莎士比亚戏剧三种（英文版e）

Three Great Plays of Shakespeare Level 4 Retold by Karen Holmes Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter Introduction Contents page V Romeo and Juliet l Macbeth 24 King Lear 37 Activities 63 Introduction 'And so,' the prince said, 'this dark and cloudy morning has brought a sad peace. There will never be a sadder story than the story of Romeo and Juliet.' Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two important families in Verona, in Italy. The families hate each other. Romeo, the son of Lord Montague, falls in love with Juliet, the daughter of Lord Capulet. But when people hate each other, everybody around them is affected. The story does not end happily because Romeo and Juliet cannot escape from the war between their families and live happily together. In this play, hate has more power over people's lives than love. All three stories in this book have sad endings. In each story, the main characters die. They die because they, or others, are weak, greedy or very foolish. Lord and Lady Macbeth (Macbeth) are greedy, and as a result a lot of people die. Macbeth is also weak. Lady Macbeth says, 'Macbeth is too kind, too gentle. There are things that he must do but he is afraid to do them. I must speak to him, and make him brave.' He becomes a murderer and a cruel king because his wife tells him that he must perform evil acts. By the end of the play, Macbeth does not care about anybody. When his wife dies, he says,' It would be better if she died at another time.' In the third story, King Lear, the king is an a very old man. His great age makes him weak and foolish. He does not understand the characters of his three daughters, and he believes Goneril and Regan when they say that they love him. He thinks that his youngest daughter, Cordelia, does not love him because she refuses to use such fine words. But Goneril and Regan are greedy for power and they do not care about their father. v Many of the characters in these stories have a lot of faults but, like real people, they have good qualities and moments of greatness too. Macbeth is a fine army commander. He wins an important war and King Duncan admires him. Lear is a great king. The King of France thinks that he is a good man, and the Earl of Gloucester loves him. Even the Montagues and the Capulets end their quarrel — but too late. William Shakespeare is the most famous writer of plays in the English language. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, six years after Elizabeth I became Queen of England. He wrote thirty-nine plays; thirty-four of these are still regularly seen on the stage. Many are famous as films too. He also wrote hundreds of poems. We do not know very much about William Shakespeare's life. We think that he went to school in Stratford. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, and they had three children: Suzanna (born in 1583), Hamnet and Judith (born together in 1585). After that, we know nothing about his life until 1592. He went to London, where he began to write successful plays. He became an important member of a theatre company, which performed at two London theatres: the Globe and the Blackfriars. His plays were given special performances at the courts of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Shakespeare's success made him a wealthy man, and in 1597 he bought New Place, the largest house in Stratford. We believe that he left London and went back to live at New Place in 1610. He continued to write plays until he died in Stratford in 1616. We know more about Shakespeare's plays than we know about the writer. For 400 years, people have studied every word that Shakespeare wrote. He wrote amusing plays with happy endings, like A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night. He also wrote VI historical plays; nine of these are about English kings. The third type were sad and serious plays, like the three stories in this book. vii Romeo and Juliet This is the story of the love of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo was the son of Lord Montague, the head of the Montague family. Juliet was the daughter of Lord Capulet. The Montagues and the Capulets were two important families in the city of Verona who had had a terrible quarrel. Even their servants hated each other, and they fought and cursed each other whenever they met. One day, two servants from the house of Capulet saw two servants from the house of Montague and they began to fight. Benvolio, a friend of Romeo, saw the fight. He hked peace and quiet, so he hated to see people fighting. ' Stop!' he cried, but it was already too late. Tybalt, a young and angry Capulet, had arrived in the street. ' Help me to stop this fight,' Benvolio cried to him. Tybalt pulled out his sword.' I hate all Montagues and I hate you!' he cried, and he began to fight Benvolio. The noise and the shouting brought officers of the law to the scene of the fight. Then Lord Capulet and his wife arrived, and Lord Montague and his wife. The heads of the two families pulled out their swords. Suddenly Prince Escalus, the Prince of Verona, appeared. ' You men, you are like wild animals!' he said to them angrily. 