Shakespeare is England’s most celebrated dramatist and poet. His works have been translated into 80 languages, including Star Trek’s Klingon. He helped shape the English we use today, introducing up to 300 words and dozens of well-known phrases. His plays are known around the world for their universal themes and insight into the human condition. Yet much about the playwright is a mystery. Historians don’t know his date of birth, where he was educated or how he spent seven years of his life.
莎士比亚是英国最著名的剧作家和诗人，作品已经被翻译成80种语言，其中包括《星际迷航》中的克林贡语。他促进形成了我们如今正在使用的英语，创造了多达300个单词和几十个众所周知的短语。他的戏剧因其具有普遍意义的主题和对人性的洞察而闻名于世。而这位剧作家的很多事情是一个谜：历史学家不知道他的出生日期、在哪里上学、如何度过人生中无文献记载的七年。
1571
Shakespeare’s education
学习经历
Details of Shakespeare’s schooling are unknown. It is likely that he began his education at the age of six or seven. As his father was now a bailiff, young William probably attended the local grammar school. Its curriculum emphasised Greek classics and pupils also learned plays in Latin. Religious education was also important, and Shakespeare drew on these sources in his later work with classical and religious allusions. Shakespeare probably attended school until about age 15. There is no record of him going to university.
莎士比亚接受学校教育的情况并不清楚，很可能他在六七岁时开始接受教育。由于他父亲的职业相当于现在的法警，小威廉很可能上过当地的文法学校。那里的课程注重希腊古典文学教育，学生也学习拉丁语戏剧课程。宗教教育同样重要，莎士比亚在他后来的著作中曾引用这些资料，其中不乏古典和宗教典故。莎士比亚可能在15岁左右才上学，没有关于他上大学的记录。
1592 Shakespeare’s first review
第一份报刊评论
The next known record of Shakespeare appears after he was already a playwright in London. It's a review – and not a positive one.Playwright Robert Greene called Shakespeare an "upstart crow”, accusing him of reaching above his rank compared with university-educated writers such as Christopher Marlowe and Greene himself. Drama in Elizabethan theatre shifted from the religious to the secular and companies of players formed to entertain the public under the patronage of noblemen. Shakespeare belonged to the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He is thought to have written the three parts of Henry VI and Richard III by this point.
下一个有关莎士比亚的记载出现在他在伦敦成为剧作家之后。内容是一篇评论文章——负面评论：剧作家Robert Greene称他为“自命不凡的乌鸦”，将他与Cristopher Marlowe和自己等受过大学教育的剧作家比较，认为莎士比亚的水平已经到了顶峰。伊丽莎白时代的戏剧开始从宗教化转向世俗化，新的演员团体在贵族赞助下为娱乐大众而建。莎士比亚是张伯伦勋爵剧团成员，他被认为创作了《亨利六世》和《理查德三世》。
1596 Shakespeare becomes a gentleman
莎士比亚获得身份称号
William Shakespeare's coat of arms, reproduced in 1787. 'Non sanz droict' means 'Not without right’. William is thought to have revived his father’s lapsed application for a family coat of arms in 1596. Scholars suggest the application showed he was now a successful businessman as much as a talented playwright. In 1602 he had to defend his title against accusations that “Shakespeare ye player” did not merit the honour of a coat of arms. By this time Shakespeare's company had performed Romeo and Juliet, Richard II and a Midsummer Night’s Dream.
威廉·莎士比亚的纹章重新出现在1787年，“Non sanz droict”的含义是“非无权利”。据说，莎士比亚恢复了他父亲的家庭盾形纹章展示权，这表明他不仅是一位才华横溢的剧作家，还是一位成功的商人。1602年，他不得不为自己的头衔辩护，以反对“Shakespeare ye player”不该获得该纹章的指责。此时，莎士比亚剧团已经上演了《罗密欧与朱丽叶》、《理查德二世》和《仲夏夜之梦》。
1599
Building the Globe
参与创办环球剧院
Shakespeare’s plays made him both famous and wealthy. By now he was a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The group built their own theatre called the Globe, and Shakespeare owned a 12.5% stake. This made him even wealthier. He invested in property in Stratford and London, and records of his purchases survive. In 1597 he bought the second biggest house in Stratford for his family, as well as 107 acres of farmland and a cottage. Later, he bought property to let in London, showing his business acumen.
