作者：罗斯玛丽·博德等
出版社：外语教学与研究出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
书虫·牛津英汉双语读物:2级上(套装共12册)试读：
威廉·莎士比亚
简介
1578年艾汶河畔的斯特拉福镇。有位男孩坐在书桌旁专心地学习，他认真听课、拼命看书。可他在想些什么呢？
1587年伦敦，一位年轻人首次到伦敦谋生。他听着闹市的喧嚣声，看看伦敦塔雄伟的大墙，望着泰晤士河的淙淙流水。“静谧的泰晤士河，潺潺地流淌，直到我唱完心中的歌。”
1601年伦敦。泰晤士河上的船夫对人群大声喊着：“快来，快来，快来呀！‘环球剧院’快挤满人啦！”2000多观众渡过河，前来观看莎士比亚的最新一部戏剧——《哈姆雷特》。
这本讲述莎士比亚生平故事的书是由托比叙述的。托比不是一个真实的人物——或许莎士比亚也曾有过这样一位朋友，不过，我们无法确知。但是书中的其他人物历史上确有其人。他们非常熟悉这位演员、诗人兼剧作家莎士比亚。他们称他“莎士比亚缙绅”，都认为他是英国最杰出的诗人。他的朋友本·琼生曾这样写道：“他不属于一个时代，而是属于所有的时代。”
本书作者詹妮弗·芭斯特是位资历很深的教师和作家，她生活在英国西南的德文郡。
1 Toby remembers
My name is Toby. I'm an old man, eighty-three this spring. My house is right in the middle of Stratford- upon-Avon, and I can watch the street market from my window. But I live very quietly now. I'm just an old man, sitting in a chair.
I once knew the greatest man in England. For thirty years I was his friend. I worked with him in the theatre, through the good times and the bad times. He was a good friend to me. He was also the best playwright, the best poet, that ever lived in England. Will Shakespeare was his name.
I saw all his plays in the theatre. People loved them. They shouted, laughed and cried, ate oranges, and called for more. All kinds of people. Kings, Queens, Princes, great lords and ladies, poor people, the boys who held the horses... everyone. Will Shakespeare could please them all.
He put me in a play once. Well, he used my name—Toby. Twelfth Night was the play, I remember. Sir Toby Belch. He was a big fat man, who liked drinking too much and having a good time. Queen Elizabeth the First watched that play—on Twelfth Night, the 6th of January, 1601. She liked it, too.
Will's dead now, of course. He's been dead more than thirty years, and no one sees his plays now. The Puritans have closed all the theatres. There's no singing, no dancing, no plays. It wasn't like that in my young days. We had a good time in London, Will and I...
I've no teeth now, and my hair has all fallen out, but I can still think—and remember. I remember when Will and I were young, just boys really...
right adj. most suitable. 恰好。
playwright n. a writer of plays. 剧作家。
lord n. a noble man of high rank. 贵族。
please v. to make amusing remark; giving satisfaction (to). 取悦；使满足。
Puritan n. (in England and New England in the 16th and 17th centuries) (a member) of a religious group that wished to make religion simpler and opposed the use of ceremony in church services. （英格兰及新英格兰在16及17世纪的）清教徒（主张宗教简朴，反对宗教仪式）。
1 托比的回忆
我叫托比，一位年迈的老人，今年春天年过83岁。我的家在艾汶河畔斯特拉福镇中心，透过窗户，便可以望到街道的闹市。我的生活平和宁静，我只是一位坐在椅子上安度晚年的老头子罢了。
我曾认识英国的一位最伟大的人物。我与他相交30年，同在剧团工作，也共同度过人生中欢乐与艰辛的岁月。他是我的好友，也是英国最优秀的剧作家，最杰出的诗人。他就是威尔·莎士比亚。
我看过他所有上演的戏剧。人们热爱他。观众们叫着、笑着，一边吃着桔子，一边嚷嚷着要看更多的戏剧。形形色色的人，上自国王、王后、王子和豪富名女，下至贫苦百姓和牵马的脚夫……所有的人，威尔·莎士比亚都能令他们开心欢娱。
他曾将我写进剧本，剧中用了我的原名——托比。我记得剧名为《第十二夜》，剧中的托比·培尔契爵士又大又胖而且喜欢酗酒行乐。女王伊丽莎白一世于1601年1月6号观看了此剧——《第十二夜》，也很喜欢。
当然威尔现在已不在人世，他过世都30多年了，如今没有人看他的戏。自从清教徒关闭了所有的剧院，就不再有歌声、舞蹈和戏剧了。如今的情形同我年轻时与威尔在伦敦度过的快乐时光相比已经大不一样了。
虽然我现在没有牙齿，头发也掉光了，但我还能思考——还能回忆，我记得威尔和我年轻的时候，还是孩子的时候……
2 Stratford-upon-Avon
It was a sunny day in October 1579 when I first met Will, just outside Stratford, near a big field of apple trees. I saw a boy up in one of the trees. He had red hair and looked about two years older than me.
