JOHN KEATS
約翰·濟(jì)慈
(1795—1821)
【作者與作品簡(jiǎn)介】
詩(shī)人濟(jì)慈只活了二十六歲,就因肺病而早逝。他出身中下層人家,學(xué)過(guò)醫(yī),候診室里的凄慘景象是他熟悉的。也許是作為一種補(bǔ)償,他特別地向往“美”——美麗的人,夜鶯,花草,田園,古詩(shī),藝術(shù)品,整個(gè)想象世界。他自己寫下的詩(shī)行也美:意境,音韻,形象,無(wú)一不美——有時(shí)美得有點(diǎn)艷麗了。因此,他曾被人看成是“唯美”,甚至是“頹廢”。
其實(shí)他兩者都不是。他追求的“美”不是表面的東西,也不只是官感享受,而是有深刻的含義的,用他自己的話說(shuō):
美即是真,真即是美。
而所謂真,又是人的“想象力所捕捉住的美”。然而當(dāng)時(shí)的英國(guó)正處于產(chǎn)業(yè)革命和法國(guó)革命的雙重激蕩之下,處處有人間苦難。濟(jì)慈對(duì)此也是有深刻感受的,而且還認(rèn)為人生的最高境界必須有世界的苦難感:
誰(shuí)也奪取不了這個(gè)高峰,
除了那些把世界的苦難
當(dāng)作苦難,而且日夜不安的人。
——《海披里安之亡》
正是這種“日夜不安”的苦難感使得濟(jì)慈最明麗的詩(shī)行也有陰影,最甜美的音樂(lè)里也有不吉祥的敲擊聲——一邊是夜鶯唱歌,一邊是“饑餓的世代”踐踏大地的腳步聲。他是一個(gè)頭腦清醒,有強(qiáng)烈是非感的人,任何人只須一看他寫給弟妹和朋友們的信就知道他是一個(gè)民主派。他的藝術(shù)觀——他的美學(xué)——也是重真情實(shí)感,認(rèn)為詩(shī)人要有一種深入萬(wàn)物、了解萬(wàn)物的“反面接受力”,不是自以為是,而是像事物本身的性質(zhì)那樣,“能夠停留在不肯定、神秘感、懷疑之中,而不是令人生厭地追求事實(shí)和道理。”換言之,要化入事物:
如果一只麻雀來(lái)到我的窗前,我就參與它的存在,同它一起啄著地上的砂石。
他又說(shuō):
如果詩(shī)不是像葉子長(zhǎng)到樹(shù)上那樣自然地來(lái)臨,那就干脆別來(lái)了。
把詩(shī)看成像樹(shù)那樣能自行生長(zhǎng)的植物,這是浪漫主義詩(shī)學(xué)的重要論點(diǎn)之一。而要使那樣的詩(shī)能夠出現(xiàn),詩(shī)人必須運(yùn)用想象力。他認(rèn)為即使哲學(xué)的真理也不是單憑邏輯推論所能達(dá)到,而必須依靠想象力;有了想象力,人才能真正得到世上的快樂(lè),而且是一種“格調(diào)更高”的快樂(lè),非庸俗的享受可比。
這些話并非引自他的論著——他從未寫過(guò)皇皇大文——而出于他的書信,總是一二句普通的話,一二個(gè)普通的比喻,然而生動(dòng),深刻,使人驚訝,道出了浪漫主義詩(shī)歌的中心秘密,所以近年來(lái)西方搞文學(xué)理論的人都紛紛在他的書信里進(jìn)行發(fā)掘,而“反面接受力”一詞已經(jīng)成了文學(xué)家們經(jīng)常琢磨的題目了。
濟(jì)慈之所以能說(shuō)這些話,是因?yàn)樗袑懺?shī)的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。他把自己一生獻(xiàn)給了詩(shī)歌藝術(shù),全力以赴,甘苦自知,經(jīng)歷過(guò)試驗(yàn),失敗,達(dá)到了抒情詩(shī)的高峰,但不以為足,還要向更高的意境進(jìn)發(fā),卻不料死亡突然奪走了他的詩(shī)筆。雖然如此,他在1819年夏天創(chuàng)作能力特別旺盛,四五個(gè)星期之中寫出了除《秋頌》之外的全部頌歌:《心靈頌》、《夜鶯頌》、《希臘古甕頌》、《憂郁頌》、《懶頌》?,F(xiàn)在人們公認(rèn),濟(jì)慈即使沒(méi)寫任何別的作品,這幾個(gè)頌歌就足以使他不朽了。
我們這里選了三個(gè)頌歌。
《夜鶯頌》有一個(gè)中心的矛盾,即夜鶯所代表的想象世界和詩(shī)人所處的現(xiàn)實(shí)世界的矛盾:前者處處是音樂(lè)、美酒、朦朧光影下的寧?kù)o;后者充滿紛擾、病痛、焦灼不安。詩(shī)人聽(tīng)到夜鶯的歌聲,隨著進(jìn)入了想象世界,然而在最神往的時(shí)候,一聲“凄涼”就把他趕回現(xiàn)實(shí)世界,這時(shí)候韻律直瀉而下,最后以一問(wèn)結(jié)束,留下了余音。在幾個(gè)頌歌中,此頌最實(shí),“世界的苦難”也最顯。
《希臘古甕頌》從一個(gè)古甕上彩繪的畫面出發(fā),探索藝術(shù)的不朽。主要的畫面有三:一景是群眾狂歡,二景是青年男子追逐一位姑娘,三景是一群人牽著一匹牛在街道上走,準(zhǔn)備去宰牛祭天。這些人都在動(dòng),然而他們的動(dòng)態(tài)卻被雕刻家的手捕捉住了,凝固成為靜止的藝術(shù)品,從此而不朽。詩(shī)人面對(duì)這樣的藝術(shù)品,一方面驚嘆古希臘文明的偉大,一方面思索著藝術(shù)和智慧的關(guān)系。夜鶯歌來(lái)自自然世界,這里卻是人的創(chuàng)造。這當(dāng)中有靈感,但也有智慧。詩(shī)人的探索也進(jìn)入一個(gè)更高的境界。人世的苦難還略有反響——“老年將使這一代朽化”,“與我們不同的苦難”——但主要的情調(diào)是高度的寧?kù)o。這也就帶來(lái)了語(yǔ)言上的變化。夜鶯歌里多的是情感性和描述性的形容詞,是感嘆式的調(diào)子,而這里則增加了一個(gè)新的成分:思辨式或命題式的陳述,其最顯著的例子也就是末節(jié)的名言:
“美即是真,真即是美,”這就包括
你們所知道、和該知道的一切。
《秋頌》被不少評(píng)論者認(rèn)為是幾首頌歌里最完美的一首,它的主題是秋季的溫暖和豐碩。人皆頌春天的美麗,而濟(jì)慈則感到秋天的成熟更可愛(ài)。1819年9月一個(gè)星期天,詩(shī)人漫游鄉(xiāng)野,感到空氣清爽,收割過(guò)的田地顯得特別溫暖,邊走邊吟,回來(lái)就寫成此詩(shī)。
詩(shī)的第一節(jié)用一系列的水果的形象,點(diǎn)出秋天是豐收的季節(jié)。第二節(jié)寫人在秋天勞動(dòng)、休息、榨果釀酒的快樂(lè)。第三節(jié)寫秋天的各種聲音,詩(shī)的音樂(lè)美發(fā)揮無(wú)遺。這樣,從秋景、秋收,寫到秋聲,詩(shī)本身也像秋天一樣豐滿了。
最后一個(gè)選目《伊莎貝拉》是一首敘事詩(shī)。它的情節(jié)取自卜伽丘的《十日談》(第四日第五篇),是說(shuō)兩個(gè)哥哥謀殺了他們妹妹的情人的故事。這首詩(shī)表現(xiàn)了濟(jì)慈敘事的能力,寫青年男女的愛(ài)情向往頗富于感染力,而對(duì)于破壞他們幸福的兩個(gè)哥哥的譴責(zé)又很有思想的深度。原來(lái)這兩人都是商人,其財(cái)富是從殖民地人民掠奪來(lái)的。詩(shī)中有這樣的描述,并非卜伽丘的原作所有,完全是濟(jì)慈自己加的:
錫蘭的潛水者為他們屏住呼吸,
赤裸著全身走近饑餓的鱷魚;
他的耳朵為他們涌著血;為他們,
海豹死在冰層上,全身悲慘地
射滿了箭;成千的人只為了他們
而煎熬在幽暗無(wú)邊的困苦里:
他們悠游著歲月,自己還不甚清楚:
他們是在開(kāi)動(dòng)絞盤,把人們剝皮割骨。
然后詩(shī)人問(wèn)了好幾個(gè)“他們何必驕傲?”其中有一問(wèn)是:
他們何必驕傲?可是因?yàn)橛屑t格賬本
比希臘時(shí)代的詩(shī)歌更動(dòng)聽(tīng)?
只有濟(jì)慈這樣一個(gè)敏感又深思的詩(shī)人才會(huì)用這樣鮮明的形象——紅格賬本和古希臘詩(shī)歌——來(lái)加以對(duì)照,說(shuō)明兩種思想、兩種意境的截然不同。他把那對(duì)商人兄弟稱為“算賬的人們”。二十世紀(jì)的蕭伯納談到這首詩(shī),認(rèn)為在這里濟(jì)慈實(shí)際上是在點(diǎn)明這些商人是剝削者,他雖沒(méi)有用一個(gè)政治經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)的名詞,所講的實(shí)際上就是《資本論》的道理。蕭的話可能夸張了,但這也說(shuō)明濟(jì)慈詩(shī)里思想的豐富與深刻是超出了歷來(lái)評(píng)論家所意識(shí)到的。
王佐良
SONNETS
On First Looking into Chapman's Homer
Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,1
And many goodly states and kingdoms2 seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.3
Oft of one wide expanse4 had I been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne;5
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene6
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies7
When a new planet swims into his ken;8
Or like stout Cortéz when with eagle eyes9
He star'd at the Pacific — and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise10 —
Silent,upon a peak in Darien.11
【題解】
Chapman's Homer:荷馬史詩(shī)的查普曼譯本。George Chapman(1559?—1634):?jiǎn)讨巍げ槠章?,英?guó)伊麗莎白時(shí)代的詩(shī)人兼劇作家,其譯荷馬詩(shī)作雄瑰壯麗。1816年某一夏日,濟(jì)慈以前的老師查爾斯·考頓·克拉克(Charles Cowden Clarke)請(qǐng)他來(lái)同讀查普曼翻譯的荷馬詩(shī)作。他倆秉燭夜讀,通宵不眠,拂曉時(shí)濟(jì)慈才踏上晨霧回家。但猶余興未盡,遂成一詩(shī),當(dāng)天早上10時(shí),濟(jì)慈即把此詩(shī)寄到克拉克手里。
【注釋】
1.Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold:濟(jì)慈自喻為探險(xiǎn)家,探索過(guò)充滿黃金的寶地;the realms of gold:意為珍貴如黃金的文學(xué)領(lǐng)域。
2.goodly states and kingdoms:仍指?jìng)ゴ蟮奈膶W(xué)作品;goodly:beautiful.
