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莎士比亚作品中的十大经典“吐槽”
From tripe-visaged rascal to ass-head… William Shakespeare may have been born 450 years ago today (or thereabouts) but he sure knew how to put someone down in style. David and Ben Crystal, authors of the Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary, help you work out which insults to use and when!
从“一脸蠢相的流氓”到“驴脑袋”……大约450年前,威廉·莎士比亚就已经来到了世界,但是他却懂得用当下最时髦的方式来“吐槽”他人。《莎士比亚牛津插图词典》的作者,戴维和本·克里斯托告诉你如何在恰当的时刻灵活运用合适的讽刺语。
1.Hermia calls Helena a “painted maypole” - presumably because she is tall, thin, and wears a lot of makeup in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
赫米娅称呼海伦娜为一个“油漆过的五月柱”——大概是因为在《仲夏夜之梦》中,海伦娜又高又瘦,并且画着大浓妆。
2. Maria calls Malvolio “a time-pleaser, an affectioned ass” - a follower of fashion and a pretentious idiot in Twelfth Night.
玛利亚称呼马伏里奥为“逢迎取巧者,装腔作势的蠢驴”——因为在《第十二夜》中,马伏里奥过分追求时尚,展现出的是一个做作的傻瓜形象。
3. The Welsh Captain describes Pistol as a “rascally, scald [scabby], beggarly, lousy, pragging [show-off] knave” in Henry 5.
在《亨利五世》中,威尔士亲王将皮斯托尔描述成一个“卑鄙下贱,像乞丐一样讨厌的,爱炫耀的流氓”。
4. Sebastian calls the Boatswain a “bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog” in The Tempest.
在《暴风雨》中,西巴斯辛讽刺水手长:“你这大喊大叫、出口伤人、没有心肝的狗东西”。
5. Kent says Oswald is a “knave, beggar, coward, pander [pimp], and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch” in King Lear.
在《李尔王》中,肯特这样形容奥斯华德:“又是流氓,又是叫花子,又是懦夫,又是皮条客,又是一条杂种老母狗的儿子”。
6. Antonio describes Claudio and Don Pedro as “scambling, outfacing, fashion-monging boys” - quarrelsome, bluffing, and dandified in Much Ado About Nothing.
在《无事生非》中,安东尼奥形容克劳狄奥和唐·彼德罗“懒散,厚脸皮,爱赶时髦”——争强好胜、虚张声势,打扮花哨。
7. Sir Toby calls Sir Andrew “an ass-head, and a coxcomb, and a knave, a thin-faced knave, a gull!” - a simpleton in Twelfth Night.
在《第十二夜》中,托比爵士形容安德鲁爵士是“蠢驴脑袋,纨绔子弟,无赖,骗子”。
8. Kent describes Oswald as a “base foot-ball player” - a game of the gutter that nobles would never dream of playing in King Lear.
在《李尔王》中,肯特将奥斯华德形容为“低劣的足球员”,足球这种粗俗的运动是为上流社会的贵族所不齿的。
9. Prince Hal calls Falstaff a “whoreson impudent embossed rascal” - literally, the son of a prostitute, and moreover one who’s swollen or bulging out, like a boil in Henry IV Part 1.
在《亨利四世》第一部分,哈尔王子将福斯塔夫形容为“令人憎恶的无耻流氓”。确实,福斯塔夫是妓女的儿子,而且他肥胖的身体肿胀得就像一个疖子。
10. Doll harangues the Beadle who is about to arrest her: “thou damned tripe-visaged rascal … thou paper-faced villain” in Henry IV Part 2.
在《亨利四世》第二部分,多尔大声训斥要抓她的教区执事:“你这个该死的一脸蠢相的流氓……你这个面如纸色的恶棍”。
All these insults and much more can be found in David and Ben Crystal’s stunningly useful book the Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary.
以上所有这些“吐槽”都能在戴维和本编写的《莎士比亚牛津插图词典》中找到原文,同时这本精妙绝伦又实用的词典中还有更多讽刺语等待你去发现哦!
Vocabulary
tripe: 废话;假话;讨厌的东西
maypole: 五月柱,用挺拔的树干如杉树等做成,上面漆成五颜六色,顶上挂着花环,花环上拴着长长的各色彩带,孩子们在五朔节这一天手持彩带围着柱子欢跳。五朔节是欧洲传统民间节日,用以祭祀树神、谷物神、庆祝农业收获及春天的来临。
scabby: 卑劣的;脏兮兮的
boatswain: 水手长
blasphemous: 谩骂的,不敬的
mongrel: 杂种狗;杂种的
coxcomb: 花花公子,纨袴子弟
harangue: 大声训斥