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William Shakespeare by Jennifer Bassett

单词提示

1.Scottish 苏格兰人

原文

Chapter 8: A Scottish king for England.

Will's father died in September 1601.
In his last years, John Shakespeare was a happy man.
His son was famous, and the Shakespeare family was important again in Stratford.
But there weren't many children in the family.
Will's sister Joan was married and had a little boy, but Will's brothers didn't have any children.
Susanna,Will's older daughter was now 18.
And Will said to her one day, “We must find you a husband soon, Susanna.”
But Susanna shook her head.
“Oh,I don't want to be married, father, thank you.”
We all smiled at that, because there was already a young man who was often a visitor at New Place.
That was John Hall, a clever young doctor.
Will liked him.
Back in London, the theatres were always full.
And actors were now important people in the city.
Will and I were now living in very fine lodgings in Silver Street with the Mount Joy family.
The Globe and the Lord Chamberlain's Men were doing very well, and the older actors in the company were making money and buying houses and land.
But some people still thought that actors were dangerous, wicked people.
Then Queen Elizabeth died on 24 March 1603 at Richmond.
I remember the day well.
The theatres were closed.
You can't have plays when a queen is dying, and we were all at Henry Condell's House.
He and John Hemings lived very near our lodgings in Cripplegate.
We were all very worried.
The new King of England was James I.
He was already King of Scotland, and he had a young wife Queen Anne of Denmark,and three young children.
But what was he like? Would he be a good king?
And most importantly, did he like plays?
“If King James doesn't like plays,” said Henry Condell, “we're finished.”
There are already a lot of Puritans on the London City Council, and they love to close the theatres down.
Henry always looked at the black side of everything.
“Well,he's written a lot of books himself,” said Will, “perhaps he'll be interested in plays too. We'll just have to wait and see. We didn't have to wait long.”
On 19 May, I was underneath the stage in the Globe.
I was trying to mend a broken door in the floor of the stage.
We used this door when a ghost came on or went off in a cloud of smoke.
Suddenly,I heard feet running across the stage.
I looked up through the hole and saw Will and John Hemmings and Richard Burbage.
They were all very excited.
“Listen to this, Toby.” said Will.
He was holding a piece of paper in his hand.
“It's a letter from King James from today. We are the King's men, we're working for the King himself, and he wants to see all the plays. We're going to have new red coats to wear when we go to court.” Richard said.
And John said, “He's going to pay us £20 for every play at court. What do you think about that, Toby?”
We were all laughing and smiling now.
“Well,John,” I said, “if we are so rich, can I have a new door? I can't mend this one again, it's too old.”
That summer, the plague came back.
By July, 1000 people were dying every week in London.
One of them was the little son of Will's friend Ben Johnson.
By the end of the year, there were 33000 dead.
In England, the theatres closed and the king's men went on tour.
Will and I spent the summer at Stratford.
When Christmas came, the King's men put on a lot of plays at court.
The King was at Hampton Court Palace that year, which was outside London well away from the plague.
I couldn't go, because I fell off my horse one day and broke my leg.
Stupid thing to do, I had to stay at home, but Will told me all about it when he came back.
“The new king and queen like to enjoy themselves, Toby.” he said, “They are a happy family. Prince Henry, who's nine is a very nice little boy, and his sister Elizabeth is beautiful. Little Prince Charles is only two.”
He was silent for a minute, perhaps he was thinking about Hamnet, then he went on.
“Queen Anne likes plays very much. She likes music and dancing too. She showed her legs in one dance.
“My word,” I said, “things like that never happened at court in Queen Elizabeth days.”
“We live in different times, Toby. A lot of things are going to change, but change only comes slowly.”
The King's men went from one success to another at the King's court.
At Christmas 1604, there were 22 plays, and 8 of them were Wills.
In 1605, there were 13 plays at court and 10 of them were Wills.
We always did the plays at the Globe first before we took them to court.
Will was writing more slowly now, but during these years, he wrote some of his best plays—Othello Macbeth and King Lear.
That was a sad, dark play.
When King Lear carried his dead daughter Cordelia onto the stage, well, every man,woman, and child in the Globe was crying. It's true.
Richard Burbage played Lear, of course, what an actor he was.

