il Giardino Romantico

Before perusing this article, it is recommended that this article be read first.
閱讀此文前，建議先看『讓雕像告訴你莎士比亞名劇的故事』。

Before perusing this article, it is recommended that this article be read first.
閱讀此文前，建議先看『讓雕像告訴你莎士比亞名劇的故事』。

Before perusing this article, it is recommended that this article be read first.
閱讀此文前，建議先看『讓雕像告訴你莎士比亞名劇的故事』。 
 

Before perusing this article, it is recommended that this article be read first.
閱讀此文前，建議先看『讓雕像告訴你莎士比亞名劇的故事』。 
 

Before perusing this article, it is recommended that this article be read first.
閱讀此文前，建議先看『讓雕像告訴你莎士比亞名劇的故事』。
 

Originally, this was supposed to be the last of the Shakespeare's Hometown series.  However, I could not think of an easier way to present all the photos AND all the words that must go along with them within one article.  After thinking about this for a few days, I've decided that it would be impossible to do this within a single article.  Especially after one whole year of torment, there was no way I could recount any of Shakespeare's works within one or two sentences.  However, I did want to use this opportunity to introduce, in the easiest way possible, his works to all my readers.  That is why this is nothing close to 'the last' of this series.
原本，這篇文章應該是【莎翁故鄉】系列的最終回。不過這幾天一直在想，要怎麼樣將圖多文也多的文章『輕鬆』的呈現。想了好幾天，我得到的結論是：不可能。圖片多，或許看得輕鬆。但經過了一整年的折磨，要我三言兩語就交代整齣莎劇的劇情是不可能的事。但又希望藉此機會與大家以最簡單的方式了解莎劇劇情。只好又把他拆為好幾篇比較小篇的文章。
The inspiration for this subseries, comes from the 'essence' mentioned in my previous article.  Although they only make up a tiny bit of the whole garden, and you must pay very close attention in order to see all of them, just a glimpse, and you'll see why they are such successful artworks.  The 'essence' refers to the sculptures of Shakespearean plays. Other than the dramatis personaes, you can easily grasp the main plot and theme of each of the plays by looking at them.  Now, do you understand why I simply cannot cram all of this into a single entry?
其實這系列中的系列，靈感的確就是上篇所提到的New Place花園中的『精髓』。雖然與花園比率不成正比，且要很專心才能看到全部的作品但一經觀察，就能了解每一個作品他成功的地方。所謂的『精髓』就是散佈在花園各各角落的這些雕像。除了劇中主要人物，其實仔細看，你也能看出每一齣戲大概是在敘述著什麼樣的故事。現在，你是否能了解，為何這一篇不能夠當作『一篇』發表了嗎？
From 'Hamlet'
出自於『哈母雷特』
From 'King Lear'
出自於『李爾王』
 
From 'Macbeth'
出自於『馬克白』
 
From 'The Tempest'
出自於『暴風雨』
"The Winter's Tale" 【冬天的故事】
This is a story about love.  Out of jealousy, a king believes his wife is having an affair with another king.  He also believes that the child she is carrying is not his.  The queen is suspected to die of grief shortly after, and because the child is believed to be a bastard, it was sent away.  Fifteen years after, a young man falls in love with a young lady.  The young man is the prince of the king, with whom the king believed the queen was having an affair.  The prince wants to marry the young lady, but his father does not think her background fit for royal matrimony.  The lovers decide to elope.  The lady then finds out that she is actually a king's daughter, reunites with her father, and the prince's king has no more reason to object to their marriage.  At this time, the king starts to remorse over what he had done to his wife.  He is taken in front of a statue to repent.  As he repents, the statue comes alive, and the king realises that his wife had never died.  She had only been temporarily turned into a statue for her own protection.  The family reunites, and lived 'happily ever after'.
這是一齣關於愛情的故事。一位國王基於忌妒，懷疑妻子與他國國王有染。雖然妻子懷著孩子，卻也堅信那孩子不是他的。妻子疑似傷心過度而死。而女兒在出生後，也因為國王不視他為親生的，而放逐至外島。十五年之後，年輕女孩愛上了年輕男孩。原來這男孩就是當初疑似與皇后有染的那位國王的兒子。這位國王因為覺得女孩不配王室，而不願答應他們的婚事。當他們私奔來到第一位國王的領土，女孩才得知自己原來是國王的女兒。當然，這樣一來，王子的父親也再也不反對他們之間的婚事。然而此時，國王卻開始懊悔當初如何對待自己的妻子。但一位仙女卻出現，並請他到一尊雕像前懺悔。這尊雕像原來就是國王的妻子。也在國王認錯之後奇蹟般的活了起來。原來，妻子一直都活著。只是被魔法暫時性的化為雕像。從此國王的家庭才得以團聚。圓滿落幕。

