莎士比亚(牛津书虫中英文双版本)

2021年1月22日发(作者：梅庚)
简介





1578
年艾汶河 畔的斯特拉福镇。有位男孩坐在书桌旁专心地学习，他认真
听课、拼命看书。可他在想些什么呢？



1587
年伦敦。一位年轻人首次到伦敦谋生。他听着闹市的喧嚣 声，看看伦
敦塔雄伟的大墙，望着泰晤士河的淙淙流水。
“静谧的泰晤士河，潺潺地流淌，直到我唱完心中的歌。
”



1601
年伦敦。泰 晤士河上的船夫对人群大声喊着：
“快来，快来，快来呀！
‘环球剧院’快挤满人啦！
”
2000
多观众渡过河，前来观看莎士比亚的最新一部
戏剧——《哈姆雷特》
。



这本讲述莎士比亚生平故事的书是由托比叙述的。
托比 不是一个真实的人物
——或许莎士比亚也曾有过这样一位朋友，
不过，
我们无法确知。
但是书中的其
他人物历史上确有其人。
他们非常熟悉这位演员、
诗人兼剧作家 莎士比亚。
他们
称他“莎士比亚缙绅”
，都认为他是英国最杰出的诗人。他的朋友本· 琼生曾这
样写道：



“他不属于一个时代，而是属于所有的时代。
”







本书作者詹妮弗·
芭斯特是位资历很深的教师和作家。< br>她生活在英国西南的
德文郡。




1 Toby remembers




My name is Toby
．
I'm an old man
，
eighty- three this spring
．
My house
is
right
in
the
middle
of
Stratford-upon-Avon
，
and
I
can
watch
the
street
market from my window
．
But
I live very
quietly now
．
I'm
just an old
man
，
sitting in a chair
．



I once knew the greatest man in England
．
For thirty years I was his
friend
．
I
worked
with
him
in
the
theatre
，
through
the
good
times
and
the
bad time
．
He was a good friend to me
．
He was also the best playwright
，
the
best
poet
，
that
ever
lived
in
England
．
Will
Shakespeare
was
his
name
．



I
saw
all
his
plays
in
the
theatre
．
People
loved
them
．
They
shouted
，
laughed
and
cried
，
ate
oranges
，
and
called
for
more
．
All
kinds
of
people．
Kings
，
Queens
，
Princes
，great lords and ladies
，
poor people
，
the
boys
who
held
the
horses
…
everyone
．
Will
Shakespeare
could
please
them
all
．



He put me in a play once
．
Well
，
he used my name- Toby
．
Twelfth Night
was
the
play
，
I
remember
．
Sir
Toby
Belch
．
He
was
a
big
fat
man
，
who
liked
drinking
too
much
and
having
a
good
time
．
Queen
Elizabeth
the
First
watched
that
play-on
Twelfth
Night
，
the
6th
of
January
，
1601
．
She
liked
it
，
too
．



Will's dead now
，
of course
．
He's been dead more than thirty years
，
and
no
one
sees
his
plays
now
．
The
Puritans
have
closed
all
the
theatres
．
There's
no
singing
，
no
dancing
，
no
plays
．
It
wasn't
like
that
in my young days
．
We had a good time in London
，
Will and I
…



I've no teeth now
，
and my hair has all fallen out
，
but I can still
think
—
and remember
．
I remember when Will and I were young
，
just boys
really
…



1
托比的回忆





我叫托比，一位年迈 的老人，今年春天年过
83
岁。家住艾汶河畔斯特拉福
镇中心，透过窗户，便可以望到 街道的闹市。我的生活平和宁静，毕竟我已是一
位要在轮椅上安度晚年的老头子了。



我曾认识英国的一位最伟大的人物。我与他相交
30
年，同在剧 团工作，也
共同度过人生中欢乐与艰辛的岁月。
他是我的好友，
也是英国有史以来最优 秀的
剧作家，最杰出的诗人。他就是威尔·莎士比亚。



我看 过他所有上演的戏剧。
这些戏剧颇受欢迎，
也一度令观众狂喜大悲，
不
过他们 都希望能看到他更多的戏剧。形形色色的人，上自国王、王后、王子和豪
富名女，
下至贫苦百姓 和牵马的脚夫……所有的人，
威尔·
莎士比亚都能令他们
开心欢娱。



他曾将我写进剧本，
剧中用了我的原名——托比。
我记得剧名为
《第十二夜》
，
剧中的托比·
培尔契爵士又大又胖而且喜欢酗酒行乐。
女王伊丽莎白一世于
1601
年
1
月
6
号观看了此剧—— 《第十二夜》
，也很喜欢。



当然威尔现在已不在人世，他过世都
30
多年了，
如今没有人能看到他的戏。
自从清教徒关闭了所有 的剧院，
就不再有歌声、
舞蹈和戏剧了。
如今的情形同我
年轻时与威尔在伦敦 度过的快乐时光相比已经大不一样了。



现在虽然我一副老态，
没有牙齿，
头发也掉光了，
但我还能思考——还能回
忆，我记得威尔和我年轻的时候 ，还是孩子的时候……









2 Stratford-upon-Avon




It
was
a
sunny
day
in
October
1579
when
I
first
met
Will
，
just
outside
Stratford
，
near a big field of apple trees
．
I saw a boy up in one of the
trees
．
He had red hair and looked about two years older than me
．



‘
What are you doing up there
？’
I called
．



‘
Just getting a few apples
，
’
he said
，
smiling


‘
Those are Farmer Nash's apples
，
I said
，
‘
and he'll send his dogs
after you if he sees you
．
’



‘
Mr Nash has gone to market
，
’
the boy said
．
‘
Come on
！
They're good
apples
．
’



The
next
minute
I
was
up
the
tree
with
him
．
But
Will
was
wrong
．
Farmer
Nash wasn't at the market
，
and a few minutes later we saw his angry red
face above the wall on the far side of the field
．



Will and I ran like the wind and only stopped when we reached the
river
．
We sat down to eat our apples
．



Will
was
fifteen
，
and
lived
in
Henley
Street
，
he
told
me
．
His
father
was
John
Shakespeare
，
and
he
had
a
sister
，
Joan
，
and
two
younger
brothers
，
Gilbert
and
Richard
．
There
was
another
sister
who
died
，
I
learnt
later
．
And
the next year he had another brother
，
little Edmund
—
the baby of the
family
．



‘
Now
，
what about you
？’
he asked
．



‘
There's only me and my sister
，
’
I said
．
‘
My parents are dead
，
and
we live with my mother's brother
：
He's a shoe-maker in Ely Street and I
work for him
．
What do you do
？’



‘
I
go
to
Mr
Jenkins'
school
in
Church
Street
，
’
Will
said
．
‘
Every
day
，
from seven o'clock until five o'clock
．
Not Sundays
，
of course
．
’



