If we ask who the most important novelist or poet in Britain is 若要问英国最重要的小说家或诗人是哪一位
there might be different answers 回答也许会有差异
but when we ask who the greatest dramatist is 但若要问谁是最伟大的剧作家
there will only be one answer. 那么答案是唯一的
That is Shakespeare. 那就是莎士比亚
William Shakespeare is widely regarded 威廉·莎士比亚被公认为是
as the greatest writerof all time in the English language 英语世界有史以来最伟大的作家
and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. 及世界上最杰出的剧作家
He is often called England's national poet 他常被誉为英格兰民族诗人
and the "Bard of Avon." 和“艾汶河畔的游吟诗人”
He mainly wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets 其著作主要包括38部戏剧、154首十四行诗
and two long narrative poems. 以及两部叙事长诗
His plays have been translated into every major living language 其剧本已被译为世界上每一种正在使用的语言
and are performed more often than those of any other playwright 且表演次数远超其他任何剧作家的作品
Known throughout the world,the works of William Shakespeare 莎士比亚戏剧享誉世界
have been performed in different countries for more than 400 years. 已在不同国家表演了四百多年
And yet 然而
the personal history of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery. 其个人经历却仍是一个谜
There are two primary sources 历史学家们主要通过两个来源
that provide historians with a basic outline of his life. 了解莎士比亚的生平概况
One source is his work—the plays, poems and sonnets; 其一是莎士比亚的作品——剧本、诗歌及十四行诗
The other is official documentation such as church and court records. 另一个是官方文件诸如教会和法庭记录
However 然而
these only provide brief sketches of specific events in his life 这些只是对莎士比亚生平中个别事件的概述
They provide little on the person who experienced those events. 并不能具体展现这些事件的亲历者
Church records indicate 教会记录表明
that a William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church 1564年4月26日，在艾汶河畔的斯特拉福镇
in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564 一名叫威廉·莎士比亚的婴儿于圣三一教堂受洗
and from this it is believed he was born on or near 23rd. 人们据此推断，莎士比亚或生于23日前后
This is the date scholars acknowledge 尽管不清楚确切的日期
as William Shakespeare's birthday, 但该日还是被学者们
though the accurate date is not known. 公认为是威廉·莎士比亚的诞辰
William was the third child of John Shakespeare, 威廉·莎士比亚是一位成功的
a successful leather merchant. 皮革商人约翰·莎士比亚的第三子
William had two older sisters and three younger brothers. 威廉还有两个姐姐、三个弟弟
There is almost no record about his child life. 有关莎士比亚的童年生活几乎没有记载
Scholars have surmised 学者们推测
that he most likely attended the King's New School in Stratford, 他很可能就读于斯特拉福的国王新校
which taught reading, writing and the classics. 该校教授学生阅读、写作以及古典文学
He did not attend university. 他没有读大学
His lack of high education has led some 由于莎士比亚未接受过高等教育
to raise questions about the authorship 导致一些人质疑其作品
of his work and even about 原作者的身份
whether or not William Shakespeare ever existed. 甚至质疑威廉·莎士比亚是否确有其人
William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway 威廉·莎士比亚于1582年
daughter of a farmer in 1582. 与一农夫之女安妮·哈瑟维成婚
William was 18 and Anne was 26. 威廉时年18，安妮26岁
The next year 次年
they got their first child 他们的第一个孩子出生
and two years latera pair of twin boys. 两年后，再得一对双胞胎儿子
After the birth of the twins, 在双胞胎出生后
there are seven years of William Shakespeare's life 威廉·莎士比亚的生平有七年空白
where no records exist. 没有记载
Scholars call this period the "lost years," 学者们将该时期称之为“失踪年代”
and there is wide speculation on 对于莎士比亚在此期间的情况
what he was doing during this period. 存在各种猜测
Some believe that perhaps 有学者认为
because of the heavy family burden 由于沉重的家庭负担
Shakespeare was forced to find a better chance in London. 莎士比亚被迫去伦敦寻找更好的机会
He probably arrived in London in the mid-to late 1580s 他可能在十六世纪八十年代中后期
and worked in theaters. 到达伦敦并在剧院工作
By 1592, there is evidence that 至1592年，有证据表明
Shakespeare earned a living as an actor and a playwright in London 莎士比亚在伦敦以当演员和写剧本谋生
and possibly had several plays produced. 也许已创作出几部剧本
It was in this year 正是在这一年
he was first accused of borrowing from other playwrights 他第一次被指控抄袭其他剧作家
