“旧人”与“新人”的融合

在莎士比亚早期的抒情诗和喜剧中 ,古希腊式的爱欲冲动与个性自由、基督教式的节制忍耐与仁慈博爱 ,水乳交融 ,基督教文化在剔除了极端的禁欲主义成分后显示出自然人性的活泼与亮丽。早期历史剧在肯定人的现实欲望的合理性以及人自身力量与价值的同时 ,又仰望上帝的恩典 ,把耶稣式仁慈宽厚的秉性赋予了人间的帝王。中期的悲剧一方面描绘了“恶欲践踏仁厚”的现实 ,另一方面又以宽厚、仁慈、博爱作为映照是非善恶之明镜 ,在道义上鞭挞邪恶。晚期的传奇剧更是在仁慈、宽厚、节制、博爱等基督式的宽广与深沉中表现了对人类的理想与希望。莎士比亚的创作集中表现了世俗人本传统与宗教人本传统的融合 ,其作品中的人文主义思想比以往我国学界所理解的要丰富得多。莎士比亚的创作把中世纪时代的“旧人”和文艺复兴早期的“新人”融为了一体。

New Critique on Shakespeare's Humanism

In Shakespeare's early lyrics and comedies, ancient Greek desire and individual freedom are combined with Christian abstention and mercy perfectly. After eliminating the extreme asceticism, Christian culture displays the beauty of human nature. His early chronicle plays not only affirm the rationality of desire and human power and value, but also endow monarch with Jesus' mercy and lenience. His medium-term tragedies on one hand, depict the reality of evil desire overriding the clemency, on the other hand, reflect the kindness and evil by making clemency and caritas as a mirror and castigate the evil. His afternoon legend plays express more ideal and hope of Mankind in the way of Jesus' lenience and caritas. Taken together, Shakespeare's composition is a model of combining the Greek secular humanistic consciousness and Hebraic religious humanistic consciousness, and also blends the "ancient people" of Middle Ages and the "modern people" of early Renaissance.