I was sorry for him
．
‘
Isn't is boring
？’
I asked
．



‘
Sometimes
．
Usually it's all right
．
’
He lay back and put his hands
behind
his
head
．
‘
But
we
have
to
read
and
learn
all
these
Latin
writers
．
I
want
to
read
modern
writers
，
and
Eng-lish
writers
，
like
Geoffrey
Chaucer
．
Can you read
？’
he asked
．



‘
Of course I can read
！
’
I said
．
‘
I went to school
．
’



Will sat up and began to eat another apple
．
‘
I want to be a writer
，
’
he said
．
‘
A poet
．
I want that more than anything in the world
．
’



We were friends from that day
，
until the day he died
．
We met nearly
every day
，
and he
taught
me a
lot about
books and poetry and writers
．
He
always had his nose in a book
．



When
Will
left
school
，
he
worked
for
his
father
in
Henley
Street
．
John
Shakespeare
was
a
glove-maker
，
and
he
had
other
business
too
，
like
buying
and selling sheep
．
But Will wasn't interested
．



‘
What are we going to do
，
Toby
？’
he said to me one day
．
‘
We can't
spend all our lives making shoes and gloves
！
’



‘
Well
，
’
I
said
，
‘
we
could
run
away
to
sea
and
be
sailors
．
Sail
round
the world
，
like Francis Drake
．



Drake sailed back to Plymouth in 1581
，
after his three-year journey
round the world
，
but we were still in Stratford
．
We made lots of plans
，
but nothing ever came of them
．



Will
was
still
reading
a
lot
and
he
was
already
writing
poems
himself
．
He
sometimes
showed
them
to
me
，
and
I
said
they
were
very
good
．
I
didn't really know anything about poetry then
，
but he was my friend
．



Will was not happy with his writing
．
‘
I've got so much to learn
，
Toby
，
’
he said
．
‘
So much to learn
．
’



Poor
Will
．
He
had
a
lot
to
learn
about
women
，
too
．
One
day
in
October
1582 he came to my house with a long face
．



‘
I'll never leave Stratford
．
’
he said
．



‘
Why not
？’
I asked
．
‘
We'll get away one day
．
You'll see
．
’



‘
Perhaps you will
，
’
he said
，
‘
but I'm going to be married in a few
weeks' time
．
To Anne Hathaway
．
’



My mouth fell open and stayed open
．
‘
Married
！
To Anne Hathaway
？
Is
that the Hathaways over at Shottery
？’



‘
Yes
，
’
Will
said
．
I
was
working
on
some
shoes
on
the
table
，
and
Will
picked one up and looked at it
．



‘
Well
，
er
，
she's
a
fine
girl
，
of
course
，
’
I
said
uncomfort-a bly
．
‘
But
…
but
，
Will
，
she's twenty-six and you're only eighteen
！
’



‘
I know
，
’
Will said
．
‘
But I've got to marry her
．
’



‘
Oh no
！
’
I said
．
‘
You mean
，
she's
…’



‘
That's right
，
’
said Will
．
‘
In about six months' time I'm going to
be a father
．
’



2
艾汶河畔的斯特拉福镇




我第一次遇见威尔是在
1579
年
10
月的一天。
那天，
阳光明媚，
就在斯特拉
福镇外一座大苹果园附近，
我看见有棵苹果树上坐着一位小男 孩，
长着红棕色头
发，看模样大概大我两岁。



“你在上边干什么？”我叫道。



“摘苹果。
”他笑着答道。



“那可是纳什农场主的 苹果，
”我说，
“如果他发现了，就要放狗咬你的。
”



“纳什先生去集市了，
”男孩说道，
“来吧！苹果不错。
”



一会儿我也上了树。
但是威尔错了，
纳什先生并没去集市，几分钟后我们看
见果园那端墙头露出一张气得发红的脸。



威尔和我见势撒腿就跑，一口气跑到河边才坐下来吃苹果。



威尔告诉我，他
15
岁，住在亨里街。家中有父亲约翰·莎士比亚，妹妹琼
和两个弟弟 ，
吉尔伯特和理查。
我后来听说他另有一位姐姐死了。
第二年他又添
了一个弟 弟——威尔家的赤子小埃德蒙。



“那么你呢？”他问道。



“家里只有我和姐姐，
”我说，
“父母死后我们住在舅舅家。他 是埃利街的一
个鞋匠，我为他打工。你现在干什么？”



“我 在教堂街詹金斯先生的学校就读，
”威尔说，
“每天从上午
7
点到下午
5
点上学，当然不包括星期天。
”



我真为他难过。
“这难道不乏味吗？”我问道。



“ 偶尔有这种感觉，不过通常觉得学校的生活也不错。
”他仰身躺下，双手
枕着头，
“在 学校，我们不得不学习所有那些拉丁作家的作品。可我只想阅读现
代作家和英国作家的作品，比如杰弗利 ·乔叟。你会看书吗？”他问道。



“当然会啦！
”我说，
“我上过学。
”


< br>威尔坐起来又吃了一个苹果。
“我想成为作家，
”他继续说道，
“诗人。世上< br>再没有比这更令我神往的。
”



自那天起我们就成了莫 逆之交，
直到他过世。
我们几乎每天见面，
他教了我
许多书本和文学上的知识 。他总是埋头博览群书。



威尔离开学校后就在亨里街帮助父亲料理生 意。
约翰·
莎士比亚是一位手套
工匠，同时经营其他生意，如羊的买卖生意。但威尔对 做生意却不感兴趣。



“托比，接下来你有何打算？”有一天他问我。
“我们不能一辈子都做鞋和
做手套吧！
”



“对呀，
”我说，
“我们跑到海上当海员会，像弗朗西斯·杜雷克一样环绕地
球航行。
”



杜雷克在环绕地球航行三年后于
1581
年回到普利茅斯，可我们还是呆在斯
特拉福镇。尽管也制定了种种计划，但始终未付诸行动。



这段时间威尔依然博览群书并开始自己写诗，
偶尔给我看他写的诗。虽然嘴
上我都说他的诗写得好，
实际上我对诗歌是一窍不通。
只不过他是我的好友 我才
这么说而已。



威尔对自己的诗歌并不满意。
“ 托比，我要学的东西太多了。
”他说，
“实在
太多了。
”



可怜的威尔。
他还得学会了解每个人。
1582
年10
月的一天他来到我的住处，
神情沉郁。



“我永远不能离开斯特拉福镇了。
”他说。



“为什么不能？”我问道，
“总有一天我们会离开此地。你等着瞧。
”



“或许你还行，
”他说，
“但过几个星期我就要结婚了。同安· 哈瑟维结婚。
”