'What are you doing up there?' I called.
'Just getting a few apples,' he said, smiling.
'Those are Farmer Nash's apples,' I said, 'and he'll send his dogs after you if he sees you.'
'Mr Nash has gone to market,' the boy said. 'Come on! They're good apples.'
The next minute I was up the tree with him. But Will was wrong. Farmer Nash wasn't at the market, and a few minutes later we saw his angry red face above the wall on the far side of the field.
Will and I ran like the wind and only stopped when we reached the river. We sat down to eat our apples.
Will was fifteen, and lived in Henley Street, he told me. His father was John Shakespeare, and he had a sister, Joan, and two younger brothers, Gilbert and Richard. There was another sister who died, I learnt later. And the next year he had another brother, little Edmund—the baby of the family.
'Now, what about you?' he asked.
'There's only me and my sister,' I said. 'My parents are dead, and we live with my mother's brother. He's a shoe maker in Ely Street and I work for him. What do you do?'
'I go to Mr Jenkins' school in Church Street,' Will said. 'Every day, from seven o'clock until five o'clock. Not Sundays, of course.'
I was sorry for him. 'Isn't it boring?' I asked.
'Sometimes. Usually it's all right.' He lay back and put his hands behind his head. 'But we have to read and learn all these Latin writers. I want to read modern writers, and English writers, like Geoffrey Chaucer. Can you read?' he asked.
'Of course I can read!' I said. 'I went to school.'
Will sat up and began to eat another apple. 'I want to be a writer,' he said. 'A poet. I want that more than anything in the world.'
We were friends from that day, until the day he died. We met nearly every day, and he taught me a lot about books and poetry and writers. He always had his nose in a book.
When Will left school, he worked for his father in Henley Street. John Shakespeare was a glove-maker, and he had other business too, like buying and selling sheep. But Will wasn't interested.
'What are we going to do, Toby?' he said to me one day. 'We can't spend all our lives making shoes and gloves!'
'Well,' I said, 'we could run away to sea and be sailors. Sail round the world, like Francis Drake.'
Drake sailed back to Plymouth in 1581, after his three-year journey round the world, but we were still in Stratford. We made lots of plans, but nothing ever came of them.
Will was still reading a lot and he was already writing poems himself. He sometimes showed them to me, and I said they were very good. I didn't really know anything about poetry then, but he was my friend.
Will was not happy with his writing. 'I've got so much to learn, Toby,' he said. 'So much to learn.'
Poor Will. He had a lot to learn about women, too. One day in October 1582 he came to my house with a long face.
'I'll never leave Stratford.' he said.
'Why not?' I asked. 'We'll get away one day. You'll see.'
'Perhaps you will,' he said, 'but I'm going to be married in a few weeks' time. To Anne Hathaway.'
My mouth fell open and stayed open. 'Married! To Anne Hathaway? Is that the Hathaways over at Shottery?'
'Yes,' Will said. I was working on some shoes on the table, and Will picked one up and looked at it.
'Well, er, she's a fine girl, of course,' I said uncomfortably. 'But... but, Will, she's twenty-six and you're only eighteen!'
'I know,' Will said. 'But I've got to marry her.'
'Oh no!' I said. 'You mean, she's...'
