A PSALM OF LIFE  生 命 之 讚 美 詩

           Henry W. Longfellow  朗非羅 (1807-1882)

 

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,        勿以哀傷的詩句向我訴說

Life is but an empty dream!                 人生只不過是場空虛的夢

For the soul is dead that slumbers         因為怠之靈魂惰無異已死

And things are not what they seem.     事物非外在所顯示之模樣

 

Life is real! Life is earnest!                  人生真實!人生嚴肅!

And the grave is not its goal;               墳墓非其最終目的

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,           你來自塵土，歸至塵土

Was not spoken of the soul.                並非針對靈魂而言

 

Not enjoyment and not sorrow,           非享樂，亦非傷悲

Is our destined end or way;                 我們的目標或前途

But to act, that each tomorrow             要要努力以致每個明日

Finds us farther than today.                 發現我們比今日更進步

                                                          

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,           技藝永恆，光陰易逝

And our hearts, though stout and brave,        我們內心雖堅強，勇敢

Still, like muffled drums, and beating    仍如悶聲鼓敲擊著

Funeral marches to the grave.              送葬行列墳場赴

 

In the world's broad field of battle,      在世界廣大戰場上，

In the bivouac of Life,                         在人生短暫旅途中。

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!           別像沉默被驅之牛群

Be a hero in the strife!                         要當奮鬥中之英雄

                                                          

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!       勿信未來，無論多麼愉快

Let the dead past bury its dead!          過去的就讓它過去

Act, -- act in the living Present!           努力，努力於今朝

Heart within, and God o'erhead!         盡心力，上蒼庇祐

                                                           

Lives of great men all remind us            偉人生平令我們憶起

We can make our lives sublime,           我們亦可使生命崇高

And, departing, leave behind us            一旦離開這世界時

Footprints on the sands of time;           留下人生歷史的足跡

 

Footprints, that perhaps another,         或許另一航海者

Sailing o'er life's solemn main,              渡過人生嚴肅大海

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,     孤獨船難之弟兄

Seeing, shall take heart again.              見到足跡重拾勇氣

 

Let us, then, be up and doing               讓我們起而行

With a heart for any fate;                     以面對任何命運之心            

Still achieving, still pursuing,                 繼續成就，際續追求

Learn to labor and to wait                    學習努力與等待。

 

 

This poem taken from Longfellow's Voices of the Night (1839) seems to give us a great deal of good advice. It tells us not to waste our time but to be up and doing; not to be discouraged by sufferings or failures but to have a heart for any fate; not to judge life by temporary standards but to look to eternal reward.

選取自朗非羅(1839出版)的“夜之音”，這首詩提供我們許多忠告。它告訴我們不要浪費我們的光陰而要起而行﹔不要因受苦或失敗感到沮喪，而要擁有面對任何命運之心﹔必要以暫時的標準評判人生，而要期盼永恆的犒賞。

 

Henry W(adsworth) Longfellow (1807-1882): American poet and college professor, extremely popular and almost universally respected during his lifetime. His poetical style is simple, sincere, and musical. The melody of his poetry is unsurpassed by that of other American authors.

朗非羅 (1807-1882) 美國詩人及大學教授，在他有生之日極受大眾歡迎並且幾乎受到全世界的敬仰。他的詩的文體簡易，誠懇，富節奏感。他的詩的韻律是其他美國詩人的詩的韻律所無法超越的。

 

Longfellow combined considerable learning with an enlightened understanding of the people, and he expressed the lives and ideals of humbler Americans in poems that they could not forget. Amist the rising democracy of his days, Longfellow became the national bard. His more popular poems strongly reflected the optimistic sentiment and the love of a good lesson that characterized the humanitarian spirit of the people.

朗非羅將淵博的學識和對人們透徹的瞭解結合，同時他將較低階層之美國人的生活和理想表達於令他們難以忘懷的詩篇中。在他那時代的民主高漲聲浪中，朗非羅成為全國的遊唱詩人。他那些較受歡迎的詩篇強烈地反應樂觀的情感和顯示民眾人道精神特徵之良好訓示的喜愛。

 

Acquainted with the Night 暗夜的故友

 

I have been one acquainted with the night. 我是暗夜的故友
I have walked out in rain--and back in rain. 曾經在雨中外出歸來
I have outwalked the furthest city light. 穿越過市區最偏遠的燈火

I have looked down the saddest city lane. 見到了最令人心碎的巷子
I have passed by the watchman on his beat幾番和夜巡人擦身而過
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. 我總垂下目光 不願多說

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet也曾停下腳步屏息傾聽
When far away an interrupted cry遠方傳出斷續的呼叫聲
Came over houses from another street, 越過屋宇 來自另一個街頭

But not to call me back or say good-by; 不是召喚 不在道別
And further still at an unearthly height遠離紅塵的蒼穹
One luminary clock against the sky高懸著那座光鐘

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. 宣稱 時間沒有是非
I have been one acquainted with the night. 而我 是暗夜的故友

詩人在這首詩中想要傳達的哲理是什麼呢？「暗夜」和「光鐘」象徵什麼？「時間沒有是非」又是什麼意思？每一個讀者儘可以有不同的領悟和解釋，但也會不約而同地產生一份相似的感覺-孤獨。這份孤獨，也許像寒風中瑟縮的遊子，緊裹著外套，踽踽地獨行在異鄉，失落了什麼？懷念著什麼…

 

BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH因我不能停候死神

           Emily Dickinson 狄勤生 (1830-1886)

 

Because I could not stop for Death, 因我不能停候死神

He kindly stopped for me; 死神好意地停候我

The carriage held but just ourselves馬車僅乘載祂與我

And Immortality. 外加上永生

                   

We slowly drove, he knew no haste, 馬車緩緩地而行

And I had put away死神知悉不趕忙

My labor, and my leisure too, 只因祂殷勤好禮

For his civility. 吾將作息置一旁

 

We passed the school, where children strove 我們經過了學校

At recess, in the ring; 學童下課操場奔

We passed the fields of gazing grain, 我們經過佇立的稻田

We passed the setting sun. 我們經過落日

           

Or rather, he passed us; 寧說落日經過我們

The dews drew quivering and chill, 露水帶來了寒意

For only gossamer my gown, 只因吾衣服單薄

My tippet only tulle. 圍巾只是柔絲綢

 

We paused before a house that seemed我們停於一屋前   

A swelling of the ground; 猶如凸起之地面

The roof was scarcely visible, 屋頂幾乎看不見

The cornice in the ground. 隱藏於地下飛檐      

 

Since then ’tis centuries, and yet自該程後已數百年

Feels shorter than the day感覺不比當日長久

I first surmised the horses’ heads當初推測馬車頭

Were toward eternity. 朝永恆方向邁進

 

In this poem, Dickinson describes dying and immortality in the dominant metaphor of a carriage on a journey.