一听此言我张着嘴愣了好久。
“结 婚。同安·哈瑟维结婚？你是说肖特雷邻
乡哈瑟维家的女儿？”



“没错，
”威尔说。当时我在做鞋，威尔拿起桌上一支鞋，看看。



“当然，嗯，她是个好姑娘，
”我同情地说道，
“不过……不过，威尔，她 已
经
26
岁了，你才
18
岁呀！
”



“我知道，
”威尔说，
“但是我非娶她不行。
”



“哦，不可能这样吧！
”我说，
“你是说，她已经……”



“你猜对了，
”威尔说道，
“再过
6
个月我就要当爸爸了 。
”









3 The actors come to town




Will
married
Anne
Hathaway
in
November
，
and
she
came
to
live
in
Henley
Street
．
John Shakespeare was pleased that his oldest son was married
，
but I don't think Will's mother wanted him to marry so young
．
Families
cost
a
lot
of
money
，
and
John
Shakespeare
was
having
a
lot
of
money
troubles
in those days
．
Times were hard in Henley Street
．



Susanna was born the next May
．
All babies look the same to me
，
but
Will was very pleased with her
．



‘
Look
，
Toby
，
she's got my eyes
，
’
he said happily
．
‘
She's going to
be as beautiful as the Queen of Egypt
，
and as clever as King Solomon
．
’



‘
Oh
yes
？’
I
said
．
‘
All
parents
talk
like
that
about
their
children
．
I
don't believe a word of it
．
’



I didn't see
much of
Will's
wife
．
I
knew she didn't like me
．
To her
，
I
was
one
of
Will's
wild
friends
，
who
got
him
into
trouble
．
She
came
from
a very serious
，
Puritan family
．
Lots of church-going
，
and no singing or
dancing
．



Soon there was another baby on the way
，
and one evening in February
1585 I hurried round to Henley Street to hear the news
．
Will's sister
，
Joan
，
opened the door
，
and then Will came running down the stairs
．



‘
It's two of them
！
’
he said
．
‘
Twins
！
A girl and a boy
．
Isn't that
wonderful
！
’



Will had some good friends
，
Hamnet and Judith Sadler
，
and he called
the
twins
after
them
．
John
Shakespeare
was
very
pleased
to
have
his
first
grandson
，
and everyone was happy
．
For a while
．



Will and I still went around together when we could
．
He was still
reading
，
and writing
，
and soon I could see a change in him
．
He was
twenty-three now
，
and he was not happy with his life
．



‘
Stratford's too small
，
Toby
，
’
he said
．
‘
Too slow
．
Too quiet
．
Too
boring
．
I've got to get away
．
’



‘
Yes
，
but
how
？’
I
asked
．
‘
You've
got
a
family
—
three
young
children
，
remember
．
’



He didn't answer
．



In
the
summer
months
companies
of
players
often
came
to
small
towns
，
and in 1587 five
different companies
came
．
Will and I
always went to see
the plays
．
Will loved to talk to the actors and to listen to all their
stories of London


The
Queen's
Men
came
to
Stratford
in
June
，
and
we
went
to
see
the
play
．
I
don't remember what it was
．
I know that I laughed a lot
，
and that Will
said it was a stupid play
，
with not a word of poetry in it
．



‘
Why don't you write a play yourself
？’
I told him
．



‘
Write a play
？’
He laughed
．
‘
Anne would never speak to me again
．
’



I didn't say anything
，
and Will looked at me and laughed again
．



It
happened
a
few
months
later
．
I
walked
into
the
Shakespeares'
kitchen
one
evening
，
and
there
was
Anne
，
with
a
red
，
angry
face
，
shouting
at
the
top of her voice
．



‘
How
can
you
do
this
to
me
？
And
what about
the
children
—’
Then
she
saw me and stopped
．



Will was sitting at the table
，
and looked pleased to see me
．
‘
I've
told Anne
，
’
he said quietly
，
‘
that I'm going to live in London
．
I want
to be an actor
，
and to write plays
，
if I can
．
’



‘
Plays
！
’
screamed Anne
．
‘
Acting
！
Actors are dirty
，
wicked people
！
They're all thieves and criminals
！
They drink all day and they never go
to church
—’



‘
Don't
be
stupid
，
Anne
．
You
know
that's
not
true
．
Listen
．
I'll
come
home
when
I
can
，
but
I
must
go
to
London
．
I
can't
do
anything
in
Stratford
．
’
He looked at me across the room
．
‘
Are you coming with me
，
Toby
？’



‘
How soon can we start
？’
I said
．



3
演员来到镇上





11
月威尔和安·哈瑟维结婚了，安就住进了亨里街。约翰·莎士比亚见长
子成家心里 很高兴，
可我觉得威尔的母亲并不想他这么早就结婚。
结婚花了家里
不少钱，再加上约 翰·莎士比亚那段时间财运不济，这样一来，日子过得有点艰
难。


< br>次年
5
月女儿苏珊娜出世。
对我来说，
所有的孩子没什么不一样，但威尔欣
喜若狂。



“托比，你瞧，她的眼睛长得真像我 ，
”他高兴地说着，
“长大后，她会美丽
如埃及艳后，聪明如所罗门国王。
”



“是吗？”我说，
“所有父母都是这么说自己的孩子。我可不信。
”



我不常见到威尔夫人，
也清楚她不喜欢我。
对她而言，
我是威尔的一个粗野
朋友，
这种朋友只会让他出麻烦。
她出生于一个虔诚的清教徒家庭 ，
除了去教堂
外根本不懂音乐和舞蹈。



不久，又一 个孩子要出世了。
1585
年
2
月的一个夜晚我急匆匆地赶到亨里
街 去打听消息。威尔的妹妹琼为我开了门，接着就见威尔跑下楼梯。



“一胎两个呢！
”他说道，
“是双胞胎！一女一男。真是妙极了！
”



威尔根据好友哈姆奈特和珠迪丝·
塞德勒的名字给孪生子女起了名。约翰·
莎
士比亚见第一个孙子出世，由衷地高兴，有一段时间，每一个人都很快乐。



只要有机会威尔和我仍然经常来往，
他依然读书写作，
但 是不久，
我发现他
变了。当时他
23
岁，但对生活不再知足。



“托比，斯特拉福镇实在太小了，
”他说道，
“发展缓慢，生活 宁静，日子又
单调，我必须离开此地。
”



“是啊， 可怎么离开呢？”我问道，
“别忘了，你已经成家——还有三个孩
子。
”



他没有答话。



夏天经常有剧团到小镇 巡回演出，
1587
年分别来了五个剧团。威尔和我总
是结伴去看戏。威尔爱找演员们 交谈，听他们讲发生在伦敦的故事。



6
月“女王剧团”来到 斯特拉福镇，我们又去看戏。这出戏的内容我已记不
清楚，只记得当时看了直笑，但是威尔说这戏很糟糕 ，没有一句像样的诗歌。



“那你为什么不自己动手写剧本呢？”我告诉他。



“写剧本？”他大笑，
“这样的话，安可再也不理我了。
”



