莎翁是基佬? 掉節操論調惹衆說紛紜

A new debate has broken out between some of the world's top Shakespeare experts over whether the playwright's sonnets prove he was attracted to men.

在世界頂級莎士比亞學者中間，一個新的輿論炸開了鍋：這位劇作家的十四行詩是不是在暗示他被男性所吸引着？

Sir Brian Vickers, a visiting professor at University College London, began the row by condemning a book review which suggested Sonnet 116 appears in a 'primarily homosexual context'

倫敦大學學院的客座教授布萊恩·威克斯爵士第一個對此論調提出懷疑，他抨擊了一本解讀莎士比亞十四行詩的第116首“首先是一個同性戀文本”的書評。

In a letter to the Times Literary Supplement, he said the claim was 'anachronistic' because scholars now accept there were forms of rhetoric that allowed men to express love without implying sexual attraction.

在寫給《泰晤士報文學增刊》的信中，他說道，因爲如今學者都承認，在不表明性向的時候，有一些特定的修辭用來表達對男性的愛意，這種論調是“不合時宜的”。

He also said that any attempt to find biographical information in the sonnets was doomed because Shakespeare was a professional who wrote under the identity of a 'poet-persona'.

他也說道，任何試圖在十四行詩中尋找傳記信息的企圖都是註定失敗的，因爲莎士比亞是個專業的帶着“詩人面具”寫作的人。

Fellow academics have since hit back at Mr Vickers' comments, accusing him of promoting 'one of the great fallacies of modern Shakespeare criticism'.

隨後的一些學者開始攻擊威克斯的論調，指控他在傳播“一個現代莎士比亞評論界的大謬誤”。

Scholar Arthur Freeman, who described himself as a 'friendly acquaintance' of Mr Vickers when responding to him via the letters page, accused him of introducing 'presuppositions that many of us would question, if not reject out of hand'.

亞瑟·弗里曼學者，聲稱自己是威克斯先生的“友人”，在信上指控他“再不住手的話，我們都要對你的假設提出懷疑了”。

He wrote: 'I cannot think of any responsible editor ... who would dismiss the premise of homosexual, as well as heterosexual passion pervading [the sonnets].

他寫道：“我不能想到任何一位有責任的編輯……在讀着這些瀰漫了異性戀熱情的十四行詩時，會對同性戀這個前提置之不理。

'Why should Shakespeare alone be thought so committed to the "negative capability" of his dramatic craft that all his most personal writings are treated as potentially artificial?

“爲什麼莎士比亞所有個人作品都要被認定有人工合成的可能性，並他這些戲劇性的作品被認爲是擁有了“消極的才能”？

‘And even if we insist on regarding the sonnets, wholly or in part, as a kind of long-term dramatic narrative ... why on earth would Shakespeare choose so often to impersonate a pathetically ageing, balding, lame and vulnerable bisexual suitor, abjectly whingeing about rejection and betrayal — unless the self-humiliation that surfaces again and again through these particulars were both genuine and cathartic?'

“而且即使我們這麼認定他的十四行詩（全部或部分），作爲一種長時間的充滿戲劇性的敘事……究竟爲何莎士比亞要選擇如此頻繁的去扮演一個可悲的，禿着頭，跛着腳，脆弱且垂垂老矣的雙性戀的起訴人，悲慘地抱怨着拒絕和背叛——除非通過這些細節可以看出其一次又一次浮出水面的自卑情結，是真實可信的。”

Mr Vickers responded by saying he could not stop people from speculating, adding: 'Thought is free.

威克斯先生迴應道，他不能阻止人們的猜想，並補充道：“一千人心中有一千個哈姆雷特。

'But if you fix these codes and then say that his 126 poems are like this, then people stop reading them as poems. They read them as biographical documents, looking for imputed sexuality.'

“但是如果你糾結於這些暗示，並且認定他的126首詩都是如此，那麼人們就不會把他的詩當作詩，而是作爲傳記文獻開始尋找性向的蛛絲馬跡。”

Although there are few references to anything other than noble love, some sonnets appear more explicit than others.

雖然描寫高尚愛情的文獻沒有很多，一些十四行詩顯露的還是比其他要明顯。

Sonnet 20 is largely interpreted as being dedicated to a man, declaring: 'A woman's face with nature's own hand painted / Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion.'

十四行詩第20首，很普遍的被認爲是專寫給男人的，其寫道：“造物手繪你女性的臉龐－你是我鍾愛的嬌嬌檀郎！”

In 2012, Shakespearean actor Sir Ian McKellen boldly announced that there was absolutely 'no doubt' the bard was bisexual.

在2012年，扮演莎士比亞的演員伊恩·麥克萊恩爵士大膽宣稱，“毫無疑問”這位吟遊詩人是雙性戀。

The 75-year-old thespian said he came to his conclusion after studying the English poet's work.

這位75歲高齡的演員聲稱自己在研究這位英國詩人的鉅作後得出了這個結論。

At the time, he said: 'I'd say Shakespeare slept with men.

當時他說道：“我敢說他肯定和男人睡過。

'The Merchant of Venice, centering on how the world treats gays as well as Jews, has a love triangle between an older man, younger man and a woman.

“在《威尼斯商人》中，其宗旨放在說明全世界怎樣像對待猶太人一樣對待同性戀，且在一個老人，一個青年和一個女人中存在三角關係。

'And the complexity in his comedies with cross-dressing and disguises is immense.’

“而且在他的喜劇中異裝癖和化妝非常常見。”