'That's right,' said Will. 'In about six months' time I'm going to be a father.'
sunny adj. having bright sunlight. 阳光充足的。
outside prep. 在外面；向……之外。
farmer n. a man who owns or plans the work on a farm. 农场主，农民。
market n. a building, square, or open place where people meet to buy and sell goods, esp. food, or sometimes animals. 市场，集市场所。
learn v. (learned or learnt) to become informed (of). 得知，获悉。
shoe-maker n. 鞋匠。
bore v. (boring) to make (someone) tired or uninterested, esp. by continual dull talk. （贬义）令人厌烦。
modern adj. of present time, or of the not far distant past; not ancient. 现代的；近代的。
nearly adv. almost; not quite or not yet completely. 几乎，近乎。
glove n. 手套。
interested adj. concerned; having or showing interest. 关切的，感兴趣的，表现出兴趣的。
sailor n. a person with a job on a ship, esp. one who is not a ship's officer. 船员，水手。
sail v. (of any ship) to travel on the water. （指任何船于水上）航行。
journey n. a trip of some distance. 旅行，旅程。
marry v. to take (a person) in marriage. 结婚。
uncomfortably adv. 不舒服地。
mean v. have in mind as or for a purpose. 意为。
2 艾汶河畔的斯特拉福镇
我第一次遇见威尔是在1579年10月的一天。那天，阳光明媚，就在斯特拉福镇外一座大苹果园附近，我看见有棵苹果树上坐着一位小男孩，长着红色头发，看模样大概大我两岁。“你在上边干什么？”我叫道。“摘几个苹果。”他笑着答道。“那可是纳什农场主的苹果，”我说，“如果他发现了，就要放狗咬你的。”“纳什先生去集市了，”男孩说道，“来吧！苹果不错。”
一会儿我也上了树。但是威尔错了，纳什先生并没去集市，几分钟后我们看见果园那端墙头露出一张气得发红的脸。
威尔和我见势撒腿就跑，一口气跑到河边才坐下来吃苹果。
威尔告诉我，他15岁，住在亨里街。他的父亲是约翰·莎士比亚，他有一个妹妹琼和两个弟弟，吉尔伯特和理查。我后来听说他还有一位姐姐死了。第二年他又添了一个弟弟——全家的宝贝小埃德蒙。“那么你呢？”他问道。“家里只有我和姐姐，”我说，“父母死后我们住在舅舅家。他是埃利街的一个鞋匠，我为他打工。你现在干什么？”“我在教堂街詹金斯先生的学校念书，”威尔说，“每天从上午7点到下午5点上学，当然不包括星期天。”
我真为他难过。“这难道不乏味吗？”我问道。“偶尔有这种感觉，不过通常觉得不错。”他仰身躺下，头枕着双手，“在学校，我们不得不学习所有那些拉丁作家的作品。可我想阅读现代作家和英国作家的作品，比如杰弗利·乔叟。你会看书吗？”他问道。“当然会啦！”我说，“我上过学。”
威尔坐起来又吃了一个苹果。“我想成为作家，”他继续说道，“诗人。世上再没有比这更令我神往的了。”
自那天起我们就成了朋友，直到他过世。我们几乎每天见面，他教了我许多关于书本、诗歌和作家的知识。他总是埋头博览群书。
威尔离开学校后就在亨里街帮助父亲料理生意。约翰·莎士比亚是一位手套工匠，同时经营其他生意，如买卖羊只。但威尔对做生意却不感兴趣。“托比，接下来你有何打算？”有一天他问我。“我们不能一辈子都做鞋和手套吧！”“对呀，”我说，“我们跑到海上当水手去，像弗朗西斯·杜雷克一样环绕地球航行。”
杜雷克在完成历时三年的环绕地球航行后于1581年回到普利茅斯，可我们还是待在斯特拉福镇。尽管也制定了种种计划，但始终未付诸行动。
这段时间威尔依然博览群书并开始写诗，偶尔还给我看他写的诗。虽然嘴上我都说他的诗写得好，实际上我对诗歌是一窍不通。只不过他是我的好友我才这么说。
威尔对自己的诗歌并不满意。“托比，我要学的东西太多了。”他说，“实在太多了。”
可怜的威尔。他还得学会了解女人。1582年10月的一天他来到我的住处，神情忧郁。“我永远不能离开斯特拉福镇了。”他说。“为什么不能？”我问道，“总有一天我们会离开此地。你等着瞧。”“或许你还行，”他说，“但过几个星期我就要结婚了。同安·哈瑟维结婚。”
一听此言我张着嘴愣了好久。“结婚。同安·哈瑟维结婚？你是说肖特雷邻乡哈瑟维家的女儿？”“没错。”威尔说。当时我在做鞋，威尔拿起桌上一只鞋，看看。“当然，嗯，她是个好姑娘，”我不自在地说道，“不过……不过，威尔，她已经26岁了，你才18岁呀！”“我知道，”威尔说，“但是我非娶她不可。”“哦，不！”我说，“你的意思是，她已经……”“你猜对了，”威尔说道，“再过6个月我就要当爸爸了。”
3 The actors come to town
Will married Anne Hathaway in November, and she came to live in Henley Street. John Shakespeare was pleased that his oldest son was married, but I don't think Will's mother wanted him to marry so young. Families cost a lot of money, and John Shakespeare was having a lot of money troubles in those days. Times were hard in Henley Street.