在此詩中，於馬車旅行的主要隱喻中描述死亡與永恆(永生)。

 

In Stanza 1, Death, accompanied by Immortality, stops to pick up the speaker in a carriage. In stanzas 2-4, they journey, leaving earthly life behind them ("labor," "leisure," "children," "grain," "setting sun"). In stanza 5, they pause before the grave ("swelling of the ground"), and stanza 6 depicts the speaker "centuries" later, speaking from "eternity."

在第一節中，死神由永生陪伴著，在一部馬車中停下來迎接敘述者。在第二節到第四節中，他們踏上旅途，將世俗的生活拋於腦後。(“勞動”，“休閒”，“子女”，“五穀”，“落日”) 在地五節中，他們在墓前停下來 (“凸起的地面”) 而第六潔描寫敘述者在數世紀後，自“永恆”中講述當年所發生的事。

 

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) : a major American poet of the 19th century. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dickinson lived there a recluse and died a spinster. Her cryptic lyrics, composed mostly in ballad meter, are metaphysical in style, original in language, and precise in imagery. Nature, love, life, time, death, and eternity were her favorite themes. In early 20th century she was looked upon as a forerunner of the Imagist school of poetry.

狄勤生 (1830-1886): 19世紀美國主要詩人。生於麻省薩諸塞州，安姆斯特市，狄勤生在那理過著隱士的生活，未婚去世。她多以述事韻律寫作神密抒情詩，文體(上是)抽象(的)﹔語文(上是)獨創(的)，意象(上是)周密(的)。自然，生命，時間死亡及永恆是她喜愛的主題。在20世紀初她被視為意象詩學派的先驅。

 

Cloud and Wind                      雲和風
（Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1828-1882）       （尤克強譯）
Love, should I fear death most for you or me?       愛人，我該因你而畏懼死亡還是為自己？
Yet if you die, can I not follow you,              如你先去了，我難道能不追隨你
Forcing the straits of change? Alas! but who  而違拗命運？唉！但有誰能
Shall wrest a bond form night's inveteracy,    向頑癖的幽冥爭取到約定
Ere yet my hazardous soul put forth, to be     在我的靈魂冒險之前提供保證
Her warrant against all her haste might rue?-         這般的匆促不致造成悔恨？
Ah! In your eyes so reached what dumb adieu,     啊！你莫非只看到寂靜的離別
What unsunned gyres of waste eternity?       不見天日的荒原無邊無際地輪迴？
And if I die the first, shall death be then         如我先你而去 死亡是否好比
A lampless watchtower whence I see you weep?-        幽暗的更塔 我在那兒看著你哭泣？
Or (woe is me!) a bed wherein my sleep       抑好比（真是傷心！）睡榻 我已安寢
Ne'er notes (as death's dear cup at last you drain)        不再曉得（當你已把死亡的珍露飲盡）
The hour when you too learn that all is vain    你何時也發現一切都是徒然
And that Hope sows what Love shall never reap?         愛情竟無法成全這一廂情願？

 

                    Crossing  the  Bar 逝

                  Alfred, Lord Tennyson  但尼生

                          1809-1892

A few days before he died, Tennyson gave instructions that this lyric should be put at the end of all editions of his poems.

Sunset and evening star,                                              落日晚星中，

And one clear call for me!                                           我聽到招喚！

And may there be no moaning of the bar,                     我將動身出海，

When I put out to sea.                                                請勿為我的歸去悲哀。

 

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,                      潮水彷彿熟睡著，

Too full for sound and foam,                                        滿潮時候海水平靜，

When that which drew from out the boundless deep  從無邊汪洋捲來的潮水

Turns again home.                                                       現在又將退回。

 

Twilight and evening bell,                                             薄暮晚鐘聲響，

And after that the dark!                                               夜幕漸落！

And may there be no sadness of farewell,                    我將乘潮歸去，

When I embark;                                                        和我道別，請勿哀傷；

 

For though from out our bourne of Time and Place      從這塵世的港口出海，

The flood may bear me far,                                         浩瀚的大海水將我遠載

I hope to see my Pilot face to face                              當我越過淺灘，(淺灘象徵死亡)

When I have crossed the bar.                                      我盼親眼看到祂的聖顏。

 

Dear white
Dear white, something you got to know            親愛的白種人，有幾件事你必須知道。 
When I was born, I was black.                         當我出生時，我是黑色的 
When I grow up, I am black.                            我長大了，我是黑色的 
When I'm under the sun, I'm black.   我在陽光下，我是黑色的 
When I'm cold, I'm black.                 我寒冷時，我是黑色的 
When I'm afraid, I'm black.                              我害怕時，我是黑色的 
When I'm sick, I'm black.                 我生病了，我是黑色的 
When I die, I'm still black.                                當我死了，我仍是黑色的。 
you---white people,                                         你---白種人 
When you were born, you were pink.               當你出生時，你是粉紅色的 
When you grow up, you become white.            你長大了，變成白色的 
You're red under the sun.                  你在陽光下，你是紅色的 
You're blue when you're cold.                          你寒冷時，你是青色的 
You are yellow when you're afraid.   你害怕時，你是黃色的 
You're green when you're sick.                         你生病時，你是綠色的 
You're gray when you die.                                當你死時，你是灰色的 
And you, call me "color"?                  而你，卻叫我「有色人種」？ 
 
這篇英文短詩來自網路電子信件，南非黑白種族隔離政策曾讓非洲原住民黑人遭到

許多不平等的待遇，而本詩作者即以天生膚色的差異，來表達心中的不滿與無奈。

 

Death，Be Not Proud

By John Donne（1572∼1631）
 Death, be not proud, though some have called thee死神你休得意 儘管有人說你
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; 兇橫無比 你也沒什麼了不起
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow你老想奪人性命 卻常不能稱心
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. 可憐呀死神 我也不會讓你如意
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, 休憩和沉睡是你貧乏的標記
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow, 其實你帶給人們更多的樂趣
And soonest our best men with thee do go, 好人雖都被你置於死地
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. 但其靈魂解脫 形體也得以安息
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, 你是厄運危機暴君狂徒的奴隸
And dost with poison, war and sickness dwell, 你和毒藥戰爭疾病沆瀣一氣
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well鴉片符咒 也有使人長眠的法力
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? 比你還行 你憑什麼神氣？
One short sleep past, we wake eternally浮生一寐 醒來就是永生
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die. 不復死亡 死亡的是你 死神！

