02-01-威廉·莎士比亚 [13]
。翌年2月威尔的外孙女伊丽莎白出世。那年冬天，天寒地冻，泰晤士河伦敦河段到西敏斯特河段大面积结冰。人们就在冰上举行盛会，还生起篝火烤羊吃。
那年冬天，威尔的弟弟埃德蒙去世——年仅27岁——第二年9月，威尔的母亲又不幸过世。
这一时期，威尔创作风格大有变化。约翰·海明说威尔只看到人们丑陋的一面，使得戏剧带上沉郁、残暴的色彩。不过，他的创作风格一直在变，不断尝试在戏剧中运用新格调的诗歌的故事。出人意料，他又创作出一部新剧本《冬天的故事》，这部戏剧充满欢笑，春天的鲜花和爱情。
在伦敦时，我们晚上经常到切普塞特街的美人鱼酒店。这家酒店环境舒适，备有好酒，是伦敦文人墨客聚会喝酒的好去处。
1610年冬天的一个晚上，我们来到这家酒店，我记得没错。威尔的许多朋友——演员和剧作家都在场，当然少不了平生很能喝酒的本·琼生。虽然他创作了大量的剧本，也小有名气，但他还是身无分文——连喝啤酒的钱通常都要威尔掏腰包。
开始，议题总是关于詹姆士国王和他的宫廷大臣。说实在的，我们现在不大喜欢这位国王了——他爱看赛马已胜过爱看戏。这时，本想起《冬天的故事》剧本中的一些情节。尽管他确实承认威尔的戏剧是最优秀的，不过，他这人就喜欢鸡蛋里挑骨头。
“嗨，威尔，你怎么把波希米亚这地方说成是在海边呢？”他说道，“波希米亚可是在欧洲中部呀！方圆一百英里根本就没有海，你真糊涂！”
“本，你创作的剧本确实很妙，”理查·白贝芝说，“不过太书卷气，威尔，你说呢？”
威尔笑道：“本，会有几个人去深究那些细节呢？这有什么关系呢？在宫廷他们喜欢这部戏。王后说，这部戏剧很甜蜜，而国王——”
“国王！”本大嚷起来，脸气得发红。因为詹姆士国王看本的戏剧有时打瞌睡。“国王，”他仍然很激动，“简直笨得透顶！我曾告诉他，当面对他说过：‘陛下，你压根不懂诗歌！’”
约翰·海明听了此话大笑。“噢，真没想到！”他说，“本，你真是无可救药！我真不知道你怎么还能活这么长命！”
威尔也笑了起来，但他说道：“本，你可要小心呀。你不想与国王为敌吧！别忘了，国王付的报酬是伊丽莎白女王的两倍——看的戏也是她的两倍。”
“钱？”本大叫起来，他很爱争论事情。我们是诗人，是演员，不是生意人！钱有什么用？”
“钱可以使你有面包和肉果腹，有衣穿，”威尔喝了一口啤酒，说道，“要是没钱的话，你会第一个破口大骂的！”
本把啤酒杯砰地放在桌上。“现在听着，斯特拉福镇的威尔·莎士比亚先生，你不就拥有堂皇的居宅，高价的马匹吗？你在《李尔王》一剧中不是写道钱是——”
“呕，你们两个都住嘴吧！”约翰·海明劝道，然后便转身和我谈话。不过几分钟后，本又在评论威尔的另一部戏剧。
“《安东尼与克莉奥佩特拉》这部剧怎么样？到底写些什么呀？你根本就不知道自己呆在何处！一会儿在埃及，一会儿在罗马，接着坐船在海上，然后又回到埃及——”
理查·白贝芝渐生厌恶之情。“本，你又搞错了，只有你才不懂这部戏。你认为伦敦人都傻乎乎的，他们可比你清楚得多。还有……”
我还是决定回家睡觉。本是个好人，除了话太多之外。他讲得没完没了。在我抽身离开时，他又要了一些啤酒。我知道他们肯定又会在酒店呆上多半夜。
■ 10 Back to Stratford
‘You're losing your hair，Will，’I said to him one day．
‘We're both getting old，Toby，’he said．‘There's no escape from it．Old and tired．’
‘Don't talk like that，’I said．‘You're only forty-seven．There's still some life in you yet．And another twenty plays！’
‘No，’he said slowly．‘No，I think the poetry is nearly finished．I'm getting tired，Toby．I need a rest．I think The Tempest is going to be my last play．I'm saying goodbye to the stage．Times are changing，and people want a different kind of play now．There are lots of new，younger writers，who know how to please the playgoer．I'm not modern any more．
He never usually talked like this，and I didn't like it．
‘There's only one Will Shakespeare，’I said，‘and he'll always be modern．Now，I must get on．I've got to go out and buy all the cloth for the new costumes in The Tempest．Why did you have to put it on an island？When the ship goes down，the actors all have to come on stage in wet clothes．It takes a day to dry the costumes，so that means two lots of clothes for everyone—wet and dry！’
That brought him back to life．‘Can't you read？’he said crossly．‘If you look at Gonzalo's words in Act 2，Toby，you'll see that it's a magic island一and their clothes stay dry all the time．So they'll only need one lot．’
I laughed，and then he laughed too．