我不再说什么，威尔看看我又笑了。



几个月后事 情就发生了。
一天晚上我走进莎士比亚家的厨房，
只见安涨红着
脸，气呼呼地，她高声 在嚷着：



“你怎么能这样对我？孩子怎么办？”这时她瞧见我就将话止住了。



威尔坐在桌旁，见我来很高兴。
“我已经告诉安了。
”他平静地说道，
“我打
算到伦敦去谋生。我想当一名演员，如果行的话，写写剧本。
”



“写剧本！
”安尖声叫起来，
“去演戏！做演员既丢脸又龌龊，他们都是小 偷
和罪犯！整天只知道喝酒行乐，也从来不去教堂——”



“ 别犯傻了，安。你知道事实并不是这样。听着，一有机会我就回家探望，
但我非去伦敦不可。
呆 在斯特拉福镇我不会有作为的。
”
他看了看房间对面的我，
“托比，你想一起去吗？”



“什么时候动身？”我说道。









4 A new life in London




It's two days journey to London by horse
，
and Will talked all the
way
．
His eyes were bright and excited
．
He was full of plans
，
and poems
，
and a love of life
．



‘
I talked to one of the Queen's Men
，
’
he told me
．
‘
He said that he
could find me work in the theatre
．
Acting
，
perhaps
．
Or helping to write
some
plays
．
I
showed
him
some
of
my
writing
，
and
he
was
very
interested
．



When we rode into London
，
I began to feel afraid
．
This was a big
，
big
city
，
and
we
were
just
two
unimportant
young
men
from
a
small
town
．
I'll
never forget the noise
，
and the smells
，
and the crowds
．
There were 200
，
000
people
living
in
the
City
of
London
—
I
never
saw
so
many
people
before
in my life
．



We went down to the river Thames and saw the famous London Bridge
，
with
all
its
shops
and
houses
．
Down
the
river
was
the
Tower
of
London
．
Enemies
of
the
Queen
went
into
the
Tower
through
the
river
gate
，
and mostly came out without their heads
．



We found a small inn in Eastcheap
，
not too expensive
，
and had some
bread
，
meat
，
and beer for our supper
．



‘
Well
，
we're here
！
’
Will said
．
‘
At last
！
’



‘
Mmm
，
’
I said
．
‘
What do we do next
？’



He laughed
．
‘
Everything
！
’



The next day we began to look for work
．



Those
early
years
were
wonderful
．
We
didn't
have
much
money
，
of
course
，
and we had to work very hard
．
A new actor only got six shillings a week
，
and there wasn't work every week
．
I decided not to be an actor
．



‘
Why not
？’
said will
．
‘
It's a great life
．
’



We
were working
that month
for
the Queen's Men at the theatre called
The Curtain up in Shoreditch
．
Will was acting four small parts in two
different plays
．
He played a soldier and a murderer in one play
，
and in
the other play he was a thief
，
and also an Italian lord in love with the
Queen of the Night
．
And he loved it
．



‘
I'm
not
clever
like
you
，
I
said
．
‘
I
can't
remember
all
those
words
．
I
forget who I am
！
I say the soldier's words
，
when I'm an Italian lord
．
I
come on stage too
late
，
or
too
soon
．
I stand
in all the
wrong places
…’



Will laughed
．
‘
What are you going to do
，
then
？’



‘
Costumes
，
’
I
said
．
‘
And
properties
．
I
had
a
talk
with
John
Heminges
，
and
he
said
they
need
a
new
man
to
help
with
all
the
clothes
and
the
other
things
．
’



‘
Yes
，
’
Will said slowly
．
‘
You'll be good at that
．
Now
，
I've got a
fight on stage tomorrow
，
and I have to die with lots of blood
．
How are
you going to get me some blood
？’



‘
I've already got it
！
I smiled kindly at him
．
‘
Sheep's blood I got
it down at Smithfield
market
this morning
．
You can have as much
blood as
you want
．
I'm keeping it warm for you
！
’



Will was good at acting
．
Not the best
，
but good
．
An actor had to do
everything
．
He
had
to
learn
his
words
，
of
course
—
perhaps
for
six
different
plays at the same time
．
No theatre put on the same play every day
．
He
had
to
dance
，
and
sing
，
and
play
music
．
He
had
to
jump
，
and
fall
，
and
fight
．
And
the fights had to look real
．
The playgoers of London knew a real fight
when they saw one
．



John Heminges of the Queen's Men taught us both a lot
．
He was a good
friend
，
then and for many years
．



I had a lot to learn
，
too
．
I learnt how to make shoes out of brown
paper
．
How
to
clean
the
actors
hats
with
a
bit
of
bread
．
Then
they
looked
like
new
again
．
I
ran
all
over
London
to
buy
the
best
hair
for
the
wigs
．
I
learnt how to make fish
，
and fruit
，
and a piece of meat out of wood and
coloured paper
．



Will
was
busy
day
and
night
．
I
don't
know
when
he
slept
．
He
was
acting
in
plays
，
he
was
writing
his
own
plays
，
he
was
reading
books
，
he
was
meeting
other writers
，
making friends
…
He was learning
，
learning，
learning
．



One day we were having a glass of beer with Richard Burbage at the
Boar's
Head
in
Eastcheap
．
Burbage
was
an
actor
with
Lord
Strange's
Men
．
He
was very friendly with Will
．



‘
You've
written
four
plays
now
，
Will
，
’
he
said
．
‘
They're
good
，
and
you're getting better all the time
．
And I'm getting better as an actor
all the time
．
Come and work with Lord Strange's Men at the Rose theatre
on Bankside
．
You can write for us
．
’



So
we
both
went
to
the
Rose
．
John
Heminges
came
with
us
，
and
Augustine
Phillips
—
he was a good actor
，
too
．



We worked harder than ever at the Rose
．
Plays were always in the
afternoon
，
because of the daylight
．
We had rehearsals in the morning
，
and
by
lunch-time
people
were
already
coming
across
the
river
to
get
their
places for the play
．
And more and more people came
．
By 1592 London was
hearing the name William Shakespeare again and again
．



4
伦敦的新生活





坐了两天的马车我们抵达伦敦，
一路上威尔谈 笑风生，
双眼熠熠生辉，
此时
他踌躇满志，对生活无限憧憬。



“我曾和‘女王剧团’的演员聊过天，
”他告诉我，
“他说可以帮我在剧团 找
个活干，或许可以演戏，或者让我帮忙写剧本。我曾给他看过一些我的作品，他
很感兴趣。< br>”



