莎剧中“亨利七世”缺席之谜——从《理查三世》中的王位合法性谈起

The Absence of“Henry VII”in Shakespeare's Works:On the Throne Legitimacy in Richard III

莎士比亚历史剧均以玫瑰内战中的各位君主为名,却从未有“亨利七世”。与同样遭此处理、生平身世却已在其他剧中有所详述的爱德华四世不同,莎士比亚对亨利七世的血统溯源、家族历史等避而不谈,偶有涉及也或重写或改编,其中以《理查三世》最为明显。值得深思的是,虽在血统方面,理查三世的王位合法性远胜过亨利·都铎,但后者却终因赢得神意支持而继位为王。表面上看,《理查三世》是两位君主动用武力争夺王位的故事,本质上则是王位合法性之争,此时神意所属大于血统优先,这跟文艺复兴时期特殊的社会历史背景密切相关。“亨利七世”的缺席是亨利·都铎继承权薄弱所致,这也是都铎王朝身披神意外衣进行绝对王权统治的表现。为给都铎王朝正名,莎士比亚竭力掩盖其在血统上的弱势,由此“亨利七世”缺席之谜可见一斑。

Most of Shakespeare's history plays are named after the kings'titles in the Wars of the Roses except Henry VII and Edward IV.Unlike the latter's detailed re-creation in other plays,the family genealogy of Henry VII has been neglected and adapted,especially in Ricbard III.Even though his kingly legitimacy is far better than that of Henry VII in bloodlines,Richard III fails abysmally.On the narrative surface,it is a story about war,but essentially it is a battle for the legitimacy of the throne.For Shakespeare,absolute monarchy in disguise of the divinity functions prior to regal bloodlines in the establishment of the Tudor Dynasty because of Henry VII's weakness in royal lineage.The facts that Shakespeare hails the Tudor Dynasty in his plays by canceling its inferiority in royal succession and proclaiming Richard III's disobedience against God explain why a play about Henry VII is absent from the canon.