翻译

第八章：苏格兰国王入主英格兰

1601年9月，威尔的父亲去世了。
在最后的岁月里，约翰·莎士比亚过得很幸福。
他的儿子声名远扬，莎士比亚家族在斯特拉特福也重新恢复了声望。
不过，家族里的子嗣并不算多。
威尔的姐姐琼结了婚，生了个小男孩，但威尔的弟弟们都没有留下后代。
威尔的大女儿苏珊娜当时已经18岁了。
有一天，威尔对她说：“苏珊娜，我们得赶紧给你找个丈夫了。”
但苏珊娜摇了摇头。
“哦，我不想结婚，父亲，谢谢您。”
听到这话，我们都笑了，因为已经有个年轻人经常来“新地”做客了。
他叫约翰·霍尔，是个聪明的年轻医生。威尔挺喜欢他的。
在伦敦，剧院总是座无虚席。
演员们在城里也成了有头有脸的人物。
我和威尔当时住在银街的芒乔伊一家，住处非常气派。
环球剧院和“宫内大臣剧团”的生意红红火火，剧团里的老演员们都赚了钱，纷纷购置房产和土地。
不过，仍有一些人认为演员是危险、邪恶的人。
1603年3月24日，伊丽莎白女王在里士满宫驾崩。
那一天我记忆犹新。
剧院全都关门了。
女王弥留之际，谁也不能演戏。我们当时都聚在亨利·康德尔的家里。
他和约翰·赫明斯住得离我们位于克里普尔盖特的住处很近。
我们心里都忐忑不安。
英格兰的新国王是詹姆斯一世。
他原本就是苏格兰的国王，有一位年轻的妻子——丹麦的安妮王后，还有三个年幼的孩子。
但他是个怎样的人呢？他会是个好国王吗？
最重要的是，他喜欢看戏吗？
“如果詹姆斯国王不喜欢戏剧，”亨利·康德尔说，“我们就全完了。”
伦敦市政委员会里已经有很多清教徒了，他们最喜欢干的事就是关闭剧院。
亨利总是把事情往最坏的方面想。
“嗯，他自己就写过不少书，”威尔说，“也许他对戏剧也会感兴趣。我们只能走着瞧了。”
我们并没有等太久。
5月19日那天，我正待在环球剧院的舞台底下。
我正在修补舞台地板上的一扇破门。
每当鬼魂在烟雾中出场或退场时，我们就会用到这扇暗门。
突然，我听到舞台上有一阵急促的脚步声。
我透过洞口往上看，看到了威尔、约翰·赫明斯和理查德·伯比奇。
他们全都激动万分。
“托比，你听这个。”威尔说。
他手里拿着一张纸。
“这是国王今天刚下达的信件。我们现在是‘国王剧团’了，直接为国王陛下效力，他想看我们所有的戏。以后我们进宫时，都要穿上崭新的红色制服了。”理查德说。
约翰接着说：“在宫里每演一出戏，他要付给我们20英镑。托比，你觉得怎么样？”
我们全都开怀大笑起来。
“好吧，约翰，”我说，“既然我们现在这么有钱，能给我换扇新门吗？这扇旧门我实在修不好了。”
那年夏天，瘟疫再次爆发。
到了7月，伦敦每周都有1000人丧生。
威尔的朋友本·琼森的小儿子就是其中之一。
到了年底，死亡人数达到了3万3千人。
在英格兰，剧院纷纷关闭，“国王剧团”只好去外地巡演。
那个夏天，我和威尔是在斯特拉特福度过的。
到了圣诞节，“国王剧团”在宫廷里演了很多出戏。
那年国王待在伦敦城外的汉普顿宫，远离瘟疫的侵扰。
我没能去成，因为我有一天从马上摔下来，摔断了腿。
真是件蠢事，我只能待在家里。不过威尔回来后把一切都告诉了我。
“托比，新国王和王后都很懂得享受生活，”他说，“他们是个幸福的家庭。9岁的亨利王子是个非常讨人喜欢的小男孩，他的姐姐伊丽莎白公主十分美丽。小查尔斯王子才两岁。”
他沉默了一会儿，也许是想起了哈姆内特，然后继续说道：
“安妮王后非常喜欢看戏。她也喜欢音乐和舞蹈。在一次跳舞时，她还露出了小腿呢。”
“天哪，”我说，“在伊丽莎白女王时期，宫里可从来没有过这种事。”
“时代不同了，托比。很多事情都会发生改变，只是改变总是来得很慢。”
“国王剧团”在国王的宫廷里接连取得成功。
1604年的圣诞节，宫廷里一共演了22出戏，其中有8出是威尔写的。
1605年，宫廷里演了13出戏，威尔的占了10出。
我们总是先在环球剧院上演新戏，然后再进宫表演。
威尔现在的创作速度慢了下来，但在这些年里，他写出了一些他最杰出的作品——《奥赛罗》、《麦克白》和《李尔王》。
那是一出极其悲伤、阴郁的戏。
当李尔王抱着死去的女儿考狄利娅走上舞台时，环球剧院里的男女老少全都在哭泣。我发誓这是真的。
饰演李尔王的当然是理查德·伯比奇，他真是一位伟大的演员。