Susanna was born the next May. All babies look the same to me, but Will was very pleased with her.
'Look, Toby, she's got my eyes,' he said happily. 'She's going to be as beautiful as the Queen of Egypt, and as clever as King Solomon.'
'Oh yes?' I said. 'All parents talk like that about their children. I don't believe a word of it.'
I didn't see much of Will's wife. I knew she didn't like me. To her, I was one of Will's wild friends, who got him into trouble. She came from a very serious, Puritan family. Lots of church-going, and no singing or dancing.
Soon there was another baby on the way, and one evening in February 1585 I hurried round to Henley Street to hear the news. Will's sister, Joan, opened the door, and then Will came running down the stairs.
'It's two of them!' he said. 'Twins! A girl and a boy. Isn't that wonderful!'
Will had some good friends, Hamnet and Judith Sadler, and he called the twins after them. John Shakespeare was very pleased to have his first grandson, and everyone was happy. For a while.
Will and I still went around together when we could. He was still reading, and writing, and soon I could see a change in him. He was twenty-three now, and he was not happy with his life.
'Stratford's too small, Toby,' he said. 'Too slow. Too quiet. Too boring. I've got to get away.'
'Yes, but how?' I asked. 'You've got a family—three young children, remember.'
He didn't answer.
In the summer months companies of players often came to small towns, and in 1587 five different companies came. Will and I always went to see the plays. Will loved to talk to the actors and to listen to all their stories of London.
The Queen's Men came to Stratford in June, and we went to see the play. I don't remember what it was. I know that I laughed a lot, and that Will said it was a stupid play, with not a word of poetry in it.
'Why don't you write a play yourself?' I told him.
'Write a play?' He laughed. 'Anne would never speak to me again.'
I didn't say anything, and Will looked at me and laughed again.
It happened a few months later. I walked into the Shakespeares' kitchen one evening, and there was Anne, with a red, angry face, shouting at the top of her voice.
'How can you do this to me? And what about the children?' Then she saw me and stopped.
Will was sitting at the table, and looked pleased to see me. 'I've told Anne,' he said quietly, 'that I'm going to live in London. I want to be an actor, and to write plays, if I can.'
'Plays!' screamed Anne. 'Acting! Actors are dirty, wicked people! They're all thieves and criminals! They drink all day and they never go to church—'
'Don't be stupid, Anne. You know that's not true. Listen. I'll come home when I can, but I must go to London. I can't do anything in Stratford.' He looked at me across the room. 'Are you coming with me, Toby?'
'How soon can we start?' I said.
