莎翁是基佬？掉节操论调惹众说纷纭

 　　A new debate has broken out between some of the world's top Shakespeare experts over whether the playwright's sonnets² prove he was attracted to men.

　　在世界顶级莎士比亚学者中间，一个新的舆论炸开了锅：这位剧作家的十四行诗是不是在暗示他被男性所吸引着？

　　Sir Brian Vickers, a visiting professor at University College London, began the row by condemning³ a book review which suggested Sonnet¹ 116 appears in a 'primarily homosexual context'

　　伦敦大学学院的客座教授布莱恩·威克斯爵士第一个对此论调提出怀疑，他抨击了一本解读莎士比亚十四行诗的第116首“首先是一个同性恋文本”的书评。

　　In a letter to the Times Literary Supplement, he said the claim was 'anachronistic⁴' because scholars now accept there were forms of rhetoric⁵ that allowed men to express love without implying sexual attraction.

　　在写给《泰晤士报文学增刊》的信中，他说道，因为如今学者都承认，在不表明性向的时候，有一些特定的修辞用来表达对男性的爱意，这种论调是“不合时宜的”。

　　He also said that any attempt to find biographical information in the sonnets was doomed⁶ because Shakespeare was a professional who wrote under the identity of a 'poet-persona'.

　　他也说道，任何试图在十四行诗中寻找传记信息的企图都是注定失败的，因为莎士比亚是个专业的带着“诗人面具”写作的人。

　　Fellow academics have since hit back at Mr Vickers' comments, accusing him of promoting 'one of the great fallacies of modern Shakespeare criticism'.

　　随后的一些学者开始攻击威克斯的论调，指控他在传播“一个现代莎士比亚评论界的大谬误”。

　　Scholar Arthur Freeman, who described himself as a 'friendly acquaintance' of Mr Vickers when responding to him via the letters page, accused him of introducing 'presuppositions that many of us would question, if not reject out of hand'.

　　亚瑟·弗里曼学者，声称自己是威克斯先生的“友人”，在信上指控他“再不住手的话，我们都要对你的假设提出怀疑了”。

　　He wrote: 'I cannot think of any responsible editor ... who would dismiss the premise⁷ of homosexual, as well as heterosexual passion pervading⁸ [the sonnets].

　　他写道：“我不能想到任何一位有责任的编辑……在读着这些弥漫了异性恋热情的十四行诗时，会对同性恋这个前提置之不理。

　　'Why should Shakespeare alone be thought so committed to the "negative capability⁹" of his dramatic craft that all his most personal writings are treated as potentially artificial?

　　“为什么莎士比亚所有个人作品都要被认定有人工合成的可能性，并他这些戏剧性的作品被认为是拥有了“消极的才能”？

　　‘And even if we insist on regarding the sonnets, wholly or in part, as a kind of long-term dramatic narrative¹⁰ ... why on earth would Shakespeare choose so often to impersonate a pathetically ageing, balding, lame¹¹ and vulnerable bisexual suitor, abjectly¹² whingeing about rejection¹³ and betrayal — unless the self-humiliation that surfaces again and again through these particulars were both genuine and cathartic¹⁴?'

　　“而且即使我们这么认定他的十四行诗（全部或部分），作为一种长时间的充满戏剧性的叙事……究竟为何莎士比亚要选择如此频繁的去扮演一个可悲的，秃着头，跛着脚，脆弱且垂垂老矣的双性恋的起诉人，悲惨地抱怨着拒绝和背叛——除非通过这些细节可以看出其一次又一次浮出水面的自卑情结，是真实可信的。”

　　Mr Vickers responded by saying he could not stop people from speculating, adding: 'Thought is free.

　　威克斯先生回应道，他不能阻止人们的猜想，并补充道：“一千人心中有一千个哈姆雷特。

　　'But if you fix these codes and then say that his 126 poems are like this, then people stop reading them as poems. They read them as biographical documents, looking for imputed¹⁵ sexuality.'

