Love’s Labour’s Lost是莎士比亚创作的第一部剧本。笔者最早接触这个剧本是通过已故的朱生豪先生的译文。今天,当笔者有幸阅读莎剧原著时,发现延续至今的朱译名《爱的徒劳》同原文似有出入。下面笔者不揣浅陋,谈谈自己的困惑,以就教于海内大方。 首先,从形式上看,《爱的徒劳》似乎是建立在Love’s Labour is Lost这种理解上的。即把第一个’s理解为表示所有关系,把第二个’s看成谓语系动词。而实际上,据笔者看, Love’s Labor’s Lost is Shakespeare’s first play. The author’s first contact with this script is through the translation of the late Mr. Zhu Shenghao. Today, when I was fortunate enough to read the original Shakespeare, I found that Zhu’s translation, “In vain of love,” continues from the original. The following is not speculation shallow, talk about their own confusion, to teach in the generous at home. First, formally, “the futility of love” seems to be based on the understanding of Love’s Labor is Lost. That is, the first one is understood as representing all relations and the second one as a predicate verb. In fact, according to the author,