William Shakespeare，1564— 1616，was born at Stratford-upon-Avon.By many （perhaps most）critics，Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest poet the world has ever produced；one calls him，“The most illustrious of the sons of men.”And yet it is a curious fact that less is really known of his life and personal characteristics than is known of almost any other famous name in history.Over one hundred years ago，a writer said，“All that is known with any degree of certainty concerning Shakespeare is——that he was born at Stratford-upon-Avon——married and had children there——went to London，where he commenced acting，and wrote poems and plays——returned to Stratford，made his will，died，and was buried.”All the research of the last one hundred years has added but very little to this meager record.He was married，very young，to Anne Hathaway，a woman eight years his senior；was joint proprietor of Blackfriar's Theater in 1589，and seems to have accumulated property，and retired three or four years before his death.He was buried in Stratford Church，where a monument has been erected to his memory；he also has a monument，in “Poet's Corner”of Westminster Abbey.His family soon became extinct.From all we can learn，he seems to have been highly respected and esteemed by his cotemporaries.

His works consist chiefly of plays and sonnets.His writings show an astonishing knowledge of human nature，expressed in language wonderful for its point and beauty.His style is chaste and pure，judged by the standard of his times，although expressions may sometimes be found that would not be considered proper in a modern writer.It has been argued by some that Shakespeare did not write the works imputed to him；but this theory seems to have little to support it.This extract is from King HenryV.，Act III，Scene I.

Once more unto the breach，dear friends，once more；

Or close the wall up with our English dead.

In peace there 's nothing so becomes a man

As modest stillness and humility:

But when the blast of war blows in our ears，

Then imitate the action of the tiger；

Stiffen the sinews，summon up the blood，

Disguise fair nature with hard-favored rage；

Then lend the eye a terrible aspect；

Let it pry through the portage of the head

Like the brass cannon；let the brow o'erwhelm it

As fearfully as doth a galled rock

O'er hang and jutty his confounded base，

Swilled with the wild and wasteful ocean.

Now set the teeth，and stretch the nostril wide，

Hold hard the breath，and bend up every spirit

To its full height！On，on，you noblest English，

Whose blood is fet from fathers of war proof！

Fathers，that，like so many Alexanders，

Have，in these parts，from morn till even，fought，

And sheathed their swords for lack of argument；

Be copy now to men of grosser blood，

And teach them how to war.

And you，good yeomen，

Whose limbs were made in England，show us here

The mettle of your pasture；let us swear

That you are worth your breeding，which I doubt not；

For there is none of you so mean and base，

That hath not noble luster in your eyes.

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips，

Straining upon the start.The game's afoot；

Follow your spirit: and，upon this charge，

Cry——“God for Harry，England，and St.George！”

譯文　TRANSLATION

威廉·莎士比亞（1564—1616）出生于埃文河畔斯特拉特福。很多甚至絕大多數(shù)批評(píng)家認(rèn)為，莎士比亞是有史以來世界上最偉大的詩人。一位批評(píng)家稱他為“人之子中的最杰出者”。但一個(gè)奇怪的事實(shí)是，與歷史上任何其他著名人物相比，我們對(duì)莎士比亞生平和個(gè)性的了解都更少。一百多年前，一位作家寫道：“關(guān)于莎士比亞我們可以肯定的只有：他出生在埃文河畔斯特拉特福；他在那里娶妻生子；然后去了倫敦；在倫敦開始演戲、寫詩、寫戲??；回到斯特拉特福；立下遺囑；去世，下葬”。而過去一百年的研究并沒有給這單薄的記錄增添什么。他結(jié)婚很早，妻子哈瑟維年長(zhǎng)他八歲。1589年，他成為“黑修士劇院”的合伙人，并似已累積一些資產(chǎn)。莎士比亞在離世前三四年回鄉(xiāng)隱居。他安葬在斯特拉特福教堂，在那里有他一座紀(jì)念碑；在威斯敏斯特教堂的“詩人角”也有一座他的紀(jì)念碑。他的家族很快就絕嗣了。就我們所知，莎士比亞很受同代人的尊敬和推崇。

他的作品主要包括戲劇和詩歌。他的作品展示了對(duì)人性的驚人洞察，語言優(yōu)美、深刻。就其所處時(shí)代的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)而言，莎士比亞的風(fēng)格純凈、純真，盡管偶爾有些表達(dá)在現(xiàn)代作家中會(huì)被認(rèn)為不正規(guī)。一些人認(rèn)為莎士比亞沒有寫那些遭人詬病的作品，但這一理論似乎沒有多少依據(jù)。下面的選段出自《亨利五世》第三幕第一場(chǎng)。

親愛的朋友們，再一次，再一次沖上那個(gè)缺口；

用我們英吉利人的軀體堵住這城墻的缺口。

在和平時(shí)期，謙卑、文靜是人無上的美德。

可當(dāng)軍號(hào)在我們耳畔吹響，那么，我們的行動(dòng)

就該像猛虎一樣；繃緊我們的肌肉，

激蕩我們的熱血，把美好的天性

換作嚴(yán)峻的憤怒，給眼睛凜凜寒光，

讓這寒光像加農(nóng)炮一樣射向敵人，

而那緊鎖的雙眉則像嶙峋的巖石，

據(jù)在它向前突出的底座上，

任狂野的肆虐的海水沖刷！

那么，咬緊牙關(guān)、張大鼻孔、屏住呼吸，

打起全部精神！上，上，最高貴的英吉利人，

你們的血來自驍勇善戰(zhàn)的先輩！

先輩們個(gè)個(gè)都像亞歷山大，

他們?cè)谶@里曾從早到晚戰(zhàn)斗，

直到蕩平天下，才把寶劍放回劍鞘。

現(xiàn)在，給那些粗魯?shù)娜俗鰝€(gè)范本，

教教他們?nèi)绾未蛘蹋?/p>

還有你，善良的自耕農(nóng)們！

你們?cè)谟⒏裉m土生土長(zhǎng)，給我們看看你們牧場(chǎng)的風(fēng)采；

讓我們一起發(fā)誓，你們配得上你們的家系，

這一點(diǎn)我毫不懷疑。你們當(dāng)中沒有卑鄙、下賤之人，

在你們眼中都閃耀著高貴的神采。

在我眼中，你們就像獵犬，蓄勢(shì)待發(fā)！那么，狩獵開始啦！

追尋你們的勇氣，去直面挑戰(zhàn)，

讓我們一起高呼：“上帝保佑哈利，保佑英格蘭，保佑圣喬治！”