第一篇:英诗赏析How Do I Love Thee
英诗赏析--期末小论文
Title:
How Do I Love Thee?
How Do I Love Thee
Elizabeth Barrett Browning How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.I love thee to the level of everyday’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, —I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose,I shall but love thee better after death.我是如此地爱你
伊丽莎白·勃朗宁
我是如此地爱你?让我一一道来: 我爱你,到我灵魂所能及到的
深邃、宽广、和高远;爱,随未现于视野 她却于存在的边际和永恒的恩典。我爱你,到每一天所需的
最基本,在日光下,在烛焰下。
我自由地爱你,像男子们为正义而奋争; 我纯粹地爱你,像他们在赞美前低头。我爱你,以我满腔热情,就像往日的辛酸; 我爱你,以我童年的信仰。我爱你,如同那随着逝去的圣者
而消逝的那种爱,——我爱你以我一生的 呼吸,微笑和泪水!--如果上帝愿意 即使死去,我还要更加爱你!
How Do I Love Thee is one of the 44 poems of Sonnets from the Portuguese that Elizabeth Browning wrote to express her love for her husband and was regarded as the best one.Before I get to the content of the poem, I want to say something about the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the poem’s background.Elizabeth Browning grew up in the west of England and was largely educated at home by a tutor.While saddling a pony when she was 15, she injured her spine and cannot stand.Despite her ailments, her education continued to flourish.In 1844 Elizabeth produced a collection entitled simply Poems.It was Poems that won her some critical recognition and inspired Robert Browning to write to her, telling her how much he loved her poems.Next year, Elizabeth had been 39 years old, six years older than Robert Browning and after they met, they fell in love with each other, which opened a new chapter of her misery life.Love conquered death and saved a life who had given up herself from the shadow of the death and it was Robert Browning’s love for Elizabeth Barrett that made her stand again miraculously.Later, because Elizabeth’s father disapproved their engagement, they still married and fled to Florence, Italy.Sonnets from the Portuguese was a valuable gift Elizabeth sent to Robert where she wrote her primary doubts because of her age and her invalid, the fear of struggling against family, the sweet with lover and the joy of ultimate victory.It was said that the 44 poems was written before their marriage and until they married and lasted for a long time, and then Mrs.Browning put it into Robert’s pocket quietly and told her husband that if he did not like it, he can burn it.After Robert Browning read it, he said he dare not personally hide the most beautiful sonnets since Shakespeare and then it can be published.It was their happiness and love that propelled these poems’ birth.The poem strictly abides by the characteristics of sonnets, and is in iambic pentameter(with 10 syllables, five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables in every line)and the rhyme is abbaabbacdcd.The poems starts with the question, “How do I love thee?” and proceeds to count the ways.Altogether she professed 8 ways that she loves her beloved.The first way that she loves her lover “to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach.” The seventh way is that “I love thee with the breath, /Smiles, tears, of all my life!” This describes the fact that she believes there are no limits to what the human soul and heart can feel.In the poem she uses such words as depth and breath and height, life and death, and night and day(sun and candlelight)to show the enormity and vastness of love.Through the use of metaphors, she compares her depth of love for her lover to such things as a soldier fighting for freedom: “I love thee freely, as men strive for Right/I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.” Her “passion put to use/In my old griefs” refers to the depths of her former despair.The love that “I seemed to lose With my lost saints” refers to the lost loves of her mother and her brother.The poem ends with the declaration that time and death will not diminish her love for Robert because “if God choose,I shall but love thee better after death.” Except metaphors, anaphora can be the dominate figure of speech: the use of I love thee in eight lines and I shall but love thee in the final line.This repetition builds rhythm and reinforces the theme.Mrs.Browning also uses the alliteration as follows: thee, the in line one, two, five, nine, twelve;soul, sight in line three;love, level in line five;purely, Praise in line eight, etc.In How Do I Love Thee, climax also is an very important rhetorical device.The poem uses I Love Thee eight times and we can see: the first “I Love Thee” to “my soul can reach” is about the breadth and depth love the poet’s love and the second “I love thee to the level of everyday’s” is about the necessity of love, which is tantamount to the fundamental needs of basic life, such as water, air, sleep and so on.And such necessity is like the man’s instinct for living.In the third “I love thee” “as man strive for Right”, the poet compares love with the free right and points that love cannot be deprived.The fourth told us the sincerity and purity of her love and the fifth claimed the passion and loyalty of her love;the seventh presented that the poet loved her lover with her life and from the last, we can find the poet’s love had been raised to a higher level: death cannot stop love and on the contrary, death deepened love and was vanquished by love ultimately.From the poem, what we can see is Elizabeth’s pursuit of love directly and bravely.And her love for her lover is so intensive and eternal, which implies us that though the end of life is death, human’s affection will not end when the life ends.
第二篇:英诗赏析(appreciation_of_englsih_poems) - 副本
英诗赏析
诗歌是一种精美的艺术,趣味高一点的人一般都喜欢诗歌。受过良好教育的中国人都会背诵若干首古诗。现在人们很重视学习英文,学习英文,视野也应宽阔一些,也应当对英文诗歌多少有些领略才好。中国文学中诗歌成就极大,英语文学中,诗歌也极其丰富多彩。语言艺术的最高表现形式在诗歌。如果只是知道实用性的英文,只学习商业英文、法律英文等英文,对英语文学毫无修养,对英文诗歌一无所知,那将是一个不小的遗憾,将会影响到审美能力的发展和提高,学英文而不懂英文诗歌,不仅从审美角度看是一个遗憾,而且从英语学习这一角度看,不学一些英文诗歌,其英语水平也达不到很高的层次。诗歌语言最精炼,语汇最丰富,表达形式最精美,语言的色调最细腻。如果对诗歌有一定修养,其语言表达能力会大大提高。试想一个学汉语的人,如果对唐诗宋词一无所知,其汉语水平不会很高。学英语者也是如此。如果他对莎士比亚、弥尔顿、华兹华斯、拜伦、雪莱、济慈等人的著名诗篇一窍不通,其英文水平也不会很高。
总之,有一定英语基础的人不能不更上一层楼,读一点英文诗。这不仅有助于提高我们的文学素养,丰富我们的审美能力,也有助于提高我们的英语水平。
英诗基础知识
读英文诗歌相当不容易。其中的主要原因是诗歌有其独特的语言特点和表达方式,与散文有明显区别。为更好地欣赏英文诗歌,很有必要了解一些相关的基本知识。这方面的知识极其细致,以下只介绍一些最基本的。
一 节奏
诗歌是具有音乐性的语言。音乐作品的最大特点之一是音符的流动是有节奏的。所谓节奏就是强拍和弱拍按一定的形式配合起来,有规律地反复出现。懂点音乐的人都知道,音乐中基本的节奏有两种,即强——弱(2/4拍)和强——弱——弱(3/4拍)。举两个简单的例子: 《东方红》的节奏就是强——弱: 56│2 —│1 16│2 —│5 5│6i 65│1 16│2 —│
《新年好》(HAPPY NEW YEAR)这首儿歌的节奏是强——弱——弱: 1 5 │33 3 1│13 5 5 │43 2 —│23 4 4 │32 3 1│13 2 5│72 1 —│
中国古诗有节奏。其节奏主要是通过汉字特有的声调表现出来的。传统汉语中的声调有四:平、上、去、入。平声称“平声”,上、去、入三声统称仄声。平声与仄声结合起来反复出现,就是中国诗歌的节奏。如一首五言绝句,其最常见的节奏是: 仄仄平平仄,平平仄仄平。平平平仄仄,仄仄仄平平。王之涣《等鹳雀楼》:白日依山尽,黄河入海流。欲穷千里目,更上一层楼。此诗即是这样的节奏。其中“欲”字是仄声,与格式不合。但根据格律要求,诗行中的第一字可平可仄。英文诗歌也有节奏。英文没有平声、仄声之分,但有重读轻读音节之分,其节奏是通过重读音节与轻读音节表现出来的。一个重读音节与一个或两个轻读音节按一定的模式搭配起来,有规律地反复出现就是英文诗歌的节奏。
我们知道凡是有两个以上音节的英文单词,都有重读音节与轻读音节之分,在一句话中,根据语法、语调、语意的要求,有些词也要重读,有些要轻读。如he went to town to buy a book..I‟m glad to hear the news.英文中有重读和轻读之分,重读的音节和轻读的音节,按一定模式配合起来,反复再现,组成诗句,听起来起伏跌宕,抑扬顿挫,就形成了诗歌的节奏。多音节单词有重音和次重音,次重音根据节奏既可视为重读,也可视为轻读。读下面这两句诗:
Alone │she cuts │and binds│ the grain, And sings │a me│lancho│ly strain.这两行诗的重读与轻读的固定搭配模式是:轻——重。在每行中再现四次,这样就形成了这两行诗的节奏。某种固定的轻重搭配叫“音步”(foot),相当与乐谱中的“小节”。一轻一重,就是这两行诗的音步。一行诗中轻重搭配出现的次数叫音步数,这两行诗的音步数都是四,所以就称其为四音步诗。
二 常见的音步类型
音步是轻读与重读构成的。根据重读与轻读搭配的方式的不同,可以划分出不同的音步类型。音步类型不同,节奏自然也不同。最常见的音步类型有以下四种:
(一)抑扬格
如果一个音步中有两个音节,前者为轻,后者为重,则这种音步叫抑扬格音步,其专业术语是(iamb, iambic.)。轻读是“抑”,重读是“扬”,一轻一重,故称抑扬格。
英语中有大量的单词,其发音都是一轻一重,如adore, excite, above, around, appear, besides, attack, supply, believe, return等,所以用英语写诗,用抑扬格就很便利。也就是说,抑扬格很符合英语的发音规律。因此,在英文诗歌中用得最多的便是抑扬格,百分之九十的英文诗都是用抑扬格写成的。前面的那两句诗就是抑扬格诗。
(二)扬抑格
如果一个音步中有两个音节,前者为重,后者为轻,则这种音步叫扬抑格音步,其专业术语是(trochee, trochaic.)。重读是“扬”,轻读是“抑”,一重一轻,故称扬抑格。与抑扬格恰好相反。
英语中也有一批其读音为一重一轻的单词,如Happy, many, holy, yonder, headlong, flaming, upper, grandeur, failing等。写扬抑格的诗,此类词正好合适。但这类词在英语中其数量不及前面的那些多,与英文的语言规律不十分吻合,所以扬抑格诗不多。举两句诗例:
Present │mirth has │present │laughter Shakespeare Shake your │chains to │earth like │dew Shelley
(三)抑抑扬格
抑抑扬格含三个音节,即轻——轻——重,专门术语是:Anapaest, anapaestic 例词: cavalier, intercede, disbelieve, reappear, disapprove, indistinct, on the hill.例句:
拜伦的以下四行诗是抑抑扬格:
The Assyr│ian came down │like the wolf │on the fold, And his coh│orts were glea│ming in purp│le and gold;And the sheen│ of their spears │was like stars │on the sea, When the blue │waves rolls night│ly on deep │Galilee.——Destruction of Sennacherib 这是拜伦写的描述古代亚述人围攻耶路撒冷,被瘟疫所袭的诗的一节。第四行第二音步中的waves 一词可轻可重。诗题中的Sennacherib 是亚述国王。fold 指羊群,purple and gold 描写亚述军队的服饰,Galilee,巴勒斯坦北部的加利利湖。cohorts军团,sheen,光芒。
(四)扬抑抑格
重——轻——轻是扬抑抑格,专门术语是:dactyl, dactylic.例词:
happily, merciful, eloquent, messenger, merrily, properly, accident, quantity.例句:
Dragging the │corn by her │golden hair.Davies: the villain.英文诗歌中的音步类型有十几种之多,常见者即此四种,第一种则最常见。此外诗句中也常有抑抑格(pyrrhic[/peirik]和扬扬格(spondee[/sp :ndi])出现。
需要说明的是,这些音步类型只是理论上的分析,实际上,一首诗仅用一种音步类型写,这种情况极少见,大多是以某一种为主,同时穿插其他类型。如果一首诗只含有一种音步,就会显得非常单调机械。一首诗只要是以某种类型为主的,尽管有其他类型穿插其中,也称此诗为某某格。如,以抑扬格为主要节奏写成的,就称此诗为抑扬格诗。现代兴起的一些自由诗(FREE VERSE),不受这些格律的限制。
三 诗行
(一)一诗行不一定是一个完整的句字。英文诗每行的第一个字母都大写,但是一诗行不一定是一个完整的句子,不一定能表达一个完整的意思。有时候,一行诗正好是一句,有时两行甚至许多行才构成一个意思完整的句子。前者叫end-stopped line(结句行),后者叫run-on line.(跨行句)。这是英文诗与中国诗的最大区别之一。中国诗歌都是一行表达一个完整的意思。看下面一节诗:
I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where;For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight.前两行是end-stopped line,后两行是run-on line。读跨行句诗,行末停顿较短。跨行句在英文诗歌中极其普遍,有时十来行才成一完整句子。刚学英文诗的人,对此往往不习惯。对此我们需加注意。
(二)诗行的长短以音步数目计算:
英文诗行的长度范围一般是一音步——五音步。六、七、八音步的诗行也有,但不多。最多的是四音步、五音步的诗。
(各种长短诗行的专门术语:一音步诗:monometer 二音步诗:dimeter三音步诗:trimeter四音步诗:tetrameter 五音步诗:pentameter 六音步诗:hexameter 七音步诗:heptameter八音步诗:octameter.)
