英语翻译纵观英国戏剧近代四百年的历史,人们发现它有“三峰三谷”,而且起短落长,整体向下,来得突兀,去得拖沓,竟至今日,落得默默无闻.虽有Harold Pinter 先生因写戏剧而获诺贝尔文学奖,但从根本上说,他的作品也是荒诞派戏剧的余韵,而不是全新的东西.英国戏剧的历史,正如大英帝国的兴衰史,在三位女王(伊丽莎白一世、维多利亚、伊丽莎白二世)的时代分别达到了三个高峰.戏剧这一英国文学史上最光辉灿烂的奇葩在上述三个时代都有其各自的代言人.莎士比亚永远是英国戏剧的象征,也是“伊丽莎白戏剧”的领袖,前承三位著名的“大学才子”.莎士比亚在戏剧上的天赋和贡献后世无人企及,后世剧作家们只能生活在他的光环之下.就连18世纪公认最杰出的戏剧家谢立丹也不例外.这位善写讽刺剧的作家最好的作品也只不过是莎式喜剧的延续.似乎莎翁之后两个世纪中,英国剧作家们最大的贡献就是普及了他的作品,修修补补.

Throughout the history of British drama in fourhundred years, it was found that it had “three summits and three troughs”, andthe peak time was short, the valley time was long, entirety downwards, come outabruptly, gone slowly. Even today, it was unknown to the public. Although Mr.Harold Pinter won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2005 for writingdramas, but fundamentally speaking, his works were the lingering charms of thetheatre of the absurd, not the brand new. The British drama history, just
like the rise and fall of the British Empire, in the three queens (Elizabeth I,
Vitoria, Elizabeth II) times respectively reaches the three summits. Drama, the
brilliantly wonderful work of the history of English literature has its own spokesperson
in the above three times. Shakespeare would always be the symbol of British
drama, the leader of “Elizabeth drama”, and the linker of the three famous “University
Wits”. Shakespeare's talent and contributions to drama was unsurpassable, later
playwrights can only live in his shadow. Even Sheridan, who was recognized the
most distinguished dramatist in the 18th century was no exception. He was good at
writing satires, but his best work was just a continuation of the Shakespearean
comedy. It seems that the two centuries after Shakespeare, British dramatists’ greatest
contribution was to popularized and patch up Shakespeare’s works.