ageless topics apply to us still, and it’s amazing to think that four centuries have passed since Shakespeare penned the words that still move and amuse audiences everywhere today. Don’t forget that, ultimately, Twelfth Night is a comedy, and should be approached and enjoyed as such.

就和跟莎士比亚有关的所有事情一样，他的戏剧总是有诸多诠释角度以及许多可争辩的主题。莎剧中永恒不变的主题现今仍可用在我们身上，而且令人惊讶的是莎士比亚写下这些文字已经过了4个世纪了，而这些文字至今仍然感动并娱乐世界各地的观众。别忘记了，《第十二夜》终究是个喜剧，而且必须以对待喜剧的方式阅读及欣赏它。

－by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音