莎士比亚的《凯撒》与共和主义

Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and Republicanism

《朱利斯·凯撒》(1599)是莎士比亚第一部悲剧。作为主人公的凯撒,在剧中仅出现了三场,一反人们熟悉的凯撒大帝的传统形象,莎士比亚的"凯撒"衰老,耳聋,迷信,虚妄,并且在名为《凯撒》的五幕剧中,在第三幕第一场就死掉了。莎翁为何要这样重塑凯撒的形象?何以这样明显有违"常识"的版本,仍能得到观众的热爱?从古罗马到中世纪再到文艺复兴时期,凯撒的形象发生了一系列流变,并就此产生了文、史两支不同的阐释传统。"凯撒"一词逐渐演变为王制、帝制、以及君主专制代码,进而在各种文学-历史叙事的包裹之下滚动成为"凯撒神话"。莎士比亚的"凯撒"年老体衰、兼有残疾与性格缺陷,这个"去神话"的形象骤然从身后声名的天顶一下子跌到了历史的最低点,莎翁的《凯撒》由此成为一个具有坐标意义的文本。莎翁与共和主义传统有着密切的关联,《凯撒》的上演则与伊丽莎白时代埃塞克斯叛乱事件有着互文关系。与此前的文学传统相较,《凯撒》一剧无疑是"逆流而动"的,但若从思想史的趋向来看,则与时代潮流符合若契,从而这个严重"失实"的文本却会大受民众的欢迎。

Julius Caesar （1599） was Shakespeare＇s first tragedy. Julius Caesar was described as an old, feeble, deaf, epileptic, self-conceited and superstitious person, who appears only in three scenes and dies half - way in the namesake play. Why should Shakespeare go against the well-received traditional image of Caesar and remould the character in such an outrageous way, which has been and is still applauded by the audience？ This paper explores the vicissitudes of Caesar＇s image from the classical age, to the medieval times and then to the Renaissance period, and traces the differences between the literary tradition and the historical tradition in how to depict the image of Caesar. This paper also elaborates how the word ＂Caesar＂ became a byword for monarchs, emperors and tyrants, and how it evolved into ＂ Caesar myth＂, demonstrates how deeply Shakespeare was soaked in the Republican tradition, and delves into the contextual relation between Shakespeare＇ s Julius Caesar onstage and the Essex Revolt in reality during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. This paper further points out that Shakespeare＇ s Julius Caesar is a text of great significance, thus serving to coordinate relating texts. Though it appears to go against the literary trend, it resonates with the changes of times from the perspective of ideological history, which explains why this ＂distorted＂ image of Caesar has been and is still enjoyed by the people.