莎士比亚的戏剧让他开始出名并变得富有，现在他已经是张伯伦勋爵剧团的股东了。该剧团建立了自己的剧院，名为环球剧院，莎士比亚持有12.5%的股份。这些股份让他变得更加富有，他在斯特拉特福德和伦敦投资了房产，他的购买记录得以保存。1597年，莎士比亚在斯特拉特福德为家族购置了第二大房产、107英亩农田和一座农舍。后来，他买下房产在伦敦出租，这说明他具有商业头脑。
1603
Royal patronage
皇家专属
After Elizabeth I died, Shakespeare’s company was awarded a royal patent by King James I (VI of Scotland), and became the King’s Men. King Lear, probably composed in this year, took divided kingdoms as its theme mirroring James I's new domain of England, Scotland and Wales. Meanwhile Macbeth, also written early in James's reign, gives a kind portrayal of James’s ancestor Banquo and was probably intended to honour the new king’s Scottish ancestry.
伊丽莎白一世去世后，莎士比亚的公司被詹姆斯一世（苏格兰六世）国王授予皇家专属，自此，剧团成为“国王剧团”。《李尔王》大约就是这个时期创作的，以分裂的王国为主题，映射了詹姆斯一世在英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士的新领地。《麦克白》同样创作于詹姆斯统治早期，描述了詹姆斯的祖先班柯，可能为了纪念新国王的苏格兰祖先。
1609 Shakespeare's sonnets published
十四行诗的出版
Shakespeare published 154 sonnets which explored themes of love, sex and beauty. He probably started them in 1592 when plague closed the theatres. The sonnets include a dedication to one "Mr. W.H.". The identity of this person remains a mystery and has provoked a great deal of speculation. Sonnets were a traditional and popular form during the Elizabethan period. Several of them, including Sonnet 18 (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?), and Sonnet 116 (Let me not to the marriage of true minds) have become some of the most familiar poems in all of English literature.
莎士比亚出版了154首十四行诗，探讨了爱情、性和美的主题，这些作品的创作可能始于1592年，当剧院因瘟疫而关闭的时候。十四行诗中包括给“Mr. W.H.”的题词，这位先生的身份引起过多种猜测但一直是谜。十四行诗在伊丽莎白时代是一种传统而流行的形式，莎士比亚的编号18（我可以把你比作夏日吗）和116（我绝不承认两颗真心的结合）的十四行诗，已经成为了英国文学史上耳熟能详的经典。
1613 Shakespeare writes his last play
1613年，完成最后一部戏剧
The Two Noble Kinsmen was possibly the last play Shakespeare worked on. He wrote it with a collaborator, John Fletcher. In the previous decade he had written his late romances - Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. These plays are graver in tone than the comedies of the 1590s but less so than the tragedies, as they end with reconciliation and forgiveness for potentially tragic actions. This change of mood may simply reflect the theatrical fashion of the day, but it could also be evidence Shakespeare had developed a more temperate view of life as he aged. 与John Fletcher共同创作的《两贵亲》可能是莎士比亚最后一部作品。在过去的十年里，他写了《辛白林》、《冬天的故事》和《暴风雨》。这些戏剧的基调相较1590年代的喜剧系列更为严肃，但并没有到悲剧系列的程度，因为它们的结局一和解原谅潜在悲剧行为而告终。这些情绪的变化或许只是反映了当时的戏剧风向，也或许能够反映出莎士比亚随着年龄的增长，对生活的看法变得更加温和。
the Lord Chamberlain’s Men张伯伦勋爵剧团
是威廉·莎士比亚作为演员和剧作家在其近三分之一的职业生涯中为之工作的剧团。剧团成立于伦敦戏剧界的动荡末期，1603年成为伦敦最重要的两家剧团之一，随后更是得到了国王詹姆斯一世的赞助并改名为国王剧团。1594年，宫务大臣剧团成立于女王伊丽莎白一世统治时期，处于当时首屈一指的地位，深受平民和贵族的喜爱，常应邀到宫廷演出。有记载显示这是伊丽莎白一世最喜爱的剧团。而下一任君主詹姆斯一世同样对其青睐有加，甚至同意授予其皇家称号。
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