Shakespeare Lives
British Prime Minister David Cameron
This year’s four hundredth anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare is not just an opportunity to commemorate one of the greatest playwrights of all time. It is a moment to celebrate the extraordinary ongoing influence of a man who – to borrow from his own description of Julius Caesar– “doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus.”
description：n.描述，描写；类型
Julius Caesar：著名的罗马军事和政治领袖盖乌斯·尤利乌斯·凯撒(Gaius Julius Caesar)，出生在一个政治大动乱的时期。
doth v. [古语、方言] do的第三人称单数现在时的陈述语气[主要用作助动词]
bestride [bi'straid]vt.控制，支配；高踞于…之上：
The colossal monument bestrode the harbour.
巨大的纪念碑高耸于海港上。
colossus[kə'lɔsəs]n.巨像；(尤指)[C-]阿波罗巨像(约在公元前280年建于罗得岛，为古代世界七大奇迹之一)
背景补充: Quote:Cassius: Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world / Like a Colossus, and we petty men / Walk under his huge legs and peep about / To find ourselves dishonorable graves.(I, ii, 135-8).
Analysis: Cassius vents his worry about Caesar's growing power to Brutus. He compares Caesar to Colossus, a giant statue of the Greek God Apollo, which reportedly spanned the harbor entrance at Rhodes and was tall enough to allow ships to pass between its legs. As long as Caesar is in power, Cassius claims, men like him and Brutus will be petty and destined for dishonorable deaths. Shakespeare’s legacy is without parallel: his works translated into over 100 languages and studied by half the world’s schoolchildren. As one of his contemporaries, Ben
Jonson, said: “Shakespeare is not of an age, but for all time.” He livestoday in our language, our culture and society – and through his enduringinfluence on education.
Contemporaries：n.生活于同一时期的人，同代人
本·琼森与莎士比亚同时创作并持续到莎士比亚死后，戏剧生涯三十余年。他一生经历坎坷，曾经随继父学习泥瓦手艺，后来从军参加对西班牙人的战争。因讥讽时政、争斗杀人曾多次入狱。他也是由演员转向戏剧创作的。在1616 年莎士比亚逝世那年，他把自己的剧本结集出版。当时剧本都作演出本用，本·琼生把它们作为独立的文学作品出版，尽管当时有人讥评，但在文学史上是有意义的事件。他受过古希腊、罗马文化的影响，倾心拉丁诗篇，诗作有收敛整饬的古典美。他的非戏剧的诗歌有许多佳作，像“用你的双眸给我祝酒吧”是抒情的名诗。他的散文作品中有关文艺批评的意见，对新古典主义的形成有很大影响。本·琼生在当时文坛上受到推崇，成为作家中的领袖人物，围绕着他活动的文学圈被称为“本·琼森派”。
Shakespeare played a critical role in shaping modern English and helping to make it the world’s language. The first major dictionary compiled by Samuel Johnson drew on Shakespeare more than any other writer. Three thousand new words and phrases all first appeared in print in Shakespeare’s plays. I remember from my own childhood how many of them are found for the first time in Henry V.Words like dishearten, divest,addiction, motionless,leapfrog– and phrases like “once more unto the breach”,“band of brothers” and “heart of gold” – have all passed into our language today with no need to reference their original context. Shakespeare also pioneered innovative use of grammatical form and structure – including verse without rhymes, superlatives and the connecting of existing words to make new words, like bloodstained– while the pre-eminence of his plays also did much to standardise spelling and grammar.
塞缪尔·约翰逊（Samuel Johnson，1709年9月7日－1784年12月3日）英国文学史上重要的诗人、散文家、传记家和健谈家，编纂的《词典》对英语发展作出了重大贡献。和琼森一样，他也是当时文坛的一代盟主，他对文学小说诗歌文学作品的评论，即使片言只语，也被众口宣传，当作屑金碎玉。在约翰逊时代，文化氛围已经在向浪漫主义方向发展，人们已不再视“三一律”为神圣。与德莱登、伏尔泰相比，约翰逊是更为宽容的新古典主义者。
Draw on :利用；吸收；戴上；临近
Henry V：亨利在九年时间内重新统一了英格兰贵族，占领了法兰西。在他当政期间出现了第一次英语标准化运动。他是第一个在私人信件中使用英语的国王。
dishearten [dis'hɑ:tən]vt.使泄气，使气馁，使沮丧，使灰心，使失去勇气(或热情、信心、希望等)：
She's easily disheartened by difficulties.
她遇到困难很容易泄气。
divest [dai'vest; di-]vt.