我们驱车进入伦敦城时，我开始感到心慌。这是很大、很大 的一座城市，而
我们只是两个从小镇来的微不足道的小伙子。
城市的拥挤、
喧嚣掺和着 种种气味
至今令我记忆犹新。
伦敦市内生活着
20
万居民——我以前从未见过 这么多的人。



我们来到了泰晤士河，
看到了著名的伦敦桥以 及商店和住宅鳞次栉比。
河下
游便是伦敦塔，女王的敌人一旦从河上的闸门进了这座塔，几乎不 能生还。



我们在东切普塞德街找到一处不太贵的小客栈住下，
晚饭吃了几块面包、
肉，
喝了点啤酒。



“哇，我们终于到了这儿！
”威尔说道，
“终于！
”



“是啊，
”我说，
“接下来我们干什么呢？”



他笑道：
“什么都干！
”



第二天我们便出去找活干。



在伦敦最初几年的情况很好。< br>由于身边钱不多，
我们工作很卖劲。
因为新演
员一星期只能拿到
6先令的报酬，
更何况并不是每个星期都能上台演出，
最后我
决定放弃做演员。


“为什么不干呢？”威尔说道，
“这生活不是很好吗。
”



那个月我们工作的“女王剧团”正在滨渠街的“窗帘剧院”演出。威尔分别
在两出不 同的戏中扮演了四个小角色，
在一出戏中扮演士兵和凶杀犯，
在另一出
戏中同时扮演小 偷和一位爱上奈特王后的意大利勋爵，他很喜欢这角色。



“我不如你 聪明，
”我说，
“我总记不住全部的台词。上了台又忘记自己演的
角色！
当我 演意大利勋爵时我竟背出演士兵的台词。
上台不是太迟就是太快，
甚
至会站错位置。< br>”



威尔笑道，
“那你打算怎么办？”



“做戏装，
”我说，
“还有道具。我和约翰·海明谈过了，他说 剧团也正需要
有个人能帮着安排戏装和其它事情。
”



“那好吧，
”
威尔慢慢地说道，
“你会干好的。
对了，
明天上台我 要参加决斗，
并且最后要失血过多而死。你打算怎样弄到血呢？”


< br>“我早准备好啦！
”我温和地笑道，
“是羊血。今天早上我跑了一趟伦敦肉市
场 ，你要多少血就有多少血。我会替你保管，不让它冻结。
”



威尔善于演戏。虽称不上最出色，但已算很好的了。做演员真不容易，事事
都得干。
最起码得学 会背台词——有可能同时得背六出不同的戏的台词，
因为戏
院并非每天上演同一出戏。做演员必 须会奏乐，能歌善舞，还要跳跃，摔跤和决
斗。决斗必须看起来像真的一样，否则伦敦市内的观众一眼就 可以看出真假。



“女王剧团”的约翰·海明成了我们多年的朋友，他教会我们俩许多东西。



当然我要学的东西很多。
我学会了如何用牛皮纸做鞋，
学会了用一点面包洗
掉演员帽子上的污渍，
使帽子焕然一新。
我要跑遍伦敦买到最好的头发制成假发，还要懂得如何用木头和彩色纸做成鱼、水果和肉片。



威尔夜以继 日地忙碌，
连我都不知道他什么时候睡觉。
他不停地演戏、
写他
自己的剧本、 看书，接触其他作家，结识新朋友……他一直在学习、学习、再学
习。



一天我们在东切普塞德街的公猪头酒吧同理查·
白贝芝喝酒。
白贝芝是
“斯< br>特林奇大臣剧团”的演员，对威尔很友好。



“威尔，你已经创 作了四个剧本，
”他说道，
“剧本写得不错，你的创作一直
在进步，
而我的演 技也日益精湛。
你就到
‘斯特林奇大臣剧团’
来，
在河滨的
‘玫瑰剧院’工作吧。你可以为我们写剧本。
”



于是我们俩 都进了
“玫瑰剧院”
。
一起过来的还有约翰·
海明和奥古斯丁·
菲< br>利普——他也是个好演员。



在“玫瑰剧院”
，我们比 以往更加努力工作。由于需要日光，我们上午预演，
下午演戏。
到了吃午饭时，
人们已 经陆续过河来占位子等候看戏，
而且每次来的
观众有增无减。时至
1592
年 ，威廉·莎士比亚在伦敦已颇具名望。









5 The plague years




Will
wrote
his
play
Richard
Ⅲ
for
Richard
Burbage
，
and
it
was
a
great
success
．
Richard the Third was a wicked king
—
a murderer
－
but he was
wonderful
on
the
stage
，
with
Burbage's
great
voice
and
fine
acting
．
Soon
all
London
was
saying
King
Richard's
famous
words
when
his
horse
is
killed
in war
：



A horse
！
a horse
！
my kingdom for a horse
！



All kinds of people came to see plays and Will was making a lot of
new
friends
．
One
day
，
after
the
play
，
he
was
talking
to
a
young
man
outside
the Rose
．
He was a very beautiful young man
，
a bit like a girl
，
perhaps
—
but still very good- looking
．
Later
，
I asked Will who he was
．



‘
The
Earl
of
Southampton
，
Will
said
．
He's
only
eighteen
，
but
he
loves
poetry and plays
．
’



‘
Isn't he a friend of the Earl of Essex
？’
I asked
．
Everybody knew
the Earl of Essex
．
He was young and good-looking
—
and some people said
that Queen Elizabeth was in love with him
．



I don't know about that
．
The Queen was fifty-nine years old
，
and a
very
，
very
clever
woman
．
But
it
was
true
that
she
liked
to
have
good-looking
young men around her
，
and the Earl of Essex was her favourite
．
Then
．
It
all
changed
later
，
of
course.
‘
Yes
，
he
is
，
’
said
Will
．
‘
But
I
think
Essex
is a dangerous man Henry needs better friends than him
．
’



‘
Henry
，
eh
？’
I said
，
surprised
．
‘
My word
！
Do you really call him
Henry
？
Not Lord Suthampton
？’



‘
Only
when
other
people
aren't
there
．
’
Will
laughed
．
‘
I'm
still
just
an actor from Stratford
，
Toby
．
Not very important
．
Let's go and have a
drink at the Boar's Head on our way home
．
’



Will
was
always
like
that
．
Quiet
，
never
shouting
about
himself
to
the
world
．



In
the
Boar's
Head
we
met
some
friends
and
started
talking
．
The
talk
was all about the plague
，
which was coming back again into London
．



‘
Have you heard the latest news
？
said one man
．
‘
They say that more
than thirty people are dying every week now
．
’



‘
And the City Council
，
’
said another man
，
wants to close all the
theatres
．
They always do that when the plague comes to London
．
There'll
be no work for any of us actors
．
’



