牛津書蟲系列 威廉·莎士比亞 06 幼子夭折

　　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—Gilbert，Richard，Edmund.They'll have sons too.TheShakespeare 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

　　瘟疫流行過后的幾年，我們一直忙個不停。市里又有了幾家新劇團，如今威爾屬于“宮內(nèi)大臣劇團”。宮內(nèi)大臣身居要職，與女王關(guān)系親密。這樣一來，我們經(jīng)常有機會被召進(jìn)女王的宮廷演戲，或者到英國達(dá)官顯貴的府邸演戲。我們劇團不乏出色的演員。其中有威爾，理查·白貝芝，約翰·海明，奧古斯丁·菲利普斯，亨利·康德爾和托馬斯·蒲伯。當(dāng)然還有其他演員，只是這六個人是劇團的臺柱。他們已經(jīng)一起合作了20多年，也賺了不少的錢。

　　我仍為“宮內(nèi)大臣劇團”做戲裝和道具。約翰·海明說我是倫敦市里最出色的道具師。

　　威爾就不同凡響了——因為他會創(chuàng)作劇本。而且寫出的劇本讓人叫絕!他總能標(biāo)新立異，與眾不同，筆頭又快，而且從不像有些作家那樣創(chuàng)作雷同的劇本。

　　約翰·海明一直感到納悶。“威爾，你怎會寫得這么快?”他問道，“并且你從未出過差錯或是改動只言片語。”

　　說實在，威爾自己也說不清楚。“一切都已在我的頭腦里。”他說，“我一想到，立刻就能躍然紙上。”

　　1595年他創(chuàng)作了一部愛情劇，講述一對年輕的戀人，這就是《羅密歐與朱麗葉》。這是一出非常凄艷動人的悲劇。雖然最終這對年輕的戀人雙雙殉情而死，但是該劇廣受歡迎，觀眾百看不厭。

　　劇中威爾扮演朱麗葉的父親老凱布。女主角朱麗葉由劇團一位少年扮演。因為當(dāng)時沒有女演員，所以劇中所有的女角色都由少年來扮演。當(dāng)然，威爾在舞臺上對情愛并沒有多加渲染，都是通過臺詞——優(yōu)美生動的臺詞使你置身于劇中而忘了臺上女角色實際上是化過裝的少年。有些少年演員演技很好，年長后可繼續(xù)上臺扮演男角。

　　那年我們在里士滿宮上演了《羅密歐與朱麗葉》。每逢圣誕節(jié)，我們常在女王御前演出，她愛看新劇，而且一出劇付我們10英鎊。我們經(jīng)常得通宵達(dá)旦，及時趕搭戲臺，但圣誕節(jié)時能在女王宮廷內(nèi)演出倒讓人感覺是一件興奮的事。宮廷內(nèi)載歌載舞，大擺宴席，觥籌交錯。有幾年圣誕節(jié)11月便開始，一直熱鬧到次年二三月才結(jié)束。

　　1596年初風(fēng)調(diào)雨順，不料夏天天氣很糟，潮濕陰冷，又遇連綿大雨，倫敦的瘟疫卷土重來，于是我們回到斯特拉福鎮(zhèn)過夏天。威爾家中一時用不著我?guī)兔Γ?dāng)時他正忙于編寫一部新劇本——《仲夏夜之夢》，于是我有幾個星期去了漢普郡幫威爾料理羊毛生意。

　　八月的一個雨夜，我回到斯特拉福鎮(zhèn)。亨里街的宅邸出奇地靜，我便繞到后門徑直到了威爾的房間——他的“寫作室”，我們這樣稱呼。他正坐在那里，一動不動地只是呆坐著。

　　“出了什么事，威爾?”我問道，“其他人呢?”

　　“在教堂。”他臉色蒼白，眼睛茫然呆滯。

　　“發(fā)生什么事了?”我問道，“到底怎么了?”