'Your quarrels spoil the quiet of our streets. Listen to me! If you make trouble in the streets of Verona again, you will pay for it with your lives! Now, everyone must leave this place.' Lord and Lady Montague and Benvolio left last. ' Where is Romeo ?' asked Lady Montague.' I am very glad that he did not take part in this fight.' ' Very early this morning,' Benvolio said,' I could not sleep. I 1 walked out into the woods on the west of the city, and I saw Romeo there, alone. I went towards him, but when he saw me, he hid among the trees. I decided not to follow him.' Romeo's father, Lord Montague, said, 'Many people have seen Romeo early in the morning, weeping alone. When the sun comes up, he goes into his room and he shuts out the daylight. I am afraid for him.' ' Do you know why he is unhappy ?' Benvolio asked. ' He will not tell me,' Lord Montague replied. ' Look! Here he comes,' said Benvolio.' Go home. I will try to find out why he is unhappy.' He quickly learned the reason for Romeo's sadness. 'I love the beautiful Rosaline, but she does not love me,' Romeo said. Benvolio tried to help his good friend.' Forget her. Don't think about her,' he said. ' How can I forget her ?' Romeo asked. ' Look around you. Look at other beautiful women.' ' When I look at other women, I see that Rosaline is the most beautiful of all!' In another street in Verona, Count Paris was talking to Lord Capulet, Juliet's father. Paris was the prince's nephew. ' I would like to marry Juliet. What do you say?' Paris asked. ' She is my only child and she is too young,' said Capulet. 'Let two more summers pass before she marries. But you can speak to her and try to win her love. Every year at this time I give a great feast. It will take place tonight. All my friends will come to my house and dance. You must come too — then you can talk to Juliet.' Capulet called a servant and said,' On this piece of paper there is a list of names. Find these people and ask them to come to dinner at my house tonight.' Then he walked away with Paris. 2 'This is going to be quite difficult for me because I cannot read,' the servant thought. Benvolio and Romeo came along the street. They were still talking about Romeo's unhappiness. 'Please, sir, can you read?' Capulet's servant asked. He gave Romeo the list of names. Romeo read out the list for him:' Martino and his wife and daughters; Anselm and his beautiful sisters; Mercutio and his brother Valentine; Lucio and Helena; Rosaline . . . Where are these people going to meet ?' ' At my master's house tonight,' the servant said. 'Who is your master?' Romeo asked. ' My master is the great and rich Lord Capulet. If you are not a Montague, come and drink wine with us all.' ' This is the chance I wanted for you!' said Benvolio happily. ' Go there. Compare your Rosaline with other women. You will see that she is not more beautiful than them.' ' You are wrong,' Romeo replied.' Since the world began, the sun has never seen a woman as beautiful as Rosaline. I will go to the Capulet's feast — but only to look at Rosaline.' • Juliet was with her mother, Lady Capulet, and her nurse. 'You were a pretty little baby when I came here,' said the nurse.' Now I have one wish. I want to live long enough to see you married!' ' I want to talk to you about marriage,' Lady Capulet said to her daughter. 'Juliet, do you want to find a husband ?' ' I have not thought about it very much,' answered Juliet. ' Here in Verona, younger girls are already important ladies and mothers. I will tell you now that Count Paris hopes to win your love.' 3 ' He is a fine man, almost a perfect man!' cried the nurse.' He is the finest man in Verona!' ' You will see him tonight at our feast,' Lady Capulet said.' He needs a wife, and you will make his life complete.' • The evening came. Romeo and his friends, Mercutio and Benvolio, put on hats to hide their faces and went to the feast at the Capulets' house. But Tybalt heard Romeo's voice. ' I know that voice!' he said.' That man is a Montague. What is he doing here ?' He called to his servant,' Fetch my sword!' 'What is the matter?' asked Lord Capulet. ' That man is a Montague. He is our enemy!' ' Is it young Romeo ?' 'Yes,' Tybalt said. 'Let him stay. The people of Verona say that he is a good young man, and he is behaving like a gentleman tonight. Don't look so angry. We must entertain our guests.' Tybalt was very angry but he had to obey his uncle. At that moment, something wonderful happened to Romeo; he saw a beautiful girl. She was lovely, sweet, happy and good. As he watched her, he forgot about Rosaline. Now he was truly, deeply in love. 