Shakespeare is England’s most celebrated dramatist and poet. His works have been translated into 80 languages, including Star Trek’s Klingon. He helped shape the English we use today, introducing up to 300 words and dozens of well-known phrases. His plays are known around the world for their universal themes and insight into the human condition. Yet much about the playwright is a mystery. Historians don’t know his date of birth, where he was educated or how he spent seven years of his life.

莎士比亞是英國(guó)最著名的劇作家和詩(shī)人，作品已經(jīng)被翻譯成80種語(yǔ)言，其中包括《星際迷航》中的克林貢語(yǔ)。他促進(jìn)形成了我們?nèi)缃裾谑褂玫挠⒄Z(yǔ)，創(chuàng)造了多達(dá)300個(gè)單詞和幾十個(gè)眾所周知的短語(yǔ)。他的戲劇因其具有普遍意義的主題和對(duì)人性的洞察而聞名于世。而這位劇作家的很多事情是一個(gè)謎：歷史學(xué)家不知道他的出生日期、在哪里上學(xué)、如何度過(guò)人生中無(wú)文獻(xiàn)記載的七年。

1571

Shakespeare’s education

學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)歷

Details of Shakespeare’s schooling are unknown. It is likely that he began his education at the age of six or seven. As his father was now a bailiff, young William probably attended the local grammar school. Its curriculum emphasised Greek classics and pupils also learned plays in Latin. Religious education was also important, and Shakespeare drew on these sources in his later work with classical and religious allusions. Shakespeare probably attended school until about age 15. There is no record of him going to university.

莎士比亞接受學(xué)校教育的情況并不清楚，很可能他在六七歲時(shí)開始接受教育。由于他父親的職業(yè)相當(dāng)于現(xiàn)在的法警，小威廉很可能上過(guò)當(dāng)?shù)氐奈姆▽W(xué)校。那里的課程注重希臘古典文學(xué)教育，學(xué)生也學(xué)習(xí)拉丁語(yǔ)戲劇課程。宗教教育同樣重要，莎士比亞在他后來(lái)的著作中曾引用這些資料，其中不乏古典和宗教典故。莎士比亞可能在15歲左右才上學(xué)，沒(méi)有關(guān)于他上大學(xué)的記錄。

1592 Shakespeare’s first review

第一份報(bào)刊評(píng)論

The next known record of Shakespeare appears after he was already a playwright in London. It's a review – and not a positive one.Playwright Robert Greene called Shakespeare an 'upstart crow”, accusing him of reaching above his rank compared with university-educated writers such as Christopher Marlowe and Greene himself. Drama in Elizabethan theatre shifted from the religious to the secular and companies of players formed to entertain the public under the patronage of noblemen. Shakespeare belonged to the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He is thought to have written the three parts of Henry VI and Richard III by this point.

下一個(gè)有關(guān)莎士比亞的記載出現(xiàn)在他在倫敦成為劇作家之后。內(nèi)容是一篇評(píng)論文章——負(fù)面評(píng)論：劇作家Robert Greene稱他為“自命不凡的烏鴉”，將他與Cristopher Marlowe和自己等受過(guò)大學(xué)教育的劇作家比較，認(rèn)為莎士比亞的水平已經(jīng)到了頂峰。伊麗莎白時(shí)代的戲劇開始從宗教化轉(zhuǎn)向世俗化，新的演員團(tuán)體在貴族贊助下為娛樂(lè)大眾而建。莎士比亞是張伯倫勛爵劇團(tuán)成員，他被認(rèn)為創(chuàng)作了《亨利六世》和《理查德三世》。

1596 Shakespeare becomes a gentleman

莎士比亞獲得身份稱號(hào)

William Shakespeare's coat of arms, reproduced in 1787. 'Non sanz droict' means 'Not without right’. William is thought to have revived his father’s lapsed application for a family coat of arms in 1596. Scholars suggest the application showed he was now a successful businessman as much as a talented playwright. In 1602 he had to defend his title against accusations that “Shakespeare ye player” did not merit the honour of a coat of arms. By this time Shakespeare's company had performed Romeo and Juliet, Richard II and a Midsummer Night’s Dream.

威廉·莎士比亞的紋章重新出現(xiàn)在1787年，“Non sanz droict”的含義是“非無(wú)權(quán)利”。據(jù)說(shuō)，莎士比亞恢復(fù)了他父親的家庭盾形紋章展示權(quán)，這表明他不僅是一位才華橫溢的劇作家，還是一位成功的商人。1602年，他不得不為自己的頭銜辯護(hù)，以反對(duì)“Shakespeare ye player”不該獲得該紋章的指責(zé)。此時(shí)，莎士比亞劇團(tuán)已經(jīng)上演了《羅密歐與朱麗葉》、《理查德二世》和《仲夏夜之夢(mèng)》。

1599

Building the Globe

參與創(chuàng)辦環(huán)球劇院

Shakespeare’s plays made him both famous and wealthy. By now he was a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The group built their own theatre called the Globe, and Shakespeare owned a 12.5% stake. This made him even wealthier. He invested in property in Stratford and London, and records of his purchases survive. In 1597 he bought the second biggest house in Stratford for his family, as well as 107 acres of farmland and a cottage. Later, he bought property to let in London, showing his business acumen.