　　他望著我。“哈姆奈特……”，他開口說道，“上星期哈姆奈特病倒了，可是……可是他昨天死了。他才11歲呀，托比，可他卻死了。我的孩子。我唯一的兒子。托比，他死了，死了。”他雙手掩面哭了。

　　發(fā)生這樣的事你又能說什么來安慰他呢?我挨著他坐下，把手放在他的胳膊上，就這樣并排靜靜地坐著。我知道威爾很疼愛這個兒子——他長著紅色閃著光澤的頭發(fā)，聰明伶俐、生氣勃勃，很像他父親。

　　稍過片刻我說道：“你還會有兒子的。”

　　“安都40歲了，”威爾說這話時，聲音充滿倦怠，“自孿生子以后，她就沒生孩子。”

　　“好啦，不用愁的，你還有兩個可愛的女兒蘇姍娜和珠迪絲。將來她們結(jié)婚后，你就有數(shù)不清的外孫了。你瞧，到時，這些外孫們會在樓梯上跑上跑下圍著你親熱地叫他們的威爾外公。”

　　他戚戚地笑了一下，不過現(xiàn)在他的眼神不再那么茫然了。我心中一喜，順勢說道：

　　“你還有兄弟——吉爾伯特、理查和埃德蒙。他們也會有兒子的。莎士比亞家族絕不會無后的。想想整個家族吧，威爾，整個家族!”

　　他的確振作起來。盡管他已成為頗具名望的詩人和劇作家，但他也是一個關(guān)心家庭的人。翌年1597年，他為家庭購置了一座新住宅。這座叫作“新地方”的住宅就在斯特拉福鎮(zhèn)中心，規(guī)模大且堂皇，花了60英鎊——一筆數(shù)目可觀的錢——于是鎮(zhèn)上的居民開始改口稱他“莎士比亞紳士”而不再叫”小威爾戲子”或“約翰·莎士比亞的兒子”，而且也樂意同他做生意，向他貸款。

　　安很高興住進(jìn)新房子，身為“新地方”的莎士比亞的夫人，在斯特拉福鎮(zhèn)自然算是一個體面人物，不過她依然不喜歡威爾從事的工作。

　　“演員都是些粗野、危險的人。”她常對他這么說，“對戲劇和戲院我毫無興趣，對你干的事也懶得知道。”

　　她感興趣的只是錢、新房子、新衣服——以及幾年后買下的六座蘋果園和斯特拉福鎮(zhèn)北部的大農(nóng)場。

　　威爾不再多提哈姆奈特，日子照樣周而復(fù)始，威爾比以往更忙碌。但我知道他很懷念兒子，只不過把悲痛深埋在心里。一兩年后，當(dāng)我與約翰·海明商談威爾的新劇本——《約翰王》的服裝時，我就更有體會。約翰·海明是個愛家的人——他共有14個孩子。孩子們在家又叫又笑，東奔西跑，家里熱鬧得不得了……

　　約翰正在翻閱劇本。“托比，你瞧這段話，’他說道，“威爾分明在寫他的兒子，是嗎?”

　　我細(xì)細(xì)地回味這段話，眼前又浮現(xiàn)出八月那天威爾一雙失神的眼睛。

　　“悲哀填滿了我那不在跟前的孩子的房間，

　　躺在他的床上，陪著我到東到西，

　　裝扮出他美妙的神情，復(fù)述著他的言語……”

　　理查·白貝芝也曾講過。哈姆奈特死后，威爾的創(chuàng)作風(fēng)格迥然不同。威爾照樣在劇本上譏諷世人，但也對人們寄予無限的同情——同情全世界的人，不論好與壞、貧與富、長與幼。他塑造的人物是真實的。世上本無十全十美的好人，也無十惡不赦的壞人。

　　《威尼斯商人》一劇就是最好的例證。劇中的夏洛克是個殘忍無情的高利貸者——每個人都憎恨他，但故事最終，當(dāng)夏洛克傾家蕩產(chǎn)之后，你又不得不起惻隱之心。他畢竟只是個可悲的老頭。

　　或許理查說得對，要說世上還有誰了解威爾，也就是理查·白貝芝了。