Down By the Salley Gardens柳園下
（William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939）（尤克強譯）
Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree.
我在柳園和心愛的人相會
她穿過柳枝而來步履盈白如雪
她要我看淡愛情如樹梢的綠葉
我當時年少無知執意不接受勸解

In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
我在河邊和心愛的人碰面
她把纖纖玉手搭上我前傾的肩
她要我看淡人生如河堤上的青草
我當時年少無知如今卻淚下如潮

 

1923年獲諾貝爾文學獎的愛爾蘭詩人葉慈（William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939）曾經感嘆：在年輕的時候，他的繆斯是年老的，在年老的時候，他的繆斯又變年輕了。意思是他在年輕時追求智慧，卻在年老是羡慕青春（一般人又何嘗不是如此呢？）。詩人於1889年在倫敦初遇茉德岡（Maud Gonne, 1866-1953）時驚為天人，他在《箭》（The Arrow）一詩中追憶初見茉德岡時的印象： "修長高貴，面頰與胸房如蘋果花一般淡雅"（Tall and noble but with face and bosom delicate in colour as apple blossom）。雖然詩人對茉德岡一見鍾情而終生不能自拔，但茉德岡一再拒絕他的求婚迫使詩人只好把熱情灌注在文學的創作上。
本文所要介紹的《柳園下》這首詩是葉慈根據他的故鄉"思來溝"（Sligo）一位老農婦唱不完整的歌詞改寫而成的，語言簡單質樸，每個字最多只有兩個音節，因此詠唱性很高，全詩除了最後半行用現在式之外其餘都是過去式。葉慈認為詩歌的價值在於內容的智慧而非形式，所以他的詩歌特別富於"象徵性"－由讀的人根據個人的感受來賦予意義，就像他自己說的：詩人總是寫他個人的經驗但從不直說，而是營造幻覺。柳樹（salley）在風中搖擺不定，象徵人生的飄搖無助、不可捉摸；樹梢的綠葉和壩上的青草，象徵自然的榮枯有時、不可勉強；雪白的纖足和玉手象徵他對心愛之人的仰慕。即使"流水有意落花無心"詩人仍執意追求那不可能的愛情而平白虛耗了青春，如今千金難買年少已是追悔無益。以"now am full of tears" 短短5字嘎然結尾，意猶未盡而餘韻深長－人不愛情枉少年，遙想當年淚如雨。如同詩人的墓碑上刻著他自己寫下的短短三行墓誌銘：
Cast a cold eye 冷眼
On life, on death 跨越生死
Horseman, pass by! 騎士 已行過
詩人用騎士象徵自己的一生，而當騎士垂垂老矣，繆斯又恢復了年輕，真是情何以堪！詩人的情懷莫非也是所有人的遺憾？

 

Fire and Ice

Robert Frost尤克強譯

美國的詩人佛洛斯特（Robert Frost, 1874-1963）在1920年寫過一首"冰与火"（Fire and Ice）的詩：

Some say the world will end in fire,            有人說毀滅世界的是火
Some say in ice.                                         也有人說是冰
From what I've tasted of desire                  依我對慾望的體會
I hold with those who favor fire.                 我贊成是火
But if it had to perish twice,                        但世界如將再次毀滅
I think I know enough of hate                     我對仇恨也有充分的了解
To say that for destruction ice                     冰的毀滅力量
Is also great                                               也大得
And would suffice.                                     足夠了

 

I have been one acquainted with the night.

I have been one acquainted with the night. 我是暗夜的故友
I have walked out in rain--and back in rain. 曾經在雨中外出歸來
I have outwalked the furthest city light. 穿越過市區最偏遠的燈火

I have looked down the saddest city lane. 見到了最令人心碎的巷子
I have passed by the watchman on his beat幾番和夜巡人擦身而過
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. 我總垂下目光 不願多說

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet也曾停下腳步屏息傾聽
When far away an interrupted cry遠方傳出斷續的呼叫聲
Came over houses from another street, 越過屋宇 來自另一個街頭

But not to call me back or say good-by; 不是召喚 不在道別
And further still at an unearthly height遠離紅塵的蒼穹
One luminary clock against the sky高懸著那座光鐘

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. 宣稱 時間沒有是非
I have been one acquainted with the night. 而我 是暗夜的故友

 

詩人在這首詩中想要傳達的哲理是什麼呢？「暗夜」和「光鐘」象徵什麼？「時間沒有是非」又是什麼意思？每一個讀者儘可以有不同的領悟和解釋，但也會不約而同地產生一份相似的感覺-孤獨。這份孤獨，也許像寒風中瑟縮的遊子，緊裹著外套，踽踽地獨行在異鄉，失落了什麼？懷念著什麼…

 

佛洛斯特(Robert Frost, 1874-1963)和艾略特(T. S. Eliot, 1888-1965)被公認為二十世紀美國詩壇的兩大巨柱。艾略特摒棄了詩歌的傳統而做為美國現代詩人的典型，佛洛斯特卻堅持繼承古典的形式，採用正式的格律，透過「原框新詞」(the old-fashioned way to be new)的創作方法，亦終於成為當代最受歡迎的美國詩人。佛洛斯特不但沒有致力於詩歌形式的創新，反而喜歡使用民間的口語來描述普通人的日常生活，他在這方面的成就甚至超越了英國詩人華茲華斯(William Wordsworth, 1770-1850)。佛洛斯特的田園詩作(pastoral)雖然文字樸實無華，卻節奏鮮明、順暢自然，韻律工整而意境優美。他的詩能透過「直接的描述」(direct treatment of the "thing") 牽引出豐富的"意識的聲音"(sound of sense)，所傳達的哲理深沉，耐人尋味而餘韻無窮。「看似簡單，實則深沉」，其「虛詐之樸素」(deceptive simplicity)的藝術成就堪臻化境。他自己說詩應「始於歡娛而終於智慧」(A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.)，憑著他卓越的聲韻技巧和哲理內涵，終使他成為二十世紀最受美國人喜愛的詩人。

