“被一头熊追下”:《冬天的故事》中熊的书写

“Exit, Pursued by a Bear”: Analysis of the Bear in The Winter’s Tale

《冬天的故事》是莎士比亚后期创作的传奇剧,其中有“被一头熊追下”的舞台指示,这也是莎士比亚所有作品中最有名的舞台指示。“熊”这一动物好像出现得非常突兀,在全剧中仅出现几次,似乎无关紧要,实则大有深意。这句舞台指示与同时代颇受欢迎的逗熊活动及历史背景密切相关。剧作家选择熊一方面是因为它代表着残暴和无情,另一方面是因为其意象在改变戏剧氛围和悲喜剧文类上起到重要作用。

The Winter’s Tale is a legendary play written by Shakespeare in the later period of his creation. “Exit, pursued by a Bear”, a stage direction in the play, is the most famous one among his plays. The abrupt appearance of the “bear”, which only appears a few times in the whole play, seems to be irrelevant, but is actually very meaningful. Studies show that the stage direction is closely related to the historical background of bearbaiting popular in Elizabethan England. For Shakespeare, the bear typifies ferocity and mercilessness, and plays a significant role in changing dramatic atmosphere and the genre from tragedy to comedy.