- 1a/ʃeɪkˈspɪriən/like Shakespeare's plays莎劇風格的
Having the style or the feeling of Shakespeare's plays: English that sounds like his, or events big enough and dramatic enough to belong in one of his stories.
這個用法講的是「有莎士比亞那個味道」。它可以指語言。句子聽起來像四百年前的英文。也可以指事情本身。規模很大，情緒很強，起伏像一齣戲。說 a Shakespearean fall，不代表莎士比亞寫過這件事。意思比較接近：這件事大到可以搬上他的舞台。這個字這樣用的時候，常帶一點誇張。有時候也帶著佩服。
示範例句 · Example
The old letters were full of Shakespearean words like 'thou' and 'hath'.
中文翻譯那些舊信裡滿是像 thou 和 hath 這樣的莎劇風格字詞。
This is the word used for a resemblance, not for a fact about who wrote something. It points two ways. It can point at language: old-sounding English, long speeches, words people no longer say. It can also point at a situation: a rise, a fall, a betrayal, a family split open. Calling a real event Shakespearean says the shape of it is the shape of a play. There is usually a little exaggeration in it, and often some admiration too.
常見搭配
Shakespearean language
像莎劇裡那樣的舊式英文
English that sounds like the English of his plays
The film keeps the Shakespearean language, so we watched it with subtitles.
almost Shakespearean
幾乎像莎劇一樣戲劇化
used to say something is nearly as dramatic as one of his plays
Her fall from the top of the company was almost Shakespearean.
Shakespearean in its scale
規模大得像莎劇
as big or as wide-ranging as something in his plays
The quarrel was Shakespearean in its scale, and it split the whole village.
- 2a/ʃeɪkˈspɪriən/about Shakespeare and his work莎士比亞的、莎劇相關的
Connected with William Shakespeare, with his plays and poems, or with the time he lived in — used of people, events and books whose subject is his work.
這個用法不談風格。它只說一件事：跟莎士比亞有關。演他的戲的演員叫 Shakespearean actor。研究他的學者叫 Shakespearean scholar。演他作品的活動叫 Shakespearean festival。這裡沒有在說誰很戲劇化。它只是在標出「材料來自他」。有時候也用來指他生活的那個年代。
Here the word is about content, not about flavour. A Shakespearean actor is an actor who performs his plays. A Shakespearean festival is a festival of those plays. A Shakespearean scholar studies them. Nothing is being called dramatic; the word is only saying where the material comes from. The same use covers his period, so a Shakespearean audience means the audience of his own time.
常見搭配
a Shakespearean actor
專演莎劇的演員
an actor trained to perform his plays
Three Shakespearean actors came to talk to our class.
a Shakespearean scholar
研究莎士比亞的學者
someone who studies his work closely
The notes were written by a Shakespearean scholar.
a Shakespearean festival
莎劇節
an event where his plays are performed
The town holds a small Shakespearean festival every spring.
意思相近