81.
I watch TV every day.
我每天都看电视。

82.
I don't know if he'll come to the party or not.
我不知道他是否会来参加聚会。

83.
I remember playing football here last year.
我记得去年在这里踢足球。

84.
Did he study English yesterday?
他昨天学英语了吗？

85.
What time does your husband get up?
你丈夫什么时候起床?

86.
Do you have an email address?
你有电子邮箱吗？
87.
There were no interesting movies this year.
今年没有什么有趣的电影。

88.
Which of the four seasons do you like the best?
四个季节中你最喜欢哪一个？

89.
Go straight down this road and turn right at the post office.
沿着这条路直走，然后在邮局右转。

90.
It's time to go to bed.
该去睡觉了。

听前提示
一、每期提供10个单词，每个单词都会有2-3个例句，方便理解记忆。
二、每个单词和句子都会重复5遍，其中第2遍为慢速，有助于识别。
三、本材料的整体难度较低，可以用来听力磨耳朵和单词查漏补缺。

Day 178

1771.
Profit
n.利润，收益v.有利于

The school is not run for profit.
这所学校不是为了营利而开办的。
The film made $1,000,000 in profit.
这部电影赚了100万美元的利润。
This new investment will multiply our profit.
这项新投资将使我们的利润倍增。

1772.
Program
n.（计算机）程序；计划v.编写程序

The program is designed to reform prisoners.
该计划旨在改造囚犯。
Would you like to contribute to the program?
你想为该计划做出贡献吗？
Please note that this program is not suitable for children.
请注意，此计划不适合儿童。

1773.
Progress
v./n.进步，进展；前进

I'll send you a progress report.
我会给你发一份进度报告。
We are making slow but steady progress.
我们正在取得缓慢但稳步的进展。
I'm amazed at her rapid progress in English.
我对她在英语方面的快速进步感到惊讶。

1774.
Project
n.工程，项目v.投射；规划

I'm proud to be a part of this project.
我很自豪能参与这个项目。
Do you have any information about the project?
你有关于这个项目的任何信息吗？
She is responsible for designing the entire project.
她负责设计整个项目。

1775.
Promise
v.允许，答应n.承诺；希望

It won't hurt, I promise.
我保证，它不会受伤。
I promise you I'll help you.
我向你保证我会帮你的。
I promise you I will wait for you to return.
我向你保证我会等你回来。

1776.
Promote
v.升职，晋升；促销，推广

She deserves to be promoted.
她应该得到提升。
I got promoted to manager yesterday.
我昨天被提升为经理了。