　　“但是如果你纠结于这些暗示，并且认定他的126首诗都是如此，那么人们就不会把他的诗当作诗，而是作为传记文献开始寻找性向的蛛丝马迹。”

　　Although there are few references to anything other than noble love, some sonnets appear more explicit¹⁶ than others.

　　虽然描写高尚爱情的文献没有很多，一些十四行诗显露的还是比其他要明显。

　　Sonnet 20 is largely interpreted as being dedicated¹⁷ to a man, declaring: 'A woman's face with nature's own hand painted / Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion.'

　　十四行诗第20首，很普遍的被认为是专写给男人的，其写道：“造物手绘你女性的脸庞－你是我钟爱的娇娇檀郎！”

　　In 2012, Shakespearean actor Sir Ian McKellen boldly announced that there was absolutely 'no doubt' the bard¹⁸ was bisexual.

　　在2012年，扮演莎士比亚的演员伊恩·麦克莱恩爵士大胆宣称，“毫无疑问”这位吟游诗人是双性恋。

　　The 75-year-old thespian¹⁹ said he came to his conclusion after studying the English poet's work.

　　这位75岁高龄的演员声称自己在研究这位英国诗人的巨作后得出了这个结论。

　　At the time, he said: 'I'd say Shakespeare slept with men.

　　当时他说道：“我敢说他肯定和男人睡过。

　　'The Merchant of Venice, centering on how the world treats gays as well as Jews, has a love triangle between an older man, younger man and a woman.

　　“在《威尼斯商人》中，其宗旨放在说明全世界怎样像对待犹太人一样对待同性恋，且在一个老人，一个青年和一个女人中存在三角关系。

　　'And the complexity²⁰ in his comedies with cross-dressing and disguises is immense.’

　　“而且在他的喜剧中异装癖和化妆非常常见。”

1 sonnet   

n.十四行诗

参考例句：

• The composer set a sonnet to music.作曲家为一首十四行诗谱了曲。
• He wrote a sonnet to his beloved.他写了一首十四行诗，献给他心爱的人。

2 sonnets   

n.十四行诗( sonnet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Keats' reputation as a great poet rests largely upon the odes and the later sonnets. 作为一个伟大的诗人，济慈的声誉大部分建立在他写的长诗和后期的十四行诗上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He referred to the manuscript circulation of the sonnets. 他谈到了十四行诗手稿的流行情况。 来自辞典例句

3 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 anachronistic   

adj.时代错误的

参考例句：

• In remembering historic events,the mistake you tend to make is anachronistic.在记历史事件时，你容易犯的错误是时代错误。
• English public schools are anachronistic.英国的公立学校已经落伍过时了。

5 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

6 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

7 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

8 pervading   

v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• an all-pervading sense of gloom 无处不在的沮丧感
• a pervading mood of fear 普遍的恐惧情绪

9 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

10 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

11 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

12 abjectly   

凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地

参考例句：

• She shrugged her shoulders abjectly. 她无可奈何地耸了耸肩。
• Xiao Li is abjectly obedient at home, as both his wife and daughter can "direct" him. 小李在家里可是个听话的顺民，妻子女儿都能“领导”他。

13 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

14 cathartic   

adj.宣泄情绪的；n.泻剂

参考例句：

• His laughter was cathartic,an animal yelp that brought tears to his eyes.他哈哈大笑以宣泄情绪，声音如野兽般尖厉，眼泪都笑出来了。
• The drug had a cathartic effect.这药有导泻的作用。

15 imputed   

v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They imputed the accident to the driver's carelessness. 他们把这次车祸归咎于司机的疏忽。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He imputed the failure of his marriage to his wife's shortcomings. 他把婚姻的失败归咎于妻子的缺点。 来自辞典例句

16 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

17 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

18 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。

19 thespian   

adj.戏曲的；n.演员；悲剧演员

参考例句：

• If you enjoy acting in plays,join your school's thespian club.如果你喜欢戏剧表演，就加入你学校的戏剧社团。
• The actress demonstrated thespian talents at her first audition.这位女演员第一次试镜就展现出戏剧天分。

20 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。