3.Round many western islands have I been ... hold:“到過(guò)許多西方的島嶼”指濟(jì)慈曾涉獵過(guò)許多希臘文學(xué)作品。古希臘的許多島嶼以及島上的詩(shī)人都向詩(shī)神阿波羅效忠,漫游希臘群島意即領(lǐng)略希臘文學(xué);bards:詩(shī)人;in fealty:(臣仆對(duì)封建主的)效忠。
4.Oft:often;one wide expanse:廣袤的領(lǐng)域。
5.deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne:濃眉的荷馬作為他的領(lǐng)地統(tǒng)治著;demesne[d?′me?n]:(領(lǐng)主的)領(lǐng)地。
6.never breathe its pure serene:從未呼吸到這個(gè)領(lǐng)域里的沉靜的空氣;pure serene:喻荷馬的詩(shī)風(fēng)純真深沉;serene:此處為名詞,serenity。
7.watcher of the skies:觀星家,天文家。
8.ken:range of sight or knowledge,知識(shí)的范圍或視野。
9.Cortéz:即Hernando Cortés(1485—1547),科爾特斯,西班牙探險(xiǎn)家,墨西哥的發(fā)現(xiàn)者。濟(jì)慈誤記,實(shí)際上第一個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)太平洋的西方人是另一位西班牙人:Vasco Nu?ez de Balboa(1475—1517),巴爾沃亞,他在達(dá)連灣(Darien)的山上第一次看到太平洋;eagle eyes:原稿為wond'ring eyes;據(jù)濟(jì)慈朋友雷·亨特(Leigh Hunt)在回憶錄中說(shuō),濟(jì)慈曾見(jiàn)過(guò)意大利文藝復(fù)興時(shí)著名畫家提香(Titian,1477—1576)繪的科爾特斯肖像,他的雙眼似鷹目。
10.a wild surmise:縱情恣意的猜測(cè)。
11.Darien:加勒比海的達(dá)連灣,在巴拿馬和哥倫比亞之間。
On Sitting Down to ReadKing LearOnce Again
O golden-tongued Romance with serene lute!1
Fair plumèd Syren!2 Queen of far away!
Leave melodizing on this wintry day,3
Shut up thine olden pages,4 and be mute:
Adieu!5 for once again the fierce dispute,
Betwixt damnation and impassioned clay6
Must I burn through;7 once more humbly assay8
The bitter-sweet9 of this Shakespearian fruit.
Chief Poet!10 and ye clouds of Albion,11
Begetters of our deep eternal theme!12
When through the old oak forest13 I am gone,
Let me not wander in a barren dream:
But,when I am consumed in the fire,
Give me new phoenix14 wings to fly at my desire.
【題解】
此詩(shī)作于1819年,表達(dá)的情感非常復(fù)雜。當(dāng)時(shí),濟(jì)慈正在創(chuàng)作長(zhǎng)詩(shī)《恩底彌翁》(Endymion:A Poetic Romance ),但是,預(yù)感自己生命短暫,情緒憂郁。這時(shí),他重讀莎士比亞的悲劇《李爾王》,受到強(qiáng)烈的震撼,不免要向浪漫派文學(xué)乃至自己的人生道出告別的心聲。事實(shí)上,此時(shí)他一生的創(chuàng)作尚未過(guò)半,大部分優(yōu)秀的作品蓄勢(shì)待發(fā)。《李爾王》一劇之所以對(duì)濟(jì)慈有猛烈的沖擊力,是因?yàn)樵谏勘葋喌乃斜瘎∪宋镏校ㄓ欣顮柾醯脑庥龊妥罱K的死亡,是一個(gè)緩慢的、可以預(yù)見(jiàn)的因而也是最糾結(jié)人心的過(guò)程。這也使?jié)葘?duì)人生悲劇作更多的思索。他在致 John Hamilton Renolds 信中說(shuō),《李爾王》劇中的一句話(4.6.4) “Do you not hear the sea? ” 纏繞在他的心頭,揮之不去。
【注釋】
1.golden-tongued Romance with serene lute:聲調(diào)優(yōu)美迷人的傳奇故事; golden:mellow,resonant; lute:豎琴,浪漫派抒情詩(shī)歌的象征。按:Romance 是指所謂浪漫派文學(xué)或傳奇文學(xué)作品,如表現(xiàn)中世紀(jì)騎士的冒險(xiǎn)或愛(ài)情故事,其主題和風(fēng)格與莎士比亞的悲劇相去甚遠(yuǎn)。
2.Fair plumèd Syren:浪漫派文學(xué)又被喻為斯賓塞詩(shī)中的女主角; Syren:一作Siren,希臘神話中的海妖,善于以美妙的歌聲吸引過(guò)往的水手,使他們不顧一切地將船駛近她們而觸礁沉沒(méi)。此處表示濟(jì)慈感到浪漫派文學(xué)對(duì)他有很大的誘惑力,像海妖的歌聲一樣。
3.Leave melodizing on this wintry day:不要吟唱旋律優(yōu)美、聲音悅耳的浪漫派詩(shī)歌,這和寒冷的冬天很不相稱。換言之,冬天更像是李爾王所處的環(huán)境。
4.thine olden pages:your old pages; thine:thy,在元音字母開(kāi)頭的字前面用thine; olden:of or relating to a bygone era.
5.Adieu:farewell,often used interjectionally; 濟(jì)慈表示要告別浪漫派文學(xué),恰恰表明英國(guó)歷史上這種文學(xué)對(duì)他的巨大誘惑力,同時(shí)也透露出他預(yù)感自己將不久于人世,無(wú)法創(chuàng)作浪漫主義詩(shī)作的心情。
6.the fierce dispute ... clay:指李爾王把國(guó)土分給兩個(gè)花言巧語(yǔ)、背信棄義的女兒,結(jié)果自己遭到羞辱,陷入貧無(wú)立錐之地的困境,直至被逼瘋。李爾王的遭遇無(wú)異于地獄的懲罰(damnation),沖擊著他那情緒激動(dòng)的“泥土之身” (impassioned clay); clay:按《圣經(jīng)》說(shuō)法,人是上帝用泥土做的。
7.burn through:謂讀李爾王的悲劇,自己的情緒也很難平靜,為第13行consumed in fire作鋪墊。
8.assay:test,make trial of,嘗試,原意為測(cè)試金屬的純度。
9.bitter-sweet:莎士比亞的悲劇表現(xiàn)人生的悲苦,又有巨大的藝術(shù)感染力,故云。
10.Chief Poet:指莎士比亞。
11.Albion:(Celtic )英格蘭;《李爾王》的背景是凱爾特時(shí)代。
12.Begetters of our deep eternal theme:英國(guó)是深刻的永恒主題的創(chuàng)造者; eternal theme:指發(fā)生在這塊土地上的悲歡離合和死亡的主題。
13.the old oak forest:指李爾王或《恩底彌翁》(Endymion )長(zhǎng)詩(shī)中主人公歸宿的世界。
14.phoenix:傳說(shuō)中的鳳凰,周而復(fù)始地?zé)雷陨恚员銖幕覡a中再生。
When I Have Fears
When I have fears that I may cease to be1
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,2
Before high-piled books,in charactery,3
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;4
When I behold,upon the night's starr'd face,5
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,6
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows,with the magic hand of chance;7
And when I feel,fair creature of an hour,8
That I shall never look upon thee9 more,
Never have relish in the faery power10
Of unreflecting love;11— then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone,and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.12
【注釋】
1.cease to be:不復(fù)存在,即死亡。
2.Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain:在我把蘊(yùn)藏在豐富的腦海中的詩(shī)歌筆錄下來(lái)之前;teeming brain:豐富的腦海,喻詩(shī)才。
3.in charactery:用文字表示。
4.garners:谷倉(cāng);the full ripen'd grain:成熟飽滿的谷物,喻自己成熟的作品。
5.the night's starr'd face:星羅棋布的夜空。
6.Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance:崇高的浪漫詩(shī)篇那巨大的隱約可見(jiàn)的象征。
7.trace ... chance:如繪畫那樣用神來(lái)之筆(the magic hand of chance)描摹出“巨大的隱約可見(jiàn)的象征”;正因?yàn)槭莝ymbol,所以非magic hand of chance而不能為。