1777.
Promotion
n.提拔，晋升；促销，推销

He deserves a promotion.
他值得晋升。
Let's celebrate your promotion.
让我们庆祝你的晋升。
I just got a promotion and a raise.
我刚得到晋升和加薪。

1778.
Prompt
v.促使，导致 adj.迅速的，立刻的

Prompt payment will be appreciated.
如能及时付款，将不胜感激。
Thank you for your prompt reply.
感谢您的及时回复。

1779.
Pronounce
v.发（音），读（音）；表态

How do you pronounce this word?
这个词怎么发音？
This word is difficult to pronounce.
这个词很难发音。
Very few people can pronounce my name correctly.
很少有人能正确地念出我的名字。

1780.
Pronunciation
n.发音方法，读法；发音

Your pronunciation is excellent.
你的发音很棒。
I'd like to improve my English pronunciation.
我想提高我的英语发音。

2024年新课标一卷英语听力

第一节 (共5小题；每小题1.5分，满分7.5分)
听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的 A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。

1.What is Kate doing?
A. Boarding a flight.
B. Arranging a trip.
C. Seeing a friend off.

2.What are the speakers talking about?
A. A pop star.
B. An old song.
C. A radio program.

3.What will the speakers do today?
A. Go to an art show.
B. Meet the man's aunt.
C. Eat out with Mark

4.What does the man want to do?
A. Cancel an order.
B. Ask for a receipt.
C. Reschedule a delivery.

5.When will the next train to Bedford leave?
A. At 9:45.
B. At 10:15.
C. At 11:00.

第二节 (共15小题；每小题1.5分，满分22.5分)
听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的 A 、B 、C 三个选项中选出最佳选项。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。

听第6段材料，回答第6、7题。
6.What will the weather be like today?
A. Stormy.
B. Sunny.
C. Foggy.
7.What is the man going to do?
A. Plant a tree.
B. Move his car.
C. Check the map.

听第7段材料，回答第8至10题。
8.Why is Kathy in California now?
A. She is on vacation there.
B. She has just moved there.
C. She is doing business there.
9.What is the relationship between Tom and Fiona?
A. Husband and wife.
B. Brother and sister.
C. Father and daughter.
10.What does Kathy thank Dave for?
A. Finding her a new job.
B. Sending her a present.
C. Calling on her mother.

听第8段材料，回答第11至13题。
11.How did Jack go to school when he was a child?
A. By bike.
B. On foot.
C. By bus.
12.What is Jack's attitude toward parents driving their kids to school?
A. Disapproving.
B. Encouraging
C. Understanding.
13.What is the problem with some parents according to the woman?
A. Overprotecting their children.
B. Pushing their children too hard.
C. Having no time for their children

听第9段材料，回答第14至17题。
14.Why did Marie post her kitchen gardening online at first?
A. To keep records of her progress.
B. To sell home-grown vegetables.
C. To motivate her fellow gardeners.
15.Why does Marie recommend beginners to grow strawberries?
A. They need no special care.
B. They can be used in cooking.
C. They bear a lot of fruit soon.
16.What is difficult for Marie to grow?
A. Herbs.
B. Carrots.
C. Pears.
17.What is Marie's advice to those interested in kitchen gardening?
A. Aim high.
B. Keep focused.
C. Stay optimistic.

听第10段材料，回答第18至20题。
18.What is “Life of Johnson”?
A. A magazine column.
B. A TV series.
C. A historical novel.
19.What is Johnson famous for?
A. His acting talent.
B. His humorous writing.
C. His long sports career.
20.When did Johnson join Sports Times?
A. In 1981.
B. In 1983.
C. In 1985.

答案
1-5 CBACA 6-10 ABBBC
11-15 BCAAC 16-20 BCABC

听力原文

Text 1
M: Thanks for the wonderful weekend,Kate.
W: That’s okay. Bob and I are glad you came to see us.
M: Oh, I have to go in. My flight will take off soon. Do contact me when you’re in Sydney.
W: Sure, we will.