This was the last four of the five Shakespeare's Houses that we visited.  Because of time and energy, we had to give up on the last and furthest one - Mary Arden's Farm.  However, as I had repeatedly stated, you get enough worth of the five-house ticket by going to more than two houses already.  Nash's House, does and doesn't have any direct relation to Shakespeare, depending on how you look at it.  The house belonged to Thomas Nash, first husband of Shakespeare's granddaughter, Elizabeth Barnard.  The most significant fact is that the space next to it, now called 'New Place' once stood the house where Shakespeare resided after retirement, and it was also the place in which he died.  The house had long been demolished, and the grounds had been transformed into a garden.  I personally think that the essence of the whole place lies in the back garden.  After your tour of the house, come out through the side door into the garden.  Since the back garden contains the so-called 'essence' of the whole place, it deserves its own separate article.  Let's take a short look at the house itself, and the garden by it.
Nash's House正是我們參觀的莎士比亞五間屋子裡其中四間的最後一站。因為時間以及體力的關係，我們捨棄距離最遙遠的Mary Arden's Farm。不過正如我ㄧ再強調，只要看到兩間以上，套票的價錢就已經比單獨一間還要划算了。其實Nash's House，與莎士比亞算有關，也算沒關係。屋主Thomas Nash是莎士比亞孫女Elizabeth Barnard的第一位丈夫。而這裡最主要的重點，其實是旁邊所謂的New Place。此地曾經是莎士比亞退休後以及往生前所居住的房子所在地。不過該房子早已經被拆了。因此這個地方就被改造成公園。Nash's House參觀完之後，可從旁邊的小門通到花園。天仙認為，旁邊的花園雖然美，但後花園更是精華。不過因為是精華，所以值得單獨一篇介紹。此篇文章就先來瞧瞧Nash's House以及New Place花園的景色吧。
Photography is forbidden in the house, so I took many pictures of the outside to make up for it.
屋內展示不容許拍照。所以只好多拍幾張戶外景色。
Explanatory sign.  The back garden is an Elizabethan Knot Garden.
說明立牌。後方花園是伊莉莎白式結園。
Peeking into New Place.
偷窺New Place
Path to the knot garden.
通往結園小道。
Another passage.
也是小道。
Seemingly empty and vacant, but in actuality, the essence of this whole place lie hidden here.
看似一片空曠，卻是此地精隨藏身之處。
Wait for the next article to find out what the 'essence' is...
下篇再揭曉"精隨"到底是什麼... 

If you come to Stratford-upon-Avon, this place is almost as unavoidable as a lot of the other places in this town.  The statues in the following pictures are located in Bancroft Gardens, by the river Avon.  Collectively, they are called the Gower Memorial.  These life-size statues of Shakespearean characters come from Hamlet, Henry IV, Henry V, and Macbeth.  Each statue represents a different theme of Shakespearean plays.
來到Stratford-upon-Avon，很難不去注意到下列這些照片中的莎劇雕像。這些位於Avon河邊的Bancroft Gardens中的雕像，集體稱為Gower Memorial。特色就是有四座真實比例的莎翁劇中的人物雕像。這四座雕像分別出自於：哈姆雷特、亨利四世、亨利五世以及馬克白。而每一座雕像象徵的意義也不同。
The prince of melancholy - Hamlet.  He represents philosophy.
憂鬱王子，哈姆雷特。象徵的是哲學。
 
She'll do anything for her husband, including murder - Lady Macbeth.  She represents tragedy.
愛夫至上的馬克白夫人。象徵的是悲劇。