莎士比亞的戲劇讓他開始出名并變得富有，現(xiàn)在他已經(jīng)是張伯倫勛爵劇團(tuán)的股東了。該劇團(tuán)建立了自己的劇院，名為環(huán)球劇院，莎士比亞持有12.5%的股份。這些股份讓他變得更加富有，他在斯特拉特福德和倫敦投資了房產(chǎn)，他的購(gòu)買記錄得以保存。1597年，莎士比亞在斯特拉特福德為家族購(gòu)置了第二大房產(chǎn)、107英畝農(nóng)田和一座農(nóng)舍。后來(lái)，他買下房產(chǎn)在倫敦出租，這說(shuō)明他具有商業(yè)頭腦。

1603

Royal patronage

皇家專屬

After Elizabeth I died, Shakespeare’s company was awarded a royal patent by King James I (VI of Scotland), and became the King’s Men. King Lear, probably composed in this year, took divided kingdoms as its theme mirroring James I's new domain of England, Scotland and Wales. Meanwhile Macbeth, also written early in James's reign, gives a kind portrayal of James’s ancestor Banquo and was probably intended to honour the new king’s Scottish ancestry.

伊麗莎白一世去世后，莎士比亞的公司被詹姆斯一世（蘇格蘭六世）國(guó)王授予皇家專屬，自此，劇團(tuán)成為“國(guó)王劇團(tuán)”?！独顮柾酢反蠹s就是這個(gè)時(shí)期創(chuàng)作的，以分裂的王國(guó)為主題，映射了詹姆斯一世在英格蘭、蘇格蘭、威爾士的新領(lǐng)地?！尔溈税住吠瑯觿?chuàng)作于詹姆斯統(tǒng)治早期，描述了詹姆斯的祖先班柯，可能為了紀(jì)念新國(guó)王的蘇格蘭祖先。

1609 Shakespeare's sonnets published

十四行詩(shī)的出版

Shakespeare published 154 sonnets which explored themes of love, sex and beauty. He probably started them in 1592 when plague closed the theatres. The sonnets include a dedication to one 'Mr. W.H.'. The identity of this person remains a mystery and has provoked a great deal of speculation. Sonnets were a traditional and popular form during the Elizabethan period. Several of them, including Sonnet 18 (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?), and Sonnet 116 (Let me not to the marriage of true minds) have become some of the most familiar poems in all of English literature.

莎士比亞出版了154首十四行詩(shī)，探討了愛(ài)情、性和美的主題，這些作品的創(chuàng)作可能始于1592年，當(dāng)劇院因瘟疫而關(guān)閉的時(shí)候。十四行詩(shī)中包括給“Mr. W.H.”的題詞，這位先生的身份引起過(guò)多種猜測(cè)但一直是謎。十四行詩(shī)在伊麗莎白時(shí)代是一種傳統(tǒng)而流行的形式，莎士比亞的編號(hào)18（我可以把你比作夏日嗎）和116（我絕不承認(rèn)兩顆真心的結(jié)合）的十四行詩(shī)，已經(jīng)成為了英國(guó)文學(xué)史上耳熟能詳?shù)慕?jīng)典。

1613 Shakespeare writes his last play

1613年，完成最后一部戲劇

The Two Noble Kinsmen was possibly the last play Shakespeare worked on. He wrote it with a collaborator, John Fletcher. In the previous decade he had written his late romances - Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. These plays are graver in tone than the comedies of the 1590s but less so than the tragedies, as they end with reconciliation and forgiveness for potentially tragic actions. This change of mood may simply reflect the theatrical fashion of the day, but it could also be evidence Shakespeare had developed a more temperate view of life as he aged. 與John Fletcher共同創(chuàng)作的《兩貴親》可能是莎士比亞最后一部作品。在過(guò)去的十年里，他寫了《辛白林》、《冬天的故事》和《暴風(fēng)雨》。這些戲劇的基調(diào)相較1590年代的喜劇系列更為嚴(yán)肅，但并沒(méi)有到悲劇系列的程度，因?yàn)樗鼈兊慕Y(jié)局一和解原諒潛在悲劇行為而告終。這些情緒的變化或許只是反映了當(dāng)時(shí)的戲劇風(fēng)向，也或許能夠反映出莎士比亞隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)，對(duì)生活的看法變得更加溫和。