佛洛斯特於一八七四年生於美國西岸的舊金山，十一歲時父親去世後，隨著母親回到美國東岸新英格蘭(New England)的祖父家中居住。他中學畢業後曾經做過教師、紡織工人、鄉村報紙的編輯，一八九七年進入哈佛大學，但兩年後輟學。一九零零年佛洛斯特開始經營自己的農場，一邊種田，一邊教書和寫詩。雖然自幼就喜歡讀詩和寫詩，並在中學時就顯露出詩才，但他在三十八歲以前只發表過三首詩。一九一二年佛洛斯特賣掉了農場，帶著詩稿遷往英國，在美國詩人龐德(Ezra Pound, 1885-1972)的鼓勵和支持下繼續寫詩。他在一九一三年出版第一本詩集《少年的意志》(A Boy's will)，已年近四十歲了。一九一四年他又出版了第二本詩集《波士頓以北》(North of Boston)，嘉評如潮，從此就步入事業的坦途。第一次世界大戰爆發時，佛洛斯特舉家遷回美國。在他一九六三年逝世之前共得過四次"普利茲詩歌獎"(Pulitzer Prize for Poetry)，成為美國非正式的桂冠詩人，譽滿天下。

這首"暗夜的故友"(Acquainted with the Night)亦是佛洛斯特最受歡迎的代表作之一，詩人用的全是日常的口語，卻能創造出如此豐富的"意識的聲音"，令人無法不嘆服：

 

            IN MEMORIAM  1850 悼念

               Alfred, Lord Tennyson  但尼生

                       1809-1892

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, 瘋狂的鐘聲，響徹夜空，

  The flying cloud, the frosty light; 趕走層層的黑雲；

  The year is dying in the night; 年歲已殘，黑夜將盡；

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. 趕他走吧，瘋狂的鐘聲。

Ring out the old, ring in the new, 趕走舊的黑暗，迎進新的光明，

  Ring, happy bells, across the snow; 歡樂的鐘聲，在雪花中蕩漾；

  The year is going, let him go; 年歲已盡，讓他去吧罷；

Ring out the false, ring in the true. 把虛偽趕走，把真理迎進。

Ring out the grief that saps the mind, 趕走敗壞精神的憂傷，

  For those that here we see no more; 讓逝者一起埋葬；

  Ring out the feud of rich and poor, 趕走貧富之間的仇嫌，

Ring in redress for all mankind… 迎進全人類的補償…

 

In the Trenches在戰壕裏

Richard Aldington （1892~1962）
 
Not that we are weary,                                         我們雖然疲乏
Not that we fear,                                                   我們雖然懼怕
Not that we are lonely                                            我們雖然寂寞
Though never alone                                               －－儘管並不孤單
Not these, not these destroy us;                            我們不會因此倒下
But that each rush and crash                                   但一陣又一陣的
Of mortar and shell,                                              砲聲隆隆
Each cruel bitter shriek of bullet                              彈雨呼嘯
That tears the wind like a blade,                            如利刃劃空
Each wound on the breast of earth,                       大地滿佈瘡痍
Of Demeter, our Mother, Wound us also,              若慈母受難令我們哀痛
Sever and rend the fine fabric                                 扯裂了我們纖細的
Of the wings of our frail souls,                               靈魂之翼
Scatter into dust the bright wings                            把飛翔的心靈
Of Psyche!     化作塵泥

這首詩實在很難翻譯，詩人巧妙地用"反否定"的語氣點出戰士們雖然疲勞、恐懼和寂寞，但是最難以忍受的卻是無止境的戰火所造成的心靈的麻痹。這一波SARS之役中，當政府慌了手腳、社會驚惶失措的時刻，一群沉默的天使們在沒有足夠的保護下勇敢地迎戰，等於用自己的肉身為眾生築起了第一道防護墻。他們難道不配被稱作「勇士」嗎？他們難道不值得所有生者的尊敬嗎？他們比只會噴口水、搞選舉權謀的政客和高官們偉大何止千百倍？

報載三總護士葛憲華（小寶，26歲）本來是神經外科護士，當初她自願換班擔任「險差」去照顧SARS病患，讓新婚的先生非常不諒解，甚至要求她辭去護士的工作。但是小寶堅持："護理是我的興趣，我不會因此而退卻。"結果她在5月初自己被感染，5月15日住進加護病房，在最危急的時候靠兩位SARS痊愈者所捐贈的血清救了一命，她終于在6月24日康復出院了。我希望如Emily所期望的，像這樣的報導能帶給無名天使們一些溫暖和鼓勵，為他們疲憊的心靈澆灑一絲生機。

所謂的「勇者」，並不是「不害怕」的人，而是「不退卻」的人。因為有了這些「堅守崗位」的沉默天使，社會大眾才能安享太平。他們是人生的勇士，是永恒的無名英雄！

 

Invictus我不會倒下 （尤克強譯）

（Willaim Ernest Henley, 1849-1903）
Out of the night that covers me,                          夜色沉沉將我籠罩
Black as the pit from pole to pole．                    漆黑猶如地底暗道
I thank whatever gods may be                             我要感謝上蒼知曉
For my unconquerable soul.                               我的心靈永遠不倒

In the fell clutch of circumstance                          環境多麼凶險飄搖
I have not winced nor cried aloud,                      我也不會退縮哭嚎
Under the bludgeonings of chance                       挑戰有時膽寒心焦
My head is bloody, but unbowed.                      血流滿面我不折腰

Beyond this place of wrath and tears                   在悲憤與淚水之外
Looms but the horror of the shade,                     恐怖陰霾逐漸逼來
And yet the menace of the years                          歲月無情威脅迫害
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.                       但我再也無所懼駭

It matters not how strait the gate,                        無論通路多麼險窄
How charged with punishments the scroll,           儘管考驗無法躲開
I am the master of my fate:                                 我是我命運的主宰
I am the captain of my soul.                                我是我心靈的統帥

我特地選譯了一首維多利亞時期英國詩人威廉亨利（Willaim Ernest Henley, 1849-1903）的《我不會倒下》（Invictus，拉丁文=unconquerable）來與今年的讀者們共勉，這篇文章的標題"夜色沉沉將我籠罩"就是取自這首詩的第一行。原來詩人從小身體虛弱，患有肺結核症，一隻腳被截掉；為了保住另一隻腳，他一生都奮力和病魔抗爭，不向命運屈服。《我不會倒下》是他最著名的一首詩，因為其中反映了一種不屈不撓的鬥志，鼓舞了許多在逆境中的人們。祝福新的一年，我們的下一代能夠看到臺灣新的作為，讓他們對自己的未來充滿新的希望。

Remember（sonnet）〝十四行詩〞
Christina Georgina Rossetti（1830-1894）

Remember me when I am gone away,                你要想起我已離去，
Gone far away into the silent land;                      去到那寂靜的遠方；
When you can no more hold me by the hand,     你不能再拉手留住我，
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.                   我也不能再欲去還休。

