Shakespeare had a rich imagination, instinctive thinking, and a means of self-expression; But these good qualities are hidden under the garbage he mixes into his own plays.
—Earliest French commentary on Shakespeare Coco, 1704
Sweet Feud: Britain and France, 300 Years of Love-Hate Feud, by Robert Turms [French] Isabelle Turms, translated by Feng Yida, June 2022 edition of CITIC Publishing Group.
Shakespeare was French to England
A bellwether for cultural attitudes
Shakespeare has always been a bellwether for the French attitude towards English culture. Ever since Voltaire introduced him in his Philosophical Correspondence (1734), which had a large readership, he had become the essence of the English spirit in the eyes of all— "a powerful and prolific genius, both natural and sublime, without a trace of elegance or a little knowledge of rules... If they were shaped and trimmed like the shrubs in the garden of Marly Palace, the spirit of English creation would die."
From the very beginning, this "spirit" of England was clearly regarded as the antithesis of the French spirit. Therefore, to judge Shakespeare is to judge French culture. Thus, Voltaire praised Shakespeare's rustic beauty while emphasizing his simple sin: powerful but lacking in etiquette; Original but not sophisticated; Profound but inconsistent; The sublime poetry is instantly corrupted by despicable lower characters, rough and noisy behavior, gratuitous violence, and consistent stupidity. Voltaire believed that Shakespeare's success caused bad habits to take root on the English stage, thus hurting the stage; Moreover, the English language is probably in decline.
Stills from Hamlet (2015), national theatre scene.
Voltaire certainly considered his plays based on Shakespeare's themes—such as mort de César (1733), the popular Mort de César (1733), and Othello-inspired Zaïre (1732)—more successful than his originals, enough to revive the French theatre scene with a modest infusion of Shakespeare's vitality. He wrote in 1750: "We use too many lines, just as you use too many movements, and this is indeed the case; Perhaps, the perfect art is a mixture of French taste and English energy. He always believed that French literature was superior, so he loved Edison more than Shakespeare, because Edison's pen was like the Frenchman, elegant, sculpted and precise.
Voltaire's views were accepted not only by the French, but also by England, proving that the prestige of the French classical style (including his own plays, 16 of which were produced in London) still existed. Shakespeare's work has been censored and revised on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and even Samuel Johnson and David Garrick, who spared no effort to defend Shakespeare, have also participated. His words were changed to be more poetic, the plot was changed to be more understandable, and the ending was changed to be happier.
Voltaire's shakespeare soon surpassed his condescending admiration. The next generation of writers and enlightenment philosophers admired Shakespeare precisely because he ignored the classical convention: "The poetic spirit has its independent spirit, its freedom to wield, its freedom from many rules, and it is enviable." In the 1750s and 1760s, the francophilic but patriotic Garrick (the son of a Huguenot) performed Shakespeare's selections at the Salon in Paris, and reintroduced Shakespeare to the English stage as a national poet and guardian of English theatre.
Praising Shakespeare would snub the classical theatrical traditions of Corneille and Racine, of whom Voltaire himself was the number one supporter at the time. He decided to thwart the vigour of his dead opponent. Voltaire's hostility began in the 1740s, when he described Hamlet as "vulgar and barbaric, intolerable even to the lowest classes of French or Italians," and his vanity and political endeavors deepened his hostility. But it's not just vanity that's at stake. While classical French drama is philosophical (highlighting moral dilemmas), Shakespeare's work is psychological (exploring the development of the characters, which is exactly the impact of Garrick's "pantomime"—acting with facial expressions and body movements, rather than simply reciting rhymes).
Stills from Hamlet (2015), national theatre scene.
The basis of French drama lies in the poetic description of events outside the stage, while the basis of Shakespeare's drama is its performance on the stage (such as unpleasant scenes such as fights and killings). The former is cohesive and orderly (strictly adhering to the unity of time, space and action), while the latter is loose, complex, and even incoherent. The former is moral and mostly optimistic, while the latter is not only immoral, but often pessimistic. The former appeals to the educated elite, while the latter appeals to the general public. In Voltaire's view, the former is a higher art form, created by a more advanced civilization; The latter, however powerful, is naïve and crude: "Writing a good play is certainly harder than playing murder, hanging, witches and ghosts on stage."