'He went to her and touched her hand.' Your hand is too soft for my rough touch,' he said.' But my lips are ready to touch your gentle hand with a kiss.' He kissed her hand.' You have lips, too,' he said. Juliet found that she was in love with him, and so they kissed. The nurse came to them.' Your mother wants to speak to you,' she said to Juliet. ' Who is her mother?' asked Romeo. ' Her mother is Lady Capulet,' the nurse replied. 4 'Oh , no ! ' Romeo thought. 'I have fallen in love with the daughter of my enemy!' Everyone began to leave, and Romeo went with them. Juliet watched him go. 'Come here, nurse,' she said. 'Who is that gentleman over there ? Go and ask his name.' The nurse came back and said,' His name is Romeo. He is a Montague, the only son of your great enemy.' • Later that same night, Romeo's friends searched the streets of Verona for him. Romeo was standing below Juliet's lighted window when he saw her there. 'It is Juliet!' he said quietly. ' Oh! It is my love! She is as beautiful as the sun in the sky. She is looking up at the stars, but her eyes are brighter than they are. The birds will see them and think that it is already daytime.' Juliet looked out of her window and rested her face on her hand. She was thinking of Romeo. She did not know that he was there, listening. 'Oh, Romeo, Romeo, why is your name Romeo? ' she said. 'Leave your family and change your name. If you cannot, I will leave the Capulets. It is only your name that is my enemy. But what is important about a name ? If a rose had another name, it would still smell sweet. Change your name so we can be together.' ' Call me " Love ",' Romeo called up to her.' That will be my name. I will never be Romeo again. I hate my name because it is your enemy.' ' How did you get there ?' Juliet asked.' The walls are high.' ' Stone walls cannot keep out love,' Romeo said. Juliet was afraid.' If my family see you here, they will kill you,' she said. 5 'Stone walls cannot keep out love,' Romeo said. 'If their hatred ends my life,' said Romeo,' then I will die. I do not care. I do not want to live without your love.' 'Do you love me ? I know that you will say "yes". But tell me the truth.' 'Lady, I promise by the moon that touches the tops of those fruit trees with silver.' 'Oh! Don't promise by the moon,' Juliet said. 'The moon changes every month. I do not want your love to change like the moon.' 'What shall I promise by?' Romeo asked. 'Do not promise. You make me happy, but this love has come very suddenly. I must go now.' ' No! Wait!' Romeo cried. At that moment the nurse called. 'I can hear a noise,' said Juliet.' Sweet Romeo, stay here for a moment. I will come back.' She went inside, but soon she returned. 'Dear Romeo,' she said, 'if you truly love me and wish to marry me, send a message tomorrow. I will send someone to collect your message. Tell me where and at what time you will marry me and my life will be yours. I will follow you, my lord, across the world.' The nurse called again. Juliet went in and then came out again. ' Romeo!' ' My sweet ?' 'At what time tomorrow shall I send someone to you?' she asked. 'At nine o'clock,' Romeo replied. 'My messenger will find you. It is almost morning, so I must let you go. Good night! Good night! I am sad to leave you, but it is a sweet sadness. I will not stop saying "Good night" until tomorrow.' She went back into her room. 7 ' Let sleep rest on your eyes,' said Romeo, ' and peace in your heart. I wish that I could rest in such a sweet place.' He turned away.' I must go to Friar Lawrence and tell him about Juliet,' he said to himself.' He will help me.' • Friar Lawrence was a man of God. Romeo and Juliet both knew him. Early the next morning, he was picking plants outside his cell. He knew a lot about plants. He used them to make sick people better, or to help tired or ill people sleep. When he saw Romeo running towards him, Friar Lawrence was very surprised. 'Why are you here so early?' asked the friar. 'Young men sleep late in the morning. Can't you sleep ? Were you thinking of Rosaline?' 'No , I could not sleep, but I was not thinking about Rosaline. I have forgotten her name and all the unhappiness that went with it. I must tell you what happened. Last night I went to a feast at my enemy's house. There I fell in love with the beautiful daughter of Lord Capulet, and she loves me. We want you to marry us today.' ' O h ! What a change!' cried Friar Lawrence. 'Yesterday you loved Rosaline! Now you tell me that you love someone else. I do not like it. It is too sudden.' 'Don't be angry with me. Juliet loves me, and Rosaline does not. Please marry us today.' 'Rosaline knew that you were not really in love,' said the wise friar. 