在分析一首诗的格律时,既要考律此诗的基本音步类型,也要考律此诗中诗行的音步数目。看下面的一首短诗:
An EMPTY HOUSE Alexander Pope You beat│your pate, │and fan│cy wit │will come: Knock as│you please, │there‟s no│body│at home.(你拍拍脑袋,以为灵感马上就来。可任你怎么敲打,也无人把门打开。pate,脑袋。fancy,动词:以为,想象。)
此诗的基本音步类型是抑扬格,每行五音步。因此称此诗的格律是“抑扬格五音步”(iambic pentameter)。一首诗的音步类型和诗行所含的音步数目构成此诗的格律(meter)。
四 压韵(rhyme)
英文诗一般都押运韵。
(一)全韵与半韵(full rhyme and half rhyme)。全韵是严格的押韵,其要求是:
(1)韵要押在重读音节上,其元音应相同;(2)元音前的辅音应不同;
(3)如果元音之后有辅音,应相同。
(4)重读音节之后如有轻读音节,也应相同。下面几对词都符合全韵的标准:
why---sigh;hate---late;fight---delight;powers---flowers;today---away;ending---bending.如果仅是元音字母相同,读音不同,不符合全韵:如: blood----hood;there---here;gone---alone;daughter----laughter.这种情形被称为“眼韵”(eye rhyme),虽然诗人有时用之,但不是真正的押韵。仅是辅音相同或仅是元音相同的属半韵: 元音不同,其前后的辅音相同,这叫谐辅韵(consonance)如:black, block;creak, croak;reader, rider;despise, dispose.元音相同,其后的辅音相同者叫谐元韵(assonance),如lake, fate;time, mind.(二)尾韵与行内韵(end rhyme and internal rhyme)押在诗行最后一个重读音节上,叫尾韵。这是英文诗歌最常见的押韵部位。诗行中间停顿处的重读音节与该行最后一个重读音节押韵者,叫行内韵。如: Spring, the sweet spring, is the year‟s pleasant king;Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,(三)男韵与女韵((masculine rhyme and feminine rhyme)所押的韵音局限于诗行中重读的末尾音节上,称男韵,也叫单韵,听起来强劲有力。如:late, fate;hill, fill;enjoy, destroy.押韵押在两个音节上,后一音节非重读音节,称女韵,也叫双韵,听起来或轻快,或幽婉。如:lighting, fighting;motion, ocean;wining, beginning.看下面一节诗:
I am coming, little maiden, With the pleasant sunshine laden;With the honey for the bee, With the blossom for the tree.前两行押女韵,后两行押男韵。
也有不少英文诗是不押韵的,不押韵的诗称无韵诗或白体诗(blank verse)。多用在戏剧和叙事诗中。莎士比亚的戏剧和弥尔顿的Paradise Lost 都是用blank verse写成的。押韵的诗叫rhymed verse。无韵诗不同与自由诗。无韵诗虽不押韵,但是有固定节奏,以扬抑格五音步最常见。自由诗节奏不固定,如同白话。
诗选及讲解
A SELECTION OF ENGLISH POETRY
FOR AN OPTIONAL COURSE OF THE UNDERGRADUADTES
William Shakespeare(1564—1616)作者简介:
剧作家、诗人。一生创作三十七部戏剧,154首十四行诗。其十四行诗大部分是献给一位贵族青年,有二十余篇则是献给一位“黑肤女士”(the dark lady).Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer‟s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer‟s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed;And every fair from fair sometimes declines, By chance, or nature‟s changing course, untrimm‟d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow‟st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander‟st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow‟st.So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.注释: Compare ···to 把什么比做什么。
Thou, thee 第二人称单数代词,前者主格,后者宾格。现已为you 所取代。其所有格是thy,或thine, 即现代英语的your。
Art = are.16、17世纪时与thou连用。
Temperate: 来自拉丁文temperātus,读时为符合押韵规则,可将重音放后。Shake:shake off。
Lease 租借期限,此处指夏天的长度。
Hath 与第三人称单数连用,相当于现代英语的has。
Dimmed: clouded.Fair form fair: beautiful thing from beauty.前后fair意义不同。Declines from beauty。
Chance:极缘,时运,命运。
And every fair from fair sometimes declines,/By chance, or nature‟s changing course, untrimm‟d:每一个美人总要失去美貌,即使没有突发的以外事件,也逃不过自然界生老病死的变迁。Sometimes: 有的版本作“sometime”: at some unspecified time.Untrimm‟d: untrimmed.本意为剥去美观的衣服等,此处隐喻夺去美貌等。
Fair thou ow‟st: beauty you own.莎士比亚时代,owe与own通用。古英语第二人称单数后加-st或-est His shade:shadow of death.“Nor shall Death brag thou wander‟st in his shade”:“死神无从夸口,说你在他的阴影里徘徊”。
To time thou grow‟st: you grow as long as time lasts.与时间同寿。Grow to = be incorporated with.内容解析:
此诗的发展变化:以人比夏天开始,以人胜自然终结。前四行说明人比夏天更美更温和;中四行发展了这个意思,引到驻颜无术的感慨;第三组则新意突起,推翻前言,终于于胜利的末两行作结。此诗表达了这样一种思想:美丽的事物可以依靠文学的力量而永远不朽;文学是人所创造的,因此这有宣告了人的不朽。因此此诗不是一般的爱情诗。形式解析:
sonnet:十四行诗,即“商籁体”诗。此诗体起源不明,最早的例子出现于13世纪,16世纪在英国出现。主要有意大利式和英国式两种变体。意大利诗人Petrarch [/petra:k]用此诗体最精熟,故意大利式又称Petrarchan sonnet。英国式由莎士比亚创立,又称 Shakespearean sonnet.意大利式分前八行、后六行。韵尾是abba, abba;cde, dcd.。莎士比亚式十四行诗,层次上分前四行,中四行,后四行和结尾两行。Shall I compare you to a summer’s day? You are more lovely and more moderate: Harsh winds disturb the delicate buds of May, and summer doesn’t last long enough.Sometimes the sun is too hot, and its golden face is often dimmed by clouds.All beautiful things eventually become less beautiful, either by the experiences of life or by the passing of time.But your eternal beauty won’t fade, nor lose any of its quality.And you will never die, as you will live on in my enduring poetry.As long as there are people still alive to read poems this sonnet will live, and you will live in it.参考译文:
能不能让我把你比拟作夏日? 你可是更加温和,更加可爱: 狂风会吹落五月的好花儿,夏季的生命又未免结束得太快: 有时候苍天的巨眼照得太灼热,他那金彩的脸色也会被遮暗; 每一样美呀,总会离开美而凋落,被时机或者自然的代谢所摧残; 但是你永久的夏天决不会凋枯,你永远不会失去你美的仪态; 死神夸不着你在他影子里踯躅,你将在不朽的诗中与时间同在; 只要人类在呼吸,眼睛看得见,我这诗就活着,使你的生命绵延。(屠岸)Spring
When daisies pied and violets blue And lady-smocks all silver-white And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue Do paint the meadows with delight, The cuckoo then, on every three, Mocks married men;for thus sings he, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, cuckoo!Oh word of fear Unpleasing to a married ear!
When shepherds pipe on oaten straws, And merry larks are ploughmen‟s clocks, When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws, And maidens bleach their summer smocks, The cuckoo then, on every three, Mocks married men;for thus sings he, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, cuckoo!Oh word of fear Unpleasing to a married ear!------Comedy: Love‟s Labour Lost
剧情:拿伐Navarre [n /va: ]国王与其几位朝臣立誓三年之内摒弃一切世俗的快乐,致力于研究学问。其中的一条是:三年之中不可与女子交谈一次。不久法国公主携几名侍女来办理国务,国王和朝臣门守不住自己的誓言,爱上了这几个女子。最后公主的父亲去世,公主要持戒三年,国王和朝臣们的求爱也化为泡影。此诗在此剧之结尾处。注释:
daisies pied:杂色的雏菊。
lady-smock:也作lady‟s-smock 花名:布谷鸟剪秋罗。Smock:〈古〉女衬衣,罩衣。cuckoo-buds of yellow hue:黄色的杜鹃花。hue:颜色。
Cuckoo:[/kuku:] 布谷鸟的叫声,与/cuckold(奸妇的丈夫)一词谐音。
shepherds [/ ep d] pipe on oaten straws:拿燕麦杆吹哨子。turtles tread:斑鸠交配。Turtle:〈古〉斑鸠,=turtledove。Tread:(雄鸟)与(雌鸟)交配。
rooks and daws:白嘴鸦和穴鸟。内容解析:
春天里百花争艳,万象更新,情人们沉醉于甜蜜的爱情之中。但树梢上布谷鸟的叫声却似乎在不断提醒人们:爱情并不可考。此诗有反讽意味,与剧情一致。英国诗人甘贝尔(Thomas Campbell,1777—1844)在 Freedom and Love一诗中说:“Love has bliss, but love has ruining/ Other smiles may make you fickle/ Tears for other charm may trickle。”
形式解析:抑扬格四音步,韵式:abab cc d ee;fgfg hh d ee
When dai│sies pied │and vio│lets blue And la│dy-smocks│ all sil│ver-white And cu│ckoo-buds │of ye│llow hue Do paint │he mea│dows with│ delight, The cu│ckoo then, │on eve│ry three, Mocks mar│ried men;│for thus │sings he, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, │cuckoo!│Oh word│ of fear Unplea│sing to│ a mar│ried ear!
When she│pherds pipe │on oa│ten straws, And mer│ry larks│ are plough │men‟s clocks, When turt│les tread, │ and rooks, │and daws, And mai│dens bleach │their sum│mer socks, The cu│ckoo then, │on eve│ry three, Mocks mar│ried men;│for thus │sings he, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, │cuckoo!│Oh word │of fear Unplea│sing to│ a mar│ried ear!
参考译文: 当杂色的雏菊开遍牧场,蓝的紫罗蓝,白的美人衫,还有那杜鹃花吐蕾娇黄,描出了一片广大的欣欢;
听杜鹃在每一株树上叫,把那娶了妻的男人讥笑: 咯咕!
咯咕!咯咕!啊,可怕的声音!害得做丈夫的肉跳心惊。
当无愁的牧童口吹麦笛,清晨的云雀惊醒了农人,斑鸠乌鸦都在觅侣求匹,女郎们漂洗夏季的衣群; 听杜鹃在每一株树上叫,把那娶了妻的男人讥笑: 咯咕!
