Speech 1 Ham let's Soliloquy from Ham let by W ill...
To be,or not to be,that is the question:
Whether'tis nobler in themind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them.To die-to sleep-
Nomore;and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache,and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to.'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished.To die,to sleep.
To sleep,perchance to dream:ay,there's the rub!
For in that sleep of death what dreamsmay come
When we have shuffled off thismortal coil,
Must give us pause:there's the respect
Thatmakes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th'oppressor'swrong,the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despis'd love,the law's delay,
The insolence of office,and the spurns
That patientmerit of th'unworthy takes,
When he himselfmight his quietusmake
With a bare bodkin?Who would these fordels bear
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No travelers returns,puzzles the will,
And make us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others thatwe know not of?
Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied over with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.
注释:
威廉·莎士比亚(William Shakespeare)是文艺复兴时期的英国剧作家和诗人。是英国文学史上最杰出的戏剧家,也是欧洲文艺复兴时期最重要、最伟大的作家,是当时人文主义文学的集大成者,以及全世界最卓越的文学家。莎士比亚流传下来的作品包括37部戏剧、154首十四行诗、2首叙事诗。他的戏剧有世界各种主要语言的译本,且表演次数远远超过其他所有戏剧家的作品,《哈姆雷特》《罗密欧与朱丽叶》《朱列斯·恺撒》都是他的悲剧代表作。文中awry=away,古英语。(https://www.daowen.com)
参考译文:
哈姆雷特的独白
——选自莎士比亚剧作《哈姆雷特》
生存还是毁灭,这是一个值得考虑的问题。
是默默忍受命运暴虐的毒箭,
或是挺身反抗人世的无涯的苦难,
通过反抗结束一切。
这两种行为,哪一种更高贵?
死了,睡着了,什么都结束了。
在这长眠不醒中,我们心灵的创痛
以及血肉之躯所承受的种种苦难,
都可以从此消失,这样的结束何其快哉。
死了,睡着了,睡着了也许还会有梦。
唉,问题就在这儿:
因为当我们摆脱了这具朽腐的皮囊之后,
在那死亡的睡眠里,会有些什么样的梦,
这就使我们产生了顾虑而行动踌躇犹疑。
顾虑和踌躇使人们甘心忍受这人生漫长的苦难。
否则,谁愿意忍受人生所遭受的苦难和嘲讽,
压迫者的凌辱,傲慢者的冷眼,失恋的痛苦,
法律对公正的敷衍,官吏的横暴,
势利小人对谦恭美德的鄙视,
如果他只需用一柄小小的刀子
就可以通过结束生命而了却这一切苦难?
谁愿意承受着这样的重负,
在苦难生命的压迫下呻吟流汗,
是否因为惧怕死后的不可知,
惧怕那有去无回的神秘之国,
我们的意志因此被迷惑了,
使我们宁愿忍受目前的折磨,
而不轻易走向那未知的神秘之国?
重重的顾虑使我们全都变成了懦夫,
决心的炽热光彩被重重顾虑的灰色所笼罩,
伟大的事业在顾虑和踌躇中逆流而退,
失去了行动的本色。