8.fair creature of an hour:詩(shī)人熱戀的范尼·布朗(Fanny Brawne)。詩(shī)人在1818年陪伴患肺病的弟弟湯姆,直至他在年底去世。詩(shī)人本人亦患肺病,擔(dān)心不能久駐人間,來(lái)不及完成杰出的詩(shī)作,再也看不見(jiàn)心愛(ài)的范尼。并由此想到美貌也不能長(zhǎng)久(of an hour)。
9.thee:you,thou的賓格。
10.the faery power:(愛(ài)情的)神奇魅力。
11.unreflecting love:無(wú)思無(wú)慮的愛(ài)情。
12.Till love and fame to nothingness do sink:濟(jì)慈擔(dān)心愛(ài)情泯滅,詩(shī)名不立。1820年,濟(jì)慈吐血后,寫信給范尼·布朗:“If I should die,” said I to myself,“I have left no immortal work behind me — nothing to make my friends proud of my memory — but I have lov'd the principie of beauty in all things,and if I had had time I would have made myself remembered,” Thoughts like these came very feebly when I was in health and every pulse beat for you — now you divide with this (may I say it?)“l(fā)ast infirmity of noble minds” all my reflection.
Bright Star
Bright star,would I were stedfast as thou art1 —
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night2
And watching,with eternal lids apart,3
Like nature's patient,sleepless Eremite,4
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,5
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors —
No — yet still6 stedfast,still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,7
Still,still to hear her tender-taken breath,8
And so live ever — or else swoon to death.
【題解】
濟(jì)慈在1818年游覽了大湖區(qū)(Lake Country)的自然風(fēng)光,后寫信給其弟弟Tom說(shuō),大湖區(qū)質(zhì)樸的景色“凈化了人的視覺(jué),使之像北極星那樣永遠(yuǎn)睜開(kāi)眼睛,凝視著至高無(wú)上的威力所創(chuàng)造的奇跡”(refines one's sensual vision into a sort of north star which can never cease to be open lidded and steadfast over the wonders of the great power)。本詩(shī)即因此感而發(fā),初稿寫于1819年,并在1820年九月去意大利的途中抄寫于莎士比亞詩(shī)集的空白頁(yè)上。后不久在意大利病逝。后人因此疑為詩(shī)人的絕筆十四行詩(shī)。
【注釋】
1.Bright star:指北極星,故以下說(shuō)但愿自己像北極星那樣穩(wěn)定不變:“would I were stedfast as thou art”;stedfast:steadfast;thou art:you are.
2.Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night:不是孤獨(dú)地在夜光中高懸。
3.with eternal lids apart:永不合上的眼瞼。
4.Eremite:hermit,隱修士。北極星像是大自然的苦行夜禱的修士。
5.The moving waters at their priestlike task ... shores:海水沖刷著人類的海岸,就像宗教上的沐浴儀式那樣蕩滌人間的污穢;waters:(plural )浩瀚的海水;ablution:沐浴儀式。
6.No:和第2行“Not”呼應(yīng)。詩(shī)人并非不愿具有第2—8行中的描寫的北極星的美德,而是心中另有寄托,即是后六行中的意境。still:always.
7.a sweet unrest:永遠(yuǎn)清醒地躺在美人的胸膛上,既甜蜜,又不安;unrest:心情不平靜。
8.tender-taken breath:輕柔的呼吸。
Ode to a Nightingale
1
My heart aches,and a drowsy numbness1 pains
My sense,as though of hemlock2 I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains3
One minute past,and Lethe-wards4 had sunk:
'Tis5 not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness,6 —
That thou,light wingèd Dryad7 of the trees,
In some melodious plot8
Of beechen green,and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.9
2
O,for a draught of vintage!10 that hath been
Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth,11
Tasting of Flora and the country green,12
Dance,and Proven?al song,and sunburnt mirth!13
O,for a beaker full of the warm South,14
Full of the true,the blushful Hippocrene,15
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,16
And purple-stained mouth;17
That I might drink,and leave the world unseen,
And with thee fade away into the forest dim:18
3
Fade far away,dissolve,and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast19 never known,
The weariness,the fever,and the fret20
Here,where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy21 shakes a few,sad,last grey hairs,
Where youth grows pale,and spectre-thin,and dies;22
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,23
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new Love pine at them24 beyond tomorrow.
4
Away! away! for I will fly to thee,
Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,25
But on the viewless26 wings of Poesy,
Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:
Already with thee!27 tender is the night,
And haply28 the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays;29
But here there is no light,
Save30 what from heaven is with the breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms31 and winding mossy ways.
5
I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,
Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But,in embalmèd darkness,guess each sweet32
Wherewith the seasonable month33 endows
The grass,the thicket,and the fruit-tree wild;
White hawthorn,and the pastoral eglantine;34
Fast fading violets cover'd up in leaves;
And mid-May's eldest child,
The coming musk-rose,full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.
6
Darkling35 I listen; and,for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call'd him soft names in many a musèd rhyme,36
To take into the air my quiet breath;37
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul38 abroad
In such an ecstasy!