I've been saying that the weather had not affected our enjoyment of this Shakespearean enlightening trip.  I know that sunny days make Stratford even more glorious, and it would definitely be more convenient to walk around, but even under the grey clouds and sprinkly rain, it emits a unique and unforgettable scene.  Unless there is a tempest, there is no reason why the 'weather' should spoil your trip to Stratford-upon-Avon!
我一再強調，陰天雨天，完全沒有影響到我們享受這趟莎翁知性知旅的閒情逸致。雖然陽光照耀的Stratford，比起雨中行走要方便許多，但是陰天雨天的Stratford， 還是散發出自己獨特的氣氛。漫步在Avon河畔，除非是狂風暴雨，否則無論是晴天、雨天，相信你都可以照樣很享受當下的Stratford-upon-Avon。
A little 'park' beside the Swan Theatre (under construction at the time)
這是位於重建中的Swan Theatre前的一座小公園。
Sculpture of Hermaphroditus.
Hermaphroditus雕像
This is a figure from Ovid's 'Metamorphosis'.  The sculpture is placed here in rememberance of Ovid's influence on Shakespeare's numerous works.
這雌雄同體的人物是來自於奧維德的『變形記』。這座雕像設立在此是為了紀念奧維德對於文豪莎士比亞創作的影響力。
Swans upon Avon
Avon河上的天鵝們
Elizabeth
伊麗莎白號
All kinds of boats.
各式各樣的船隻
Sneak peek at the inside...
偷窺船隻內部
One scene of River Avon
Avon河畔景象
We were miles away from 'home'
離利物浦199英里
Restaurant boat
是船也是餐廳
Another scene of River Avon
Avon河畔另一角
Looking towards Holy Trinity Church
遠看Holy Trinity Church
Boats for hire. Choose wisely...
Avon河畔供出租的船隻

Generally speaking, a lot of people probably don't know much about Hall's Croft.  Neither did we, and we were Shakespearean academics... This, is actually the house of Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna, and her husband John Hall. It contains a small collection of 16th and 17th century paintings and furniture.  Because John was a doctor, the house also exhibits a wide range of medical equipments used in those days.
別說一般人了，就連專攻莎士比亞領域的我們，其實對這間屋子也很陌生。事實上，他原是屬於莎士比亞女兒Susanna和女婿John Hall所有。這間屋子的展示品，包含了十六以及十七世紀的藝術品以及傢具。不過比較特別一點的，應該算是當時身為醫生的John Hall所會用上的一些醫療工具。
I wouldn't necessarily call this visit 'worth the while'.  It was, afterall, very small, and there was a limited amount of things that could be displayed.  To compound, the exhibit had very little to do with Shakespeare himself.  But since we had purchased ourselves five-house tickets, it seemed reasonable to include this in our itinerary.  I think, and my friend would probably agree, too, the most interesting aspect of the whole house was the beds.  I recall noticing from previous blog-browsing experience how small European beds used to be back in those days.
說值回票價，好像太牽強。因為屋子小小間的，能夠展示的有限。而展示品多麼有趣，也很難跟莎士比亞本身扯上關係。但是由於買了套票的關係，才能夠也將這間小屋規劃在當天的行程裡。我想整間屋子看下來最有趣的地方，應該是我在先前有聽人說過關於歐洲人當時睡的床的大小。
The four-post bed you can see in the picture, depicts a family's social and wealth status.  However, I'm not sure how well you can make it out, but do try and notice how tiny the bed actually is.  It must be true, then, that beds were not very 'grand' during those times.
圖片中可看到的四柱床，可是當時最具代表身分地位的象徵。不過，不知大家是否有看得出來，這床雖然好看、可愛，但卻好像小了些。好像當時的人睡的床都不大呢。
Seeing an other bed in another room almost proved what I had previously assumed.  I think the bed would suit me quite well, but for anyone who is taller or 'bigger' than I am, they would definitely have trouble sleeping every night.
瞧瞧另外一間臥房內所擺設的床，似乎也是如此的嬌小。這種床來讓天仙睡可能剛剛好。可是只要比天仙高大一點的，恐怕每晚都很難睡囉。
Despite the small house, there encompassing the house, is a cute little garden.  One might think the rain must had been a major spoiler of the trip, but somehow, it made Stratford-upon-Avon even more attractive in its own unique way.
雖然屋子小小的，但是圍繞著房子的卻是一座可愛的花園。雖然外頭飄著雨，但雨中的Stratford-upon-Avon，似乎也散發出一種獨特的浪漫氣氛。
A scene in the garden
花園一景
Massive tree beside the house
房子旁的大樹
Eraser with Macbeth quote for sale in the gift shop
禮品部販賣的馬克白名句橡皮擦
  
It also has its own tea shop.
Hall's Croft還有附設茶館。逛累了還可以在此點杯英式下午茶。
And finally, there is this picture of myself beside Hall's Croft, which I'd decided to put here as a token of appreciation for your readership. (Haha... ) 
最後，為了回饋各位讀者對於天仙的花園的支持，天仙在此曝光一張雨中漫步Stratford的照片一張。希望不要嚇跑各位。