Voltaire was like an arrogant music critic, acknowledging that the Beatles' songs had merits, and when people began to say that Paul Macartney was better than Schubert, it was a world of collapse. Only this time, it was Voltaire who was compared. He cried out, "I wanted to join in more action and make the theater industry more active, who knows now everything is action and pantomime... Goodbye, delicate rhymes; Goodbye, sincere emotion; Goodbye, everything. He confessed to his friend: "The worst part of this catastrophe is that I was the first to mention Shakespeare, and I showed the French a few pearls that I had found in his huge dung heap. ”
French literature in "creativity"
Split in the struggle with "taste"
The Seven Years' War created a British-phobic atmosphere, and Britain's cultural influence seemed to be challenging France's dominant position. In 1761, Voltaire (who claimed to fight for his homeland) published his Appeal to All the Nations of Europe. This is his war book on English culture.
Shakespeare is now a "country clown," a savage charlatan, and a "drunken brute." He gave Hamlet a pretendly serious summary of the plot, paraphrasing several of its lines to make it sound ridiculous, crude, and stupid. He explained Shakespeare's achievements by "the lack of discernment in English society", saying that for the "porters, crews, coachmen, boys, butchers and clerks" in England, the violence, comedy and strange customs on the stage were his entertainment, and the public standards set by these people "disgusted the tasteful people all over Europe".
Garrick bet even more, hosting the patriotic Shakespeare Memorial in 1769, and the same event was held again when Pierre Le Tourneur began translating the complete works of Shakespeare (translated into 20 volumes) in 1776. Tunal's version of Shakespeare's plays was for reading, not performance, and the goal was to be faithful to the original work, far more faithful than the theater conventions could allow. Despite its loyalty to the original, the word "despicable and vulgar" should be changed to elegant. Othello's "Black Ram... Have fun with your white ewe" into "Black Vulture" and "Young White Dove". The simple colloquialism has also been changed to resemble a poem: dogs become "vultures", crickets become "insects in the field", and so on.
Le Tunard's version was so impressive that even members of the royal family and important politicians (including the British-phobic Duke of Schwarzel) became subscribers – a powerful symbol of shakespeare and The cultural prestige of England, which was even on the brink of war. In his preface to the king, Le Tunard declared that "no genius has ever reached so deep into the heart" or created a character "so natural."
Voltaire was furious that "this rude fool" had exalted Shakespeare as "the only model of authentic tragedy... Trample the crowns of Racine and Corneille under his feet" to insult France. He wrote to the French Academy denouncing Shakespeare's unconventional rhetoric and "notorious depravity", some of which "dared to defy the prestige of our theatre world". The letter was read at the Academy by D'Alembert in August 1776, and the British ambassador in attendance, Lord Stormont, was greatly displeased, as was Elizabeth Montague, with a grim expression. In response to Voltaire's earlier attacks, she wrote a rebuttal essay that hit her feet— "On Shakespeare's Writing and Genius—Compared to Greek and French Playwrights," and that was just one of many backlash that roared from across the channel.
Stills from the documentary Shakespeare's Will (2012).
The French literary scene is divided in the struggle between "creativity" and "taste". To borrow Montagu's words: "Creativity, only strong and powerful creativity (the momentum of wild nature comes from the root!). ) can create such an intense, distinctive beauty. "Creativity wins — but not entirely untamed.
Shakespeare's plays had to be domesticated, as was the case in England. Jean-François Ducis changed Shakespeare to "bear" for French audiences, removed unsightly movements and uncomfortable plots, and added ballet (but he was not good at English and was adapted from the translation). His unabashed rewrites (most popular with Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet) attracted thousands of viewers in the 1770s and 1780s. In 1783, King Lear (which ended in comedy after Dicy's revision) premiered at the Palace of Versailles, where France and England were still at war, which was simply incredible. The drama was yet to come: in September 1793, the two countries were at odds again, the reign of terror by the revolutionary government was at its peak, and the musical version of Romeo and Juliet was successfully produced in Paris.
This article is excerpted from "Sweet Feud: Britain and France, 300 Years of Love-Hate Feud", subtitled by the editor, not original. It has been authorized by the publishing house to publish.
Original author /[e] Robert Toums [french] Isabelle Tums
Excerpts/He Ye
Editor/Lee Yong-bo
Introduction Proofreader/Liu Jun