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A Ghost of a Doubt: The questioned Authorship of William Shakespeare 莎翁魅影：莎士比亚著作等身的质疑

 

课文朗读

 

课文朗读

 

繁體中文譯本

 

What if the greatest English writer ever was but a front for someone else? A loose-knit movement known as the anti-Stratfordians argues that Shakespeare, the actor from Stratford-upon-Avon was not the author of the plays and poems credited to him. Given the scheming, intrigue-ridden nature of Elizabethan society, it’s conceivable that Shakespeare’s plays were ghostwritten by another writer. But is it likely?

史上最伟大的英文作家若只是个幌子，该怎么办？一波称为「反史特拉福」组织松散的运动，主张莎士比亚这位来自爱汶河畔的史特拉福的演员，并非他名下剧本及诗篇的创作者。在诡谲多诈的伊丽莎白社会，如果说莎翁剧作是由其他作家捉刀代笔，的确说得通。但是可能吗？

 

Until the late eighteenth century, there was never any doubt that “Shaksper” the actor (the name which the man from Stratford-upon-Avon often used) and “Shakespeare” the author were one and the same. Doubts arose when some claimed that the author of such sublime literature could not have been the son of an illiterate glove maker whose education was limited at best. Further, they argued that court life couldn’t have been described so accurately by Shaksper, a commoner. As it would also probably have been considered vulgar for proper Elizabethan gentlemen to scribble mere plays for the public, Shaksper could have stood in for a noble literati.

直到十八世纪末没有人会怀疑，来自史特拉福，常用「莎士博Shakesper」这个名字的演员，和作家「莎士比亚Shakespeare」，是同一个人。直到有人提出，创造如此崇高文学的作家，哪有可能是个做手套的文盲──就算他受过教育也有限──的儿子？之后疑云渐起。再者有人辩称，莎士博一介平民，不可能将宫廷生活描绘地如此精确。信笔涂鸦让老百姓看的余兴表演，对伊莉萨白时期的高贵绅士而言，也许是很不入流的，所以莎士博可能为某些贵族文士挂名。

 

These and related irregularities have sustained the doubts of anti-Stratfordians for over two centuries. If they are right, then who was responsible for what would be the greatest literary hoax in history? That is …. Who was the real Bard?

诸如此类启人疑窦的曲折支撑起「反使特拉福」论超过两世纪的质疑。如果他们是对的，那么谁该为这史上最大文学骗局负责？也就是说，莎翁本尊何在？

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

authorship [ˋɔθɚ͵ʃɪp] n. 著作者的身分

front [frʌnt] n. (非法或秘密的组织或活动的)掩护，幌子

loose-knit 松散的

credit [ˋkrɛdɪt] v. 认为是…的功劳; (成就)归于…；在…名下

scheming [ˋskimɪŋ] adj. 惯耍阴谋的；诡计多端的

intrigue [ɪnˋtrig] n. 阴谋，诡计；密谋

-ridden [ˋrɪdn] adj. （常构成复合词）充斥……的

conceivable [kənˋsivəb!] adj. 想得到的；可能的

ghostwrite [ˋgost͵raɪt] v. 代笔; 代写

sublime [səˋblaɪm] adj. 崇高的

illiterate [ɪˋlɪtərɪt] adj. 未受教育的; 文盲的

at best  至多；最高（多）可能；充其量

commoner [ˋkɑmənɚ] n. 平民

vulgar [ˋvʌlgɚ] adj. 粗俗的；下流的; 通俗语的；乡土语的

proper [ˋprɑpɚ] adj. 正派的，高尚的

scribble [ˋskrɪb!] v. 草率地创作; 潦草地书写

stand in  暂时代替〔某人〕(intr, adverb; usually foll by for) to act as a substitute

irregularity [͵ɪrɛgjəˋlærətɪ] n. 不规则的事物, 例外

hoax [hoks] n. 骗局；玩笑；恶作剧

the Bard [bɑrd] 指莎士比亚

 

 

Sentence of the Day

They believe something is rotten in Denmark.

他们相信丹麦国里恐有不可告人的坏事。

 

something is rotten in Denmark 情况很糟.

 

 

 

课文讲解

 

One of the earliest candidates put forth as the real Shakespeare was the great English philosopher and politician Sir Francis Bacon. In the nineteenth century, several anti-Stratfordians found encrypted messages supposedly left by Bacon in Shakespeare’s plays. These so-called encryptions were discredited in 1957 by legendary code experts William & Elizabeth Friedman. Bogus codes aside, it seems unlikely that a man as accomplished as Bacon would have had time to pen the many volumes of Shakespeare.

莎翁本尊最早期的候选人之一是伟大的英国哲学暨政治家弗朗西斯培根爵士。十九世纪时，一些反史特拉福论者在莎翁剧作里找到据说是培根留下的暗语。这些所谓的暗语在1957年被著名的密码专家威廉及伊莉萨白佛德曼夫妇推翻。暂且不提膺造的密码，像培根如此有成就的人应该没时间写一大堆莎翁著作。

 

Another favored candidate is the great Elizabethan dramatist and secret agent, Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe, however, was murdered before the majority of Shakespeare’s plays were written. What’s more, Marlowe’s literary style was quite distinct from Shakespeare’s. Despite his talent and the opportunity, not a scintilla of evidence connects Marlowe to Shakespeare’s play any more than it does Queen Elizabeth herself.