But it was true，he was tried．I could see it，and others could see it too．But the company was always wanting new plays，and we had two theatres now．There was the Globe，and now we had the Blackfriars theatre．Plays in the Globe were in the open air and always had to be in daylight，but the Blackfriars was a building with a roof．We could put on plays in the evenings and in any weather．It also made more money，because every playgoer had a seat and paid a shilling for it．In the Globe they paid a penny to stand．
In February 1612 Will's brother Gilbert died in London，and just a year later his brother Richard died in Stratford．That was in February，too．Will was the oldest brother，and he was the only one still alive．We spent most of our time in Stratford these days．Will didn't act in plays now．He went to rehearsals for his new plays，of course，but he was always happy to hurry home again．
We were riding back to Stratford in the spring of 1613 and Stopped for the night at the Crown Inn in Oxford．Will was very friendly with the landlord John Davenant and his wife Jane．The next morning，when we left，their little son，William，came running out to say goodbye to his good friend Mr Shakespeare．He was a bright boy，about seven years old，with much the same colour hair and eyes as Will．Will talked with him for a few minutes，then gave him a penny．
Later，when we were riding along the road，I said，‘The last time we were in Oxford
那年冬天，威尔的弟弟埃德蒙去世——年仅27岁——第二年9月，威尔的母亲又不幸过世。
这一时期，威尔创作风格大有变化。约翰·海明说威尔只看到人们丑陋的一面，使得戏剧带上沉郁、残暴的色彩。不过，他的创作风格一直在变，不断尝试在戏剧中运用新格调的诗歌的故事。出人意料，他又创作出一部新剧本《冬天的故事》，这部戏剧充满欢笑，春天的鲜花和爱情。
在伦敦时，我们晚上经常到切普塞特街的美人鱼酒店。这家酒店环境舒适，备有好酒，是伦敦文人墨客聚会喝酒的好去处。
1610年冬天的一个晚上，我们来到这家酒店，我记得没错。威尔的许多朋友——演员和剧作家都在场，当然少不了平生很能喝酒的本·琼生。虽然他创作了大量的剧本，也小有名气，但他还是身无分文——连喝啤酒的钱通常都要威尔掏腰包。
开始，议题总是关于詹姆士国王和他的宫廷大臣。说实在的，我们现在不大喜欢这位国王了——他爱看赛马已胜过爱看戏。这时，本想起《冬天的故事》剧本中的一些情节。尽管他确实承认威尔的戏剧是最优秀的，不过，他这人就喜欢鸡蛋里挑骨头。
“嗨，威尔，你怎么把波希米亚这地方说成是在海边呢？”他说道，“波希米亚可是在欧洲中部呀！方圆一百英里根本就没有海，你真糊涂！”
“本，你创作的剧本确实很妙，”理查·白贝芝说，“不过太书卷气，威尔，你说呢？”
威尔笑道：“本，会有几个人去深究那些细节呢？这有什么关系呢？在宫廷他们喜欢这部戏。王后说，这部戏剧很甜蜜，而国王——”
“国王！”本大嚷起来，脸气得发红。因为詹姆士国王看本的戏剧有时打瞌睡。“国王，”他仍然很激动，“简直笨得透顶！我曾告诉他，当面对他说过：‘陛下，你压根不懂诗歌！’”
约翰·海明听了此话大笑。“噢，真没想到！”他说，“本，你真是无可救药！我真不知道你怎么还能活这么长命！”
威尔也笑了起来，但他说道：“本，你可要小心呀。你不想与国王为敌吧！别忘了，国王付的报酬是伊丽莎白女王的两倍——看的戏也是她的两倍。”
“钱？”本大叫起来，他很爱争论事情。我们是诗人，是演员，不是生意人！钱有什么用？”
“钱可以使你有面包和肉果腹，有衣穿，”威尔喝了一口啤酒，说道，“要是没钱的话，你会第一个破口大骂的！”
本把啤酒杯砰地放在桌上。“现在听着，斯特拉福镇的威尔·莎士比亚先生，你不就拥有堂皇的居宅，高价的马匹吗？你在《李尔王》一剧中不是写道钱是——”
“呕，你们两个都住嘴吧！”约翰·海明劝道，然后便转身和我谈话。不过几分钟后，本又在评论威尔的另一部戏剧。
“《安东尼与克莉奥佩特拉》这部剧怎么样？到底写些什么呀？你根本就不知道自己呆在何处！一会儿在埃及，一会儿在罗马，接着坐船在海上，然后又回到埃及——”
理查·白贝芝渐生厌恶之情。“本，你又搞错了，只有你才不懂这部戏。你认为伦敦人都傻乎乎的，他们可比你清楚得多。还有……”
我还是决定回家睡觉。本是个好人，除了话太多之外。他讲得没完没了。在我抽身离开时，他又要了一些啤酒。我知道他们肯定又会在酒店呆上多半夜。
■ 10 Back to Stratford
‘You're losing your hair，Will，’I said to him one day．