Remember me when no more day by day            你不能再日復一日地
You tell me of our future that you planned:          向我傾訴心中的憧憬；
Only remember me; you understand                    你也只能夠想我了，
It will be late to counsel then or pray.                  因為我已無法回應。

Yet if you should forget me for a while                 即使你一時忘記了我，
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:           隨後再想起也別哀愁；
For if the darkness and corruption leave              如果死亡能留下
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,            僅有的一絲牽掛，

Better by far you should forget and smile             願是你忘記時的笑容，
Than that you should remember and be sad.       而非你想起時的悲傷。
 

SONG 歌

Christina Georgina Rossetti 羅西蒂 (1830-1894)

When I am dead, my dearest,                      親愛的，當我死後，

Sing no sad songs for me;                            請不要為我唱悼歌

Plant thou no roses at my head,                    請不要在我墓旁，

Nor Shady cypress-tree:                              種植柏樹和野薔：

Be the green grass above me                        但願有綠草相伴

With showers and dewdrops wet;                甘賂與露珠均沾

And if thou wilt, remember,                          你記起我也好，

And if thou wilt, forget.                                你把我忘記也罷。

 

I shall not see the shadows,                          我不再看見陰影，

I shall not feel the rain;                                 我不再感到雨露

I shall not hear the nightingale                       我不再聽見夜鷹鶯

Sing on, as if in pain:                                    唱出悽涼的哀音

And dreaming through the twilight                 在漫長的矇矓中

That doth not rise nor set,                            做著永恆的迷夢

Haply I may remember,                                或許我願回憶往事

And haply may forget.                                  或許我願忘卻前塵。

 

Sonnets from the Portuguese: I

By Elizabeth Barret Browning（1806-1861）尤克強譯
I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young:
And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,
I saw, in gradual vision through my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,

Those of my own life, who by turns had flung

A shadow across me. Straightway I was 'ware,

So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move
Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair; 
And a voice said in mastery, while I strove,…
"Guess now who holds thee?" -"Death," I said. But there,
The silver answer rang,…"Not Death, but Love." 

曾經想起希臘詩人的歌吟

詠唱流年無比地快樂溫馨

優雅的手釋出豐饒的禮物

送給世間的人們充滿歡欣

我沉緬在這般久好的歲月

卻在淚眼婆娑中逐漸浮現

自己生命中的悲喜和憂苦

陰影永無止境我不禁痛哭

感覺有個神秘的形體
在我沉落時亦步亦趨

握住我的頭髮拉我往回行

掙扎中傳來了莊嚴的聲音
緊緊拉著你的是誰 我說 死亡
答聲清悠地響起 不是死 是愛

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

          Robert Frost  (1873-1963)

 

Whose woods these are I think I know. 誰的樹林，我想我知。

His house is in the village, though; 雖然他的住屋在村中；

He will not see me stopping here他將看不見我停留於此

To watch his woods fill up with snow. 觀望他的樹林積雪重重。

 

My little horse must think it queer我的馬兒一定感到奇怪

To stop without a farmhouse near停留於附農舍之地

Between the woods and frozen lake在這樹林與冰湖之間

The darkest evening of the year. 一年之中最黑暗之夜。

 

He gives his harness bells a shake牠搖一搖馬具上的鈴噹

To ask if there is some mistake. 探問是否有什麼差錯。

The only other sound's the sweep除了微風與雪花飄揚

Of easy wind and downy flake. 此外寂然別無其他聲息。

 

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. 樹林真可愛，幽暗又深密，

But I have promises to keep, 但是我有些承諾得要信守，

And miles to go before I sleep, 在安息之前要把長途趕，

And miles to go before I sleep. 在安息之前要把長途趕。

 

 This poem expresses the conflict between man's urge for responsible social involvement ("promises") and his urge for withdrawal ("woods," "sleep")

這首詩表達人類對負責的社會參與的強烈意願 (“承諾”) 與對退隱的強烈意願(“樹林”，“安息”) 之間的衝突。

 

On one side of the conflict, the associations of darkness ("dark and deep," "darkest") and silence ("the only other sound") with "lovely" suggest a strong urge for withdrawal, possibly for contemplation, or even for nourishing a death-wish. On the other side of the conflict, "promises" (promises are of social involvement, being made to other human beings) do win out, for the speaker does reject stopping ("But I have promises"). The horse who must "think it queer" and the owner in the "village" (a social unit) contrast with the speaker by not being contemplators of woods nor subject to the conflict described in the poem.

在衝突的一面，黑暗 (“暗又深”，“最暗”) 與寂靜 (“唯一的另一種聲音”) 加上 “可愛” 的連想暗示對退隱，可能對沉思，或者甚至於對懷有想死的強烈意願。在衝突的另一方面，“承諾” (承諾是屬於社會參與，是對其他人類的承諾) 最後勝了，因為敘述者確實拒絕停頓 (“但是我有承諾”) 。那匹一定“覺得奇怪”的馬和那位住在“村莊”裡的樹林主人(一位社會個體)，由於不是樹林的沉思者，也不受制於這首詩裡所描述的衝突，與敘述者成對比。

 

Robert Frost (1874-1963) : one of the greatest of American poets in the twentieth century. Four times awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Frost enjoyed immense popularity as a facile pastoral poet and was recognized as a "terrifying poet" and profound thinker only towards the end of his life.

佛洛斯特 (1874-1963) ﹕二十世紀最偉大的美國詩人之一。四度獲贈普立茲獎，佛洛斯特以隨和的田園詩人身份深受廣大的歡迎並且唯有在他晚年時被認為是“極端的詩人” 和有深度的思想家。

Frost wrote primarily about the character, people, and landscape of New England. He was no mere regional poet, however. The local observations and homely details of his poems are often rich in deep symbolic, even metaphysical, significance. Frost's poems are concerned with man's tragedies and fears, his reaction to the complexities of life, and his ultimate acceptance of his burdens. The truths he sought were innate in the heart of man and in common objects. But people forget, and poetry, he said, "makes you remember what you didn't know you know." Frost believed that a poem is not didactic, but provides an immediate experience which "begins in delight, and ends in wisdom"; and it provides at least "a momentary stay against confusion."