Text 2
W: Paul, listen to the radio. It’s “You’ve Stolen My Heart” — one of the songs played at our wedding.
M: Yeah, how beautiful! It’s been popular for almost two decades.

Text 3
W: David, forget about Mark. His aunt is in town, so he can’t go with us today.
M: Oh, what a pity! It’s the last day of the art show.

Text 4
W: How may I help you?
M: I bought a desk and asked for it to be delivered to my house this Friday.
W: Yes, what’s the problem?
M: I need to have it delivered this Saturday.

Text 5
W: Next, please.
M: Oh, hi, I missed my 9 o’clock train to Bedford. Do I have to buy another ticket?
W: No. The next train leaves at a quarter to ten at Platform 11.
M: Thank you.

Text 6
W: Honey, (6)have you checked today’s weather forecast?
M: Yes, it’s cold and wet. There is a warning for strong winds up to 100 kilometers per hour.
W: What are we going to do then?
M: Nothing much. Just stay indoors. There is a risk of falling trees and power lines.
W: Right.
M: And the low temperatures could bring snow to the forest area.
W: I hope it’s over quickly.
M: Well, it won’t get better until late Wednesday. Anyway, I have to move the caraway from the trees.
W: Yeah, you cannot be too careful.

Text 7
W: Hello, Dave. This is Kathy from sunny California.
M: Hi, Kathy. You finally called. How was the move? All settled in?
W: Sorry, I hadn’t called sooner, but it’s been a busy month.(8)We’re slowly getting things set up in our new home.
M: Yeah, I understand. How are Jeff and the children?
W: Jeff is doing well with his new job.Tom has made many new friends here and has a lot to do. Fiona is fine, though she misses her grandma. By the way, thank you for looking in on my mother from time to time. I call her every week, but it isn’t the same as seeing her.
M: No problem. Betty and l are friend snow. How is the weather there?
W: It’s nice and warm, and we are able to spend some time every week on the beach with the children.
M: That’s great.

Text 8
W: Jack, how did you get to school when you were in primary school?
M: I lived close to my school, so I walked every day. Why?
W: Well, I remember that when we were kids, we often walked, rode a bike or caught the bus to school. Few of us were dropped off at the school gate by our parents.
M: I see what you mean. These days you can see traffic jams around schools at drop-off and pick-up times, but it’s hard to blame the parents. They have good reasons for driving their kids to school, mostly to do with safety and convenience.
W: You have a point there, but it could also mean children are missing out on much needed exercise and other life skills. Some parents are just being over-protective with their children learning nothing, but living in fear of everything. Studies have found that children who spend more time outside tend to be healthier, better adjusted and better at dealing with stress.

Text 9
M: So Marie, your kitchen garden looks excellent. What made you turn to social media to record your vegetable growing?
W: Initially, I used the online platform as a diary, something to look back on, giving me a sense of achievements and keeping me motivated and moving forward. As time went by, other gardeners and like-minded people began to follow my progress, too.
M: I know you grow lots of fruit on your land. Which would you recommend to beginners as the best to grow?
W: Strawberries would be a good choice.They produce a lot of fruit in their first season.
M: That’s cool. Well, do you have plans to try new or any particular crops next year?
W: Next season I will be adding some pear trees to the fruit area. I will be adding more herbs which I can use in the kitchen. And, after a couple of years of failure, I will try growing carrots again.
M: What advice would you offer someone thinking of doing kitchen gardening?
W: Have a plan of what you want your kitchen garden to look like. Don’t be too discouraged if things don’t go according to plan. Learn from your mistakes and move on. There is always next season.

