论卞之琳先生对"To be, or not to be"译文的"形似"与"神似"

卞之琳先生于上世纪50年代自创格律,按照以顿代步的原则,以诗体的形式将莎士比亚的代表诗剧《哈姆雷特》译成汉语,形神兼备地再现了原文的语体风格及思想内涵,并取得了辉煌的成就。但卞先生在严格遵循自己有关顿数与字数要求的同时,也就是为了达到“形似”的同时,却让“神似”做出了不小的牺牲。本文试以卞先生所翻译的哈姆雷特在第三幕第一场那段著名独白为例,探讨其对两者的取舍与得失。

On the Merits and Demerits of Bian Zhilin's Chinese Version of Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" Soliloquy

Bian Zhilin,the well-known poet and translator,started to put Shakespeare's m,asterpiece,Hamlet,into Chinese in the 1950s,by establishing specific rules and patterns,namely,to substitute English poetic foot with Chinese pauses,and has achieved remarkable success in representing the poetic style and intellectual thought of the original.Yet,we have to say that Mr.Bian,by strictly following his rules and patterns,has managed to acquire a highly formal resemblance in his translation at the cost of substantial resemblance. This essay tries to analyze the merits and demerits of Mr.Bian's practice,based upon his Chinese version of the "To be,or not to be" soliloquy.