actor n. a man who acts a part in a play. 演员。
trouble n. difficulty. 困难。
wild adj. 粗野的。
serious adj. (esp. of a person's manner or character) thoughtful; solemn not gay or cheerful. （尤指人之态度或性格）严肃的，严谨的。
twin n. either of 2 children born of the same mother at the same time. 双胞胎。
wonderful adj. 绝妙的。
grandson n. 孙子，外孙。
change n. the act or result of changing. 改变。
company n. a group of actors who work together. 伙伴，伴侣。
stupid adj. silly or foolish, either generally or in a action. 呆笨的，傻的。
poetry n. quality of beauty, grace, and deep feeling. 诗意，诗情。
at the top of one's voice 高声。
scream v. to make a loud noise of anger (complaint, demand, etc.). 高声表示愤怒（不平，要求等）。
wicked adj. very bad; evil. 坏透的，险恶的。
criminal n. a person who is guilty of crime. 罪犯。
across prep. to or on the opposite side (of). 到对面；在对面。
3 演员来到镇上
11月威尔和安·哈瑟维结婚了，安住进了亨里街。约翰·莎士比亚见长子成家心里很高兴，可我觉得威尔的母亲并不想他这么早就结婚。结婚花了家里不少钱，再加上约翰·莎士比亚那段时间财运不济，日子过得有点艰难。
次年5月苏姗娜出世。对我来说，所有的孩子都没什么不一样，但威尔欣喜若狂。“托比，你瞧，她的眼睛长得真像我，”他高兴地说着，“长大后，她会美丽如埃及艳后，聪明如所罗门国王。”“是吗？”我说，“所有父母都是这么说自己的孩子。我一个字也不信。”
我不常见到威尔夫人，也清楚她不喜欢我。对她而言，我是威尔的一个粗野朋友，这种朋友只会让他出麻烦。她出生于一个虔诚的清教徒家庭，经常去教堂，从来不唱歌、跳舞。
不久，又一个孩子要出世了。1585年2月的一个夜晚我急匆匆地赶到亨里街去打听消息。威尔的妹妹琼为我开了门，接着就见威尔跑下楼梯。“一胎两个呢！”他说道，“是双胞胎！一女一男。真是妙极了！”
威尔根据好友哈姆奈特和珠迪丝·塞德勒的名字给孪生子女起了名。约翰·莎士比亚见第一个孙子出世，由衷地高兴。有一段时间，每一个人都很快乐。
只要有机会威尔和我仍然经常来往，他依然读书写作，但是不久，我发现他变了。当时他23岁，但对生活不再知足。“托比，斯特拉福镇实在太小了，”他说道，“发展缓慢，生活安静，日子又单调，我必须离开这里。”“是啊，可怎么离开呢？”我问道，“别忘了，你已经成家——还有三个孩子。”
他没有答话。
夏天经常有剧团到小镇巡回演出，1587年分别来了五个剧团。威尔和我总是结伴去看戏。威尔爱找演员们交谈，听他们讲发生在伦敦的故事。
6月“女王剧团”来到斯特拉福镇，我们又去看戏。这出戏的内容我已记不清楚，只记得当时看了开怀大笑，但是威尔说这戏很糟糕，没有一句像样的诗歌。“那你为什么不自己动手写剧本呢？”我告诉他。“写剧本？”他大笑，“安会再也不理我的。”
我不再说什么，威尔看看我又笑了。
几个月后事情就发生了。一天晚上我走进莎士比亚家的厨房，只见安涨红着脸，气呼呼地，她高声嚷着：“你怎么能这样对我？孩子怎么办？”这时她瞧见我就将话止住了。
威尔坐在桌旁，见我来很高兴。“我已经告诉安了。”他平静地说道，“我打算到伦敦去谋生。我想当一名演员，如果行的话，写写剧本。”“写剧本！”安尖声叫起来，“去演戏！演员是肮脏卑劣的人。他们都是小偷和罪犯！整天只知道喝酒行乐，也从来不去教堂——”“别犯傻了，安。你知道事实并不是这样。听着，一有机会我就回家探望，但我非去伦敦不可。待在斯特拉福镇我不会有作为的。”他看了看房间对面的我，“托比，你想一起去吗？”“什么时候动身？”我说道。
4 A new life in London
It's two days' journey to London by horse, and Will talked all the way. His eyes were bright and excited. He was full of plans, and poems, and a love of life.
'I talked to one of the Queen's Men,' he told me. 'He said that he could find me work in the theatre. Acting, perhaps. Or helping to write some plays. I showed him some of my writing, and he was very interested.'
When we rode into London, I began to feel afraid. This was a big, big city, and we were just two unimportant young men from a small town. I'll never forget the noise, and the smells, and the crowds. There were 200,000 people living in the City of London—I never saw so many people before in my life.
We went down to the river Thames and saw the famous London Bridge, with all its shops and houses. Down the river was the Tower of London. Enemies of the Queen went into the Tower through the river gate, and mostly came out without their heads.
We found a small inn in Eastcheap, not too expensive, and had some bread, meat, and beer for our supper.