Still39 wouldst thou sing,and I have ears in vain —
To thy high requiem become a sod.40
7
Thou wast not born for death,41 immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;42
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:43
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth,44 when,sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
The same that oft-times hath
Charm'd magic casements,opening on the foam
Of perilous seas,in faery lands forlorn.45
8
Forlorn!46 the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!47
Adieu! the fancy48 cannot cheat so well
As she is famed to do,deceiving elf.49
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
Past the near meadows,over the still stream,
Up the hill-side;and now 'tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision,or a waking dream?
Fled is that music:— Do I wake or sleep?
【題解】
此詩(shī)作于1819年,乃是濟(jì)慈創(chuàng)作的巔峰時(shí)期。據(jù)他的朋友查爾斯·阿米迪奇·布朗(Charles Armitage Brown)說(shuō),一只夜鶯在他家附近的樹(shù)上做了個(gè)窩,有一天濟(jì)慈坐在一棵李子樹(shù)下,寫了這首詩(shī)歌?!兑国L頌》的情調(diào)說(shuō)明他脫離了前期詩(shī)歌中的樂(lè)觀情緒和對(duì)愉悅的憧憬,轉(zhuǎn)向探索諸如自然、瞬息、死亡等主題。夜鶯生活在林間,遠(yuǎn)離人世憂患,以其世代經(jīng)久不息的歌聲,成為永生的象征。同時(shí),夜鶯又有希臘神話色彩(見(jiàn)本書馬修·安諾德(Matthew Arnold)詩(shī)Philomela 和艾略特詩(shī)Sweeney Among the Nightingales 的有關(guān)注釋),其歌聲一向被視為帶有憂郁的情調(diào)。人生極其短暫,悲傷充斥其間。濟(jì)慈當(dāng)時(shí)正值弟弟湯姆去世不久,自己病魔纏身,又有對(duì)范尼·布朗熱戀的困擾,遂因夜鶯之歌而一氣呵成,寫下這首頌詩(shī),寄托一腔愁意。其情調(diào)頗似李商隱《流鶯》詩(shī)句“巧轉(zhuǎn)豈能本無(wú)意,良辰未必有佳期。”
【注釋】
1.drowsy numbness:似困倦般的麻木。
2.hemlock:一種毒藥,服后全身麻木而死。古代雅典人用這種毒藥處死犯人。蘇格拉底(Socrates)即服此毒藥而死。
3.opiate:加有鴉片的麻醉劑,飲后使人麻木,故稱dull opiate;to the drains:to the dregs,飲盡。
4.Lethe-wards:希臘神話中Lethe[′li?θi?]是冥間的一條河流,死人的鬼魂喝了河中之水便忘卻過(guò)去的一切。
5.'Tis:it is.
6.thine happiness:your happiness;因happiness以“h”起首,故不用thy而用thine。
7.That:in the thought that;Dryad:希臘神話中的木仙(Woodnymph),此處指夜鶯。
8.melodious plot:夜鶯發(fā)出優(yōu)美歌聲的地方。
9.Singest:即sing,和主語(yǔ)thou配合的動(dòng)詞形式;in full-throated ease:放開(kāi)歌喉縱情歌唱;ease:表示唱得輕松自如,從容不迫。
10.O,for a draught of vintage:呵,要是能喝上一口美酒! vintage:酒,尤指某年產(chǎn)的佳釀酒,美酒,即vintage wine。
11.deep-delved earth:地窖。
12.Tasting of:(美酒)意即嘗之令人想起……,散發(fā)著……香味;Flora:羅馬神話中的春和花神;country green:綠色的田野。
13.Proven?al song:法國(guó)南部地中海邊的普羅旺斯(Provence)是中古時(shí)期一批行吟詩(shī)人(troubadours)的故鄉(xiāng),這些詩(shī)歌的創(chuàng)作者和歌手以愛(ài)情詩(shī)歌著稱于世;sunburnt mirth:陽(yáng)光明媚的南國(guó)的歡怡,生活在陽(yáng)光地帶的人們心情開(kāi)朗、歡快。
14.beaker:a large drinking-bowl or cup,大酒杯;the warm South:溫暖的南國(guó)美酒。
15.blushful:面紅;Hippocrene []:希臘神話中赫利孔山(Mount Helicon)上的繆斯(the Muses)的靈泉,傳說(shuō)是由神馬佩伽索斯的蹄踩出來(lái)的,泉水能給詩(shī)人以靈感。
16.beaded bubbles winking at the brim:酒杯邊上珠子般的酒泡在閃閃發(fā)光。
17.mouth:the lip of the beaker,大酒杯的邊沿。
18.with thee fade away into the forest dim:詩(shī)人希望借酒的力量和夜鶯一起遁入密林。
19.thou ... hast:you have.
20.The weariness,the fever,and the fret:人世間的疲憊、熱病和焦躁;泛指種種痛苦和煩惱。
21.palsy:癱瘓,麻痹。
22.Where youth grows pale,and spectre-thin,and dies:濟(jì)慈的弟弟湯姆不久前死于肺病,他本人亦患肺病,故弟弟之死對(duì)他觸動(dòng)很深,由此聯(lián)想到前幾行講的人世的不幸。
23.leaden-eyed despairs:目光呆滯的絕望神色。
24.new Love:初戀的愛(ài)人;them:eyes.
25.Bacchus and his pards:希臘神話中的酒神狄俄倪索斯(Dionysus),在羅馬神話中稱為巴科斯(Bacchus),經(jīng)常坐著獅子(Pards)拉的車子。此處意為不想借神的威力來(lái)逃避人間的煩惱。
26.viewless:invisible,看不見(jiàn)的。
27.Already with thee:表明詩(shī)人借詩(shī)的力量終于達(dá)到了夜鶯的歡樂(lè)境界。
28.haply:perhaps.
29.Cluster'd around:(群星)簇?fù)碇ㄔ潞螅?b>starry Fays:眾星;Fays:fairies.
30.Save:except.