咯咕!咯咕!啊,可怕的声音!害得做丈夫的肉跳心惊。(朱生豪)To Be or Not To Be
To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ‟tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die—to sleep— No more;and by a sleep to say we end The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to.‟tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished.To die—to sleep.To sleep—perchance to dream: ay, there‟s the rub!For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause.There‟s the respect That makes calamity of so long life.For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor‟s wrong, the proud man‟ contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law‟s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death— The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns—puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ill we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o‟er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action.剧情:
《哈娒莱特》是莎士比亚重要剧作之一,写于1601年。剧中的主人公是丹麦王子Hamlit。哈姆莱特的父亲,即丹麦国王,被哈姆莱特的叔父Claudius秘密害死,不到两个月,又与哈姆莱特的母亲,即王后,结婚。还窃取了王位。哈姆莱特的叔父Caudius是个坏透顶了的人。哈姆莱特则是一位有理想、有道德的人,他决心要为父亲报仇。为了不被看出来,他装成疯子。哈姆莱特要为父亲报仇,但中间有其母亲穿插其间,这使他心情极其复杂,于是整日心情抑郁,产生了厌世情绪。于是真的有点疯疯颠颠了。剧情很曲折,大家可在课外找有关资料读。推荐读读英汉对照本《莎士比亚戏剧故事》(Tales from Shakespeare, by Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb, 萧乾、文洁若翻译。商务印书馆1984年出版。)这段独白就是哈姆莱特在极度困惑、不知所措的心情下道出的,谈到了生与死、思考与行动、报复与宽容等等人生中的永恒矛盾,批判了现实世界的黑暗,富有深刻的哲理意味。出现在原剧第三幕第一场。注释:
slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: 狂暴命运的矢石交攻。sling: 投石器,弹 弓;投掷,打击一击.To die—to sleep—No more:死就是睡眠,如此而已。
by a sleep to say we end/The heartache:to say(that)by a sleep we end the heartache the thousand natural shocks/That flesh is heir to: 无数要承受的皮肉之苦,与“heartache”相对。Be heir to: 要继承或承受的。
‟tis a consummation/Devoutly to be wished.那正是求之不得的完美结局。Consummation:final settlement of everything.To sleep—perchance to dream: ay, there‟s the rub!睡眠也许要做梦,嗨,那就成问题了。Perchance:perhaps.Rub: 摩擦,障碍。
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come/When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,/Must give us pause.“what dreams may come” 这一名词从句是主语,give 是谓语。Shuffled off:摆脱,脱去。mortal coil:earthly turmoil.人世的纷扰。
There‟s the respect /That makes calamity of so long life.这一顾虑使漫长岁月成了灾难。Respect: attention, consideration.顾虑,考虑。”without respect to the results”不顾后果。
the whips and scorns of time: 人世的鞭挞和嘲弄。Time: the times, 时世
The oppressor‟s wrong, the proud man‟ contumely: 压迫者的凌辱,傲慢者的冷眼。
do sb.Wrong, do wrong to sb.Contumely [/k ] insolent treatment.无礼对待。The pangs of despised love:失恋的痛苦。Pang:痛苦。Despised 之重音在第一音节。
the spurns/That patient merit of the unworthy takes:忍让的有德才者从小人那里受到的排挤。Of: from;spurn: contemptuous rejection,一脚踢开;the unworthy: 小人。
Quietus [kai/i:t s]: acquittance, release, 卸去(义务、责任)A bare bodkin: a mere poniard.短剑,匕首。
Fardels: bundles, burdens.Grunt: groan, 哼,呻吟.Bourn: 领域
Conscience: 思考,顾虑,良心。sicklied o‟er:sickly: 使出现病态
the pale cast of thought: 惨白的一层思虑的病容。Cast:tinge, shade of color.Thought: 思虑,顾虑,melancholy, despondency.pith and moment:vigour and importance.Pith: 体力、气力、精力,(文章的)力。1604年版本中pith作pitch: height with this regard: on this account 内容分析:这断独白是倾诉人生的根本苦闷和基本矛盾。受到压迫了,应该反抗,但往往结果是适得其反。事事忍让,却又心中不能平衡。干事业需果断有魄力,但也得深思熟虑,三思而行。但是顾虑太多,缩手缩脚又会疲软,行动不起来。人生在世,烦恼苦难不一而足,但死后的世界未比此岸世界好(古代人一般相信有彼岸世界 “a life in the world to come is taken for granted.” New Concept English, vol.4, lesson, 60.)。人生就是这样充满了各种矛盾和无奈。形式分析:
这是莎士比亚戏剧最著名独白(soliloquy),用的是抑扬格五音步“白体诗”(BLANK VERSES)。
To be, │or not │to be: │that is │the ques│tion: Whether│ ‟tis nob│ler in │the mind │to suf│fer The slings │and ar│rows of│ outra│geous for│tune(以上三行多一音节,其到迟疑、沉思的效果。)
Or to│ take arms│against │a sea │of troubles, And by op│posing │end them? │To die—│to sleep— No more;│and by│ a sleep │to say │we end The heart│ache, and│the thou│sand na│tural shocks That flesh│ is heir │to.‟tis│ a con│summa│tion Devout│ly to│ be wished.│ To die│—to sleep.To sleep│—perchance │to dream: │ay, there‟s │the rub!For in │that sleep │of death│what dreams │may come When we│ have shuffled │off this│ mortal │coil, Must give│ us pause.│ There‟s the │respect That makes │cala│mity │of so │long life.For who │would bear│ the whips│ and scorns │of time, The oppres│sor‟s wrong, │the proud│ man‟ con│tumely, The pangs │of des│pised love, │the law‟s │delay, The in│solence │of of│fice, and │the spurns That pa│tient me│rit of the │unwor│thy takes, When he│ himself │might his │quie│tus make With a│ bare bod│kin? Who │would far│dels bear, To grunt │and sweat │under│ a wea│ry life, But that│ the dread │of some│thing af│ter death— The un│disco│vered coun│try, from │whose bourn No travel│ler re│turns—│puzzles │the will, And makes │us ra│ther bear │those ill │we have Than fly│ to oth│ers that │we know │not of? Thus con│science does│ make co│wards of │us all, And thus │the na│tive hue │of re│solu│tion Is sick│lied o‟er │with the │pale cast │of thought, And en│terprises │of great │pith and│ moment With this│ regard │their cur│rents turn│ awry And lose │the name │of ac│tion.参考译文:
“活下去还是不活:这是个问题”
活下去还是不活,这是个问题; 要做到高贵,究竟该忍气吞声 来容受狂暴的命运矢石交攻击呢,还是该挺身反抗无边的苦恼,扫它个干净?死,就是睡眠—— 就这样;而如果睡眠就等于了结了 心痛以及千百种身体要担受的 皮痛肉痛,那该是天大的好事,正求之不得啊!死,就是睡眠; 睡眠也许要做梦,这就麻烦了!我们一旦摆脱了尘世的牵缠 在死的睡眠里还会做些什么梦,一想到就不能不踌躇。这一点顾虑 正好使灾难变成了长期的折磨。谁甘心忍受人世的鞭挞和嘲弄,忍受压迫者虐待、傲慢者凌辱,忍受失恋的痛苦、法庭的拖延、衙门的横暴、做埋头苦干的大才 受座位的小人一脚踢出去,如果他只消自己来使一下尖刀 就可以得到解脱啊?谁甘心挑担子,拖着疲累的生命,呻吟,流汗,要不是怕一死就去了没有人回来的 那个从未发现的国土,怕那边 还不知会怎样,因此意志动摇了,因此就宁愿忍受目前的灾殃,` 而不愿投奔另一些未知的苦难? 这样子,顾虑使我们都成了懦夫,也就这样了,决断决行的本色 蒙上了惨白的一层思虑的病容; 本可以轰轰烈烈的大作大为,由于这一点想不通,就出了别扭,失去了行动的名份。(卞之琳)Spring
Spring, the sweet spring, is the year‟s pleasant king;Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring, Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing, Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
The palm and may make country houses gay, Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day, And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay, Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet, Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit, In every street these tunes our ears do greet, Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
注释:
the year‟s pleasant king:一年四季中以春天为最欢乐的时期。King 即比喻欢乐之最,也兼指一岁之首。
Cold doth not sting:doth:古英语do 的第三人称现在事态形式。the pretty birds do thing:do 是为了韵律的需要而加进去的。
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo: Cuckoo, 布谷鸟的叫声; jug-jug, 夜莺(nightingale)的叫声,pu-we, 田凫(pewit)的叫声,to-witta-woo,泛指各种鸟鸣。Palm: 棕榈。其枝叶常作为胜利的象征。May:山楂花。因在五月盛开,故名 may。
And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay:aye:古英语副词,always,ever。Tune:动词:唱。Lay 歌曲。
old wives a-sunning sit:sit是谓语动词。a-sunning:晒太阳,作状语。a-作为特殊介词,后跟动名词,表示在进行什么活动。如 He went a-fishing.现代说法是:He went fishing.these tunes our ears do greet:these tunes do greet our ears.内容解析:此诗节奏明快,旋律强烈,生动地描绘出了一幅春回大地,生机昂然的画面。形式解析:主要是扬抑格五音步,韵式是aaab, cccb, dddb.三节最后一行是叠句(refrain);每节除末一行外,其他三行都用行内韵(internal rhyme),即第二音步的第二个词同第五音步末尾的词谐韵。叠句(refrain): a phrase, line or lines repeated at the end of a stanza.Spring, the│ sweet spring, │ is the │year‟s plea│sant king;Then blooms │each thing, │ then maids│ dance in│ a ring, Cold doth│ not sting, │the pret│ty birds │do thing, Cuckoo, │ jug-jug, │ pu-we, │to-wi│tta-woo!
The palm│ and may│ make coun│try hou│ses gay, Lambs frisk │and play, │the she│pherds pipe │all day, And we│ hear aye│ birds tune │this mer│ry lay, Cuckoo, │jug-jug, │pu-we, │to-wi│tta-woo!
The fields │breathe sweet, │the dai│sies kiss │our feet, Young lo│vers meet, │ old wives │a-sun│ning sit, In eve│ry street │these tunes │our ears│ do greet, Cuckoo, │ jug-jug, │pu-we, │ to-wi│tta-woo!Spring!The │sweet spring!
Spring!The sweet spring!参考译文:(略。郭沫若有译文,意译,参考价值不不大。)
John Milton(1608—1674)作者简介:英国诗人,思想家、政论家。从小好学,经常开夜车,四十余岁失明。晚年在失明的情况下,写成了伟大史诗《失乐园》(PARADISE LOST)。其内容是演述《圣经》故事。可与荷马的《伊利亚特》(Homer's Iliad)、但丁的《神曲》(Dante's Divine Comedy)相媲美。《五月晨歌》是早期作品,成于二十一岁时,格调十分清新。Song On May Morning
Now the bright morning star, Day‟s harbinger, Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her The flowery May, who from her green lap throws The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose.Hail, bounteous May, that dost inspire Mirth, and youth, and warm desire!Woods and groves are of thy dressing;Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing.Thus we salute thee with our early song And welcome thee, and wish thee long.注释:
morning star: 启明星、太白星、长庚星等。早晨在东方出现。晚上在西方出现,叫长庚,英文作“evening star”.。同是一颗星,即Venus。harbinger [/ha: bind ]先导,先兆
primrose [/primroz] 樱草花,报春花。Bounteous [/baunti s] 慷慨的
of thy dressing:dressed in thy fashion Dost:第二人称现在时单数。即do Doth: 一般用于第三人称单数,但弥尔顿也常常用于复数。在他的作品中很常见。著名英语专家陆佩弦总结弥尔顿的语言特点,其中一条就是 “singular verb for plural subject”。此种情况在莎士比亚的作品中也不时能遇见。
Long: long life.形式分析:抑扬格穿插扬抑格(7、8两行是扬抑格,女韵,显得十分轻快)。韵式为aa,bb,cc,dd,ee。
Now the │bright mor│ning star, │ Day‟s har│binger, Comes dan│cing from │the east, │ and leads │with her The flowe│ry May, │who from │her green │lap throws The ye│llow cow│slip and │the pale│ primrose.Hail, boun│teous May, │that dost │inspire Mirth, │ and youth, │and warm │desire!Woods and │groves are │of thy │dressing;Hill and │dale doth│boast thy │blessing.Thus we│ salute │thee with │our ear│ly song And wel│come thee, │and wish │thee long.参考译文:
晶莹的晨星,白日的先驱,她舞蹈着从东方带来娇侣,百花的五月,从绿色的怀中撒下 金黄色的九轮花和淡红的樱草花。欢迎,富丽的五月啊,你激扬 欢乐、青春和热情的希望; 林木、树丛是你的装束,山陵、溪谷夸说你的幸福。我们也用清晨的歌曲向你礼赞,欢迎你,并且祝福你永恒无边!