Text 10
M: Welcome to Meet the Author. Well, many readers of Sports Times turn to the last page of their magazine first in order to read Jacob Johnson’s weekly article under the title “Life of Johnson”.The articles along with his novels and essay collections have earned Johnson the reputation as “one of the funniest humans on the planet”. Johnson began writing about sports as a second year student at the University of Colorado, covering high school volley ballgames for his hometown newspaper. After graduating in 1981, he moved on to work at the Denver Weekly for 2 years and the Los Angeles Post for 2 more years before landing at Sports Times. He has been voted National Sports Writer of the Year 11 times. So now let’s welcome the funny man with serious talent, Jacob Johnson.

William Shakespeare by Jennifer Bassett

单词提示

1.rub 问题

原文

Chapter 7: Queens, kings and princes

Every year, we took more and more plays to court at Christmas.
In 1598, one of Will's plays was Henry IV.
A lot of the play was about the king's son and his friend Sir John Falstaff.
Sir John was old, fat, lazy, drank too much, talk too much, laugh too much, but you had to love him.
He was a great favorite with the London playgoers, and there were a lot of Falstaff jokes going round at the time.
After the play, the queen wanted to speak to Will.
“Why?What have we done wrong?” John Hemmings said to me in a very quiet voice.
“We'll find out in a minute.” I said.
We all watched while Will walked over to the Queen's chair.
She was an old woman, she wore a red wig and she had black teeth, but she was still a very great queen.
And if the queen was not pleased, she had a good, strong voice, an actor's voice.
We could hear her easily.
“Mr.Shakespeare.” she began, then she smiled, and suddenly you knew why all Englishmen loved the Queen.
It was like the sun coming out on a spring morning.
“Mr.Shakespeare, you are the best playwright in England. I enjoyed your play and I thought that Sir John Falstaff was very funny. I have known many Englishmen like him. Will you write me another play? I would like to see Sir John in love.”
When Will came back to us, his eyes were bright, but he was already thinking about it.
“Don't talk to me,” he said, “I've got a play to write.”
He wrote it in two weeks.
And we took it down to Richmond Palace and played it before the Queen on February 20.
She laughed and laughed at the Merry Wives of Windsor.
She didn't have much to laugh about in 1599.
There was a lot of trouble in Ireland, and the Queen sent the Earl of Essex with 20000 men to fight a war.
Lord Southampton, Will's friend went with him.
All London came out onto the streets to watch when Essex and his men left for Ireland.
Will wrote an exciting play about war that summer, and he put in a word or two about Ireland.
That was Henry V, about a very famous English king who fought a war in France.
But Essex was not Henry V, he didn't know how to fight a war, and he ran away back to England later that year.
The queen never spoke to him again.
In September, we opened the Globe Theatre.
It was a grand new building near the Rose.
Will,Richard Burbage and the others paid for it themselves.
It was the best playhouse in London and soon the most famous.
The other companies had good theatres and some good actors, but we had the famous Richard Burbage and the best plays.
We put on three new plays by Will in the next year and some plays by other writers.
One of the new playwrights was Ben Johnson.
He was a clever man and he wrote clever plays, but people still liked Will's plays best.
Ben couldn't understand it, he was always arguing with Will about how to write plays.
He argued with everyone, he went to prison once, because he killed a man in a fight.
He was eight years younger than Will, but he and Will were very good friends.
Will's next play was Hamlet, prince of Denmark.
We all met one day in the Boar's Head to talk about it.
There were six of us, me and Will, Richard Burbage, Henry Condell, John Hemmings and Augustine Phillips.
Will put his pile of papers on the table and sat down.
“Well,”he said, “you've all read it, what do you think?”
“It's very good,” John Hemmings began, “but it's too long. It'll take about four hours in the theatre. We don't have to use it all.”
Will said, “We can cut it down to 3 hours, perhaps 2.5.”
Henry Condell picked up one of the papers from the table, look at this bit when Ophelia is talking about Hamlet.
He said, “Hamlet sounds like the Earl of Essex to me. Were you thinking of Essex when you wrote this?”
Will smiled. “Perhaps,” he said, “and perhaps not.”
“Richard will play Prince Hamlet? Yes?” said Augustine.
“Of course.” Will said, “I wrote the part for him. He's our star actor. I'll play the ghost of Hamlet's father.”
He looked at me.
“Hamlet will wear black, Toby and Ophelia will wear white.”
Henry finished his beer.
“It's a good story, all with good parts for us all. But will the playgoers like it?It moves very slowly, and they like a play to be fast and exciting. Prince Hamlet knows that his uncle Claudius murdered the king, his father, but he doesn't do anything about it for a long time. He just talks about it, and in the end, nearly everybody dies one way or another.”
Augustine didn't agree with that.
“You haven't understood the play Henry, It is exciting, very exciting. The play is inside Hamlet himself, he wants to kill his uncle, but he can't. Murder is wrong, but he must kill him because of his father. We can all understand how he feels.”
All this time, Richard Burbage was silent.
He was reading bits of the play again.
Now he put down the paper in his hand and looked up.
His eyes were bright, excited.
“Have any of you really listened to the language of this play?This is your best play yet, Will. The best of them all just listen to the language, the poetry.”
He stood up and his great voice filled the room.
“To be or not to be, that is the question.”
We sat and listened silently while that wonderful voice brought the words to life.
Will watched him smiling.
He knew that Richard like him, was in love with words.
“To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come. When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause.”
Richard Burbage was right, of course.
The people loved the play.
They loved Burbage as Hamlet, they cried for poor Ophelia's death, and they shouted for the murderer Claudius to die.
I think it was Will's most famous play.