‘
But the players can go on tour
，
surely
？’
said Will
．



‘
Yes
，
’
said
the
first
man
．
‘
But
it's
a
hard
life
．
A
different
town
，
a
different
inn
，
a
different
play
，
every
night
．
I
think
I'll
stay
in
London
．
’



The plague is terrible in any place
，
but it was worst in London
．
In
those
narrow
streets
，
with
houses
so
close
together
，
and
the
dirty
water
running
down
the
middle
of
the
street
，
there
was
no
escape
．
When
the
plague
came
，
it ran like fire through the town
．
If someone in a house got the
plague
，
then
the doors were
shut
and locked
，
and a big
red cross was put
on
the
door
．
Nobody
could
leave
the
house
．
You
had
to
stay
inside
and
fight
—
or die
．
If you were rich
，
you left London as fast as you could
．



In September 1592 the City Council closed the theatres
．



‘
Are we going on tour
，
Will
？’
I said to him one day
．
‘
Or back to
Stratford
？
We can't stay in London
．
’



‘
You
go
back
to
Stratford
，
Toby
，
’
he
said
slowly
．
‘
I'm
going
to
Lord
Southampton's
home
in
Hampshire
for
a
while
．
He's
asked
me
to
go
and
stay
with
him
．
I
can
do
some
writing
there
，
read
his
books
，
meet
a
few
people
．
’



I looked at him
．
‘
There's a woman in this somewhere
，
isn't there
？
You've had a strange look in your eyes for weeks
．
’



Will laughed
，
but didn't answer my question
．



The
theatres
in
London
didn't
open
again
until
June
1594
．
Will
often
visited
Lord
Southampton
，
but
sometimes
we
went
on
tour
with
the
company
，
or spent time at home in Stratford
．
Will began to spend more time in
Stratford
，
because
it
was
quiet
there
，
and
he
could
do
his
writing
．
I
never
heard what Anne thought about it all
．



During
those
years
Will
wrote
a
lot
of
poetry
．
He
wrote
his
beautiful
long
poem
，
Venus
and
Adonis
，
for
his
friend
Lord
Southampton
，
and
he
wrote
many
of
his
famous
short
poems
，
the
Sonnets
．
But
they
didn't
go
in
a
book
；
they were only for his friends to read
．



One
day
，
when
we
were
back
in
London
，
I
was
reading
some
of
his
latest
sonnets
．
Will was out somewhere
，
and I was at home in our lodgings in
Bishopsgate
．
A
lot
of
the
poems
were
about
a
woman
，
a
terrible
，
black- haired
，
black-eyed
woman
．
She
was
cold
and
cruel
，
then
she
was
true
and loving
，
and then she was cruel again
．



For I have sworn thee fair
，
and thought thee bright
，



Who art as black as hell
，
as dark as night
．



Was
Will
writing
about
himself
here
？
I
asked
myself
．
And
who
was
this
woman
，
this Dark Lady
？



I always like to know what's going on
，
so I listened
，
and watched
，
and looked at all his women friends
．



Then one day I saw her
．
I was coming in the door at our lodgings
，
and
she
was
coming
downstairs
．
She
had
black
hair
and
great
stormy
black
eyes
，
and
there
was
gold
at
her
ears
and
round
her
neck
．
I
stood
back
and
she
went
past
me
like
a
ship
sailing
into
war
．
She
looked
wild
，
and
angry
，
and very
，
very beautiful
．



‘
Whew
！
’
I said to myself
．
‘
If that's Will's Dark Lady
，
he'll never
have a quiet
，
easy life
！
’



The woman looked Italian
，
so I went and asked John Florio about
her
．
Florio was Lord Southampton's Italian teacher
．
We saw a lot of him
in those days
．



I described the woman
，
and he knew her at once
．



‘
Emilia
，
’
he
said
．
‘
Emilia
Bassano
．
Now
Emilia
Lanier
，
wife
to
Alphonso
Lanier
．
Before
that
，
she
lived
with
the
old
Lord
Chamberlain
．
She
was
not
his wife
，
you understand
．
But why do you want to know
，
my friend
？’



‘
If she's a married lady
，
she doesn't have a lover now
，
then
？’



Florio
laughed
loudly
．
‘
Lovers
！
You
don't
know
Emilia
Lanier
！
She's
a bad woman
，
my friend
，
a bad woman
．
’
Now he spoke very quietly
．
‘
For a
time she was the friend of Lord Southampton
．
But not now
．
That is all
finished
．
’



I didn't ask him about Will
．
Perhaps Emilia Lanier was Will's Dark
Lady
，
or
perhaps
Will
was
just
trying
to
help
his
friend
Lord
Southampton
．
Nobody will ever know now
．



5
瘟疫流行时期





威尔为理查·白贝 芝编写了剧本《理查三世》
，获得巨大成功。剧中的理查
三世是个虚伪狡诈的暴君——一个谋权 篡位的凶手——由于白贝芝雄浑的嗓音
和精彩的表演使这一形象在舞台上活灵活现。
不久全伦敦 传遍了理查王在战场上
由于战马挨了一刀而摔倒时高喊的那句名言：



“来一匹马！来一匹马吧！我的王位换一匹马！
”



形形色色的人慕名来看戏，
威尔也因此结交了许多新朋友。
一天，
演出结束
后 ，我看见在“玫瑰剧院”外他正和一个年轻人交谈。这人年少英俊，或许有点
像女孩，不过依然相貌堂堂 。后来，我向威尔问起这个人。



“他是索桑普敦伯爵，
”威 尔说道，
“他年仅
18
岁，酷爱诗歌和戏剧。
”



“他是不是爱塞克斯伯爵的朋友？”我问他。爱塞克斯伯爵无人不晓。他年
轻英俊— —有人说伊丽莎白女王也爱着他。



这件事我倒不清楚。女王年已59
岁，是个非常非常聪明的女人。但是女王
喜欢年轻的、面目俊俏的男人陪伴左右是千真 万确的，而爱塞克斯伯爵最得宠。
不过后来一切都变了。



“ 他的确是这样的人，
”威尔说道，
“但我认为爱塞克斯是个危险的人物，亨
利需要结交 比他更好的朋友。
”



“哦，亨利？”我诧异地说道，
“真没想到！你真的叫他亨利吗？而不叫索
桑普敦伯爵。
”



“只有别人不在时才叫的，
”威尔笑了起来，
“托比，毕竟我还只是从斯特拉
福镇来的一个演员而已，无足轻重。我们回去吧，顺便到公猪头酒吧喝一杯。
”



威尔这人就是这样，处世稳重，从不对世人标榜自己。


< br>在公猪头酒吧我们遇见几位朋友，
便开始高谈阔论起来。
话题都是关于伦敦
这次 卷土重来的瘟疫。



“你是否听说了最新消息？”有人说道，
“他们说，现在每星期都有
30
多人
濒临死亡的危险。
”