佛洛思特主要寫作有關新英格蘭的特性，人民，和風景。然而他並不只是區域性的詩人而已。他的詩的地區性的觀察與樸實的細節時常充滿深奧的象徵主義，甚至充滿形而上學的意義。佛洛斯特的詩關心人類的悲劇和恐懼，人類對人生複雜性的反應以及人類對他責任的最終接受。人類所追的真理本存於人類內心中和普通的事物中。可是人們忘記了，並且佛洛斯特說，詩“使你憶起你以前不知道你一直瞭解的事。” 佛洛斯特相信詩不是教誨，而是提供一種“以喜悅開始，以智慧結束”的立即經驗﹔而且詩至少提供對抗不安(惶惑)的暫時性平靜。

 

 

WHEN I WAS ONE-AND-TWENTY 當時年齡二十一

A. A.     E. Housman  霍斯曼 (1859-1963)

 

When I was one-and -twenty當時年齡二十一，        

I heard a wise man say, 有位智者對吾道：      

"Give crowns and pounds and guineas金銀財帛可拋棄， 

But not your heart away; 且莫把心也掏掉。    

Give pearls away and rubies真珠寶石可放棄，

But keep your fancy free." 想像力可要珍惜。

But I was one-and-twenty, 當時吾才二十一，

No use to talk to me. 對吾多言亦無益。

 

When I was one-and-twenty當時年齡二十一，

I heard him say again, 智者另又對吾道：

"The heart out of the bosom真情實意付出去，

Was never given in vain; 務使受者能珍惜。

'Tis paid with sighs aplenty否則代價是嘆息，

And sold for endless rue." 報酬是追悔無期。

And I am two-and-twenty, 吾今年齡二十二，

And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true. 方知所言確無訛。

 

In natural and light tones, the poet tells that the young may learn only by experience the sad truth that, if the advice is not taken, the heart is easily broken. At twenty-one, the poet scoffed at the wise man's warning not to give his heart away. But at twenty-two as he gres older, he had learned and become wiser.

詩人以一種自然，輕鬆的口吻敘述年青人只能從經驗中學到慘痛的真象(事實)﹔不接受忠告就容易心碎。詩人在21歲時嘲笑智者的警告叫他不要將心送掉。但是在他22歲，當年齡增長，他獲得了教訓並變得比以前睿智(聰明)。

 

A(lfred) E(dward) Housman (1859-1936) : English poet and classical scholar. Housman's favorite theme is that of the doomed youth acting out the tragedy of his brief life in a context of agricultural activity and against a specific English background. For him, nature is beautiful but indifferent and is to be enjoyed while we are still able to enjoy it. Love, friendship, and conviviality cannot last and may well result in betrayal or death, but should be relished while there is time.

霍斯曼(1859-1963)﹕英國詩人及古典文學學者。霍斯曼所喜愛的主題是命運註定的青年扮演涉及農業事務和反抗某特定英國背景有關的短暫人生的悲劇。對他而言，自然美麗而冷漠並且要給與人欣賞，在我們仍然能夠欣賞的時候。愛情，友誼，歡樂並不能持久，而且很可能便成背叛或死亡，然而當我們還有時間的時候，我們應該享受愛情，友誼，歡樂。

 

Housman's poems are usually bare and stark; they have no word decorations, no elaborately developed metaphors or figures of speech. In other words, they are concise and keenly to the point.

霍斯曼的詩通常是簡單而率直﹔他的詩沒有文字的修飾，沒有精心演譯的隱喻或辭藻。換言之，他的詩簡單而直接了當。

 

 

BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH因我不能停候死神

           Emily Dickinson 狄勤生 (1830-1886)

 

Because I could not stop for Death, 因我不能停候死神

He kindly stopped for me; 死神好意地停候我

The carriage held but just ourselves馬車僅乘載祂與我

And Immortality. 外加上永生

                   

We slowly drove, he knew no haste, 馬車緩緩地而行

And I had put away死神知悉不趕忙

My labor, and my leisure too, 只因祂殷勤好禮

For his civility. 吾將作息置一旁

 

We passed the school, where children strove 我們經過了學校

At recess, in the ring; 學童下課操場奔

We passed the fields of gazing grain, 我們經過佇立的稻田

We passed the setting sun. 我們經過落日

           

Or rather, he passed us; 寧說落日經過我們

The dews drew quivering and chill, 露水帶來了寒意

For only gossamer my gown, 只因吾衣服單薄

My tippet only tulle. 圍巾只是柔絲綢

 

We paused before a house that seemed我們停於一屋前   

A swelling of the ground; 猶如凸起之地面

The roof was scarcely visible, 屋頂幾乎看不見

The cornice in the ground. 隱藏於地下飛檐      

 

Since then ’tis centuries, and yet自該程後已數百年

Feels shorter than the day感覺不比當日長久

I first surmised the horses’ heads當初推測馬車頭

Were toward eternity. 朝永恆方向邁進

 

  

In this poem, Dickinson describes dying and immortality in the dominant metaphor of a carriage on a journey.

在此詩中，於馬車旅行的主要隱喻中描述死亡與永恆(永生)。

 

In Stanza 1, Death, accompanied by Immortality, stops to pick up the speaker in a carriage. In stanzas 2-4, they journey, leaving earthly life behind them ("labor," "leisure," "children," "grain," "setting sun"). In stanza 5, they pause before the grave ("swelling of the ground"), and stanza 6 depicts the speaker "centuries" later, speaking from "eternity."

在第一節中，死神由永生陪伴著，在一部馬車中停下來迎接敘述者。在第二節到第四節中，他們踏上旅途，將世俗的生活拋於腦後。(“勞動”，“休閒”，“子女”，“五穀”，“落日”) 在地五節中，他們在墓前停下來 (“凸起的地面”) 而第六潔描寫敘述者在數世紀後，自“永恆”中講述當年所發生的事。

 

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) : a major American poet of the 19th century. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dickinson lived there a recluse and died a spinster. Her cryptic lyrics, composed mostly in ballad meter, are metaphysical in style, original in language, and precise in imagery. Nature, love, life, time, death, and eternity were her favorite themes. In early 20th century she was looked upon as a forerunner of the Imagist school of poetry.

狄勤生 (1830-1886): 19世紀美國主要詩人。生於麻省薩諸塞州，安姆斯特市，狄勤生在那理過著隱士的生活，未婚去世。她多以述事韻律寫作神密抒情詩，文體(上是)抽象(的)﹔語文(上是)獨創(的)，意象(上是)周密(的)。自然，生命，時間死亡及永恆是她喜愛的主題。在20世紀初她被視為意象詩學派的先驅。

 

  

         A PSALM OF LIFE  生 命 之 讚 美 詩

         Henry W. Longfellow  朗非羅 (1807-1882)

 

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, 勿以哀傷的詩句向我訴說

Life is but an empty dream! 人生只不過是場空虛的夢

For the soul is dead that slumbers因為怠之靈魂惰無異已死

And things are not what they seem. 事物非外在所顯示之模樣

 

Life is real! Life is earnest! 人生真實!人生嚴肅!