which led to Greene’s irony 这导致格林反讽诗的出现
“There is an upstart Crow 即“有一只突然发迹的乌鸦
beautified with our feathers.” 以我们的羽毛粉饰其身
Many believe that Robert Greene made this comment out of jealousy 人们普遍认为罗伯特·格林是出于嫉妒而作此评论
because Shakespeare was reaching above his rank 因为莎士比亚正超越其自身所在阶层
trying to match better known and educated playwrights 试图与更为知名且受过教育的剧作家
like Marlowe or Greene himself. 如马洛或格林自己比肩
By the early 1590s documents show William Shakespeare 有记载表明 至十六世纪九十年代早期
was a managing partner in the Lord Chamberlain's Men 莎士比亚成为张伯伦勋爵剧团的合伙人
a popular acting company in London. 这是伦敦一家颇受欢迎的表演公司
By 1597, 到1597年
15 of the 37 plays written by William Shakespeare were published. 莎士比亚创作的37部剧作中的15部已获出版
Civil records show that 民事记录表明
he also bought a large house in Stratford for his family. 他还在斯特拉福为其家人买了一处大型住宅
By 1599, Shakespeare and his partners built their own theater 1599年，莎士比亚和其合伙人在
on the south bank of the Thames River,the Globe. 泰晤士河南岸建造了他们自己的剧院——环球剧院
In 1605, Shakespeare bought his own real estate 1605年，莎士比亚在近斯特拉福购置了自己的地产
near Stratford which earned him 60 pounds a year. 这每年为其赚得六十英镑
Scholars believe these investments 学者们认为这些投资
gave him the time to write his plays uninterrupted. 为其不受干扰地创作剧本提供了时间
By that time, he proved himself a successful man 至那时，莎士比亚证明了他自己是一个成功者
and was then recognized as a genius in his own time. 并且还被认为是他那个时代的天才
When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 伊丽莎白女王于1603年驾崩后
King James I took the throne. 国王詹姆斯一世继位
Shakespeare’s company changed its name to the King's Men. 莎士比亚的剧团改名为国王剧团
The King's Men company was also very popular 国王剧团依旧颇受欢迎
and records show that Shakespeare had works published 据记载，莎士比亚将其作品出版
and sold as popular literature. 并以流行文学出售
He became a member of famous writers’ group. 他成为了著名作家中的一员
Though the theater culture in 16th century England 在十六世纪的英国
was not highly admired by people of high rank 尽管戏剧文化不被上层阶级的人们所追捧
many of the nobility were good patrons of the performing 但许多贵族是戏剧表演艺术的资助人
arts and friends of the actors 而且是演员们的好友
Shakespeare retired from the theatre in 1610. 莎士比亚于1610年从剧院退休
He died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52. 于1616年4月23日逝世，终年52岁
In death, he left a final piece of verse as his epitaph: 他死时留下最后几句诗作作为其墓志铭：
Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear 朋友，看在上帝的情分上
To dig the dust enclosed here. 动土者将受灾
Blessed be the man that spares these stones 保护者会得福
And cursed be he that moves my bones. 千万别掘此墓
The first and also a large sized collection of plays of Shakespeare, 莎士比亚的第一部，也是大版本的戏剧集
The First Folio, 《第一对开本》
was published in 1623, 于其逝世后
7 years after his death. 七年即1623年出版
liam Shakespeare was respected as a man of dramatic arts 16世纪后期至17世纪早期
in the late 16th and early 17th centuries 威廉·莎士比亚被尊为戏剧艺术大家
but he was not recognized as a dramatic genius until the 19th century. 但直至19世纪他才成为公认的一代戏剧奇才
However, it was also in this period of time莎士比亚在这一时期最受欢迎
that the most serious and intense skepticism 然而，也正是在此期间
about the authorship of Shakespeare ap peared, 其原作者身份遭到了
when the adoration for Shakespeare was at its highest.最严重、最激烈的质疑。
Today, his plays are highly popular 如今，莎士比亚戏剧备受欢迎
and constantly studied 一直为人们所学习研究
and reinterpreted in performances with diverse cultural 也在各种各样的文化与政治语境下表演
and political contexts. 从中获得重新诠释
The genius of Shakespeare's characters and plots are 莎士比亚笔下的人物与情节的最动人之处就在于
that they present real human beings in a wide range of emotions and conflicts 与冲突中展现有血有肉的人
that transcend their origins in Elizabethan England. 这超越了伊丽莎白时期他们在英国的原型
Therefore, Shakespeare is not only a dramatist of all time, 因此 作为剧作家的莎士比亚不仅仅是跨越时代的
but also of all cultures. 更是属于全人类文明的
In the next lecture 在下一讲
we will introduce the dramatic career of Shakespeare. 我们将介绍莎士比亚的戏剧生涯