“还听说市政参议会，
”又有人说道，
“准备关闭所有剧院。每 回伦敦流行瘟
疫他们都这么做。我们这些演员要失业了。
”



“但是我们可以巡回演出吗？”威尔建议道。



“这主意不错 ，
”
第一个开口的人说道，
“但生活太苦。
我们每晚要颠沛辗转，
不 同的村庄、不同的旅社、不同的剧目，与其过这种生活，倒不如呆在伦敦。
”



其实，
各地瘟疫都很严重，
只不过伦敦尤其厉害。
狭窄的街道、< br>拥挤的房屋，
街道中心污水横流，人们又怎能幸免。瘟疫一来，势不可挡，迅速传遍全城。一旦哪家有人染上了瘟疫，就被封闭房门，贴上红十字。任何人不准踏出房门。只
得呆在家里与病魔作 斗争——或者等死。
如果家境富裕，
还是尽早搬离伦敦才为
上策。



1592
年
9
月市政参议会封闭了剧院。



“威尔，
我们是去巡回演出呢？还是回斯特拉福镇？”
有一天我 问起他，
“伦
敦不能久留了。
”



“托比， 你回斯特拉福镇吧，
”他缓缓地说道，
“我暂时到汉普郡的索桑普敦
勋爵家住一阵。他 已经邀我和他同住。在那儿我可以搞搞创作，看看书，会会客
人。
”



我看着他说道：
“此外也多少有点因为一个女人，是吧？几个星期来，你神
情总有点怪怪的。
”



威尔笑起来，但没有回答我的问话。



伦敦的剧院到
1594
年
6
月才重新开放。威尔常去拜访索桑普敦勋爵，偶尔
我们也随剧团 到各地巡回演出，
或者干脆呆在斯特拉福镇家中。
威尔开始花更多
的时间呆在斯特拉福 镇，
因为小镇的宁静，
他可以安心搞创作。
我从没听到安对
此作何想法。


这些年间威尔创作了大量的诗歌。
他写了诗体绮丽的长诗
《维纳斯与阿童尼》
献给好友索桑普敦勋爵，
而且也创作了许多著名的短诗，
十四行 诗。
但这些诗歌
并没有编辑成书，只供朋友赏读。



我们又回到伦敦后的一天，威尔出门去了，我一个人呆在“毕晓普门街”的
公寓里，
翻阅着他最 新创作的一些十四行诗。
这组诗大都描写一个女人，
一个黑
头发、黑眼睛的可怕的女人 。她性情乖张善变，一会儿冷若冰霜，冷酷无情，一
会儿又热情洋溢，真诚多情。



“因为我曾赌咒说你美，说你璀粲，



你却是地狱一般黑，夜一般暗。
”



威尔诗中写的是自己吗？我不禁纳闷。
这女人是谁？这个黑女人会是谁呢？



我这人总喜欢将事情弄个水落石出。于是我仔细观察他的每位异性朋友。



于是有一天我碰见了她。
那天我正走进公寓大门，
正巧她下楼，
只见她一头
秀发乌黑发亮，一双眼睛锐利有神，耳朵上戴着金耳环，脖子上挂着金项链。我往后退了几步为她让路，
而她犹如一艘负有使命的战舰奔赴战场般风风火火地走
过我身旁。 看模样她疯狂不羁、一腔怒气，但长得丰姿绰约。



“哎呀！
”我心里想，
“如果这就是威尔诗中的那位黑女人，那他的生活就不
得安宁了。
”


这女人看上去像意大利人，
我便去问约翰·
佛罗里欧。
佛罗里欧是索桑普敦
勋爵的意大利语教师。那些日子我们时常见面。



我把这女子描述了一番，他立即想起来了。



“是 埃米莉亚，
”他说道，
“埃米莉亚·巴塞诺。现在叫埃米莉亚·拉尼尔夫
人，阿尔索· 拉尼尔的妻子。这之前，她曾与那个老的宫内大臣同居。你也清楚
她不是他的夫人。但我的朋友，你怎么 打听起她来了？”



“如果她是有夫之妇，那么现在她没有情人吧？”



佛罗里欧 大笑起来。
“情人！你还不了解埃米莉亚·拉尼尔的为人吧！我的
朋友，她可是个坏女人，一个 坏透了的女人。
”这时他语气轻缓了下来，
“曾有一
段时间她和索桑普敦来往甚密。不 过不是现在，一切都结束了。
”



我不再向他打听威尔的情况 。
或许埃米莉亚·
拉尼尔就是威尔的黑女人，
或
许威尔只是想帮助他的好友索 桑普敦勋爵。现在也无从确知了。









6 Death in the family




After the plague years
，
we were busy all the time
．
There were new
companies of players and Will now belonged to the Lord Chamberlain's
Men
．
The Lord Chamberlain was a very important man
，
close to the Queen
，
and
we
often
put
on
plays
for
the
Queen's
court
，
and
in
the
houses
of
the
great lords of England
．
We had some very good actors
．
There was Will
，
and
Richard
Burbage
，
of
course
，
and
John
Heminges
．
And
there
was
Augustine
Phillips
，
Henry
Condell
，
and
Thomas
Pope
．
There
were
other
actors
，
too
，
but those six were the real company
．
They worked together for more than
twenty years
．
And made a lot of money
，
too
．



I
did
the
costumes
and
properties
for
the
Chamberlain's
．
John
Heminges
said I was the best properties man in the city
．



Will
was
special
—
because
he
wrote
the
plays
．
And
what
plays
they
were
！
He
never
wrote
the
same
play
twice
，
like
some
writers
．
He
was
always
trying
something new
，
something different And he wrote fast
，
too
．



John
Heminges
could
never
understand
that
．
‘
How
can
you
write
so
fast
，
Will
？’
he asked him
．
‘
And you never make a mistake or change a word
．
’



Will didn't really understand it himself
．
‘
It's all in my head
，
’
he said
．
‘
I think about it
，
and then it just comes out on paper
．
’



He wrote a play about love in 1595
．
Young love
．
It was Romeo and
Juliet
．
It
was
a
very
sad
play
，
because
the
young
lovers
die
at
the
end
．
But
the playgoers loved it
．
They wanted to see it again and again
．



Will
played
the
part
of
old
Capulet
，
Juliet's
father
．
One
of
the
boy
actors
played
the
part
of
Juliet
．
There
were
no
women
actors
，
so
boys
played
all the women's parts
．
Of course
，
Will never put real love-making on
stage
．
He
did
it
all
with
words
—
clever
，
beautiful
words
，
and
you
forgot
that
the
women
and
girls
were
really
boys
in
dresses
．
Some
of
the
boy
actors
were very good
，
and went on to play men's parts when they were older
．