And the grave is not its goal; 墳墓非其最終目的

Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 你來自塵土，歸至塵土

Was not spoken of the soul. 並非針對靈魂而言

 

Not enjoyment and not sorrow, 非享樂，亦非傷悲

Is our destined end or way; 我們的目標或前途

But to act, that each tomorrow要要努力以致每個明日

Finds us farther than today. 發現我們比今日更進步

                                                                                           

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 技藝永恆，光陰易逝

And our hearts, though stout and brave, 我們內心雖堅強，勇敢

Still, like muffled drums, and beating 仍如悶聲鼓敲擊著

Funeral marches to the grave. 送葬行列墳場赴

 

In the world's broad field of battle, 在世界廣大戰場上，

In the bivouac of Life, 在人生短暫旅途中。

Be not like dumb, driven cattle! 別像沉默被驅之牛群

Be a hero in the strife! 要當奮鬥中之英雄

                                                                                           

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! 勿信未來，無論多麼愉快

Let the dead past bury its dead! 過去的就讓它過去

Act, -- act in the living Present! 努力，努力於今朝

Heart within, and God o'erhead! 盡心力，上蒼庇祐

           

Lives of great men all remind us偉人生平令我們憶起

We can make our lives sublime, 我們亦可使生命崇高

And, departing, leave behind us一旦離開這世界時

Footprints on the sands of time; 留下人生歷史的足跡

 

Footprints, that perhaps another, 或許另一航海者

Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 渡過人生嚴肅大海

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 孤獨船難之弟兄

Seeing, shall take heart again. 見到足跡重拾勇氣

 

Let us, then, be up and doing讓我們起而行

With a heart for any fate; 以面對任何命運之心                                                        

Still achieving, still pursuing, 繼續成就，際續追求

Learn to labor and to wait學習努力與等待。

 

This poem taken from Longfellow's Voices of the Night (1839) seems to give us a great deal of good advice. It tells us not to waste our time but to be up and doing; not to be discouraged by sufferings or failures but to have a heart for any fate; not to judge life by temporary standards but to look to eternal reward.

選取自朗非羅(1839出版)的“夜之音”，這首詩提供我們許多忠告。它告訴我們不要浪費我們的光陰而要起而行﹔不要因受苦或失敗感到沮喪，而要擁有面對任何命運之心﹔必要以暫時的標準評判人生，而要期盼永恆的犒賞。

 

Henry W(adsworth) Longfellow (1807-1882): American poet and college professor, extremely popular and almost universally respected during his lifetime. His poetical style is simple, sincere, and musical. The melody of his poetry is unsurpassed by that of other American authors.

朗非羅 (1807-1882) 美國詩人及大學教授，在他有生之日極受大眾歡迎並且幾乎受到全世界的敬仰。他的詩的文體簡易，誠懇，富節奏感。他的詩的韻律是其他美國詩人的詩的韻律所無法超越的。

 

Longfellow combined considerable learning with an enlightened understanding of the people, and he expressed the lives and ideals of humbler Americans in poems that they could not forget. Amist the rising democracy of his days, Longfellow became the national bard. His more popular poems strongly reflected the optimistic sentiment and the love of a good lesson that characterized the humanitarian spirit of the people.

朗非羅將淵博的學識和對人們透徹的瞭解結合，同時他將較低階層之美國人的生活和理想表達於令他們難以忘懷的詩篇中。在他那時代的民主高漲聲浪中，朗非羅成為全國的遊唱詩人。他那些較受歡迎的詩篇強烈地反應樂觀的情感和顯示民眾人道精神特徵之良好訓示的喜愛。

 

（Sudden Light）驀然想起尤克強譯

英國有一位詩人但丁·加布里埃爾·羅塞迪（Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1828-1882）曾寫過一首"驀然想起"（Sudden Light），就是以"deja vu"為主題（附我的翻譯:尤克強）：

 

I have been here before, 我來過這裏
But when and how I cannot tell: 不知何時 為何而來
I know the grass beyond the door, 我記得門前綠草如茵
The sweet keen smell, 芬香撲鼻
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore. 風聲呢喃 岸邊的燈火點點

You have been mine before, 你曾經愛我
How long ago, I may not know: 不知在多久以前
But just when at that swallow's soar當燕子翩翩飛向天際
Your neck turned so, 你飄然回首
Some veil did fall-I knew it all of yore. 面紗垂落 這一幕我曾見過 (of yore 昔時)

Has this been thus before? 莫非往事循環？
And shall not thus time's eddying flights時光如漩渦流轉 (成逆流，迴旋)
Still with our lives our love restore我們能否再次相愛
In death's despite, 跨越死亡
And day and night yield delight once more? 讓前世的歡欣 在今生重現？
 
這首詩的作者但丁·加布里埃爾·羅塞迪是出生在倫敦的意大利人，也是一個傑出的畫家，在1848年曾組"前拉裴爾派兄弟會"（Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood），以反對形式主義的經院藝術而聞名。他的父親原是個在意大利頗有名氣的詩人，也是專門研究大師但丁（Alighieri Dante 1265-1321，創作"神曲"）的學者，於1821年因政治因素流亡到英國。他必定是因為崇拜那位與"荷馬"齊名的偉大但丁，所以把兒子取名做Dante。但丁還有位更著名的詩人妹妹（Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830-1894；我曾經介紹過她的兩首詩-"Song"和Remember"），而他的弟弟威廉（William Michael Rossetti, 1829-1919）也是當時知名的藝術評論家，真可謂「滿堂書香 一門人傑」。

但丁在1850年代初期遇見伊麗莎白·西德爾（Elizabeth Siddal），兩個人的關係斷斷續續，但終於在1860年結婚。伊麗莎白的身體不好，在1862年產下一名死嬰後自殺身亡。但丁把他所有的詩稿隨著妻子的屍體一同埋入地下，並且以伊麗莎白的形象創作（1863）了一幅名畫"Beata Beatrix"（大師但丁終生慕戀的女子名，"神曲"中的天使）。此後但丁離群索居，行為日益怪異，甚至在1869年掘地開棺，把以前埋葬的詩稿又再取出來。1870年代但丁對酒精和麻醉劑上癮，健康日益敗壞，孤獨而淒涼地死於1882年復活節（四月九日），才五十四歲。