另一位热门候选人是伟大的伊丽莎白时期剧作家暨特务──克里斯多佛马洛。然而马洛在大部份的莎剧完成之前就被谋杀了。还有，马洛的文学风格也与莎士比亚迥异。仅管马洛有才华和机缘，但是能把他和莎剧扯上关系的机会，就像说莎剧是伊丽莎白女王写的一样渺茫。

 

Currently, the most popular candidate for the genuine Bard is Edward de Vere, the seventeenth Earl of Oxford. Those who champion his cause note de Vere’s education and intelligence, his close connection with Elizabeth’s court, and alleged similarities between his life and events in the plays as proof that de Vere wrote the plays. Yet as with Marlowe, there remains the fact that he died too early, some ten years before Shakespeare’s final play.

目前当红的正牌莎翁候选人是十七世纪牛津伯爵爱德华德维尔。支持者提出，德维尔的教育背景、才智、他和伊莉萨白宫廷的密切关系、以及他真实生活与某些剧本情节可疑的相似性，再再证明了他是莎剧的幕后推手。但就像马洛一样，他在莎翁最后一部剧本完成前大约十年便英年早逝。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

put forth 提出; 发表

encrypt [ɛnˋkrɪpt] v. 译成密码

discredit [dɪsˋkrɛdɪt] v. 使〔人们〕不再相信〔某种观点〕

bogus [ˋbogəs] adj. 赝造的；假货的

not a scintilla of something【文】一点儿也没有

scintilla [sɪnˋtɪlə] n. 微量

Earl [ɝl] n.【英】伯爵

champion [ˋtʃæmpɪən] v. 拥护，支持

cause [kɔz] n. 理由

note [not] v. 提到，指明

 

 

Sentence of the Day

No case for a secret Shakespeare has quite hit the mark yet.

地下莎士比亚的理论尚无定案。

 

hit the mark  击中目标; 成功

 

 

 

 

 

课文讲解

 

Hanna and Eli have returned to the pub to discuss the Shakespeare authorship question after their English lecture:  汉纳和艾力上完英文课，回到酒吧来讨论有关莎士比亚著作来源的问题。

 

E: OK. I’m gonna play devil’s advocate for a moment. Consider the skeptics: Twain, Hardy, Dickens … Maybe the Stratford guy really wasn’t the author!

好，我暂且唱唱反调。想想看怀疑论者──马克吐温、汤姆斯哈代、狄更斯…等等。说不定那个从史特拉福来的家伙真的不是原作者！

 

H: No matter how great those writers were, that doesn’t mean Shakespeare was a fake.

不管这些作家有多伟大，这不表示莎士比亚是冒牌货。

 

E: Alright. So why’d he spell his name so many ways? That seems illiterate.

好吧。那为什么他的签名的拼法有这么多种？好像书没念好。

 

H: Marlowe also spelt his name at least four ways, and no one doubts his literacy. Standardized spelling just wasn’t around then.

马洛的签名至少有四种拼法，也没人怀疑他的学养。那时候本来就没有标准拼字这回事。

 

E: And Shakespeare’s depiction of courtly life? How could he know that stuff?

那么莎士比亚描写的宫廷生活呢？他哪知道那些事？

 

H: Dryden was a near contemporary of Shakespeare, and he claimed Shakespeare got the details wrong.

德莱顿和莎士比亚算是同时代的人，他说莎士比亚把一些细节搞错了。

 

E: I suppose neither Bacon, Marlowe nor de Vere would have gotten those details wrong.

我猜培根、马洛、还是爱德华就不会把细节弄错了。

 

H: No, they wouldn’t have. And remember Sonnet 135?

他们不会。还记得十四行诗第135首吗？

 

E: “Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy ‘Will’ / And ‘Will’ to boot, and ‘Will’ in overplus”.

「不管别人如何，你是欲望满足了，加上一个威廉，再加上一个威廉」。

 

H: Sound like the writer there was named “Will”!

听起来作者好像名叫「威尔」【注】耶！

 

E: OK. Here’s my last objection before we bury the hatchet: the man’s will didn’t mention a single book.

好，在咱们和解前我提出最后一个异议：这个人的遗嘱上可没提到任何一本书！

 

H: Neither did the wills of many other authors back then.

那时候很多作家也不在遗嘱上提他们的著作。

 

E: Well, tho’ Will’s will mayn’t/tell us much, even then/ Stratford held the pen.

呃，「尽管威廉的遗嘱或许着墨不多，当其时史特拉福也会持笔写作」。

 

H: Exactly. Now, beer for the Bard. Cheers!

没错，咱们敬莎翁一杯，干杯！

 

【注】：「威尔」是「威廉」的简称。

 

－by Iain Ferguson

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

devil’s advocate 故意提出异议以激发辩论的人; 故意唱反调的人 One who argues against a cause or position, not as a committed opponent but simply for the sake of argument or to determine the validity of the cause or position.

skeptic [ˋskɛptɪk] n. 怀疑者; 怀疑论者

literacy [ˋlɪtərəsɪ] n. 知识；能力

contemporary [kənˋtɛmpə͵rɛrɪ] n. 同时代的人

sonnet [ˋsɑnɪt] n. 十四行诗

hath [hæɵ] old use -【旧】= has (第三人称.单数.现在式)

thou [ðaʊ]【古】（第二人称单数主格）汝，尔，你

hast [hæst]【古】have的第二人称单数现在式（与thou连用）

thy [ðaɪ] pron. 代名词【古】你的（thou的所有格）

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

overplus [ˋovɚ͵plʌs] n. 剩余；过剩

bury the hatchet 和解  to stop fighting; resolve a quarrel

hatchet [ˋhætʃɪt] n. 短柄小斧

will [wɪl] n. 遗嘱

tho [ðo] conj. 连接词【口】虽然

 

 

Sentence of the Day

“Cudgel thy brains no more about it.”

“不用再为那件事想破脑袋了。”— 本句语出莎翁剧本「哈姆雷特」第五幕第一场。

 

cudgel [ˋkʌdʒəl] v. 绞尽脑汁