Alexander Pope(1688—1744)作者简介:蒲伯是18世纪英国最重要的诗人。作品很多。他还用英雄双行体诗翻译了荷马史诗。文学上崇尚精雕细琢,是新古典主义的大师。身体不好,终身未婚。他的父母是天主教徒,当时天主教徒是受迫害的。一生基本上过的是隐居日子。《独处诵》是其早期作品。自称写于12岁时。6 Solitude Happy the man, whose wish and care A few paternal acres bound,(acres[/eik ])
Content to breathe his native air In his own ground.Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, Whose flocks supply him with attire;Whose trees in summer yield him shade, In winter fire.Blest, who can unconcern‟dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away In health of body, peace of mind, Quiet by day,Sound sleep by night;study and ease Together mix‟d;sweet creation;
And innocence, which most does please With meditation.Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;Thus unlamented let me die;Steal from the world, and not a stone Tell where I lie.注释: the first stanza can be rewritten like this: the man is happy, whose wish and care are bound by a few paternal acres, and who is content to breathe his native air in his own ground.其意思相当于《中庸》上所说的“君子素位而行,不愿乎其外。”Jude The Obscure 中有一句话说:a contented mind is a continual feast.(Jude the Obscure.P378)
Whose herds with milk, /whose fields with bread,/Whose flocks supply him with attire;前两行省略了“supply him with”。Attire:服装。
unconcern‟dly,即unconcernedly:漫不经心,无忧无虑,悠然自得。第三节可以改写成:Blest is the man who can unconcern‟dly find Hours, days, and years slide soft away In health of body and in peace of mind 相当于“ I see him leave.”这样的句子。
study and ease /Together mix‟d;sweet creation;/And innocence, which most does please/With meditation.他劳逸结合,有令人欢喜的娱乐活动,还有天真的性情。这天真的性情与沉思结合起来,最使他高兴。
内容解析:避开尘世的烦扰,与世无争,潜心学术,并悠然自得地享受田园生活,这是最幸福的。与《庄子》“恬淡寂寞,虚无无为”(《刻意》)之说有相似之处。陶渊明有几句诗可以与此诗相参:“息交游闲业,卧起弄书琴。园蔬有余滋(生长得很多。滋:生长),旧谷犹储今。营己良有极,过足非所钦。舂秫作美酒,酒熟吾自斟。弱子戏我侧,学语未成吟。此事真复乐,聊用忘华簪(比喻高官厚禄)。”(《和郭主薄》其一)
形式解析:此诗五节,每节四行。韵尾是abab。节奏主要是四音步抑扬格(i/ambic te/trameter),每节四音步:
Happy │the man, │ whose wish │and care A few │pater│nal a│cres bound, Content│ to breathe │his na│tive air In his │own ground.Whose herds │with milk, │whose fields │with bread, Whose flocks │supply │him with│ attire;Whose trees│ in sum│mer yield│ him shade, In win│ter fire.Blest, who │can un│concern‟d│ly find Hours, days, │and years │slide soft│ away In health│ of bo│dy, peace│ of mind, Quiet │by day,Sound sleep│ by night;│ study│ and ease Toge│ther mix‟d;│ sweet cre│ation;And in│nocence, │ which most │does please With me│ditation.Thus let │me live, │unseen, │unknown;Thus un│lamen│ted let│ me die;Steal from │the world, │ and not│ a stone Tell where │I lie.参考译文: 人生如何方为乐,唯有知足不贪心。只守祖上数亩田,但吸故园气清新。
绵羊产毛制衫袍,乳牛耕地供食饮。夏来密叶乘浓荫,冬至疏枝做柴薪。
一任岁月轻轻去,那堪忧思处处寻。白日闲逸夜安眠,一身强健心气平。
读书劳逸相结合,娱乐甜美悦人心。最佳胜景有冥思,极乐世界属天真。
死后不受世哀悼,生时岂令人见闻。幽幽偷辞浊世去,不铭何处葬我身。(石瓃)Robert Burns(1759—1796)罗伯特·彭斯,苏格兰诗人。出身于偏僻乡村。他的诗歌充分吸收了苏格兰民歌成分,热情奔放,优美动听,被誉为伟大的苏格兰民族诗人。19世纪英国浪漫主义诗歌运动的先驱。他的一些诗歌被谱写成歌曲,广为流传。如《友谊地久天长》(Auld[o:ld] Lang Syne[sain]: old long then: long ago.)、《我的心在高原》(My heart's in the high lands)等。7 A Red, Red Rose
O, my Luve‟s like a red, red rose, That‟s newly sprung in June.O, my Luve‟s like the melodie, That‟s sweetly play‟d in tune.As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in Luve am I, And I will love thee still, my dear, Till a‟ the seas gang dry!
Till a‟ the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi‟ the sun!And I will love thee still, my dear, While the sands o‟ life shall run.And fare thee weel, my only Luve!And fare thee weel, a while!And I will come again, my Luve, Tho‟ it were ten thousand mile!
注释:
Luve‟s = Love is
melodie = melody,甜蜜的歌曲
play‟d in tune = played in tune。唱得合拍。
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,/ So deep in Luve am I: Bonnie: beautiful.Lass[laes]: girl, maiden.可改写为:as you are fair, my bonnie lass, so I am deep in love.你那么美,我也那么爱你。我爱你的程度与你美的程度成正比。So 的意思是“in the same proportion“, ”in like manner“, ”in the same way“.Another example: As you treat me, so I will treat you.I will love thee still = I will always love thee.Till a‟ the seas gang dry: a‟ = all.gang = go.wi‟ = with.While the sands‟ o‟ life shall run: 只要我生命不息。o‟= of。sands o‟ life:沙漏。古代人们在时钟发明前,用玻璃器皿盛沙,使沙从小孔中漏过,以此计时。因此诗人常用沙漏中的沙比喻人生。fare thee weel:goodbye.。Weel[wi:l] = well.Farewell: ”proceed happily“.Goodbye: 本来是”God be wy ye“(God be with you), 后缩写成”God-bye“, 后来为与”good day“、“good night” 一致, “God bye” 又改成了“goodbye”.Tho‟ = though 内容解析:
这是彭斯最有名的爱情诗,节奏强烈,激情澎湃,很有感染力。但是此诗所表达的感情似乎不太深刻,其爱情似乎纯粹是建立在容美貌的础上的。容貌一衰退,很难保证海枯石烂不变心。另一英国诗人贾鲁(Thomas Carew, 1594---1640)有一首名The True Beauty的诗,可拿来对彭斯的这首诗作注脚: He that loves a rosy cheek Or a coral lip admires, Or from star-like eyes doth seek Fuel to maintain his fires;As old Time makes these decay, So his flames must waste away.But a smooth and steadfast mind, Gentle thoughts, and calm desires, Hearts with equal love combined, Kindle never-dying fires:----Where these are not, I despise Lovely cheeks or lips or eyes.(smooth and steadfast mind:性情温和、意志坚定。Hearts with equal love combined:正常语序为:hearts combined with equal love.能一视同仁的心灵。)
彭斯说他的爱人如同玫瑰花一样美,他的爱与其爱人的美丽成正比,贾鲁反过来说,谁追求玫瑰花一样的容貌,谁的爱情的衰退程度与就容貌衰老的程度成正比。贾鲁讲的虽然有道理,他的态度也很可取,但是世上的人像贾鲁那样的很少,相彭斯这样的人则多不胜数。(彭斯是个沉溺于美酒、诗歌和爱情的人)。人的感情往往能冲破理智的说教,即使这种爱情不一定能长久,人们往往也要追求它。所以不能以说教的心态否定诗歌的艺术价值。
形式分析:基本上是抑扬格,每节二、四两行押韵。O, my │Luve‟s like │a red, │red rose, That‟s new│ly sprung │in June.O, my │Luve‟s like│ the me│lodie, That‟s sweet│ly play‟d │in tune.As fair│ art thou, │my bon│nie lass, So deep│ in Luve│ am I, And I │will love │thee still, │my dear, Till a‟ │the seas │gang dry!Till a‟ │ the seas │gang dry, │my dear, And the rocks │melt wi‟ │the sun!And I│ will love │thee still, │my dear, While the sands│ o‟ life │shall run.And fare│ thee weel, │my on│ly Luve!And fare│ thee weel, │ a while!And I│ will come │again, │ my Luve, Tho‟ it were │ten thous│and mile!William Wordsworth(1770—1850)华兹华斯(渥滋渥斯),英国浪漫主义时期的大诗人,湖泮诗人(LAKE POETS)之首。1843年荣获桂冠诗人称号(Poet Laureate)。湖畔诗人是十九世纪英国的一个诗歌流派,这些人在英格兰西北部的湖区(Lake district)居住、写作。其主要成员除华兹华斯外,尚有柯勒律治(Samuel Taylor Coleridge)。华兹华斯对大自然情有独钟,经常去各地旅行漫游,对自然风光和田园生活有独特的感受。他的诗的特点是通过描写日常生活中的平凡场景激发心灵深处的感受,表现人性中真善美。素材多为自然风光、田园生活和素朴的农民。语言简明,情真意切。读之能使人产生无尽的遐思、精神上能受到有力的陶冶。
英国浪漫主义运动时间介于1790-1830,最重要的代表人物有六:William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats.作品特点:形式比较自由,想象丰富,倾向描写孤独的个人的精神世界和大自然。'Poery is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings'----Wordsworth.I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud(The Daffodils)
I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o‟er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.The waves beside them danced, but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay In such a jocund company: I gazed — and gazed — but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasures fills, And dances with the daffodils.注释:o'er: over.Pronounced as [/o ], counted as one syllable.The waves beside them danced, but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: 虽然浪花也在起舞,但是水仙花的欢乐超过了浪花的欢乐。in glee, 就欢乐而言,在欢乐上。in 有as to, as regards 这样的用法, 表示'在···方面'。如:weak in judgment;they are equal in length.有人注解此诗,认为in glee是介词短语作定语修饰waves 的,这样也通,但不如视为状语修饰全句为好。
Sprightly: 轻快地,活泼地。
Could not but: but: other than, except.But 用在否定词后,构成双重否定。如:there is no one but hopes rich.(没有不想发财的人)There is no one but knows that.(那件事无人不知。)Jocund: lit.& poet: merry, cheerful.Couch:睡椅,床。
And then my heart with pleasures fills:my heart fills with pleasures.Fill 可用为不及物动词,意思是“满”。如the house fills(with children).They flash upon that inward eye | Which is the bliss of solitude:湛然的心灵是幽居才能有的福分。因为心灵回归其自我是一种高级的精神享受,所以如此说。内容:此诗是诗人1804年回忆两年前在英格兰湖区漫游时看到一大片水仙的情景时写成的。后经多此修该,到1815年才最终定型。当时的情景深深地因在了他心灵深处,幽居独处时,就在心中显现出来,给他带来慰籍。可见诗人对自然的向往。我们读之,犹如进入了空明洁净的世界。
形式:全诗四节,每节的韵式是ababcc。韵律基本上是抑扬格四音步。I wan|dered lone|ly as| a cloud That floats |on high |o‟er vales |and hills, When all |at once |I saw| a crowd, A host, |of gold|en da|ffodils;Beside |the lake, |beneath| the trees, Fluttering |and dancing |in the breeze.Conti|nuous as |the stars |that shine And twink|le on |the mil|ky way, They stretched |in ne|ver-en|ding line Along |the mar|gin of| a bay: Ten thou|sand saw |I at| a glance, Tossing |their heads |in spright|ly dance.The waves| beside| them danced, |but they Out-did |the spark|ling waves |in glee: A po|et could |not but |be gay In such |a jo|cund com|pany: I gazed —|and gazed |— but litt|le thought What wealth |the show |to me |had brought:
For oft, | when on |my couch |I lie In va|cant or |in pen|sive mood, They flash |upon| that in|ward eye Which is| the bliss |of so|litude;And then| my heart| with plea|sures fills, And dan|ces with |the da|ffodils.The Solitary Reaper
Behold her, single in the field, Yon solitary Highland lass!Reaping and singing by herself;Stop here, or gently pass!Alone she cuts and binds the grain, And sings a melancholy strain;O listen!for the Vale profound Is overflowing with the sound.No Nightingale did ever chaunt More welcome notes to weary bands Of travellers in some shady haunt, Among Arabian sands;A voice so thrilling ne‟er was heard In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird, Breaking the silence of the seas Among the farthest Hebrides.Will no one tell me what she sings? — Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow For old, unhappy, far-off things, And battles long ago;Or is it some more humble lay, Familiar matter of to-day? Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain, That has been, and may be again?