'Well, we're here!' Will said. 'At last!'
'Mmm,' I said. 'What do we do next?'
He laughed. 'Everything!'
The next day we began to look for work.
Those early years were wonderful. We didn't have much money, of course, and we had to work very hard. A new actor only got six shillings a week, and there wasn't work every week. I decided not to be an actor.
'Why not?' said Will. 'It's a great life.'
We were working that month for the Queen's Men at the theatre called The Curtain up in Shoreditch. Will was acting four small parts in two different plays. He played a soldier and a murderer in one play, and in the other play he was a thief, and also an Italian lord in love with the Queen of the Night. And he loved it.
'I'm not clever like you,' I said. 'I can't remember all those words. I forget who I am! I say the soldier's words, when I'm an Italian lord. I come on stage too late, or too soon. I stand in all the wrong places...'
Will laughed. 'What are you going to do, then?'
'Costumes,' I said. 'And properties. I had a talk with John Heminges, and he said they need a new man to help with all the clothes and the other things.'
'Yes,' Will said slowly. 'You'll be good at that. Now, I've got a fight on stage tomorrow, and I have to die with lots of blood. How are you going to get me some blood?'
'I've already got it!' I smiled kindly at him. 'Sheep's blood. I got it down at Smithfield market this morning. You can have as much blood as you want. I'm keeping it warm for you!'
Will was good at acting. Not the best, but good. An actor had to do everything. He had to learn his words, of course— perhaps for six different plays at the same time. No theatre put on the same play every day. He had to dance, and sing, and play music. He had to jump, and fall, and fight. And the fights had to look real. The playgoers of London knew a real fight when they saw one.
John Heminges of the Queen's Men taught us both a lot. He was a good friend, then and for many years.
I had a lot to learn, too. I learnt how to make shoes out of brown paper. How to clean the actors' hats with a bit of bread. Then they looked like new again. I ran all over London to buy the best hair for the wigs. I learnt how to make fish, and fruit, and a piece of meat out of wood and coloured paper.
Will was busy day and night. I don't know when he slept. He was acting in plays, he was writing his own plays, he was reading books, he was meeting other writers, making friends... He was learning, learning, learning.
One day we were having a glass of beer with Richard Burbage at the Boar's Head in Eastcheap. Burbage was an actor with Lord Strange's Men. He was very friendly with Will.
'You've written four plays now, Will,' he said. 'They're good, and you're getting better all the time. And I'm getting better as an actor all the time. Come and work with Lord Strange's Men at the Rose theatre on Bankside. You can write for us.'
So we both went to the Rose. John Heminges came with us, and Augustine Phillips—he was a good actor, too.
