King Richard the Third

864

Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this son of York;

  --- King Richard III   I, i, 1

discontent: malcontent.  son: with a pun on sun

Grim-visaged War hath smoothed his wrinkled front;

  --- King Richard III   I, i, 9

Grim-visaged: with a stern face.  wrinkled front: frowning brow

He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber

To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.

  --- King Richard III   I, i,12

capers: jumps or runs about as though enjoying oneself.  lascivious: feeling or causing sexual desire

(Why, I, in) this weak piping time of peace,

  --- King Richard III   I, i,24

piping times: peaceful times in which the music of the pastoral pipe is heard, instead of that of the martial fife

No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity.

  --- King Richard III   I, ii, 71

touch: feeling

Look how my ring encompasseth thy finger,

Even so thy breast encloseth my poor heart:

Wear both of them, for both of them are thine.

  --- King Richard III   I, ii, 203

看這戒指正好套上妳手指，

好比妳胸脯緊緊包住我的心：

把戒指和我的心都收下吧，這兩樣都屬於妳。encompasseth: encircles

870

Was ever woman in this humor wooed?

Was ever woman in this humor won?

  --- King Richard III   I, ii, 227

humor: temporary state of mind

A sweeter and a lovelier gentleman,

Framed in the prodigality of nature--

--- King Richard III  I, ii, 242

Framed … nature: graced with lots of natural gifts

(I cannot tell,) the world is grown so bad

That wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch.

--- King Richard III  I, iii, 69

世界變壞了

鷦鷯橫行 老鷹卻沒立足之地。

Since every Jack became a gentleman,

Theres many a gentle person made a Jack.

  --- King Richard III   I, iii, 71

Jack: low-bred or ill-mannered fellow, knave

And thus I clothe my naked villainy

With odd old ends stol’n forth of holy writ,

And seem a saint when most I play the devil.

--- King Richard III  I, iii, 335

ends: fragments, tags, quotations

Talkers are no good doers. Be assur’d;

We go to use our hands, and not our tongues.

  --- King Richard III  I, iii, 350

O, I have passed a miserable night,

So full of fearful dreams, of ugly sights,

That, as I am a Christian faithful man,

I would not spend another such a night

Though ‘twere to buy a world of happy days--

--- King Richard III  I, iv, 2

Lord, Lord! methought, what pain it was to drown!

What dreadful noise of waters in mine ears!

What ugly sights of death within mine eyes!

Methought I saw a thousand fearful wracks;

A thousand men that fishes gnaw upon;

--- King Richard III  I, iv, 21

(Unto) the kingdom of perpetual night.

--- King Richard III  I, iv, 47

Sorrow breaks seasons and reposing hours,

Makes the night morning and the noontide night:

--- King Richard III  I, iv, 76

A parlous boy!

--- King Richard III  II, iv, 35

parlous: clever, precocious

So wise so young, they say, do never live long.

--- King Richard III  III, i, 79

俗話說 智慧開得早，壽命活不長。

Off with his head!

--- King Richard III  III, iv, 75

880

Lives like a drunken sailor on a mast,

Ready with every nod to tumble down

Into the fatal bowels of the deep.

--- King Richard III  III, iv, 99

bowels: the deepest inner part of something

I am not in the giving vein today.

  --- King Richard III  IV, ii, 115

我今天沒有心情來施予。   vein: disposition, humour

The sons of Edward sleep in Abraham’s bosom,

  --- King Richard III  IV, iii, 38

Abraham’s bosom: i.e. heaven (see Luke 16:22ff.).  Edward’s sons have been carried off by the angels.

Thou cam’st on earth to make the earth my hell.

你來到人世 卻把人世變成我的地獄。

A grievous burden was thy birth to me,

Tetchy and wayward was thy infancy;

--- King Richard III  IV, iv, 167

Tetchy: fretful

Bloody thou art, bloody will be thy end;

Shame serves thy life and doth thy death attend.

--- King Richard III  IV, iv, 195

serves: attends

An honest tale speeds best being plainly told.

--- King Richard III  IV, iv, 358

speeds: succeeds

Harp not on that string, (madam, that is past.)

--- King Richard III  IV, iv, 364

Harp: hit upon. Don’t harp on that point.

Relenting fool, and shallow, changing woman!

--- King Richard III  IV, iv, 431

Relenting: easily moved to pity.

Is the chair empty? is the sword unswayed?

Is the King dead? the empire unpossessed?

--- King Richard III  IV, iv, 469

sword: symbol of regal power or authority.  unswayed: not wielded, uncontrolled.  empire: kingdom

#

Thus far into the bowels of the land

Have we marched on without impediment;

--- King Richard III  V, ii, 3

True hope is swift and flies with swallow’s wings,

Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.

--- King Richard III  V, ii, 23

希望快成真 像燕子展翅飛翔，

國王可以成眾神，平民可以為國王。

(Besides,) the King’s name is a tower of strength,

--- King Richard III  V, iii, 12

890

Give me another horse! bind up my wounds!

--- King Richard III  V, iii, 177

#

O coward conscience, how doth thou afflict me!

--- King Richard III  V, iii, 179

My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,

And every tongue brings in a several tale,

And every tale condemns me for a villain.

--- King Richard III  V, iii, 193

By the apostle Paul, shadows to-night

Have strook more terror to the soul of Richard

Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers

--- King Richard III  V, iii, 216

strook: struck.  substance: creature

Conscience is but a word that cowards use,

Devised at first to keep the strong in awe:

--- King Richard III  V, iii, 309

A horse, a horse! my kingdom for a horse!

--- King Richard III  V, iv, 7

894

(Slave,) I have set my life upon a cast,

And I will stand the hazard of the die.

I think there be six Richmonds in the field;

--- King Richard III  V, iv, 9

cast: throw of the dice.  die: singular of dice.  six Richmonds: i.e. Richmond and five men dressed like him (a common stratagem in battle).