1.使卸下，使脱去，剥去(或脱去)…的衣服、饰物等(of):
She divested herself of her coat and sat down.
她脱去外套并坐下来。
The wind divested the trees of their leaves.
风把很多树的叶子都吹落了。
2.[divest oneself]放弃(无用的东西)，除掉，去除，去掉，使摆脱(of)：
She managed to divest herself of responsibility.
她企图推卸自己的责任。
3.剥夺…的权利、头衔或称号等；撤销…的职务；夺走…的财物；迫使放弃，夺去，取消(of):
The family was divested of its home.
这家人无家可归了。
They divested the president of all his power.
他们剥夺了总统的全部权力。
leapfrog ['li:pfrɔɡ]
n.跳背游戏，蛙跳游戏；蛙跳式前进(尤指两栖部队登陆后交互向前运动)；【计算机】跳点法，跳步法
vi.玩跳背游戏；竞相超越；交替超越；蛙跳般地前进：
Once more unto the breach,dear friends…：共赴战场，亲爱的朋友
背景补充： 'Once more unto the breach' - is from the 'Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'speech of Shakespeare's Henry V, Act III, 1598.
The most celebrated rendition of the speech comes from Laurence Olivier's performance in the 1944 film The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France, better known to the world just as Henry V.
The breach in question is the gap in the wall of the cityof Harfleur, which the English army held under siege. Henry was encouraging histroops to attack the city again, even if they have to 'close the wall withEnglish dead'.
The Band of Brothers兄弟连
heart of gold金子般的心 ; 道德高尚的人 ; 菩萨心肠 ; 表示“心地善良
verse [və:s]n.诗行；诗句
rhyme[raim]n. v.韵；押韵
superlative [sju:'pə:lətiv; sə-]adj.【语法学】(形容词、副词)最高级的[参较comparative, positive]
bloodstained ['blʌdsteind]adj.
1.血污的，有血迹的，沾染着血的，有血痕的
2.犯杀人罪的；杀人流血的，杀过人的
pre-eminence n. [preeminent的变形]卓越的；超群的；优秀的
But Shakespeare’s influence is felt far beyond our language. His words, his plots and his characters continue to inspire much of our culture and wider society.Nelson Mandela, while a prisoner on Robben Island,cherished a quote from Julius Caesar which said “Cowards die many times before their death, the valiant never taste of death but once.”While Kate Tempest’s poem “My Shakespeare”captures the eternal presence of Shakespeare when she wrote that Shakespeare“…is in every lover who ever stood alone beneath a window…every jealous whispered word and every ghost that will not rest.” Shakespeare’s influence is everywhere, from Dickens and Goethe to Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Brahms; from West Side Story to the Hamlet-inspired title of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap”– the longest-running theatre production in London’s West End today. While his original plays continue to entertain millions – from school halls across the world to the overnight queues as hundreds scrambled for last minute tickets to see Benedict Cumberbatch playing Hamlet at London’s Barbican last year.
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Blouberg strand,Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island."Nobel Laureate and former President of South
Africa Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for 18 of the 27 years he served behind bars before the fall of apartheid. To date, three of the former inmates of Robben Island have gone on to become President of South Africa: Nelson Mandela,Kgalema Motlanthe,[3]and current President Jacob Zuma.
Cowards die many times before their death, the valiant never taste of death but once :此诗节选自莎士比亚的名剧《尤里西斯·恺撒》。通过剧中主人公的独白，诗人想表现一种对待死亡的豪爽与慷慨，同时斥责人性的不完善，而讴歌勇猛与果敢的英雄气概。这首诗使用了英雄体heroic couplet.文风及内容搭配和谐。
Kate Tempest (born Kate Esther Calvert, 22 December 1985)is an English poet, spoken-word artist and playwright. In 2013, she won the Ted Hughes Award for her work Brand New Ancients. In 2015-16, she was a visiting fellow in the Department of English at University College London.
