鳳凰和斑鳩

四大喜劇《第十二夜》、《仲夏夜之夢》、《威尼斯商人》、《無事生非》（人教版教材稱《皆大歡喜》）。歷史劇：《亨利四世》、《亨利五世》、《理查二世》等。還寫過154首十四行詩，二首長詩。本·瓊生稱他為“時代的靈魂”，馬克思稱他和古希臘的埃斯庫羅斯為“人類最偉大的戲劇天才”。雖然莎士比亞只用英文寫作，但他卻是世界著名作家。他的大部分作品都已被譯成多種文字，其劇作也在許多國家上演。1616年4月23日病逝。

Let the bird of loudest lay,

On the sole Arabian tree,

Herald sad and trumpet be,

To whose sound chaste wings obey.

But thou, shrieking harbinger,

Foul pre-currer of the fiend,

Augur of the fever's end,

To this troop come thou not near.

From this session interdict

Every fowl of tyrant wing,

Save the eagle, feather'd king:

Keep the obsequy so strict.

Let the priest in surplice white,

That defunctive music can,

Be the death-divining swan,

Lest the requiem lack his right.

And thou, treble-dated crow,

That thy sable gender mak'st

With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st,

'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.

Here the anthem doth commence:

Love and constancy is dead;

Phoenix and the turtle fled

In a mutual flame from hence.

So they lov'd, as love in twain

Had the essence but in one;

Two distincts, division none:

Number there in love was slain.

Hearts remote, yet not asunder;

Distance, and no space was seen

'Twixt the turtle and his queen;

But in them it were a wonder.

So between them love did shine,

That the turtle saw his right

Flaming in the phoenix' sight:

Either was the other's mine.

Property was thus appall'd,

That the self was not the same;

Single nature's double name

Neither two nor one was call'd.

Reason, in itself confounded,

Saw division grow together;

To themselves yet either-neither,

Simple were so well compounded

That it cried how true a twain

Seemeth this concordant one!

Love hath reason, reason none

If what parts can so remain.

Whereupon it made this threne

To the phoenix and the dove,

Co-supreme and stars of love;

As chorus to their tragic scene.

THRENOS.

Beauty, truth, and rarity.

Grace in all simplicity,

Here enclos'd in cinders lie.

Death is now the phoenix' nest;

And the turtle's loyal breast

To eternity doth rest,

Leaving no posterity:--

'Twas not their infirmity,

It was married chastity.

Truth may seem, but cannot be:

Beauty brag, but 'tis not she;

Truth and beauty buried be.

To this urn let those repair

That are either true or fair;

For these dead birds sigh a prayer.

讓那歌喉最響亮的鳥雀，

飛上獨立的鳳樹的枝頭，

宣佈訃告，把哀樂演奏，

一切飛禽都和着拍子跳躍。

可是你叫聲刺耳的狂徒，

你魔鬼的邪惡的信使，

死神的忠實的信士，

千萬別走近我們的隊伍。

任何專橫跋扈的暴徒，

都不容走近我們的會場，

只除了鷹，那羽族之王：

葬禮的尊嚴不容翫忽。

讓那身穿着白色袈裟，

懂得死亡之曲的牧師，

唱出死神來臨的輓詩，

並由他領着作彌撒。

還有你壽長過人的烏鴉，

也必須參加哭喪的隊伍，

你生來穿着黑色的喪服，

開口就像哭不用作假。

接着他們唱出送喪的哀辭，

愛情和忠貞已經死亡；

鳳和鳩化作一團火光

一同飛昇，離開了塵世。

它們是那樣彼此相愛，

彷彿兩者已合為一體；

分明是二，卻又渾然為一：

是一是二，誰也難猜。

兩顆心分開，卻又在一起；

斑鳩雖和它的皇后分開，

它們之間卻並無距離存在：

這情景只能説是奇蹟。

愛情在它倆之間如電光閃灼，

斑鳩藉着鳳凰的眼睛，

就能清楚地看見自身：

彼此都認為對方是我。

物性彷彿已失去規矩，

本身竟可以並非本身，

形體相合又各自有名，

兩者既分為二又合為一。

理智本身也無能為力，

它明明看到合一的分離，

二者全不知誰是自己，

這單一體原又是複合體。

它不禁叫道，“多奇怪，

這到底是二還是一！

這情景如果長存下去，

理智將變作愛情的奴才。”

因此它唱出一首哀歌，

敬獻給鳳凰和斑鳩，

這愛情的明星和旗手，

弔唁它們的悲慘結果。

哀歌

美、真、至上的感情，

如此可貴，如此真純，

現在竟一同化作灰燼。

鳳巢現在已不復存在；

那斑鳩的忠貞情懷，

此一去，永遠難再。

也未留下後代兒孫——

這並非因它們身體有病，

而是因為婚後仍童身。

從今後，再説真，是謊，

再有美，不過是假相，

真和美已被埋葬。

不真不美的也別牢騷，

這骨灰瓶可以任你瞧，

這兩隻死鳥正為你默禱。