We played Romeo and Juliet at Richmond Palace that year
．
We always
played before the Queen at Christmas
．
She liked to see the new plays
，
and she paid us
￡
10 a play
．
We often had to work through the night to
get
the
stage
ready
in
time
，
but
it
was
exciting
to
be
in
one
of
the
Queen's
palaces
at
Christmas
．
There
was
a
lot
of
singing
and
dancing
，
and
eating
and drinking
．
Some years Christmas began in November and didn't finish
until February or March
．



The year 1596 began well
，
but that summer the weather was really
bad
．
Cold
．
Wet
．
It never stopped raining
，
and the plague began to come
back into London
．
We were in Stratford for the summer
，
but I went down
to Hampshire for a few weeks to do some business for Will about some
sheep
．
Will didn't need me at home
，
because he was busy writing his new
play
，
A Midsummer Night's Dream
．



I
came
back
to
Stratford
one
wet
August
evening
．
The
house in
Henley
Street was strangely quiet
，
and I went round the back and up to Will's
room
—
his
writing
room
，
we
called
it
．
He
was
just
sitting
there
not
doing
anything
，
just sitting
．



‘
What's the matter
，
Will
？
I said
．
‘
Where is everybody
？’



‘
At church
．
His face was grey
，
and his eyes looked empty
，
dead
．



‘
What's happened
？’
I asked
．
‘
What is it
？’



He looked at me
．
‘
Hamnet
…

’
he began
．
‘
Hamnet was ill last week
，
and
…
and
he
died
，
yesterday
．
He
was
only
eleven
，
Toby
，
and
he's
dead
．
My
boy
．
My only son
．
He's dead
，
Toby
．
Dead
．
’
He put his face in his hands
．



What Can you say to a man when something like that happens to him
？
I
sat
down
next
to
him
and
put
my
hand
on
his
arm
．
We
sat
together
，
silently
．
I
knew
that
Will
loved that
boy
of
his
—
red-haired
，
bright
as
a
new
penny
，
full of life
．
Just like his father
．



After a while I said
，
‘
You'll have other sons


‘
Anne's
forty
already
．
’
Will's
voice
was
tired
．
‘
She's
had
no
children
since the twins
．
’



‘
Well
，
now
，
you've
got
two
fine
girls
in
Susanna
and
Judith
．
They'll
marry before long
，
and then you'll have more grandsons than you can
count
．
You'll
see
．
There'll
be
boys
running
up
and
down
stairs
，
shouting
for their Granddad Will
！
’



He
smiled
sadly
，
but
his
eyes
were
not
so
empty
now
．
Pleased
，
I
went
on quickly
：



‘
And
there
are
all
your
brothers
—
Gilb ert
，
Richard
，
Edmund
．
They'll
have sons too
．
The Shakespeare family will never die out
．
Think of the
family
，
Will
，
the family
！
’



And he did
．
He was already a famous poet and playwright
，
but he was
a family man
，
too
．
The next year
，
1597
，
he bought a new house for his
family
．
It
was
a
big
，
grand
house
，
called
New
Place
，
right
in
the
middle
of
Stratford
．
It
cost
￡
60
—
a
lot
of
money
—
and
the
townspeople
began
to
say
‘
Mr
Shakespeare
’
，
not
‘
Young
Will
the
actor
’
or
‘
John
Shakespeare's
boy
’
．
They were happy to do business with him
，
and to borrow money from
him
．



Anne
was
very
pleased
with
the
new
house
．
The
wife
of
Mr
Shakespeare
of New Place was an important person in Stratford
．
But she still didn't
like Will's work
．



‘
Actors
are
wild
，
dangerous
people
，
’
she
often
said
to
him
．
‘
I'm
not
interested
in
plays
or
the
theatre
，
and
I
don't
want
to
know
anything
about
your work
．
’



But she liked the money
，
and the new house
，
and the new dresses
—
and
the
six
fields
of
apple
trees
and
the
big
farm
north
of
Stratford
that
came a few years later
．



Will
never
talked
much
about
Hamnet
．
Life
goes
on
and
Will
was
busier
than ever
．
But I know he thought about his son a lot
；
his grief was very
deep
inside
him
．
A
year
or
two
later
，
I
was
talking
to
John
Heminges
abut
the costumes for Will's new play
，
King John
．
John Heminges was a family
man
—
he
had
fourteen
children
in
the
end
．
The
noise
is
his
house
！
Shouting
and laughing
，
coming and going
…



John was looking at the playbook
．
‘
You see this bit here
，
Toby
，
’
he said
．
‘
Will's writing about his son
，
isn't he
？’



I read the words slowly
，
and remembered Will's empty eyes that day
in August
．



Grief fills the room up of my absent child
，



Lies in his bed
，
walks up and down with me
，



Puts on his pretty looks
，
repeats his words
…



Richard
Burbage
said
once
that
Will's
writing
changed
after
Hamnet's
death
．
Will
still
laughed
at
people
in
his
plays
，
but
he
also felt
sorry
for
them
—
sorry
for
all
the
world
，
good
and
bad
，
rich
and
poor
，
young
and
old
．
And his people were real
．
No one was all good
，
or all bad
．



There
was
a
man
called
Shylock
in
his
play
The
Merchant
of
Venice
．
This
Shylock was a money-lender and a cruel man
—
everyone hated him
．
But in
the
end
，
when
Shylock
lost
everything
，
you
had
to
feel
sorry
for
him
．
He
was just a sad old man
．



Perhaps Richard was right
．
And if anyone understood Will
，
it was
Richard Burbage
．



6
幼子夭折





瘟疫流行过后的几年，
我们一直忙个不停。
市里又有了几家新剧团，
如今威
尔属于“宫内大臣剧团”
。宫内大臣身居要职，与女王关系亲密。这样一来，我
们经常有机会被召进女王的宫廷演戏，
或者到英国达官显贵的府邸演戏。
我们剧
团不 乏出色的演员。其中有威尔，理查·白贝芝，约翰·海明，奥古斯丁·菲利
普斯，亨利·康德尔和托马斯 ·蒲伯。当然还有其他演员，只是这六个人是剧团
的台柱。他们已经一起合作了
20
多 年，也赚了不少的钱。



我仍为“宫内大臣剧团”做戏装和道具。约翰·海明说我是伦敦市里最出色
的道具师。



威尔就不同凡响了——因为他会创作剧本。
而且写出的剧本让人叫绝！< br>他总
能标新立异，与众不同，笔头又快，而且从不像有些作家那样创作雷同的剧本。



约翰·海明一直感到纳闷。
“威尔，你怎会写得这么快？”他问道，“并且你
从未出过差错或是改动只言片语。
”



说实在，威尔自己也说不清楚。
“一切都已在我的头脑里。
”他说，
“我一想
到，立刻就能跃然纸上。
”