Whate‟er the theme, the Maiden sang As if her song could have no ending;I saw her singing at her work, And o‟er the sickle bending;— I listen‟d, motionless and still;And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more.注释:
Yon:yonder,那边的,远处的。
No Nightingale did ever chauntMore welcome notes to weary bands Of travellers in some shady haunt,Among Arabian sands;:即使在人际罕至的阿拉伯沙漠的幽暗之处,夜莺也不曾为疲惫的行人唱过如此动人的歌曲。Chaunt: chant的变体。A voice so thrilling ne‟er was heardIn spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,Breaking the silence of the seas: In spring-time , a voice so thrilling was never heard from the Cuckoo-bird, whose song breaks the silence of the seas among the farthest Hebrides.Hebrides[/hebridi:z]赫布里底群岛[英国苏格兰西部] Perhaps the plaintive numbers flowFor old, unhappy, far-off things,And battles long ago;Or is it some more humble lay,Familiar matter of to-day?Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,That has been, and may be again? 也许这凄婉的歌声是咏叹古老的、遥远的悲欢离合,和很久以前的征战,要么是一只平凡的曲子,唱的是今天日常小事,或者是那些曾经有过而且可能继续出现的、常见的忧伤、失意和痛苦? I saw her singing at her work,And o‟er the sickle bending;I saw her singing at her work and when she is bending over the sickle.And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore,Long after it was heard no more.到我登上了山岗时,虽然那歌声早已听不见了,但还是在我心底回响。Bear: 负担,担负,带上。内容:此诗写的是苏格兰高原地区一农家少女独自在田间劳动歌唱的情景。此一情景深深地触动了诗人的心弦。为了让这淳朴勤劳的女孩尽情地歌唱、尽情地抒发她的内心的世界,诗人不忍心惊动她,他想,要么就此止步,要么悄悄走开。夜莺、布谷鸟的歌声是天籁之声,诗人说割麦女的歌声比夜莺、布谷鸟的歌声还要动人,表名其歌声是纯真而自然的。农家女孩没有受到城市生活的污染,如“清水出芙蓉,天然去雕饰”,独自一人在空旷的田野,向大自然倾诉衷情,当然会打动向往大自然的诗人。今天,浮伪之风比其一百多年前诗人所处的那个时代,更厉害不知多少倍,因而此诗所描写的情景更能引起人们的遐思神往。此诗的意境空灵飘逸,感情高洁真挚,极富浪漫气息,没有丝毫庸俗情调。
形式:此诗四节,每节八行,除第四是三音步外,其余七行都是四音步。抑扬格。每节的韵式为 ababccdd Behold| her, sing|le in |the field, Yon so|lita|ry High|land lass!Reaping |and sing|ing by |herself;Stop here, |or gent|ly pass!Alone |she cuts |and binds| the grain, And sings |a me|lancho|ly strain;O li|sten!for| the Vale |profound Is ov|erflow|ing with| the sound.No Nigh|tingale |did ev|er chaunt More wel|come notes |to wea|ry bands Of travel|lers in |some sha|dy haunt, Among| A/ra|bian sands;A voice| so thril|ling ne‟er |was heard In spring|-time from| the Cu|ckoo-bird, Breaking |the si|lence of| the seas Among |the far|thest He|brides.Will no |one tell| me what |she sings? — Perhaps |the plain|tive num|bers flow For old, | unhap|py, far-|off things, And ba|ttles long |ago;Or is |it some| more hum|ble lay, Fami|liar mat|ter of |to-day? Some na|tural sor|row, loss, | or pain, That has |been, and| may be| again?
Whate‟er |the theme, |the Mai|den sang As if| her song |could have |no ending;I saw| her sing|ing at| her work, And o‟er |the sick|le bending;— I li|sten‟d, mo|tionless| and still;And, as |I moun|ted up |the hill, The mu|sic in| my heart |I bore, Long af|ter it| was heard |no more.George Gordon Byron [/bai r n](1788—1824)乔治·戈登·拜伦是重要浪漫主义诗人,但是与华兹华斯为首的湖畔诗人有不同。拜伦政治上很激进,反对传统,主张革命,为人放荡不羁,是所谓积极浪漫主义者。华兹华斯主张回归自然,维护传统价值,是所谓消极浪漫主义者。拜伦对湖畔诗人进行过攻击。其实,拜伦只是一个出色的诗人,在政治思想上是肤浅的。拜伦的成名作是《恰尔德·哈洛尔德游记》(Childe Harold's Pilgrimage,1809-1818),最有影响的著作是《唐·璜》(Don Juan,1819-1824)。此外还有不少抒情诗等。《恰尔德·哈洛尔德游记》(杨熙龄译,1959年上海文艺出版社。)是一部叙事长诗,是描写作者游历欧洲各国的抒情日记,由一个灰心失望的贵族青年哈罗德将全诗情节贯穿起来。《唐璜》[don/d u: n]也是一部叙事长诗,写的是欧洲传说中的传奇人物唐璜浪漫冒险经历,未完成。关于唐璜这个人物,欧洲各国有很多作品。莫扎特有一部歌剧即名《唐璜》。我们所选的这首《滑铁卢前夜》是《游记》中的片段(Canto III, stanzas 21, 22, 24, 25.),记述的是滑铁卢之战爆发前夕比利时首都布鲁塞尔(Brussels, Belgium)上层人士盲目歌舞狂欢的场面。滑铁卢是位于比利时首都以南约20公里的一个村庄,1815年英军在此驻扎。吕希蒙公爵夫人设宴款待英军将士,拿破仑乘其不备,于当晚突然袭击。与英军共同与拿破仑战斗的还有荷兰、比利时、德等国。最后拿破仑寡不敌众,失败。10 The Eve Of Waterloo
There was a sound of revelry by night, And Belgium‟s capital had gather‟d then Her Beauty and her Chivalry, and bright The lamps shone o‟er fair women and brave men;A thousand hearts beat happily;and when Music arose with its voluptuous swell, Soft eyes look‟d love to eyes which spake again, And all went merry as a marriage bell;But hush!hark!a deep sound strikes like a rising knell!
Did ye not hear it? —No;‟twas but the wind, Or the car rattling o‟er the stony street;On with the dance!let joy be unconfined;No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet To chase the growing hours with flying feet—
But, hark!— that heavy sound breaks in once more, As if the clouds its echo would repeat;And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before!Arm!arm!it is — it is —the cannon‟s opening roar!
Ah!Then and there was hurrying to and fro, And gathering tears, and tremblings of distress, And cheeks all pale, which but an hour ago Blush‟d at the praise of their own loveliness: And there were sudden partings, such as press The life from out young hearts, and choking sighs Which ne‟er might be repeated;who could guess If ever more should meet those mutual eyes, Since upon night so sweet such awful morn could rise!
And there was mounting in hot haste: the steed, The mustering squadron, and the clattering car, Went pouring forward with impetuous speed, And swiftly forming in the ranks of war;And the deep thunder peal on peal afar;And near, the beat of the alarming drum Roused up the soldier ere the morning star;While throng‟d the citizens with terror dumb,Or whispering with white lips —„the foe!they come!they come!‟
注释:
Her Beauty and her Chivalry, and bright:布鲁塞尔的英雄美人。Her 指Brussels Voluptuous[v /l ptu s ]swell 华丽的音乐旋律。Swell 本指大浪,此指乐声荡漾。
Soft eyes look‟d love to eyes which spake again look:温柔的眼睛与眼睛互相传情。Look love:Look with love。
And all went merry as a marriage bell;大家欢欣鼓舞,就像结婚打钟。
a deep sound strikes like a rising knell:一个沉闷的声音就像正在敲响的丧钟一样传来。
Youth and Pleasure meetTo chase the growing hours with flying feet: 青春与欢乐结伴,用飞快的脚步追逐这焕发的时光。growing hours:令人起劲的时光。
As if the clouds its echo would repeat;天上的云好像又把它的回声有重复了一次:意即声音很大,会响很久。
Arm!arm!it is — it is —the cannon‟s opening roar!拿起武器,拿起武器!这是大炮在展开咆哮。
gathering tears:不断聚集的泪,越来越多的泪水。
cheeks all pale, which but an hour ago Blush‟d at the praise of their own loveliness: 一小时以前因受到夸奖而羞红的脸蛋儿,现在都发白了。
there were sudden partings, such as pressThe life from out young hearts, 使年轻的心灵痛不欲生的突然诀别。
choking sighs Which ne‟er might be repeated;很可能永远不会再有的抽搐叹息。因为可能是诀别,所很可能不会再有。mustering squadron:集合的中队
swiftly forming in the ranks of war;快速排成作战队形。Rank:队列。
And the deep thunder peal on peal afar;And near, the beat of the alarming drumRoused up the soldier ere [e ]the morning star;远处是一阵一阵的沉闷的雷鸣,近处是报警的鼓声,不等启名星出现,就把士兵唤醒。
While throng‟d the citizens with terror dumb,市民们则挤在一起,被吓成了哑巴。此句可改成:the citizens thronged, dumb with terror.或者:The citizens dumb with terror thronged.内容:此诗极其生动地描绘了舞会上的欢乐场面和大战来临之际的惊慌景象。舞会上英雄们风度翩翩,美人们含情脉脉,婆娑起舞,尽情狂欢。没有想到,也不相信战争会在此时爆发。正在狂欢之际,大炮轰鸣起来。于是在惊恐和绝望之中告别。士兵门急速集合,市民们惊慌失措。整个城市乱作一团。此诗的成功之处在于生动的场景描写,极富戏剧性,读之如身临其境。英国小说家萨克雷(William Makepeace Thackeray)在起长篇小说《名利场》(Vanity Fair, 1847-48)第29章中对这场舞会也有非常出色的描写。形式:
此诗属斯宾塞体(Spenserian stanza),Edmund Spenser(1552?—99继乔叟之后的最大诗人。)在The Faerie Queene 中创造了这种形式的诗节,故名。其形式是每节九行,前八行为抑扬格五音步,第九行为抑扬格六音步,韵式是:ababbcbcc.There was |a sound |of re|velry |by night, And Bel|gium‟s ca|pital |had ga|ther‟d then Her Beau|ty and |her Chi|valry, |and bright The lamps |shone o‟er |fair wo|men and |brave men;A thou|sand hearts |beat hap|pily;|and when Music| arose| with its| volup|tuous swell, Soft eyes| look‟d love| to eyes |which spake |again, And all |went mer|ry as |a mar|riage bell;But hush!| hark!a| deep sound |strikes like |a ris|ing knell!
Did ye |not hear| it? —No;|‟twas but| the wind, Or the |car rat|tling o‟er| the sto|ny street;On with |the dance!|let joy |be un|confined;No sleep| till morn, | when Youth |and Plea|sure meet To chase |the grow|ing hours |with fly|ing feet—
But, hark!| — that hea|vy sound |breaks in |once more, As if |the clouds |its e|cho would |repeat;And near|er, clear|er, dead|lier than |before!Arm!arm!| it is —|it is —|the can|non‟s open|ing roar!
Ah!Then| and there| was hur|rying to| and fro, And gath|ering tears, | and trem|blings of| distress, And cheeks| all pale, |which but |an hour |ago Blush‟d at |the praise |of their |own love|liness: And there| were sud|den par|tings, such| as press The life |from out |young hearts, |and chok|ing sighs Which ne‟er |might be |repea|ted;who |could guess If ev |er more | should meet |those mut |ual eyes, Since up |on night | so sweet |such aw |ful morn |could rise!
