甜美的愛文的天鵝！一道多麼亮麗的景致

　　照見你在水波上現身，

　　在泰晤士河岸翻飛……

　　──本．瓊生

　

　　Sweet Swan of Avon! what a sight it were

　　To see thee in our waters yet appear,

　　And make those flights upon the banks of Thames...

　　— Ben Jonson

　　

　　「知人論世」是重要的文學鑑賞方法。傅正明的新作《愛文的天鵝：誰是真正的莎士比亞？德維爾筆名背後的秘辛》，在歐洲文藝復興時期多種文化背景中，力求多角度評論偉大劇作家和詩人威廉．莎士比亞的歷史意義及其屬於一切時代的現實意義。在莎士比亞著作權的爭議中，著者推重「牛津派」（The Oxfordian theory），即以愛德華．德維爾，十七世牛津伯爵（Edward de Vere，17th Earl of Oxford）為莎士比亞全部作品的真實作者。除了引證德維爾的傳記史料和早期作品以外，本書作者兼用美學、政治、文化和宗教的鑰匙和佛學禪宗的視角來解讀莎士比亞之謎，分析滲透在莎劇和詩歌中以天鵝為象徵的「愛」（love）的多義性及其精神昇華。



　　本書是中文領域第一本簡明德維爾文學評傳和莎士比亞作品的學術研究專著。

　

　　About the Book

　　The explication of “understanding the authors and discussing their times” is an important method of literary criticism. From multiple perspectives and on the various cultural backgrounds in the European Renaissance period, this book entitled Swan of Avon attempts to comment on the historical and contemporary significance of the great playwright and poet William Shakespeare who is for all ages. In the Shakespeare authorship question, the author adopts the Oxfordian theory that Edward de Vere (1550-1604), 17th Earl of Oxford wrote all the works of Shakespeare. In addition to quoting or paraphrasing De Vere’s biographical materials and early works, the author also uses the keys of aesthetics, politics, culture and religion as well as borrows the perspective of Zen Buddhism to interpret the mystery of Shakespeare, and analyzes the ambiguity of “love” symbolized by swan that permeates Shakespeare’s plays and poems and and its spiritual sublimation.



　　This book is the first critical literary biography of De Vere and an academic monograph on Shakespeare’s works in the Chinese field.