31.verdurous glooms:月光下隱隱約約的綠陰。
32.each sweet:每種香味,每種花。
33.the seasonable month:當(dāng)前的月份。
34.eglantine:多花薔薇。
35.Darkling:in the darkness,副詞。
36.musèd rhyme:long thought-on verse,深思熟慮吟出的詩(shī)句。
37.To take into the air my quiet breath:把我的生命撒入空中。
38.pouring forth thy soul:傾吐心聲。
39.Still:always.
40.requiem:安魂曲;sod:墳土和草。
41.Thou wast not born for death:你是生而不死之鳥;Thou wast:you were.
42.No hungry generations tread thee down:夜鶯世代相傳,不會(huì)因?yàn)轲囸I使其歌聲泯滅。
43.by emperor and clown:帝王和小丑,即無(wú)論貴賤都能聽(tīng)到夜鶯的歌聲。
44.Ruth:據(jù)《舊約·路得記》(Ruth )記載,摩押(Moab)女子路德嫁給一個(gè)以色列人,丈夫死后,離開(kāi)家鄉(xiāng)和婆婆一起生活,曾在親戚波阿斯(Boaz)的田里拾麥穗,后嫁給波阿斯,成為大衛(wèi)王的曾祖母。
45.The same that oft-times hath ... forlorn:這三行被批評(píng)家公認(rèn)為代表濟(jì)慈浪漫主義思想的名句。在歐洲中世紀(jì)的傳奇文學(xué)里,常有大海中孤島上的城堡,里邊囚著美麗的公主,因受魔法控制而不得脫身。勇敢的騎士來(lái)到城堡,解除魔法,便能贏得公主的愛(ài)情。詩(shī)人指類似這種城堡中被囚的公主聽(tīng)到夜鶯的歌聲,而被吸引住,打開(kāi)窗戶傾聽(tīng);Charm'd magic casements:意為吸引住站在受魔法控制的城堡的窗邊的人。
46.Forlorn:此詞的聲音猶如鐘聲,所以說(shuō)the very word is like a bell。
47.my sole self:我孤身一人。
48.the fancy:奇異的想法。
49.deceiving elf:指the fancy。
Ode on a Grecian Urn
Thou still unravished bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,1
Sylvan historian,2 who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rime:
What leaf-fringed legend haunts3 about thy shape
Of deities or mortals,or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?4
What men or gods are these? What maidens loath?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
Heard melodies are sweet,but those unheard
Are sweeter;5 therefore,ye soft pipes,play on;
Not to the sensual ear,but,more endeared,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth,beneath the trees,thou canst not leave
Thy song,nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover,never,never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal6 — yet,do not grieve;
She cannot fade,though thou hast not thy bliss,7
For ever wilt thou love,and she be fair!
Ah,happy,happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves,nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And,happy melodist,unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy,happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting8 and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead,and a parching tongue.9
Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar,O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks10 with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea-shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of its folk,this pious morn?
And,little town,thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate can e'er return.11
O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede12
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,13
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou,silent form,dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity:Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,14
Thou shalt remain,in midst of other woe
Than ours,15 a friend to man,to whom thou say'st,
“Beauty is truth,truth beauty!”16 — that is all
Ye know on earth,and all ye need to know.
【題解】
此詩(shī)作于 1819年5月。濟(jì)慈向來(lái)傾心于古希臘的藝術(shù),并有相當(dāng)?shù)牧私猓?,讀了英國(guó)藝術(shù)家和作家本杰明·海頓(Benjamin Haydon)的兩篇文章之后,對(duì)古希臘的藝術(shù)精華和璀璨的文明,有了更深的體會(huì)。《希臘古甕頌》從一只古甕表面上每一幅畫面所展示的情景,挖掘創(chuàng)作者的意圖和內(nèi)涵。此詩(shī)具體描述了兩個(gè)場(chǎng)景:一是一位青年熱烈追求一位姑娘,愛(ài)情近在咫尺而終不可得; 二是一群村民虔誠(chéng)地牽著一頭牛去祭祀。希臘古甕將人生的兩大追求,即愛(ài)情和信仰,以極其完美的藝術(shù)形式固定下來(lái),永不消逝?!断ED古甕頌》表現(xiàn)的是一種永恒——理想的追求和現(xiàn)實(shí)的缺憾之間這道鴻溝的永恒性,但恰恰是理想不能成真,信仰難有回應(yīng)的缺憾,使這種追求的永恒性更為可貴。末節(jié)中的名句 “美即真理,真理即美” 緊扣了中心意旨,而并不像有些評(píng)論家說(shuō)的那樣偏離了主題。
【注釋】
1.Thou still unravished bride of quietness ... time:這兩行比喻這一只希臘古甕歷史悠久。在靜默中度過(guò)了數(shù)千年而未遭破壞(unravished)。因?yàn)橹谱髡咴缫阉劳?,所以這古甕成了寂靜和時(shí)間的繼兒。關(guān)于對(duì)still一詞的理解,歷來(lái)聚訟,有的人作as yet解,亦有人認(rèn)為指motionless。
2.Sylvan historian:林野的史家;喻古甕描繪發(fā)生在林野的歷史事件。以下描繪古甕上各個(gè)浮雕表現(xiàn)的情景:祭祀酒神狄俄倪索斯的狂喜式的游行(Dionysian ecstasies),一對(duì)戀人在追逐,春天的綠陰下牧羊人吹起笛子,以及村民的虔誠(chéng)祭祀儀式。
3.leaf-fringed legend:“綠葉為緣的傳說(shuō)”表示故事發(fā)生在林野。haunts:表示這個(gè)故事猶如夢(mèng)魂縈繞,經(jīng)久不息。詩(shī)人以不同的方式刻畫出古甕上的畫面抓住了人間瞬間即逝的良辰美景,暗示這一切在人間不能久駐。
4.Tempe:敦陂,古希臘西沙里的山谷,以景色秀麗著稱;Arcady:阿卡狄山谷,古希臘的一個(gè)地區(qū),常被描繪為田園式的樂(lè)園。
5.Heard melodies are sweet but those unheard ... sweeter:濟(jì)慈的名句。牧羊人的笛曲雖然無(wú)法聽(tīng)見(jiàn),但這并不是吹奏給感官的耳朵(the sensual ear)聽(tīng)的,而是要心領(lǐng)神會(huì)(to the spirit),因而這種樂(lè)曲也更美。比較白居易《琵琶行》“此時(shí)無(wú)聲勝有聲。”
6.Though winning near the goal:雖然你已經(jīng)和愛(ài)人挨得很近了。
7.thou hast not thy bliss:你不能如愿以償。
8.panting:(戀愛(ài)時(shí)因激動(dòng)而)心跳氣喘。
9.All breathing human passion far above ... tongue:這三行形容這一切都是超乎人間的情態(tài),不會(huì)使心靈饜足和悲傷,亦不會(huì)有熾熱的頭腦,唇焦口燥。
10.silken flanks:小牛的身腰光滑如絲綢。
11.not a soul to tell ... return:此句正常結(jié)構(gòu)應(yīng)為not a soul can e'er return to tell why thou art desolate,小鎮(zhèn)上的人都出去祭祀了,不可能有人回來(lái)告訴你為何全鎮(zhèn)人一起出動(dòng)。
12.Attic:古希臘城邦雅典式的,希臘的;brede:braid,an interwoven pattern,交織在一起的畫面。
13.overwrought:ornamented all over.