And there | was moun |ting in |hot haste: |the steed, The must |ering squa |dron, and |the clatt |ering car, Went pou |ring for |ward with | impe |tuous speed, And swift |ly form |ing in |the ranks | of war;And the |deep thun |der peal | on peal |afar;And near, | the beat |of the |alar |ming drum Roused up |the sol |dier ere | the mor |ning star;While throng‟d |the ci|tizens| with ter|ror dumb,Or whisp|ering with |white lips —| „the foe!|they come!|they come!‟
Percy Bysshe Shelly[/p :si bi / eli ](1792—1822)珀西·比希·雪莱是拜伦的好友,与拜伦一样,也是浪漫主义时期的大诗人。极力主张自由,不仅主张政治上的自由,也主张男女之爱的自由。二十来岁时与一个名叫Harriet Westbrook 的女孩私奔并结婚。后来加入激进的哲学家 William Godwin 的学术圈子,成为其信徒。(William Godwin,1756—1836,主张人性本善,在理性直到下,可以不要法律。财产制度、婚姻制度都该废除。)后来雪莱又在Godwin 的后妻的女儿Claire Clairmont的陪伴下与Godwin 前妻的女儿Mary Wollstonecraft私奔到瑞士,并结婚,前妻自杀。Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin 写过一本名为《为女权申辩》(A Vindication of the Rights of Woman)可谓现在女全运动的先驱人物。Godwin 也是主张爱情自由的,可是当雪莱与其女儿私本后,就不再如此主张了。三十岁时,雪莱溺水而死。其作品很多,代表作有长诗Prometheus[pru /mi: s] Unbound, Ode To The West Wind 等。我们要读的是他的一首著名的爱情诗。One Word Is Too Often Profaned(TO——)
(1)One word is too often profaned For me to profane it, One feeling too falsely disdained For thee to disdain it;One hope is too like despair For prudence to smother, And pity from thee more dear Than that from another,(2)I can give not what men call love, But wilt thou accept not The worship the heart lifts above And the Heavens reject not, —
The desire of the moth for the star, Of the night for the morrow, The devotion to something afar Form the sphere of our sorrow? 注释: 第一节
(1)One word is too often profanedFor me to profane it, 有一个词汇被人滥用得不像样子,我再也不忍心滥用它了。One word指love。Profane:亵渎。
(2)One feeling too falsely disdainedFor thee to disdain it;有一种情感总是错误地遭到蔑视,你不该狠下心,再去蔑视它。One feeling:指对所爱的人的崇敬之情。(3)One hope is too like despairFor prudence to smother, 有一个希望,它太难实现,和绝望差不多,请你不要顾虑重重、缩手缩脚,把它熄灭。
(4)And pity from thee more dear Than that form another,:对我来说,你的爱怜比别人的都珍贵。诗人对其情人无比崇敬,如果其情人对诗人的这种心情不视而不见,以爱怜之心作出反应,对诗人来说当然无比珍贵。第二节
(1)I can give not what men call love,But wilt thou accept not: 我不能向你奉献世俗之人所谓的“爱”,但是难道你会忍心拒绝(以下几种情感吗)?wilt thou:you will.Wilt:第二人称单数现在时的古式。此句与第一节的“One word is too often profanedFor me to profane it”对应。
(2)The worship the heart lifts aboveAnd the Heavens reject not, 如果心灵将它奉献给苍天,苍天也不回绝的崇拜。意即这种崇拜之情是崇高而神圣的。
(3)The desire of the moth for the star,Of the night for the morrow, 飞蛾对星星的期盼,以及黑夜对白昼的向往。Morrow :〈文〉:tomorrow, morning.诗人把自己的处境比做黑夜,把所爱的人比做光明。
(4)The devotion to something afar Form the sphere of our sorrow? 在痛苦的尘世中对遥远梦景的追求。这与第一节“One hope is too like despair”相呼应。Sphere 本义为球体,此处指世俗世界。
内容:此诗与彭斯的那首风格不同。前者外漏而浅显,此诗深挚并有一定的哲理。雪莱认为爱情是从人的天性中自然流露出来的某种纯洁的、柔嫩的情感,崇高而神圣。就像飞蛾对星星的期盼、黑暗对光明的向往、痛苦中对美好未来的追求一样,是天地间自然而然产生的。这种情感一旦夹杂世俗生活中的庸俗观念,就会被扭曲、被亵渎。此与Plato哲学思想有关。实际情况也的确如此,人们基于世俗的考虑,这种高洁的东西经常被轻蔑、被亵渎,以至于追求纯洁爱情的希望几乎与绝望相等。看来,不仅从我们现在从周围的现实看是如此,在雪莱时代的英国,也是如此。可以说“爱情之难,难于上青天”。
形式:抑扬格与抑抑扬格相间。第二节最后四行显然是抑抑扬格,有向前冲的势头,与内容中的“向往”之意吻合。韵式是ababcdcd.(1)One word| is too |often |profaned For me| to pro|fane it, One feel|ing too| falsely| disdained For thee| to dis|dain it;One hope |is too |like-|despair For prud|ence to |smother, And pi|ty from |thee-|more dear Than that |form a|nother,(2)I can |give not |what men |call love, But wilt| thou ac|cept not The wor|ship the |heart lifts |above And the| Heavens re|ject not, —
The desire |of the moth |for the star, Of the night| for the morrow, The devo|tion to some|thing afar From the sphere |of our sorrow?
John Keats(1795—1821)约翰·济慈是浪漫主义时期的又一大诗人,与拜伦、雪莱并驾齐驱。拜伦和雪莱都是贵族出身,济慈则出身寒微,父母早逝,一生贫困。他曾热恋过一个少女Fanny Browne,但由于经济条件不行,又患着肺病,这个希望也等于绝望。济慈诗才极大,可惜25岁就死于肺结核(tuberculosis)。他的过人之处是在于善于发掘现实生活中的感性美。最为传颂的作品是颂体诗,如Ode to a Nightingale, Ode to a Grecian Urn, Ode to the Autumn 等。我们要读的这首《蝈蝈与蟋蟀》写于1816年,也很出名。12 The Grass-hopper And The Cricket
The poetry of earth is never dead: When all the birds are faint with the hot sun, And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;That is the Grasshopper‟s —he takes the lead In summer luxury, —he has never done With his delights;for when tired out with fun He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.The poetry of earth is ceasing never: On a lone winter evening, when the frost Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills The Cricket‟s song, in warmth increasing ever, And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, The Grasshopper‟s among some grassy hills.注释:
a voice will runFrom hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;就会有一种声音在刚割过的草地上响起,飘过一个个篱笆。Mead [mi:d]: poet meadow [/med-].he takes the leadIn summer luxury, 在繁花似锦的夏日,他带头[歌唱]。/Luxury:奢侈,华丽,丰盛。
he has never doneWith his delights;for when tired out with funHe rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.他的兴致从不消失,因为,唱得困倦后,他会舒服地在某些可爱的草丛中稍事消息,(然后继续唱起来)。Do with 有 finish with的用法。如 have you done with the newspaper? when the frost Has wrought a silence, 当霜冻带来了一片寂静的时候。Wrought [r :t] work 的过去式和过去分词。制造,带来。
in warmth increasing ever,And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, The Grasshopper‟s among some grassy hills.可以改写成: and in ever increasing warmth,(the cricket's song)seems to some one who is half lost in drowsiness the grasshopper's among some grassy hills.在温度不断上升的室内,蟋蟀的歌声在睡意朦胧的人听来,仿佛是蝈蝈青草丛生的山上鸣叫。half lost in drowsiness: 昏昏欲睡,快要失去知觉。Drowsy: 昏昏欲睡的。
内容:在舒适的环境中,在寂静的夜晚,静听蛙吟虫鸣,能把人带入一种超凡脱俗、回归自我的精神境界,这是一种极大的享受。这些天籁之音,进入我们心中,还能使我们体会到自然界的丰富多彩,和它永无止息的生机。此诗所表现的就是这种感受。夏日有蝈蝈,冬夜有蟋蟀,它们的鸣叫是大地的诗歌的代表,永不停止地歌唱着伟大而神秘的大自然。
形式:此诗为意大利式十四行诗,抑扬格五音步,结构上分两节:前八行(两个四行节),后六行(两个三行节),展开两种意境。此诗前八行写夏日的蝈蝈,后六行写冬夜的蟋蟀,形成对比。韵式:abba abba, cde, cde.第一行的dead 是眼韵 eye rhyme.The |poetry |of earth |is ne|ver dead : When all |the birds| are faint| with the |hot sun, And hide |in coo|ling trees, |a voice| will run From hedge| to hedge |about |the new-|mown mead;That is |the Grass|hopper‟s |—he takes |the lead In sum|mer luxu|ry, —he |has ne|ver done With his |delights;| for when| tired out |with fun He rests |at ease |beneath |some plea|sant weed.The poe|try of |earth is |ceasing |never: On a |lone win|ter eve|ning, when |the frost Has wrought |a si|lence, from| the stove| there shrills The Cri|cket‟s song, |in warmth |increa|sing ever, And seems| to one| in drow|siness| half lost, The Grass|hopper‟s |among |some gras|sy hills.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1807—1882)亨利·沃滋沃斯·朗费罗是十九世纪美国大诗人,作品极多,抒情诗,充满着人间的真情,优美流畅,广为人传诵。以下《箭与歌》和《村中铁匠》两首即是这样的作品。The Arrow And The Song
I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where;For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight.I breathed a song into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where;For who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterwards, in an oak, I found the arrow, still unbroke;And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend.注释:It fell to earth, I knew not where;:I did not know where it fell to earth.Unbroke: unbroken 内容:我向空中射出一只箭,它落在地上。落在何处,我不知道。这不必斤斤计较。我向空中唱一支歌,它在地上消失,消失在何处,我不知道,这不必斤斤计较。虽然我并没有斤斤计较,但是后来我发出的箭和歌都完好地保存在人间,我的劳动、我的好意,并没有白白浪费。它表现的是一种深刻的人生道理。人生于世,要心胸宽广,眼光高远,不要鼠目寸光,不要眼孔太尖(a keen sight)总是盯着眼前的小利,患得患失。要只管劳动,不要计较收获,只管与人为善,不要计较回报。虽然你不计较,你的努力最终不会白费。《金刚经》上有一句话:“应无所住而生其心”。《中庸》上讲“积善之家必有余庆”,俗颜说“好人一生平安”。此诗有这些意思。《吕氏春秋·孟春纪·贵公》有一则故事,也可发明此诗意蕴:“荆人有遗弓者,而不肯索,曰:„荆人遗之,荆人得之,又何索焉。”孔子闻之曰:“去其„荆‟而可矣。”老聃闻之曰:“去其„人‟而可矣。” 形式:抑扬格四音步,韵式:aabb I shot |an ar|row in|to the air, It fell |to earth, | I knew |not where;For, so| swiftly| it flew, |the sight Could not| follow |it in |its flight.I breathed |a song| into| the air, It fell| to earth, |I knew| not where;For who| has sight |so keen |and strong, That it |can fol|low the |flight of song?
Long, long| after|wards, in| an oak, I found| the ar|row, still| unbroke;And the |song, from| begin|ning to end, I found| again| in the |heart of |a friend.The Village Blacksmith
(1)Under a spreading chestnut tree The village smithy stands;The smith, a mighty man is he, With larger and sinewy hands;And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands.(2)His hair is crisp, and black, and long, His face is like the tan;His brow is wet with honest sweat, He earns whate‟er he can,And looks the whole world in the face, For he owes not any man.(3)Week in, week out, from morn till night, You can hear his bellows blow;You can hear him swing his heavy sledge, With measured beat and slow, Like a sexton ringing the village bell, When the evening sun is low.(4)And children coming home from school Look in at the open door;They love to see the flaming forge, And hear the bellows roar, And catch the burning sparks that fly Like chaff from a threshing floor.(5)He goes on Sunday to the church, And sits among his boys;He hears the parson pray and preach, He hears his daughter‟s voice, Singing in the village choir, And it makes his heart rejoice.(6)It sounds to him like her mother's voice, Singing in Paradise!He needs must think of her once more, How in the grave she lies;And with his hard, rough hand he wipes A tear out of his eyes.(7)Toiling,— rejoicing, — sorrowing, Onward through life he goes;Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close;Something attempted, something done, Has earned a night‟s repose.(8)Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend, For the lesson thou hast taught!Thus at the flaming forge of life Our fortunes must be wrought;Thus on its sounding anvil shaped Each burning deed and thought!