'So I will marry you. This marriage may turn the hatred between your two families into love.' • Mercutio and Benvolio were searching for Romeo. Mercutio was; a member of Prince Escalus's family, and one of Romeo's friends. 8 'Romeo was not at his father's house last night,' Benvolio said. 'Tybalt is looking for him. He is angry because Romeo went to the Capulets' feast, and he wants to fight him!' Then Romeo arrived. He looked very happy. 'What has happened to you? ' Mercutio asked him. Before Romeo could answer, the nurse and her servant arrived. 'Go to my father's house,' Romeo said to Benvolio and Mercutio. ' I will follow you soon.' He waited until they had gone, then he spoke to the nurse. 'Tell Juliet,' said Romeo, 'to go to Friar Lawrence this afternoon. He will marry us in his cell. My man, Balthazar, will meet you in one hour behind the church. He will bring you a ladder. Tonight I will climb up to Juliet's room.' 'Will Balthazar keep your secret ?' ' Yes,' Romeo replied.' He is a good servant.' 'Paris wants to marry my lady Juliet, but I know that you will make her happy,' the nurse said. 'Goodbye,' Romeo said.' Give my dearest love to Juliet.' 'I will, a thousand times,' she promised. Juliet was waiting for the nurse to return. 'Oh! Here she comes! Dearest nurse, are you bringing me news? Have you met him? What does he say about our marriage?' 'Can you visit Friar Lawrence today ?' asked the nurse. 'Yes,' Juliet said. 'Then go to his cell. Romeo is waiting there to make you his wife. Ah, that has brought the blood to your face! Now I must go and fetch a ladder. Your Romeo will climb up into your room tonight.' 'Dear, good nurse!' Juliet said. • That same afternoon, the friar married Romeo and Juliet. 'Heaven smiles upon this wedding,' Friar Lawrence said to 9 them. 'I hope that there will not be trouble later.' 'I do not care,' Romeo cried. ' Great and sudden love can bring great sadness,' the friar replied. • A little later on the same day, Benvolio and Mercutio were talking together. 'Mercutio,' said Benvolio, 'let us go away. The Capulets are somewhere in these streets and I do not want to meet them. They will want to fight.' He was right. Suddenly Tybalt and his friends came into the street. Tybalt and Mercutio started to quarrel. Then Romeo came along the street and Tybalt began to shout at him. 'You are my enemy! 'Tybalt cried. 'Pull out your sword!' 'I do not want to be your enemy,' Romeo replied.'I love the Capulet name as much as I love my own name.' But Tybalt wanted to fight.' Pull out your sword!' he shouted again to Romeo. ' I will not quarrel with you,' Romeo said. Mercutio was surprised. He did not want Romeo to be friendly with Tybalt.' I will fight you instead,' he shouted to Tybalt, and a fight began. 'Stop, gentlemen,' Romeo cried.' The prince told us not to fight in these streets.' He tried to stand between them, but Tybalt's sword went under Romeo's arm and wounded Mercutio. Tybalt ran away. 'I am wounded!' cried Mercutio.' A curse on both your families! Fetch a doctor!' 'Be brave, man!' said Romeo.' I hope it is not a bad wound.' 'It is not very deep, but it is bad enough. Look for me tomorrow, and you will have to find my tomb. Why did you stand between us? Tybalt's sword passed under your arm. Help me into a house, Benvolio.' 10 'I will fight you instead,' he shouted to Tybalt. Soon afterwards, Benvolio returned. 'Oh , Romeo,' he said, 'brave Mercutio is dead.' Everything seemed black for Romeo. His dear friend was dead and Tybalt hated him more than ever. The prince would punish them for quarrelling in the streets of Verona and for Mercutio's death. Then Tybalt came back. 'Tybalt is alive, and my friend Mercutio is dead!' cried Romeo. 'Now I do not care what I do. One of us will die with Mercutio.' There was a terrible fight between Romeo and Tybalt, and Tybalt fell dead. 'Escape, Romeo! ' cried Benvolio. 'People are coming. The prince will be angry, and he will punish you with death.' As the unhappy Romeo ran away, the prince, the Montagues and the Capulets arrived. ' W h o started this quarrel?' asked the prince. Lady Capulet stood weeping over the body of the dead Tybalt as Benvolio tried to explain. ' R o m e o tried to stop the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio but he could not. Tybalt killed Mercutio, then Romeo killed Tybalt.' Lady Capulet did not believe him. ' Benvolio belongs to the Montague family. He is lying. Romeo killed Tybalt and he must not live.' 'I will have to punish Romeo for Tybalt's death,' said the prince. 'He must leave the city and never return. If I find Romeo in Verona, he will die!' • Juliet was waiting for the night. 'Come, gende night!' she said.' Bring me my Romeo and let me hold him in my arms. And when he dies, take him and cut him into little stars. He will make the face of heaven look very 12 fine. Everyone will love the night. Ah, here comes my nurse. Have you brought the ladder?' The nurse came in ca