14.When old age shall this generation waste:等到這一代終其滅絕。
15.in midst of other woe ... ours:意為到下一代又會(huì)有我們這一代所不知的悲哀。注意:全詩(shī)僅此一句吐露出濟(jì)慈無(wú)限感慨人間不可能有藝術(shù)世界中的快感和幸福。
16.“Beauty is truth,truth beauty!”:“美即真理,真理即美”,濟(jì)慈的名句。這一句的引子首見(jiàn)于濟(jì)慈于1820年的版本;但在同年出版的Annals of the Fine Arts 中或在其朋友的四份手抄稿中均未見(jiàn)引號(hào)。這一引號(hào)使批評(píng)家對(duì)最后幾行的解釋,產(chǎn)生了分歧:是否引語(yǔ)系古甕所言,而以下是濟(jì)慈或假托的詩(shī)人所言?最后一行的ye是指詩(shī)人?讀者?古甕?或是古甕上的人物?“all ye know”是指“美即真理,真理即美”,還是應(yīng)包括46—48行,等等。所有這些疑問(wèn)都難定論,但是這也使?jié)鹊倪@首詩(shī)余味無(wú)窮而百讀不厭。
Ode on Melancholy
NO,no,go not to Lethe,1 neither twist
Wolf's-bane,2 tight-rooted,for its poisonous wine;
Nor suffer3 thy pale forehead to be kissed
By nightshade,4 ruby grape of Proserpine;5
Make not your rosary of yew-berries,6
Nor let the beetle,nor the death-moth be
Your mournful Psyche,7 nor the downy owl8
A partner in your sorrow's mysteries;9
For shade to shade will come too drowsily,10
And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.11
But when the melancholy fit shall fall
Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud,
That fosters the droop-headed flowers all,12
And hides the green hill in an April shroud;13
Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose,14
Or on the rainbow of the salt sand-wave,
Or on the wealth of globed peonies;15
Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows,16
Emprison her soft hand,and let her rave,17
And feed deep,deep upon her peerless eyes.18
She dwells with Beauty19 — Beauty that must die;
And Joy,whose hand is ever at his lips
Bidding adieu;20 and aching Pleasure nigh,
Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips:
Ay,in the very temple of Delight
Veiled Melancholy has her sovran21 shrine,
Though seen of none save22 him whose strenuous tongue
Can burst Joy's grape against his palate fine;23
His soul shalt24 taste the sadness of her might,
And be among her cloudy trophies hung.25
【題解】
這首詩(shī)習(xí)慣上譯為《憂郁頌》,可能作《憂郁感懷》更為確切。所謂Ode,按英語(yǔ)原意是 a poem intended to be sung; an elaborate lyric,often of some length,generally addressed to somebody or something (The Chambers Dictionary ),亦即就某一題材寫的吟唱的詩(shī)歌,并無(wú)“頌” 的意思。這是濟(jì)慈創(chuàng)作的所有Ode中最短的一首詩(shī),也是唯一沒(méi)有用第一人稱表達(dá)的。這首詩(shī)或多或少地綜合了之前創(chuàng)作的其他所謂 “頌詩(shī)” 的一些語(yǔ)言和思想,探索了憂郁和愉悅的關(guān)系,揭示了憂存于樂(lè),樂(lè)寓于憂的實(shí)質(zhì)。應(yīng)對(duì)憂郁是人生中更具挑戰(zhàn)性的難題,詩(shī)中所反映的情感,顯然不同于《希臘古甕頌》中洋溢的美學(xué)欣賞情操,亦有別于《懶惰感懷》(Ode on Indolence ) 和《夜鶯頌》中渲染的昏沉、惰性、煩惱和麻木。
【注釋】
1.Lethe:冥界的忘川,人死后飲其水即忘卻過(guò)去。按:第一節(jié)詩(shī)人講憂郁者不應(yīng)該去做或祈求的各種事情。以下所提到的各種植物和動(dòng)物都象征死亡或悲傷。
2.Wolf's-bane:也拼寫為wolfsbane,any of several monkshoods,烏頭屬植物,尤指狼毒烏頭,有毒。此句意為不要去擠壓 (twist ) 狼毒烏頭取其毒液 (poisonous wine)。
3.suffer:allow.
4.nightshade:包括龍葵、顛茄、天仙子等的茄屬植物,有毒。所結(jié)之果為紅色漿果 (berry),故稱ruby grape。
5.Proserpine:普洛塞爾皮娜,冥王普羅托之妻。她原是宙斯和大地母親 (Ceres) 所生之女,被普羅托劫持到冥界當(dāng)冥界王后。大地母親向宙斯哭訴,但是,宙斯的權(quán)力不涉冥界,后經(jīng)與普羅托協(xié)商,普洛塞爾皮娜半年在地下,其母悲,則為秋和冬,半年回到地上,其母喜,則為春和夏。
6.rosary of yew-berries:紫衫漿果的念珠,死亡的象征。
7.Nor let the beetle,nor the death-moth be ... Psyche:歐洲古代傳說(shuō)中,靈魂 (Psyche) 的象征是死人口中飛出來(lái)的蝴蝶或飛蛾; beetle:古代人在墓里放上大的黑甲蟲的復(fù)制品,象征再生。
8.downy owl:絨羽柔軟度貓頭鷹。
9.A partner in your sorrow's mysteries:在你悲傷的儀式中,貓頭鷹是個(gè)合伙者。按:“憂郁” 被視為女神,對(duì)她的供奉要有一定的儀禮 (mysteries); mysteries:secret religious rites,秘密的宗教儀式。
10.shade to shade will come too drowsily:從陰影走向陰影使人昏昏欲睡;shade:一語(yǔ)雙關(guān),兼有shadow 和spirit,ghost之義; drowsily:heavily and sleepily.