‘We're both getting old，Toby，’he said．‘There's no escape from it．Old and tired．’
‘Don't talk like that，’I said．‘You're only forty-seven．There's still some life in you yet．And another twenty plays！’
‘No，’he said slowly．‘No，I think the poetry is nearly finished．I'm getting tired，Toby．I need a rest．I think The Tempest is going to be my last play．I'm saying goodbye to the stage．Times are changing，and people want a different kind of play now．There are lots of new，younger writers，who know how to please the playgoer．I'm not modern any more．
He never usually talked like this，and I didn't like it．
‘There's only one Will Shakespeare，’I said，‘and he'll always be modern．Now，I must get on．I've got to go out and buy all the cloth for the new costumes in The Tempest．Why did you have to put it on an island？When the ship goes down，the actors all have to come on stage in wet clothes．It takes a day to dry the costumes，so that means two lots of clothes for everyone—wet and dry！’
That brought him back to life．‘Can't you read？’he said crossly．‘If you look at Gonzalo's words in Act 2，Toby，you'll see that it's a magic island一and their clothes stay dry all the time．So they'll only need one lot．’
I laughed，and then he laughed too．
But it was true，he was tried．I could see it，and others could see it too．But the company was always wanting new plays，and we had two theatres now．There was the Globe，and now we had the Blackfriars theatre．Plays in the Globe were in the open air and always had to be in daylight，but the Blackfriars was a building with a roof．We could put on plays in the evenings and in any weather．It also made more money，because every playgoer had a seat and paid a shilling for it．In the Globe they paid a penny to stand．
In February 1612 Will's brother Gilbert died in London，and just a year later his brother Richard died in Stratford．That was in February，too．Will was the oldest brother，and he was the only one still alive．We spent most of our time in Stratford these days．Will didn't act in plays now．He went to rehearsals for his new plays，of course，but he was always happy to hurry home again．
We were riding back to Stratford in the spring of 1613 and Stopped for the night at the Crown Inn in Oxford．Will was very friendly with the landlord John Davenant and his wife Jane．The next morning，when we left，their little son，William，came running out to say goodbye to his good friend Mr Shakespeare．He was a bright boy，about seven years old，with much the same colour hair and eyes as Will．Will talked with him for a few minutes，then gave him a penny．
Later，when we were riding along the road，I said，‘The last time we were in Oxford