翻译

第七章：女王、国王与王子们

每年圣诞节，我们进宫为女王演出的剧目都越来越多。
1598年，我们演了威尔的一出戏——《亨利四世》。
这出戏很大一部分是在讲国王的儿子和他的朋友约翰·福斯塔夫爵士。
福斯塔夫爵士又老又胖，又懒又贪杯，话多、笑也多，但你就是会忍不住喜欢他。
他深受伦敦观众的喜爱，当时街头巷尾都在流传关于福斯塔夫的段子。
演出结束后，女王点名要见威尔。
“怎么回事？我们做错什么了吗？”约翰·赫明斯压低声音问我。
“马上就会知道了。”我说。
我们全都注视着威尔走到女王的座椅前。
她是一位年迈的女王，戴着红色的假发，牙齿也是黑的，但她依然是一位极其伟大的君主。
而且，如果女王不高兴，她可是有一副洪亮的好嗓子的，那绝对是演员级别的嗓音。
我们在台下都能听得清清楚楚。
“莎士比亚先生，”她开口唤道，随后微微一笑。那一刻，你突然就明白了为什么全英格兰的子民都深爱着女王。
那感觉，就像春日的清晨拨云见日，阳光普照。
“莎士比亚先生，您是英格兰最杰出的剧作家。我很欣赏您的戏，觉得约翰·福斯塔夫爵士非常有趣。我认识许多像他这样的人。您能再为我写一出戏吗？我想看看陷入爱情的福斯塔夫是什么模样。”
当威尔回到我们中间时，他双眼闪烁着兴奋的光芒，但他显然已经在构思了。
“别跟我说话，”他说，“我得去写戏了。”
他只用了两个星期就写完了。
2月20日，我们带着这出戏去了里士满宫，为女王献演。
看《温莎的风流娘儿们》时，她笑得前仰后合。
在1599年，她确实没多少值得笑的事情。
爱尔兰爆发了叛乱，女王派埃塞克斯伯爵率领两万大军前去平叛。
威尔的朋友南安普顿伯爵也随军出征了。
当埃塞克斯和他的军队出发前往爱尔兰时，全伦敦的人都涌上街头观看。
那年夏天，威尔写了一出激动人心的战争戏，里面还顺带提了一两句爱尔兰的事。
那就是《亨利五世》，讲述的是一位在法国征战的著名英格兰国王的故事。
但埃塞克斯可不是亨利五世，他根本不懂怎么打仗，后来在那一年直接逃回了英格兰。
女王从此再也没有跟他说过一句话。
9月，我们开设了环球剧院。
那是一座宏伟的新建筑，就在玫瑰剧院附近。
威尔、理查德·伯比奇等人是自费建造的。
它是伦敦最好的剧院，很快也成了最著名的剧院。
其他剧团也有不错的剧场和优秀的演员，但我们拥有大名鼎鼎的理查德·伯比奇，还有最好的剧本。
第二年，我们不仅上演了威尔的三部新戏，还演了其他作家的作品。
其中一位新晋剧作家是本·琼森。
他是个聪明人，写的戏也很巧妙，但观众最喜欢的始终是威尔的戏。
本对此百思不得其解，他总是为了怎么写戏和威尔争论。