第三篇:渡口 诗赏析
无处告别
——对席慕容《渡口》的赏析
渡口
文/席慕容
让我与你握别
再轻轻抽出我的手
知道思念从此生根
浮云白日山川庄严温柔
让我与你握别
再轻轻抽出我的手
年华从此停顿
热泪在心中汇成河流
是那样万般无奈的凝视
渡口旁找不到一朵可以相送的花
就把祝福别在襟上吧
而明日
明日又隔天涯
初读这首诗的时候还是十四岁,正是错把倾诉冲动当做创作才华的无知年生,总是在一堆耀武扬威的试题间,在应急灯渐渐微弱的光线中,一手撑着深不可测的夜,一手翻阅着并不能深切理解的作品。当然,那个时候,是自负而早熟的,以为已知的便是一切了。那时最早接触席慕蓉,觉得她的诗总是给人一种强烈的画面感,文字凝练细腻,能够准确的将所有的情感汇集。我曾查过她的简介,席慕容的全名是穆伦*席连勃。意即大江河。诗如其名,她的文字平和绵延,有种棉一样柔软的质感。有才华,但没有分锋芒毕露的犀利。恍若经历过大悲大喜后的洗练淡定。不过她的一生似乎并无太大波澜,所以,我把它归结为诗歌精灵对文字特有的敏感和非凡的掌控力。
这首诗的主题思想并不难理解,表现的是诗人和友人分别时的淡淡离愁,哀而不伤。字里行间流露出一种隐忍,席慕容的诗大多含蓄清新,没有感情爆发点,但每个字在诗歌中都有独特的责任和意义。删减不得,也无需增加。感情表达的精准且有度。不浮夸,亦不隐瞒。在读她的诗歌的时候,你甚至能想象一个恬静的少女从容的将一段旧时光娓娓道来。她的文字永远是那么年轻,却不张狂。诗歌的主题也大多围绕青春,爱情和乡愁展开。但是没有为赋新词强说愁的生硬。早些不知天高地厚的年月,也曾在写满函数计算的草稿纸上写下凌乱的句子,现在回头看看那些浸透在白纸黑字上的生动悲喜,切肤的感觉到,在那样一个唯唯诺诺的苟且年纪,伤情似乎是装点生命的勋章,好想只有凭借那些幻觉般的;被我们脆弱的主观承受力无限夸大的非难,我们才得以拥有热泪盈眶的青春。而席慕容的文字却不曾这样做作,她只是一种纯粹的感情的抒发。很多无法言语却感怀于心的情愫,只有诗才能表达。曾经在答记者问时她说过,“年轻时因寂寞而写诗,或许是一种对美的渴望;年纪稍长,因无法平抚心中的骚动而写诗;初老时,因惆怅而写诗,人也因此变勇敢了。”在我看来,席慕容把每一首诗当做一个自给自足的世界。
是的,自给自足。但是这个世界又是这么美,美的让围墙外的人忍不住驻足流连,那些纯净的文字,恍若少女清扬而略带哀愁的歌声,久久盘旋在苍穹,空灵唯美。在读《渡口》的时候,席慕容非凡的绘画功底就显现出来了。整首诗的画面感很强,没有繁复的华丽辞藻,也没有冗长,把散文断开来写般的叙述。只是一个简单的握手言别的场景,却如此真实细腻。“让我与你握别,再轻轻抽出我的手”诗人运用复沓的修辞,像是电影拍摄那样,男女主角定格在此时,眼含热泪,微笑握别,衣裙在微风中漫飞却不发一言。周围场景旋转,是安静伫立的山川,是波澜不惊的河流。诗人将思念比作扎根心底的树木,树根在伸展着,触碰心脏的瞬间是离别的苦楚。而山川浮云更像是见证者,诗人在这里运用了拟人的修辞,把山川当做一个沉默、不忍搅扰的观客。云朵更是好像知道这短暂相聚不过是为了别离,都刻意让脚步轻巧。这样自然环境的描写,渲染了气氛,给全诗奠定了离别淡淡哀愁的基调。情景交融,介意衬托诗人此时面对离别,内心的惆怅和不舍。但是,再见终是要说出口的。诗人轻轻抽出手,无奈且不舍。所有的叮嘱和祝福就像晚上六点北京三环上的轿车,全部堵在胸口。“渡口旁边我找不到一朵可以相送的花,就把祝福别在衣襟上吧”,诗人运用暗喻的修辞,把祝福比作花朵,想要把最清新美丽的倾诉留给友人。诗的结尾,一句“明日,明日有个天涯”恍若一句轻轻的叹息,这叹息里,是不舍,是无奈,还有一点点不舍无奈后的释然洒脱。
有时候明白,人的一生当中,深刻的思念是维系自己与记忆的纽带。它维系着所有过往,悲喜。亦指引我们深入茫茫命途。这是我们宿命的背负。但我始终甘之如饴的承受他的沉沉重量,用以平衡轻浮的生。所以不惧怕别离,因为没有别离,青春也就更无绮丽。但是白驹过隙,忘川过了就没了模样,只是时光破碎的声响,只是隐隐作痛的暗伤,只是遗失了大段过往,只是看不清来路也看不清去路的失散,可我们已经来不及,再去为谁变的天真简单。
时间,一下子散场。
而我们迷失在岁月轮回里,没有渡口,亦无处告别。
第四篇:除夕诗赏析
除 夕 诗 话
(256600)山东滨州学院中文系 耿宝强
春节是我国最悠久、最隆重、最喜庆的传统节日,过春节俗称过年。大年三十,人们习惯称为除夕,即取旧岁至此而除,新年即将来临之意。除夕之夜,送旧迎新,可谓“一夜连双岁,五更分二年”。明代懒云上人《都门除夕》中的“半夜两年梦”句,生动地道出了这一晚与往日夜间的不同之处。惜别过去的一年,期望美好的来年,如此复杂的情绪融汇在当晚的活动之中。何况同处除夕,有人在家团聚,有人在外漂泊,境遇不一,各有感受。这样的时刻,自然容易触及诗人的敏感心灵。因此,除夕之夜,正是诗人们最为酣畅淋漓的抒发情感的时刻。
一千四百多年前,梁朝徐君倩的《共内人夜坐守岁》从多个侧面反映了人们在除夕之夜欢乐待晓的情景,是我国流传至今的最古老的守岁诗之一。他是这样写的:
欢多情未极,赏至莫停杯。酒中喜桃子,粽里觅杨梅。帘开风入帐,烛尽炭成灰。勿疑鬓钗重,为待晓光摧。
农历过年,最高兴的是孩子,而老年人的欢乐又往往通过儿孙辈的欢乐衬托出来。这种特殊环境中的特殊情调,其中所反映的习俗、社会心理以及生活侧面,不是一般日常生活或端午、中秋等节日里能够接触到的。看南宋范成大的《卖痴呆词》:
除夕更阑人不睡,厌穰钝滞迎新岁; 小儿呼叫走长街,云有痴呆召人买。二物于人谁独无?就中吴侬仍有余; 巷南巷北卖不得,相逢大笑相揶榆。栎翁块坐垂帘下,独要买添令问价。
儿云:“翁买不须钱,奉赊痴呆千百年!
“卖痴呆”本是江南地区逗引孩子的趣事,孩子却认真叫卖,稚情毕现;而老人执意独买,买了还添,慈意动人。这欣欢之态反映出的天伦之乐,将节日夜间的别一种欢愉,跃于纸面,读来引人入胜,使读者也乐在其中。
在民间,除夕之夜,不讲排场,毋需阔绰,家家都是喜气融融,寓喧闹戏谑于质朴之中。明人沈宣,用较为俚俗的语言写实,填《蝶恋花》词,相当风趣地写出了一般人家除夕之夜所呈现的欢忙景象:
锣鼓儿童声聒耳,傍早关门,挂起新帘子。炮仗满街惊耗 鬼,松柴烧在乌盆里。写就神荼并郁垒,细马送神,多著同兴 纸。分岁酒阑扶醉起,阖门一夜齐欢喜。旧时,大年三十,一般人家通常是敲年锣鼓,放些爆竹,换上新的门帘窗帘,新贴春联和门神等等。但这一晚的活动中心,却是早早准备了的一顿“年夜饭”。“分岁酒阑扶醉起,阖门一夜齐欢喜”,一年之末,酒阑人醉,全家大小高高兴兴度此佳节。
至于说皇宫之内或一些富贵人家,除夕守岁也自然要比普通人家豪华得多。李世民曾以《守岁》为题写有一诗:
暮景斜芳殿,年华丽绮宫。寒辞去冬雪,暖带入春风。阶馥舒梅素,盘花卷烛红。共欢新故岁,迎送一宵中。
杜甫的祖父杜审言也同样写有一首《守岁》诗,把那些达官贵人守岁时谈笑风生、酒绿烛红的景象淋漓尽致地表现了出来:
季冬除夜接新年,帝子王孙捧御筵。宫阙星河低拂树,殿廷灯烛上薰天。弹弦奏节梅风入,对局探钩柏酒传。欲向正元歌万寿,暂留欢赏寄春前。
除夕之吟,环境、遭遇不同,就会发出不同的咏吟。有一年,苏东坡在岐下任职。除夕之夜,思念远方的兄弟,写就《馈岁》、《别岁》和《守岁》三诗寄子由(苏辙)。其中的《别岁》这样说:
……
勿嗟旧岁别,行与新岁辞。去去勿回顾,还君老与衰。东邻酒初熟,西舍彘已肥。且为一日欢,慰此穷年悲。
故人远行,还要依依惜别、迟迟难行,何况人生别离一岁呢?可怕的是,人之远行尚可归来,而岁行的流逝却不能追回了。它已经追逐着东流之水,流到大海之中,永无归时。„„哎!不要嗟叹旧岁之别吧!因为我们很快就又要与新岁辞别。不悲哀嗟叹旧岁的流逝,又应该怎样对待这流光电闪一般飞逝的生命呢?苏轼的回答是在欢乐中享受生命,享受时光。你看,东邻酒熟,西舍肉肥,何不举杯畅饮,来慰藉那对于时光流逝的悲叹呢?这是一首生命之歌,显示了东坡初入仕途的困惑和对于人生终极意义的拷问,流溢着对于流光易逝的伤感和对于生命短暂的困惑。
杜甫命途多舛,一生坷坎。有一年的除夕,他在别人家里守岁,很不遂 心,写了一首《在杜位宅守岁》:
守岁阿戎家,椒盘已颂花。盍簪喧枥马,烈炬散林鸦。四十明朝过,飞腾暮景斜。谁能更构束,烂醉是生涯。
阿戎家的除夕,相当热闹,排场确也不小。列炬光亮如隔白昼,竟然连栖宿在树林中的乌鸦都被灯光赶跑了。但杜甫却没有感到什么乐趣。他见到上门道贺的宾客,对着主人点头哈腰,实在看不惯;自己却偏偏又在阿戎家里凑这份热闹。跟看“四十明朝过,飞腾暮景斜”,可是,目前这般处境,到那儿去找较好的出路?
与苏杜的伤感不同,唐太宗李世民的别一首《守岁》,雍容自若,别具一格:
岁阴穷幕纪,献节启新芳。各尽今宵促,年开明日长。冰消出镜永,梅散入风香。对此欢终宴,倾壶待曙光。
太平年间,君王无所杞忧,除夕之夜,万民同庆,自然畅乐齐欢。因此,李世民非常客观地指出年复年年是自然规律,毋需说短论长,倒是应该趁岁末之夕,“倾壶待曙光”,将它作为一种特殊的享受。全诗平和自若,意境自然,成了除夕之夜人们喜咏诗篇。
除夕之夜,身在异乡,思念尤为深切。边塞诗人高适的《除夜作》将深深的思念之情抒发得婉曲含蓄:
旅馆寒灯独不眠,客心何事转凄然? 故乡今夜思千里,霜鬓明朝又一年。
孤灯独守,自问自答,恐怕只有身在其境才会如此体验。“故乡今夜思千里”,这是一语双关,故乡的亲人今晚一定在思念千里之外的“我”,“我”在千里之外今夜格外思念故乡的亲人。
耽于旅舍,心绪更为复杂。看唐朝戴幼公的《除夕宿石头驿》吧:
旅馆谁相问?寒灯犹可亲。一年将尽夜,万里未归人。寥落悲前事,支离笑此身。愁颜与衰鬓,明朝又逢春。
诗人自问自答,自怜自嘲,将万里未归人的寥落、凄清抒发得淋漓尽致。戴幼公曾被诬陷,受过冤屈,却依旧要在宦海中沉浮,年年都要以衰鬓愁颜迎来又一个春天。一个“笑”字,展现了说不尽的凄苦与无奈。清朝的黄景仁,家境贫困,一生潦倒,35岁英年早逝。他的《癸巳除夕偶成》(二首)很有名。癸巳,即乾隆三十八年(1773),诗人二十五岁。这一年岁末,他从安徽归家。除夕之夜,瞻前顾后,不觉忧从中来:
千家笑语漏迟迟,忧患潜从物外知。悄立市桥人不识,一星如月看多时。
千家笑语,欢叙团圆,自己却“悄立市桥”看星星,仕途困难、生活窘迫的情状,孤寂忧愁、茫然无从的心境蕴涵其中。
除夕诗中,还有一些是轸念邦国之作。1279年,南宋小朝廷灭亡。前一年,文天祥兵败被俘,被送到元大都。1281年(至元十八年),时值辛巳,文天祥在狱中过除夕并作除夕诗。他的辛巳《除夜》诗,正气凛然:
乾坤空落落,岁月去堂堂。末路惊风雨,穷边饱雪霜。命随年欲尽,身与世俱忘。无复屠苏梦,挑灯夜未央。
国破家亡,身陷囹固,生杀大权操在人家手中,却置之度外,丝毫没有畏惧。“命随年欲尽,身与世俱忘”,这是他对元人威迫利诱的回答。透过悲怆低沉的诗句,我们可以感觉出一种因复国杀敌愿望不能实现而产生的强烈遗憾,表现了诗人忧国忧民的高尚品质。
1234年,金朝灭亡。当年除夕,两朝诗冠元好问寓居山东聊城至觉寺,痛感国破无望,报国无期,作《甲午除夕》曰:
暗中人事勿推迁,坐守寒灰望复燃。已恨大官余曲饼,争教汉水入胶船。神功圣德三千牍,大定明昌五十年。甲子两周今日尽,空将衰泪洒吴天。
金朝在北方的统治,前后约120年,恰好“甲子两周”。元好问一边感叹太祖太宗的神功圣德历数不尽和世宗章宗的50年盛世,一边又恨近世朝廷的昏庸腐败,断送了国家,如今痛哭流涕也没有一点用处了。
流光代谢岁应除,天亦无心判莞枯。裂碎肝肠怜爆竹,借栖门户笑桃符。新幡彩胜如争奋,晚节冰柯也不孤。正是中原薪胆日,谁能高枕醉屠苏。
这是林则徐被道光皇帝下令流放到新疆伊犁后,于1842年除夕晚上写的四首诗中的一首。诗作没有过多抒发个人愁怨,而是思考如何发愤以雪国耻,充分反映了一个爱国者对祖国命运的深切忧虑。
第五篇:桃花诗赏析
四月,平地上正是春归芳菲落尽的时候,但高山古寺之中的桃花竟刚刚开始盛放。我常常为春天的逝去,为其无处寻觅而伤感,此时重遇春景后,喜出望外,猛然醒悟到:原来春天是转到这里来了。
诗人写这首小诗时,是在江州司马的任上。唐贞元年间进士出身的白居易,曾授秘书省校书郎,再官至左拾遗,可谓春风得意。谁知几年京官生涯中,因其直谏不讳,冒犯了权贵,受朝廷排斥,被贬为江州司马。
身为江州司马的白居易,在《琵琶行》一诗中,曾面对琵琶女产生“同是天涯沦落人”的沧桑感慨。这种沧桑的感慨,也许自然地融入这首小诗的意境,使《大林寺桃花》纪游诗,蒙上了逆旅沧桑的隐喻色彩。
诗的开首“人间四月芳菲尽,山寺桃花始盛开”两句,写的是诗人在山外春已归去的时节,在山中却遇上了意想不到的春色。这种自然界的强烈反差,令诗人产生了“长恨春归无觅处,不知转入此中来”的复杂感慨。从字面上,诗人在登山之前,曾为春光逝去而怨恨或失望,当一片春景映眼帘时,又感到一些由衷的惊喜与无奈的宽慰。或许这种感慨,表面上是由自然景色变化而发,实际上是曲折地反映出他悲凉而惆怅的情怀。
全诗意为:問我為何隱居在碧山,笑而不答內心一片安閒。桃花片片隨著流水遠去,真是另有一番美好不是烦恼的人間所能比及。
问余何意栖碧山,笑而不答心自闲。桃花流水窅然去,别有天地非人间。
这是一首小小的七绝,却自具起承转合之妙。
起句直指诗题之“问”,栖碧山,是所问之事,“碧山”代指隐居,“碧”字展现山中景色之美。第二句直指诗题之答,也是承接起句之问。“笑而不答”是一种不言而言,是一种无言之意,这里有对问者的不屑,也有一种无需回答的淡然和神秘,是一种面对俗人拈花微笑的高妙境界,那意思似乎在说:个中真味,你是难以体味得到的。“心自闲”是不答而答,是诗人的心境,写出了自己栖息碧山的独得之密。一个“闲”字,分割了诗人和世俗之人的界限,诗人以一“闲”字,映照了世俗之人的“天下熙熙”“天下攘攘”的急功近利和庸俗不堪,这正是诗人不愿回答也不必回答的原因。第三句转入对自然境界的描写,写桃花流水窅然而逝。所写是一种优美不俗、淡定从容、自然而然的状态,而传达的是一种游心万物、任运自然、无惊无喜的心境。结句“别有天地非人间”,合于对这种境界的理解。在诗人看来,这样的桃花流水境界,也只有具有仙骨幽姿的人真正理解其“非人间”的意味。而“非人间”三字,看似平凡,看似随意,实际却隐含着诗人太多的伤和恨,那“人间”的种种表演,在他拈花微笑的物我冥会中被彻底否定了,而大自然却在这“非人间”的肯定中获得了升华,它已经成为诗人生活哲理意义上的“天堂”。
可见,李白的“碧山”是青碧秀美,清纯净洁之地的意思。
其实,李白这首诗把碧山的桃林和山泉的清溪,写得宛然在目,清幽别致。给我们启示了一种淡而愈浓,近而愈远;可为智者道,难与俗人言的意境。语出自然,浑然天成,色艳景幽,情真意远,韵味之美,意境之美,使人陶醉。这正是李白人格与诗品的传神写照。
词意
风和日丽,马嘶声声,可以想踏青上车马来往之景,青梅结子如豆,柳叶舒展如眉,日长气暖,蝴蝶翩翩,大自然中的生命都处在蓬勃之中。踏青过后,又荡秋千,不觉慵困,遂解罗衫小憩,只见画堂前双燕飞归。
赏析
此词描写少妇因游春有感而忆所思的无可排遣之情。
首句点明时序:芳春过半,踏青游赏,戏罢秋千。由动境而归静境,写其季节天色之气氛,闺阁深居之感受,读来宛如亲历。
次句“风和闻马嘶”五字为一篇关键,虽用笔闲淡,不扬不厉,而造境传神,常人难及。“闻马嘶”之宝马振鬣长嘶,成为古人游春这一良辰美景之一种不可或缺的意象。时节已近暮春,青梅结子,小虽如豆,已过花时,柳尽舒青,如眉剪黛;而日长气暖,蝴蝶不知从何而至,翩翩于花间草际,好一幅闹春图画。“蝶蝶飞”以一动作点活了暮春之景。
过片“人家帘幕垂”极写静境。而“花露重,草烟低”,正与写静有关:花觉其露重欲滴,草见其烟伏不浮,正是极静之物境心境下。
“秋千”句是写静至精微处,再以动态一为衬染,然亦虚笔,而非实义。出秋千,写戏罢秋千,只觉慵困,解衣小憩,已是归来之后。既归画堂,忽有双燕,亦似春游方罢,相继归来。不说人归,只说燕归,以燕衬。人,物人一也,不可分辨。然而燕归来,可知天色近晚,由此一切动态,悉归静境。结以燕归,又遥与开篇马嘶相呼应。于是春景芳情,浑然莫辩。前人谓“冯词如古蕃锦,如周、秦宝鼎彝,琳琅满目,美不胜收”。此词写仲春景色,豆梅丝柳,日长蝶飞,花露草烟,秋千慵困,画梁双燕,令人目不暇接。而人物踏青时的心情,则仅于“慵困”、“双燕栖”中略予点泄,显得雍容蕴藉。
这是一首田园诗。田园诗指歌咏田园生活的诗歌,多以农村景物和农民,牧人,渔父等的劳动为题材.东晋大诗人陶渊明开创了田园诗体后,唐宋等诗歌中的田园诗,便主要变成了隐居不仕的文人,和从官场退居田园的仕宦者们所作的以田园生活为描写对象的诗歌.《观田家》诗中通过对农民终岁辛劳而不得温饱的具体描述,深刻揭示了当时赋税徭役妁繁重和社会制度的不合理。自惊蛰之日起,农民就没有“几日闲”,整天起早摸黑的忙碌于农活,结果却家无隔夜粮,劳役没个完。想起自己不从事耕种,但是奉禄却是来自乡里,心中深感惭愧。身为封建官吏能够这样自责,确实是难得的。这种思想感情和前面杜甫等人是相同的,这是唐代田园诗中的一个特点,也是中国古典诗歌中的一个优良传统。
【解题】
这首诗选自《乐府诗集》卷三十,属相和歌辞中的平调曲。《乐府解题》说这首古辞“言芳华不久,当努力为乐,无至老大乃伤悲也。”把“努力”理解为“努力为乐”,显然是一种曲解。汉代的五言古诗,许多是慨叹年命短促、鼓吹及时行乐的。这首诗从整体构思看,主要意思是说时节变换得很快,光阴一去不返,因而劝人要珍惜青年时代,发奋努力,使自己有所作为。其情感基调是积极向上的。
这是一首咏叹人生的歌。唱人生而从园中葵起调,这在写法上被称作“托物起兴”,即“先言他物以引起所咏之辞也”。园中葵在春天的早晨亭亭玉立,青青的叶片上滚动着露珠,在朝阳下闪着亮光,像一位充满青春活力的少年。诗人由园中葵的蓬勃生长推而广之,写到整个自然界,由于有春天的阳光、雨露,万物都在闪耀着生命的光辉,到处是生机盎然、欣欣向荣的景象。这四句,字面上是对春天的礼赞,实际上是借物比人,是对人生最宝贵的东西──青春的赞歌。人生充满青春活力的时代,正如一年四季中的春天一样美好。这样,在写法上它同时又有比喻的意义,即所谓“兴而比”。
自然界的时序不停交换,转眼春去秋来,园中葵及万物经历了春生、夏长,到了秋天,它们
成熟了,昔日奕奕生辉的叶子变得焦黄枯萎,丧失了活力。人生也是如此,由青春勃发而长大,而老死,也要经历一个新陈代谢的过程。这是一个不可移易的自然法则。诗人用“常恐秋节至”表达对“青春”稍纵即逝的珍惜,其中一个“恐”字,表现出人们对自然法则的无能为力,青春凋谢的不可避免。接着又从时序的更替联想到宇宙的无尽时间和无垠空间,时光像东逝的江河,一去不复返。由时间尺度来衡量人的生命也是老死以后不能复生。在这永恒的自然面前,人生岂不就像叶上的朝露一见太阳就被晒干了吗?岂不就像青青葵叶,一语秋风就枯黄凋谢了吗?诗歌由对宇宙的探寻转入对人生价值的思考,终于推出“少壮不努力,老大徒伤悲”这一发聋振聩的结论,结束全诗。这个推理的过程,字面上没有写出来,但读者可循着诗人思维的轨迹,用自己的人生体验来补足:自然界的万物有一个春华秋实的过程,人生也有一个少年努力、老有所成的过程;自然界的万物只要有阳光雨露,秋天自能结实,人却不同,没有自身努力是不能成功的;万物经秋变衰,但却实现了生命的价值,因而不足伤悲;人则不然,因“少壮不努力”而老无所成,岂不等于空走世间一趟。调动读者思考,无疑比代替读者思考高明。正由于此,使这首诗避免了容易引人生厌的人生说教,使最后的警句显得浑厚有力,深沉含蓄,如洪钟长鸣一般,深深地打动了读者的心。句末中的“徒”字意味深长:一是说老大无成,人生等于虚度了。二是说老年时才醒悟将于事无补,徒叹奈何,意在强调必须及时努力。
读这首诗,我们很自然会联想到《钢铁是怎样炼成的》那段关于人的生命应该如何度过的名言。引导读者少壮及时努力,不要虚度光阴,这种人生态度无疑是积极的。
全篇中绝妙佳句便是那“草色遥看近却无”了。试想:早春二月,在北方,当树梢上、屋檐下都还挂着冰凌儿的时候,春在何处?连影儿也不见。但若是下过一番小雨后,第二天,你瞧吧,春来了。雨脚儿轻轻地走过大地,留下了春的印迹,那就是最初的春草芽儿冒出来了,远远望去,朦朦胧胧,仿佛有一片极淡极淡的青青之色,这是早春的草色。看着它,人们心里顿时充满欣欣然的生意。可是当你带着无限喜悦之情走近去看个仔细,地上是稀稀朗朗的极为纤细的芽,却反而看不清什么颜色了。诗人象一位高明的水墨画家,挥洒着他饱蘸水分的妙笔,隐隐泛出了那一抹青青之痕,便是早春的草色。远远望去,再象也没有,可走近了,反倒看不出。这句“草色遥看近却无”,真可谓兼摄远近,空处传神。
这设色的背景,是那落在天街(皇城中的街道)上的纤细小雨。透过雨丝遥望草色,更给早春草色增添了一层朦胧美。而小雨又滋润如酥。酥就是奶油。受了这样的滋润,那草色还能不新吗?又有这样的背景来衬托,那草色还能不美吗?
临了,诗人还来个对比:“绝胜烟柳满皇都”。诗人认为初春草色比那满城处处烟柳的景色不知要胜过多少倍。因为,“遥看近却无”的草色,是早春时节特有的,它柔嫩饱含水分,象征着大地春回、万象更新的欣欣生意。而烟柳呢?已经是“杨柳堆烟”时候,何况“满”城皆是,不稀罕了。到了暮春三月,色彩浓重,反倒不那么惹人喜爱了。象这样运用对比手法,与一般不同,这是一种加倍写法,为了突出春色的特征。
“物以稀为贵”,早春时节的春草之色也是很娇贵的。“新年都未有芳华,二月初惊见草芽”(韩愈《春雪》)。这是一种心理状态。严冬方尽,余寒犹厉,突然看到这美妙的草色,心头不由得又惊又喜。这一些些轻淡的绿,是当时大地唯一的装饰;可是到了晚春则“草树知春不久归”(韩愈《晚春》),这时那怕柳条儿绿得再好,人们也无心看,因为已缺乏那一种新鲜感。所以,诗人就在第三句转折时提醒说:“最是一年春好处。”是呀,一年之计在于春,而春天的最好处却又在早春。这首诗咏早春,能摄早春之魂,给读者以无穷的美感趣味,甚至是绘画所不能及的。诗人没有彩笔,但他用诗的语言描绘出极难描摹的色彩——一种淡素的、似有却无的色彩。如果没有锐利深细的观察力和高超的诗笔,便不可能把早春的自然美提炼为艺术美。