There's a play so powerful that an old superstition says its name should never even be uttered in a theater,
有一出剧魔力十足，甚至于有古老的迷信说不应在剧场提到它的名字，
a play that begins with witchcraft and ends with a bloody severed head,
这是以巫术开始，以血淋淋砍掉的头颅结束的剧，
a play filled with riddles, prophesies, nightmare visions, and lots of brutal murder,
这是一出充满谜语、预言、恶梦惊兆以及一连串残忍谋杀的剧，
a play by William Shakespeare sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Play" or the "Tragedy of Macbeth."
这是威廉·莎士比亚所写的一出剧，有时称为“那部苏格兰话剧”或“麦克白悲剧”。
First performed at the Globe Theater in London in 1606, "Macbeth" is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy.
《麦克白》于1606年在伦敦环球剧场首演，是莎士比亚最短的悲剧。
It is also one of his most action-packed.
它也是动作最密集的一出。
In five acts, he recounts a story of a Scottish nobleman who steals the throne,
该剧共有五幕，叙述了一位苏格兰贵族的故事，他偷夺王位、
presides over a reign of terror, and then meets a bloody end.
展开恐怖统治，最终面对血腥的结局。
Along the way, it asks important questions about ambition, power, and violence
过程中问及一些关于野心、权力和暴力的重要问题，
that spoke directly to the politics of Shakespeare's time and continue to echo in our own.
直接回应莎士比亚当时的政治情况，并在我们的时代回响不断。
England in the early 17th century was politically precarious.
17世纪初，英格兰政局不稳。
Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603 without producing an heir,
女王伊丽莎白一世于1603年去世，膝下无子，
and in a surprise move, her advisors passed the crown to James Stewart, King of Scotland.
而意外地，她的亲信传位于苏格兰国王詹姆士·斯图亚特。
Two years later, James was subject to an assassination attempt called the Gunpowder Plot.
两年后，詹姆士成为了暗杀的目标，此事件被称为“火药阴谋”。
Questions of what made for a legitimate king were on everyone's lips.
成为正当国王的条件是人人谈论的话题，
So Shakespeare must have known he had potent material
所以莎士比亚一定知道大众会对他的材料感兴趣，
when he conflated and adapted the stories of a murderous 11th century Scottish King named Macbeth and those of several other Scottish nobles.
当时他在拼凑和改编这些关于11世纪苏格兰国王麦克白和其他数个苏格兰贵族的故事。
He found their annals in Hollinshed's "Chronicles," a popular 16th century history of Britain and Ireland.
他在霍林斯赫德的《编年史》找到相关记录，那是一本记载16世纪英国和爱尔兰的流行历史书。
Shakespeare would also have known he needed to tell his story in a way
莎士比亚也知道他需要以某种方式讲述他的故事，
that would immediately grab the attention of his diverse and rowdy audience.
这种方式能实时吸引各个阶层、吵闹粗鲁的观众的注意。
The Globe welcomed all sections of society.
环球剧场欢迎社会各阶层人士进场。
Wealthier patrons watched the stage from covered balconies
较富有的赞助人在楼座包厢里看戏，
while poorer people paid a penny to take in the show from an open-air section called the pit.
而较贫穷的人花一便士在露天区域（pit）观看。
Talking, jeering, and cheering was common during performances.
表演期间，谈话、起哄、欢呼是常见之事。
There are even accounts of audiences throwing furniture when plays were flops.
甚至当台上的戏烂透的时候，观众会摔桌椅。

So "Macbeth" opens with a literal bang. Thunder cracks and three witches appear.
因此“麦克白”开场便轰然一声。雷声裂天，三个女巫出现。
They announce they're searching for a Scottish nobleman and war hero named Macbeth,
她们宣称自己正在寻找一位名叫麦克白的苏格兰贵族、战争英雄，
then fly off while chanting a curse that predicts a world gone mad.
然后一边念着预言世界将陷入疯狂的诅咒，一边飞走。
"Fair is foul and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air."
“美即丑恶丑即美。翱翔毒雾妖云里。”
As seen later, they find Macbeth and his fellow nobleman Banquo.
之后，她们找到麦克白和他的贵族跟随者班戈。
"All hail Macbeth," they prophesize, "that shalt be king hereafter!"
“万岁，麦克白！”她们预言，“你会成为未来的国王！”
"King?" Macbeth wonders. Just what would he have to do to gain the crown?
“国王？”麦克白忖思着。他要如何获取王位？
Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth soon chart a course of murder, lies, and betrayal.
麦克白和他的妻子麦克白夫人很快便策划了一连串的谋杀、谎言和背叛。
In the ensuing bloodbath, Shakespeare provides viewers with some of the most memorable passages in English literature.
在随之发生的血腥事件中，莎士比亚为观众带来了英国文学中一些最难忘的段落。
"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" Lady Macbeth cries when she believes she can't wipe her victim's blood off her hands.
麦克白夫人叫喊：“洗掉吧，这该死的污点！我说了！”她臆断无法抺去自己杀人时手上沾上的血。
Her obsession with guilt is one of many themes that runs through the play,
她对内疚的执著是贯穿全剧的众多主题之一，
along with the universal tendency to abuse power, the endless cycles of violence and betrayal, the defying political conflict.
其余还包括滥用权力的普遍倾向、暴力和背叛的无尽循环、对抗政权的政治斗争。
As is typical with Shakespeare's language,
一如莎士比亚语言的典型特征，
a number of phrases that got their start in the play have been repeated so many times that they now feel commonplace.
许多短语在剧中一开始就被重复了很多次，现已成为了平常用语。
They include "the milk of human kindness," "what's done is done,"
其中就包括“人类的善良天性”、“事已至此”
and the famous witches' spell, "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble."
以及著名的女巫咒语“不惮辛劳不惮烦，釜中沸沫已成澜”。
But Shakespeare saves the juiciest bit of all for Macbeth himself.
而莎士比亚把最深刻的留给了麦克白。
Towards the end of the play, Macbeth reflects on the universality of death and the futility of life.
在戏剧尾声，麦克白反思无可避免的死亡以及生命的枉然。
"Out, out, brief candle!" he laments.
他哀叹：“熄灭了吧！熄灭了吧！短促的烛光”
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.
“人生不过是一个行走的影子，一个在舞台上比手划脚的伶人，登场了片刻就在无声中悄然退下。
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing."
它是一个愚人所讲的故事，充满着喧哗和骚动，找不到一点意义。”
Life may be a tale told my an idiot, but "Macbeth" is not.
生命或许是愚人所讲的故事，但《麦克白》不是。
Shakespeare's language and characters have entered our cultural consciousness to a rare extent.
莎士比亚的语言和角色，以一种罕见的程度融入了我们的文化意识。
Directors often use the story to shed light on abuses of power, ranging from the American mafia to dictators across the globe.
导演经常通过这则故事来揭示从美国的黑手党到世界各地的独裁者的权力滥用。
The play has been adapted to film many times,
此剧多次被改编成电影，
including Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood," which takes place in feudal Japan,
包括黑泽明的《蜘蛛巢城》，场景设定于日本战国时代，
and a modernized version called "Scotland, PA," in which Macbeth and his rivals are managers of competing fast food restaurants.
还有一个现代版本《苏格兰场》，讲述了麦克白和他的对手是互相竞争的快餐店经理。
No matter the presentation, questions of morality, politics, and power are still relevant today,
不论呈现方式如何，道德、政治和权力的问题在今天仍然是相关的，
and so, it seems, is Shakespeare's "Macbeth."
莎士比亚的《麦克白》似乎亦然。