他跟谁都吵，甚至还因为打架杀了人进过一次监狱。
他比威尔小八岁，但两人是非常要好的朋友。
威尔的下一部戏是《哈姆雷特，丹麦王子》。
有一天，我们六个人在野猪头酒馆碰头讨论这出戏。
在场的是我、威尔、理查德·伯比奇、亨利·康德尔、约翰·赫明斯和奥古斯丁·菲利普斯。
威尔把一叠稿纸放在桌上，坐了下来。
“好了，”他说，“你们都已经看过了，觉得怎么样？”
“非常好，”约翰·赫明斯开了口，“但是太长了。在剧院里演完大概要四个小时。我们没必要全演。”
威尔说：“我们可以把它删减到三个小时，也许两个半小时。”
亨利·康德尔从桌上拿起一页稿纸，指着奥菲莉亚谈论哈姆雷特的那一段说：
“我觉得哈姆雷特听起来有点像埃塞克斯伯爵。你写这段的时候，想到的是埃塞克斯吗？”
威尔笑了笑：“也许是，也许不是。”
“理查德来演哈姆雷特王子，对吧？”奥古斯丁问。
“当然，”威尔说，“我就是为他写的这个角色。他是我们最红的台柱子。我来演哈姆雷特父亲的鬼魂。”
他看向我：
“托比，哈姆雷特要穿黑衣，奥菲莉亚要穿白衣。”
亨利喝完了他的啤酒。
“故事很好，大家也都有好角色演。但观众会喜欢吗？这戏的节奏太慢了，他们喜欢看节奏快、情节刺激的戏。哈姆雷特王子明明知道他叔父克劳狄斯谋杀了他的父亲——老国王，但他却迟迟没有采取行动。他只是不停地谈论这件事，而到了最后，几乎所有人都以各种方式死去了。”
奥古斯丁不同意他的看法。
“亨利，你没看懂这出戏。它很精彩，非常精彩。戏剧的冲突全在哈姆雷特的心里。他想杀他的叔父，但他做不到。谋杀是罪恶的，但为了父亲，他又必须这么做。我们都能体会他的感受。”
在整个讨论过程中，理查德·伯比奇一直沉默不语。
他一直在反复默读剧本的片段。
这时，他放下手中的稿纸，抬起头来。
他的双眼闪烁着兴奋的光芒。
“你们当中有谁真正听懂了这出戏的语言吗？威尔，这是你迄今为止最好的一部戏。所有戏里最好的一部！你们听听这语言，听听这诗意。”
他站起身，洪亮的嗓音瞬间充满了整个房间：
“生存还是毁灭，这是一个问题。”
我们静静地坐着，听着那美妙的嗓音赋予文字以生命。
威尔微笑着注视着他。
他知道，理查德和他一样，对文字爱得深沉。
“死了；睡着了；睡着了：也许还会做梦；嗯，阻碍就在这儿；因为当我们摆脱了这具朽败的躯壳，在那死亡的睡眠里，究竟会做什么样的梦，这不能不使我们踌躇顾虑。”
理查德·伯比奇当然是对的。
观众们爱极了这出戏。
他们迷恋伯比奇饰演的哈姆雷特，为可怜的奥菲莉亚之死落泪，并高喊着让凶手克劳狄斯偿命。
我想，这是威尔最著名的一部戏了。