"Who’s there?" Whispered in the dark, 在黑暗中轻问的问题：“谁在那里？” this question begins a tale of conspiracy, deception and moral ambiguity. 开启的故事关于阴谋、 欺骗和道德的模糊地带。 And in a play where everyone has something to hide, 剧中的每个人都有所隐瞒， its answer is far from simple. 这问题的答案一点儿也不简单。 Written by William Shakespeare between 1599 and 1601, 《哈姆雷特》是威廉莎士比亚 在 1599~1601 年撰写的作品， "Hamlet" depicts its titular character haunted by the past, 内容描述与书同名的角色 摆脱不了过去的纠缠， but immobilized by the future. 而又被未来捆绑得动弹不得。 Mere months after the sudden death of his father, 他的父亲意外死亡后仅仅几个月， Hamlet returns from school a stranger to his own home, 哈姆雷特自校返家， 在自己的家中像是个陌生人， and deeply unsure of what might be lurking in the shadows. 极不确定什么潜伏在阴影中。 But his brooding takes a turn 但他的担忧出现了转折， when he’s visited by a ghost that bears his father’s face. 一个有着他父亲面容的鬼魂造访他。 The phantom claims to be the victim of a “murder most foul,” 幽灵宣称自己是 “卑劣谋杀”的受害者， and convinces Hamlet that his uncle Claudius usurped the throne 说服哈姆雷特 他的叔父克劳迪篡夺了王位， and stole queen Gertrude’s heart. 偷走皇后葛簇特的心。 The prince’s mourning turns to rage, 王子的哀悼转变为怒火， and he begins to plots his revenge 开始策划复仇， on the new king and his court of conspirators. 向新国王以及他的共谋廷臣们复仇。 The play is an odd sort of tragedy, 这是出另类的悲剧， lacking either the abrupt brutality or all-consuming romance 没有莎士比亚这类作品中 常见的突兀残酷 that characterize Shakespeare’s other work in the genre. 或让人着迷的浪漫爱情。 Instead it plumbs the depths of its protagonist’s indecisiveness, 反之，它深入探究主角的优柔寡断， and the tragic consequences thereof. 以及因此造成的悲剧后果。 The ghost’s revelation draws Hamlet into multiple dilemmas– 鬼魂揭露的真相 让哈姆雷特陷入多重两难—— what should he do, who can he trust, 他该怎么做、能相信谁， and what role might he play in the course of justice? 以及他在伸张正义中扮演什么角色？ These questions are complicated by a tangled web of characters, 这些问题被关系纠结的角色复杂化， forcing Hamlet to negotiate friends, family, 迫使哈姆雷特得在朋友、家人、 court counselors, and love interests– 宫廷顾问，以及爱人之间妥协—— many of whom possess ulterior motives. 当中很多人有着不可告人的动机。 The prince constantly delays and dithers over how to relate to others, 这王子一直推延和踌躇 要如何与他人建立关系， and how he should carry out revenge. 以及要如何复仇。 This can make Hamlet more than a little exasperating, 这让哈姆雷特颇令人恼怒， but it also makes him one of the most human characters Shakespeare ever created. 但也让他成为莎士比亚笔下 最有人性的角色之一。 Rather than rushing into things, 哈姆雷特并未匆忙行事， Hamlet becomes consumed with the awful machinations of thinking itself. 反倒是被可怕的 思想阴谋诡计本身所耗。 And over the course of the play, 在这出剧的过程中， his endless questions come to echo throughout our own racing minds. 他无止境的问题渐渐呼应我们奔驰的心神。 To accomplish this, Shakespeare employs his most introspective language. 莎士比亚采用 最自省的语言办到这一点。 From the usurping king’s blazing contemplation of heaven and hell, 从篡位国王对天堂和地狱的鲜明沉思， to the prince’s own cackling meditation on mortality, 到王子自己对道德的生动默想， Shakespeare uses melancholic monologues to breathtaking effect. 莎士比亚运用忧郁的独白 来制造让人摒息的效果。 This is perhaps best exemplified in Hamlet’s most famous declaration of angst: 或许哈姆雷特对自己不安所做最为人熟知的一段陈述就是最好的例子： "To be or not to be—that is the question: “生存或毁灭——乃是问题所在。 Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer 哪一种行为比较高贵： The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 是默然忍受命运的暴虐的毒箭， Or to take arms against a sea of troubles 或是挺身反抗世间无涯的苦难， And, by opposing, end them." 奋力结束这一切？” This monologue personifies Hamlet’s existential dilemma: 这段独白具体呈现了 哈姆雷特的存在两难： being torn between thought and action, 在想法和行动之间挣扎， unable to choose between life and death. 无法选择要生还是要死。 But his endless questioning raises yet another anxiety: 但他无止境的质问造成另一焦虑： is Hamlet’s madness part of a performance to confuse his enemies, 到底哈姆雷特的疯狂 是扮演来迷惑敌人的一部分， or are we watching a character on the brink of insanity? 还是我们正目睹 处于崩溃边缘的角色？ These questions weigh heavily on Hamlet’s interactions with every character. 这些问题重压在哈姆雷特 和每位角色的互动上。 And since he spends much of the play facing inward, 正因为他在剧中的大部分时间 面对着自己的内在， he often fails to see the destruction left in his wake. 以致通常无视自己造成的损害。 He’s particularly cruel to Ophelia, 他对爱人欧菲莉亚尤其残酷。 his doomed love interest who is brought to madness by the prince’s erratic behavior. 她注定逃不过厄运， 因他飘忽不定的行为而陷入疯狂。 Her fate is one example of how tragedy could have been easily avoided, 她的命运是悲剧原可容易避免的例子， and shows the ripple effect of Hamlet’s toxic mind games. 显示哈姆雷特的心理推演 造成了毒害的连锁反应。 Similar warning signs of tragedy are constantly overlooked throughout the play. 类似的悲剧警告征兆 在整出剧中一直遭到忽视。 Sometimes, these oversights occur because of willful blindness– 有时肆意的盲目造成失察—— such as when Ophelia’s father dismisses Hamlet’s alarming actions 比如欧菲莉亚的父亲不理会 哈姆雷特那些让人担忧的行为， as mere lovesickness. 只视为是相思病。 At other points, tragedy stems from deliberate duplicity– 其他时候，悲剧源自 刻意的口是心非—— as when a case of mistaken identity leads to yet more bloodshed. 像是弄错身分导致更多误杀。 These moments leave us with the uncomfortable knowledge 这些时刻令我们不安， that tragedy evolves from human error– 明知人类的错误导致悲剧—— even if our mistake is to leave things undecided. 尽管我们犯的是“不做决定”的错。 For all these reasons, perhaps the one thing we never doubt is Hamlet’s humanity. 基于这些理由，或许我们不曾怀疑哈姆雷特的人性。 But we must constantly grapple with who the “real” Hamlet might be. 但我们必须持续思辨 到底谁是“真正的”哈姆雷特。 Is he a noble son avenging his father? 是为父亲复仇的高尚儿子， Or a mad prince creating courtly chaos? 还是在宫廷里制造混乱的疯狂王子？ Should he act or observe, doubt or trust? 他该采取行动还是持续观察？该怀疑还是该信任？ Who is he? Why is he here? 他是谁？为什么在这里？ And who’s out there– waiting in the dark? 等在黑暗中的又是谁？