11.drown the wakeful anguish of the soul:使靈魂本來(lái)十分警覺(jué)的苦惱沉沉睡去。按:第一節(jié)最后兩行說(shuō)明為什么不應(yīng)忘卻憂郁,或沉溺于憂郁之中,而是應(yīng)該始終保持對(duì)憂郁的痛感。
12.fosters the droop-headed flowers all:雨水滋養(yǎng)花草,使花朵沉甸甸的。
13.hides the green hill in an April shroud:四月份的陰霾如裹尸布,遮蓋了綠色的山體; hill:1820年的版本為單數(shù),可能是濟(jì)慈的疏忽,以后的版本都是復(fù)數(shù)。但是,單數(shù)的hill自有特殊的意境,猶如詩(shī)人面前的一座實(shí)實(shí)在在的山,而不只是想象之中的群山。
14.glut thy sorrow on a morning rose:面對(duì)早晨的玫瑰花盡情地吐露或發(fā)泄你的悲哀; glut ... on:take one's fill of thinking,gazing,etc.,on something.
15.globed peonies:圓狀的牡丹花。
16.if thy mistress some rich anger shows:thy mistress:指憂郁,也可能是某個(gè)女人; rich:strong.
17.Emprison her soft hand,and let her rave:握住她的手,讓她發(fā)泄;rave:to rage,to talk as if mad,發(fā)怒,憤怒地宣泄。
18.feed deep,deep upon her peerless eyes:深深地,深深地凝視著她舉世無(wú)雙的眼睛。
19.She dwells with Beauty:她和美麗一起相處;以下Beauty,Joy,Pleasure都和Beauty并列。這些抽象名詞的概念等都作擬人化處理?!皯n郁”女神的神龕就在愉悅的神廟之中(“the very temple of Delight”,第25行)。
20.Joy,whose hand is ever at his lips ... adieu:歡樂(lè)總是要和人告別,讓人沉默,不要出聲。
21.sovran:sovereign.
22.seen of none save:seen by none except.
23.palate fine:十分敏感的味覺(jué)。
24.shalt:shall.
25.be among her cloudy trophies hung:古代希臘和羅馬的習(xí)俗,把戰(zhàn)利品掛在神廟里。
To Autumn
1
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;1
Conspiring with him2 how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;3
To swell the gourd,and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel;4 to set budding more,
And still more,later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd5 their clammy cells.
2
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?6
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad7 may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;8
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drows'd with the fume of poppies,while thy hook9
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:10
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press,11 with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings12 hours by hours.
3
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay,where are they?
Think not of them,thou hast thy music too,—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,13
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir14 the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows,15 borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;16
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble17 soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;18
And gathering swallows19 twitter in the skies.
【題解】
此詩(shī)作于 1819年9月。濟(jì)慈在9月21日給朋友John Hamilton Reynolds 的信中說(shuō):How beautiful the season is now — How fine the air. A Dian skies — I never lik'd stubble fields so much as now — Aye,better than the chilly green of the spring. Somehow a stubble plain looks warm — in the same way that some pictures look warm — this struck me so much in my Sunday's walk that I composed upon it. 《秋頌》把秋天作了很多擬人化的處理,通過(guò)一系列的意象濃墨重彩地描繪了秋天有別于春天的特色。這首詩(shī)對(duì)秋之頌是隱含而非明示的贊美,詩(shī)的每一節(jié)像移動(dòng)的鏡頭,對(duì)秋之成熟、壯麗、色彩和音樂(lè)作了一番音頻和視頻的錄制。《秋頌》被視為濟(jì)慈最為完美的一首詩(shī)。
【注釋】
1.Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun:秋天是成熟的季節(jié),和催熟萬(wàn)物(maturing)的太陽(yáng)的作用是一樣的,故稱其為太陽(yáng)的摯友。
2.Conspiring with him:和太陽(yáng)共同安排(使果實(shí)充實(shí));Conspiring:devising.
3.And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core:使各種水果都成熟到心子里。
4.To swell the gourd,and plump the hazel shells ... kernel:使葫蘆腹大(長(zhǎng)得鼓鼓的),榛子殼擠滿了甜美的榛子仁。
5.o'er-brimm'd:over-brimmed,(夏天)使蜂房的蜜多得溢了出來(lái)。
6.Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store:此節(jié)詩(shī)人描寫了秋收季節(jié)中勞動(dòng)者的形象,以各種具體的形象來(lái)體現(xiàn)“秋”,虛實(shí)結(jié)合,想象馳騁,筆落實(shí)處?! ?/p>
7.seeks abroad:goes out of one's home.
8.winnowing wind:簸谷的風(fēng);揚(yáng)場(chǎng)所借之風(fēng)。
9.Drows'd with the fume of poppies:在罌粟花香味的熏陶下沉沉入睡;Drows'd:made drowsy;hook:鐮月。
10.Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:留著未割下(spares)后面的一行莊稼(swath)和纏繞在上面的野花。
11.cyder-press:榨果架,擠壓果汁的架子。
12.oozings:榨出的汁水。
13.barred clouds bloomed the soft-dying day:波狀的云朵使傍晚的天空發(fā)出一片紅光;bloom:lend a glow to.
14.a wailful choir:哀鳴。
15.sallows:willows.
16.hilly bourn:山區(qū)。
17.treble:尖音。
18.red-breast:知更鳥;garden-croft:園地。
19.gathering swallews:歸巢的燕子。