Dickens:狄更斯
Goethe：歌德
Tchaikovsky：柴可夫斯基
Verdi：居塞比·威尔第（GiuseppeVerdi,1813－1901），意大利伟大的歌剧作曲家。《茶花女》，《弄臣》，《阿依达》，《奥塞罗》等是其代表作，他把意大利歌剧推向了一个新的历史高峰，为世界歌剧艺术作出了杰出的贡献。
West Side Story：第三十四届奥斯卡最佳影片（1962）中文：西区故事
背景补充：《西区故事》原是由舞蹈家杰洛姆·罗宾斯设计的歌舞剧，经常作为百老汇的保留节目。1961年，电影导演怀斯与罗宾斯合作，运用电影手段，将它改编成电影。该片情节源自莎士比亚的剧作《罗密欧与朱丽叶》，故事背景从中世纪互相对立的两大家族改成20世纪60年代纽约的两大青年帮派，真实地反映了团伙间彼此发泄着仇恨和他们对世界的憎恶。
Agatha Christie :阿加莎·克里斯蒂（Agatha Christie 1890～1976），英国女侦探小说家、剧作家，三大推理文学宗师之一。[1]代表作品有《东方快车谋杀案》和《尼罗河谋杀案》等。
The Mousetrap:《捕鼠器The Mousetrap》是阿加莎•克里斯蒂最负盛名的戏剧作品
London’s West End（伦敦西区）：The West End of London(commonly referred to as the West End) is an area of Centra land West London in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops,businesses, government buildings and entertainment venues, including West End theatres, are concentrated.
scramble['skræmbl]vi.争夺，抢夺；竭力搜寻(for):
to scramble for power and wealth 争权夺利
Benedict Cumberbatch 本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇
Barbican: The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe.[1]The Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory. But perhaps one of the most exciting legacies of Shakespeare is his capacity to educate. As we see from the outreach work of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’s Globe and the impact of pioneering British charities like the Shakespeare Schools Festival, studying and performing Shakespeare can help improve literacy, confidence and wider educational attainment.
outreach：n.延伸，拓广；扩大服务范围
Every day throughout 2016, Britain is inviting you to join us in celebrating the life and legacy of William Shakespeare. On 5 January,Twelfth Night,we launched “Shakespeare Lives” – an exciting global programme of activity and events to highlight his enduring influence and extend the use of Shakespeare as an educational resource to advance literacy around the world.
Twelfth Night：《第十二夜》是英国剧作家莎士比亚创作的戏剧，约写于1600一1602年间，1623年在书业公所登记，同年收入第一对开本中。
塞巴斯蒂安和薇奥拉这一对孪生兄妹，在一次海上航行途中不幸遇难，他们俩各自侥幸脱险，流落到伊利里亚。薇奥拉女扮男装给公爵奥西诺当侍童，她暗中爱慕着公爵，但是公爵爱着一位伯爵小姐奥丽维娅。可是奥丽维娅不爱他，反而爱上了代替公爵向自己求爱的薇奥拉。经过一番有趣的波折之后．薇奥拉与奥西诺，奥丽维娅与西巴斯辛双双结成良缘。尽管奥丽维娅原先爱的不是塞巴斯蒂安。但他的面孔与薇奥拉全然相同，这也算满足了她的心愿。这部作品以抒情的笔调，浪漫喜剧的形式，再次讴歌了人文主义对爱情和友谊的美好理想，表现了生活之美、爱情之美。
The programme will run in more than seventy countries, led by the British Council and the Great Britain campaign. You can share your favourite moment of Shakespeare on social media, watch never-before-seen performances on stage, film and online,visit exhibitions, take part in workshops and debates, and access new Shakespearean educational resources to get to grips with the English language.
get to grips with 认真处理
The Royal Shakespeare Company will tour China; Shakespeare’s Globe will perform across the world from Iraq to Denmark. Young people will reimagine Shakespeare in Zimbabwe. A social media campaign called “Play your Part” (#PlayYourPart) will invite the next generation of creative talent to produce their own digital tribute to the Bard– and, in partnership with the British charity Voluntary Services Overseas, we will raise awareness of the huge challenge of global child illiteracy and use Shakespeare to increase educational opportunities for children around the world.
Zimbabwe [zim'bɑ:bwei; -wi]津巴布韦
ribute ['tribju:t]n.礼物；称赞；颂辞；称颂
Bard：[the b-或the B-]民族诗人；英国诗人莎士比亚
Beyond the great gift of language, the bringing to life of our history, his ongoing influence on our culture and his ability to educate, there is just the immense power of Shakespeare to inspire. From the most famous love story to the greatest tragedy; from the most powerful fantasy to the wittiest comedy; and from the most memorable speeches to his many legendary characters, in William Shakespeare we have one man, whose vast imagination, boundless creativity and instinct for humanity encompasses the whole of the human experience as no one has before or since.
encompass [in'kʌmpəs] vt.
1.围绕，环绕；围住；包围
2.造成，促使，促成；完成，实现
So, however youchoose to play your part, please join us in 2016 in this unique opportunity tocelebrate the life and enduring legacy of this man; ensuring that, as hehimself put it, “all the world’s a stage” andthat through his legacy, truly, Shakespeare Lives.
All the world's a stage：莎士比亚-世界是一个舞台(选自《皆大欢喜（或译为黄金梦）》)