Name: 【TED-Ed】你為什麼要讀《麥克白》？- Brendan Pelsue (【TED-Ed】Why should you read "Macbeth"? - Brendan Pelsue)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T07:08:49.000Z
Duration: 6 min 9 s

There's a play so powerful  that an old superstition says

有一齣戲，它極具影響力，甚至，古老的迷信曾說

進階被動語態

its name should never  even be uttered in a theater,

它的名字永不能在劇院裡全盤說出

關係子句

a play that begins with witchcraft and ends with a bloody severed head,

這是一齣劇始於巫術，而止於一個血腥的斷頭

a play filled with riddles, prophesies, nightmare visions,

這是一齣劇關於謎語、預言、夢魘

a play by William Shakespeare sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Play"

這是一齣威廉．莎士比亞的戲，他有時稱為「那部蘇格蘭話劇」

First performed at the Globe Theater in London in 1606,

它在 1606 年的時候，第一次在倫敦的環球劇場演出

"Macbeth" is  Shakespeare's shortest tragedy.

「馬克白」是莎士比亞最短的悲劇

It is also one of his most action-packed.

In five acts, he recounts a story of a Scottish nobleman

在五幕的劇情裡，他講述了一個蘇格蘭貴族

Along the way, it asks important questions about ambition,

一路上，它探討了許多重要的問題像是野心

that spoke directly to the politics of Shakespeare's time

他們全部直接講述了莎士比亞當代的政治

England in the early 17th century  was politically precarious.

17 世紀初，英國正處於政治動盪的時候

Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603 without producing an heir,

伊莉莎白女王在沒有子嗣的情況下，死於 1603 年

her advisors passed the crown to James Stewart, King of Scotland.

她的顧問將王位傳給了蘇格蘭王 James Stewart

Two years later, James was subject to an assassination attempt

Questions of what made  for a legitimate king

什麼才能促成一個正當的國王的疑慮

So Shakespeare must have known he had potent material

所以，莎士比亞當時一定知道他有這有利的素材

when he conflated and adapted the stories

of a murderous 11th century  Scottish King named Macbeth

關於 在兇殘的 11 世紀裡，一個叫馬克白的蘇格蘭王

and those of several  other Scottish nobles.

He found their annals in Hollinshed's "Chronicles,"

他在《霍林希德編年史》裡找到他們的紀載

a popular 16th century history of Britain and Ireland.

這是一部知名的英國與愛爾蘭 16 世紀史記

Shakespeare would also have known he needed to tell his story

莎士比亞也知道他的故事的講述方式

in a way that would  immediately grab the attention

The Globe welcomed  all sections of society.

環球劇場歡迎社會各階層的人們

Wealthier patrons watched the stage from covered balconies

有錢的觀眾從有遮陰的露臺上看劇

while poorer people paid a penny to take in the show

在一個通稱池子的開放式空間觀賞

Talking, jeering, and cheering was common during performances.

討論、嘲笑和歡呼在表演當中是稀鬆平常的事

There are even accounts of audiences throwing furniture when plays were flops.

有記錄顯示如果這場劇徹底失敗了，觀眾甚至會扔家具上台

所以，馬克白的開場如字面上一樣的「蹦」一聲

for a Scottish nobleman  and war hero named Macbeth,

一位戰爭英雄的蘇格蘭貴族，叫做馬克白

then fly off while chanting a curse that predicts a world gone mad.

他們隨即飛走並反覆吟唱著，預言說世界將會崩壞

"Fair is foul and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air."

「好即是壞，壞即是好。我們徘徊在雲霧與濁氣中。」

As seen later, they find Macbeth and his fellow nobleman Banquo.

隨後，他們找到了馬克白與他的貴族夥伴班戈

"All hail Macbeth," they prophesize, "that shalt be king hereafter!"

「萬眾向你致敬，馬克白，」 他們預言說， 「你日後將成為國王！」

Just what would he have to do  to gain the crown?

馬克白夫人與他的妻子馬克白夫人

soon chart a course of murder,  lies, and betrayal.

迅速的密謀了謀殺、謊言與背叛

Shakespeare provides viewers with some of the most memorable passages

莎士比亞給了讀者許多英國文學中

"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" Lady Macbeth cries when she believes

「去掉！該死的血跡！我說，去掉！」馬克白夫人哭喊著

she can't wipe her victim's blood  off her hands.

此時，她相信她沒辦法將死者的血從手中抹除

Her obsession with guilt is one of many themes that runs through the play,

她對於罪疚的執著是其中一個貫穿了整齣戲的元素

along with the universal tendency to abuse power,

伴隨著對權力的濫用的普遍傾向

the endless cycles of violence  and betrayal,

As is typical with Shakespeare's language,

a number of phrases  that got their start in the play

have been repeated so many times that they now feel commonplace.

卻被重複了無數次，以至於他們現在變成了慣用語

They include "the milk of human kindness,"

這些段落包括了「人們的惻隱之心」

"Double, double toil and trouble;  Fire burn, and caldron bubble."

「加倍再加倍，勞身又費神；釡底火烈烈，釡中沸滾滾。」

But Shakespeares saves the juiciest bit of all for Macbeth himself.

但是，莎士比亞把最刺激的留給了馬克白自己

Towards the end of the play, Macbeth reflects on the universality of death

當劇接近尾聲時，馬克白回顧了死亡的恆常性

「滅了吧、滅了吧，這短暫的燭火！」他唾棄著

「人生不過是四處飄流的陰影」

a poor player that struts  and frets his hour upon the stage

「舞台上可憐的演員，  不是趾高氣昂，便是愁苦煩躁」

It is a tale told by an idiot,  full of sound and fury

「這段故事，由傻子講述，語氣激昂」

Life may be a tale told my an idiot, but "Macbeth" is not.

人生可能是個愚者在講述著，但《馬克白》可不是

Shakespeare's language and characters have entered our cultural consciousness

莎士比亞的語言和腳色以罕見的手法

Directors often use the story to shed light on abuses of power,

導演時常用故事去揭曉權力的濫用

The play has been adapted  to film many times,

including Akira Kurosawa's  "Throne of Blood,"

and a modernized version  called "Scotland, PA,"

另外一部則是現代的版本叫做 《蘇格蘭場》

are managers of competing  fast food restaurants.

變成了競爭關係的速食餐廳的主管

以及權力的質疑仍與今日息息相關

and so, it seems,  is Shakespeare's "Macbeth."

因次，一切看來都是莎士比亞的《馬克白》

字幕列表影片播放

【TED-Ed】你為什麼要讀《麥克白》？- Brendan Pelsue (【TED-Ed】Why should you read "Macbeth"? - Brendan Pelsue)

obsession

conflict

legitimate

extent