We worked harder than ever at the Rose. Plays were always in the afternoon, because of the daylight. We had rehearsals in the morning, and by lunch-time people were already coming across the river to get their places for the play. And more and more people came. By 1592 London was hearing the name William Shakespeare again and again.
ride into 乘（马车）。
crowd n. a large number of people gathered together. 群聚。
Tower of London 伦敦塔。
enemy n. a person who hates or dislikes another person. 敌人。
mostly adv. in the greatest number of cases. 多半地。
inn n. a small hotel or place where one can stay and /or drink alcohol, eat meals etc. 小旅馆；客栈。
expensive adj. 贵的。
Shilling n. a coin in old English money (about 5p in new English money). 先令。
decide v. to make up one's mind. 决心。
soldier n. a member of an army. 士兵。
murderer n. 凶杀犯。
lord n. 勋爵。
costume n. the special clothes that an actor wears. 戏装。
property n. (in a theatre) the things which are needed on stage for a place eg. chairs, tables, boxes, bags, plates, a tree. 道具。
stage n. the part of a theatre where actors stand and move. 舞台。
blood n. 血。
jump v. 跳跃。
real adj. true, not false. 真的。
playgoer n. a person who goes to see plays, esp. regularly. 经常去看戏的人。
brown paper 牛皮纸。
wig n. hair which is not real 假发。
fruit n. 水果。
daylight n. 日光。
rehearsal n. when actors practise a play before they act in front of other people. 排练，预演。
4 伦敦的新生活
坐了两天的马车之后我们抵达伦敦，一路上威尔谈笑风生，双眼熠熠生辉，此时他踌躇满志，对生活无限热爱。“我和‘女王剧团’的一个演员聊过天，”他告诉我，“他说可以帮我在剧团找个活干，或许可以演戏，或者让我帮忙写剧本。我给他看过一些我的作品，他很感兴趣。”
我们驱车进入伦敦城时，我开始感到心慌。这是很大、很大的一座城市，而我们只是两个从小镇来的微不足道的小伙子。城市的拥挤、喧嚣掺和着种种气味令我至今记忆犹新。伦敦市内生活着20万居民——我以前从未见过这么多的人。
我们来到了泰晤士河，看到了著名的伦敦桥以及所有的商店和住宅。河下游便是伦敦塔，女王的敌人从河上的闸门进入这座塔，他们中的多数就在此掉了脑袋。
我们在东切普街找到一处不太贵的小客栈住下，晚饭吃了几块面包、肉，喝了点啤酒。“哇，我们到这儿了！”威尔说道，“终于到了！”“是啊，”我说，“接下来我们干什么呢？”
他笑道：“什么都干！”
第二天我们便出去找活干。
在伦敦最初几年的情况很好。由于身边钱不多，我们不得不努力工作。因为新演员一星期只能拿到6先令的报酬，更何况并不是每个星期都能上台演出，最后我决定放弃做演员。“为什么不干呢？”威尔说道，“这种生活不是很好吗。”
那个月我们工作的“女王剧团”正在滨渠街的“窗帘剧院”演出。威尔分别在两出不同的戏中扮演了四个小角色，在一出戏中扮演士兵和凶杀犯，在另一出戏中扮演小偷和一位爱上奈特王后的意大利勋爵。他很喜欢这份工作。“我不像你那样聪明，”我说，“我总记不住全部的台词。上了台又忘记自己演的角色！当我演意大利勋爵时我竟背出演士兵的台词。上台不是太迟就是太快，还会站错位置。”
威尔笑道，“那你打算怎么办？”“做戏装，”我说，“还有道具。我和约翰·海明谈过了，他说剧团也正需要添个人手帮着安排戏装和其他事情。”“那好吧，”威尔慢慢地说道，“你会干好的。对了，明天上台我要参加决斗，并且最后要失血过多而死。你打算怎样弄到血呢？”“我早准备好啦！”我温和地笑道，“是羊血。今天早上我跑了一趟史密斯菲尔德市场，你要多少血就有多少血。我会替你维持它的温度。”
威尔善于演戏。虽称不上最出色，但已算很好的了。演员事事都得干。最起码得学会背台词——有可能同时得背六出不同的戏的台词，因为戏院并非每天上演同一出戏。演员还得会演奏，得能歌善舞，还要跳跃，摔跤和决斗。决斗必须看起来像真的一样，否则伦敦的戏迷们一眼就可以看出真假。“女王剧团”的约翰·海明成了我们多年的朋友，他教会我们俩许多东西。
当然我要学的东西很多。我学会了如何用牛皮纸做鞋，学会了用一点面包就能洗掉演员帽子上的污渍，使帽子焕然一新。我要跑遍伦敦买到最好的头发制成假发，还懂得如何用木头和彩色纸做成鱼、水果和肉片。
威尔夜以继日地忙碌，我都不知道他什么时候睡觉。他演戏，写他自己的剧本，看书，接触其他作家，结识新朋友……他一直在学习、学习、再学习。
一天我们在东切普街的公猪头酒吧同理查·白贝芝喝酒。白贝芝是“斯特林奇大臣剧团”的演员，对威尔很友好。“威尔，你已经创作了四个剧本，”他说道，“剧本写得不错，而且你一直在进步，而我也越演越好。你就到‘斯特林奇大臣剧团’来，在河滨的‘玫瑰剧院’工作吧。你可以为我们写剧本。”
于是我们俩都进了“玫瑰剧院”。一起过来的还有约翰·海明和奥古斯丁·菲利普——他也是个好演员。
在“玫瑰剧院”，我们比以往更加努力工作。由于光线的缘故，演出总是被安排在下午。于是，我们在上午排练，到了吃午饭时，人们已经陆续过河来占位子等候看戏，而且每次来的观众有增无减。时至1592年，威廉·莎士比亚在伦敦已颇具名望。
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