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.
瘟疫流行过后的几年，我们一直忙个不停。市里又有了几家新剧团，如今威尔属于“宫内大臣剧团”。宫内大臣身居要职，与女王关系亲密。这样一来，我们经常有机会被召进女王的宫廷演戏，或者到英国达官显贵的府邸演戏。
我们剧团不乏出色的演员。其中有威尔，理查·白贝芝，约翰·海明，奥古斯丁·菲利普斯，亨利·康德尔和托马斯·蒲伯。当然还有其他演员，只是这六个人是剧团的台柱。他们已经一起合作了20多年，也赚了不少的钱。
我仍为“宫内大臣剧团”做戏装和道具。约翰·海明说我是伦敦市里最出色的道具师。 威尔就不同凡响了——因为他会创作剧本。而且写出的剧本让人叫绝！他总能标新立异，与众不同，笔头又快，而且从不像有些作家那样创作雷同的剧本。
约翰·海明一直感到纳闷。“威尔，你怎会写得这么快？”他问道，“并且你从未出过差错也从不修改。” 说实在的，威尔自己也说不清楚。“一切都已在我的头脑里。”他说，“我一想到，它们立刻就能跃然纸上。”
1595年他创作了一部爱情剧，讲述一对年轻的恋人，这就是《罗密欧与朱丽叶》。这是一出非常凄艳动人的悲剧。虽然最终这对年轻的恋人双双殉情而死，该剧广受欢迎，观众百看不厌。 剧中威尔扮演朱丽叶的父亲老凯布。女主角朱丽叶由剧团一位少年扮演。因为当时没有女演员，所以剧中所有的女角色都由少年来扮演。
当然，威尔在舞台上对情爱并没有多加渲染，都是通过台词——优美生动的台词使你置身于剧中而忘了台上女角色实际上是身着女装的少年。有些少年演员演技很好，年长后可继续上台扮演男角。
文：After the plague years，we were busy all the time．
重点短语：after the plague years
释：瘟疫过后的几年
拓：plague years是两个名词连用的结构
例：childhood years童年的日子等。
拓：v. plague
例：I was plagued by a serious illness.
我被疾病纠缠着。
原文：The Lord Chamberlain was a very important man, close to the Queen, and we often put on plays for the Queen's court.
句子解析：
解析：close to the queen是对前面a very important man的进一步的解释说明，是同位语成分。
原文：and Richard Burbage，of course，and John Heminges．
句子解析：
解析：of course是插入语，在此突出语气的口语化。
原文：but those six were the real company.
重点短语：the real company
释：字面意思是真正的剧团
实际上是说他们是真正的台柱，剧团的门面
原文：And made a lot of money, too．
重点短语：make money
释：挣钱
拓：earn a living by doing sth. 以什么为生
原文：I did the costumes and properties for the Chamberlain's.
重点单词：do
释：v. 做
拓：在口语中，常表示职业
例：I do films. 我拍电影。
I do art. 我做艺术。
原文：And what plays they were!
句子解析：
解析：英语感叹句常用"what"和"how"引导
"what"和"how"与所修饰的词置于句首，
其它部分用陈述句语序。
原文：He never wrote the same play twice.
重点单词：twice
释：两次，two的序数词
拓：基数词one对应first，three对应third
原文：How can you write so fast, Will?
句子解析：
解析：该句是how作为疑问代词引导的句子，
how的意思是如何、怎样，
后面可以接表示疑问的句型
例：how will you...你将会怎样
how do you...你是怎么做的
原文：And you never make a mistake or change a word．
重点短语：make a mistake
释：犯错
原文：‘I think about it，and then it just comes out on paper．
重点短语：comes out on paper
释：跃然纸上
拓：come out出来，出现
The stars came out as soon as it was dark.
天一黑星星就出来了
原文：He wrote a play about love in 1595．
句子解析：
解析：about love是play的定语，说明了剧本的主题。
原文：because the young lovers die at the end．
重点短语：at the end
释：在…的末尾处,这里强调在剧本结束的时候
拓：后面可以加时间、处所等。
拓：in the end / at last / finally在故事的结尾
原文：Of course, Will never put real love-making on stage．
句子解析：
解析：Of course做插入语放句首
原文：He did it all with words—clever, beautiful words
重点短语：
解析：with words是介词短语做伴随状语，表示做到的方式、手段。
原文：Some of the boy actors were very good，and went on to play men's parts when they were older．
词组辨析：go on to do sth. / go on doing sth.
go on to do sth. 表示继续做某事，一般是一件新的事儿。
go on doing sth. 表示暂停了又重新开始做同一件事儿。