但丁的畫作極為莊重肅穆（Dantesque），他的「詩如畫，畫似詩」（He was as pictorial a poet as he was poetic painter.），自然真誠，特別強調聲音、顏色和光線之間神秘朦朧的美感效果，有非常濃厚的「唯美主義」（aestheticism）色彩。他的代表詩作有《天女》（The Blessed Damozel, 1847）、《羅塞迪詩集》（Poems by D.G. Rossetti, 1870）等，其畫作讀者們如果有興趣可以從網路上看到，確實給人"畫中有詩"的感覺。

"驀然想起"這首詩做於1854年，應該是描述畫家詩人對伊麗莎白的戀慕之情。但是美麗的詩歌並不能保證幸福的人生，他們兩個人悲慘的命運讓後人唏噓不已。

 

•    The Tiger（William Blake, 1757-1827）老虎之歌

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright老虎！老虎！火光輝煌
In the forests of the night閃耀在黑夜的幽林叢莽
What immortal hand or eye是怎樣的天手和神眼
Could frame thy fearful symmetry才能造出你駭人的勻健

In what distant deeps or skies渺渺幽邃的蒼穹
Burnt the fire of thine eyes? 你眼中烈火熊熊
On what wings dare he aspire? 祂憑怎樣的翅膀敢淩空
What the hand dare seize the fire? 用怎樣的巨掌緊扣火種

And what shoulder, and what art, 什麼樣的臂 什麼樣的巧藝
Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 才能捏出你心臟的神力
And when thy heart began to beat, 一旦它開始搏跳
What dread hand and what dread feet? 多驚人的手 多驚人的腳

What the hammer? What the chain? 什麼樣的錘 什麼樣的鏈條
In what furnace was thy brain? 什麼樣的焚爐煉就你的腦
What the anvil? What dread grasp是怎樣的砧 要抓得多猛
Dare its deadly terrors clasp? 才壓得住那可怖的驚悚

When the stars threw down their spears, 當星星紛紛投下金槍
And water'd heaven with their tears, 銀淚灑滿了天堂
Did he smile His work to see? 造物主是否微笑地欣賞
Did He who made the lamb make thee? 祂造就老虎 也造就羔羊

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright老虎！老虎！火光輝煌
In the forests of the night閃耀在黑夜的幽林叢莽
What immortal hand or eye是怎樣的天手和神眼
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry才敢造出你駭人的勻健

我在從前的專欄中說過：雖然成年人學習英語的條件和兒童不同，但是「聲音是語言的靈魂」這個原理是一樣的。對兒童而言，「自然學習法」很好：什麼音標、文法都不必教，只需要塑造一個環境讓兒童在生活中自然地模仿。但是成年人已經無法負擔「自然學習法」所需要的大量時間，所以我主張成年人可以利用「音標」加速協助自己「正音」，然後利用「背誦」來強化〝articulation〞（發音清晰）。這樣就可以兼顧成年人「左腦」（利用音標分析聲音）和「右腦」（利用聲音記憶內容）的優勢了。至於背誦的材料，我個人特別推薦以英文詩歌為起步，因為散文嫌長，英文歌曲嫌慢，商務英語太正式，日常英語又太乏味。唯有押韻的詩歌有美感、有內容、有深度、又有智慧，「誦」之高低抑揚、充滿了學習的樂趣，確實一舉數得，十分適合成年人有限而必需善加利用的學習時間。

為了協助讀者們進入「背誦英語詩歌」的殿堂，我用心挑選了四首屬於「入門」級水準的名詩推薦給有心人學習，第一首是威廉布萊克（William Blake, 1757-1827）的老虎之歌〞（The Tiger）。根據美國哥倫比亞大學1992年的〝英語詩歌流行榜〞(Poems in Order of Popularity), "老虎之歌"赫然排名第一，足見此詩在英語世界中流傳之廣、受喜愛之深。

布萊克的詩歌在形式上打破了古典主義的呆板教條，用的是簡樸的語言和歌謠的節奏，但含有生動的意象和豐富的象徵，雖然同時代的人視他做瘋子，後世卻把他和彭斯（Robert Burns, 1750-1796）並奉為浪漫主義的先驅詩人。這首〝老虎之歌〞結構勻稱、語言簡潔、聲音鏗鏘，宛如鐵匠鍛冶，充滿了力和美(稱之為〝鐵砧節奏〞- anvil rhythm)。据考證，詩人用老虎來象徵歌頌法國大革命的力量，讀者在大聲朗誦這首詩的時候是否也能感受到詩人當年的激情與震懾？

 

•    The Tiger（William Blake, 1757-1827）老虎之歌

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright老虎！老虎！火光輝煌
In the forests of the night閃耀在黑夜的幽林叢莽
What immortal hand or eye是怎樣的天手和神眼
Could frame thy fearful symmetry才能造出你駭人的勻健

In what distant deeps or skies渺渺幽邃的蒼穹
Burnt the fire of thine eyes? 你眼中烈火熊熊
On what wings dare he aspire? 祂憑怎樣的翅膀敢淩空
What the hand dare seize the fire? 用怎樣的巨掌緊扣火種

And what shoulder, and what art, 什麼樣的臂 什麼樣的巧藝
Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 才能捏出你心臟的神力
And when thy heart began to beat, 一旦它開始搏跳
What dread hand and what dread feet? 多驚人的手 多驚人的腳

What the hammer? What the chain? 什麼樣的錘 什麼樣的鏈條
In what furnace was thy brain? 什麼樣的焚爐煉就你的腦
What the anvil? What dread grasp是怎樣的砧 要抓得多猛
Dare its deadly terrors clasp? 才壓得住那可怖的驚悚

When the stars threw down their spears, 當星星紛紛投下金槍
And water'd heaven with their tears, 銀淚灑滿了天堂
Did he smile His work to see? 造物主是否微笑地欣賞
Did He who made the lamb make thee? 祂造就老虎 也造就羔羊

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright老虎！老虎！火光輝煌
In the forests of the night閃耀在黑夜的幽林叢莽
What immortal hand or eye是怎樣的天手和神眼
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry才敢造出你駭人的勻健

我在從前的專欄中說過：雖然成年人學習英語的條件和兒童不同，但是「聲音是語言的靈魂」這個原理是一樣的。對兒童而言，「自然學習法」很好：什麼音標、文法都不必教，只需要塑造一個環境讓兒童在生活中自然地模仿。但是成年人已經無法負擔「自然學習法」所需要的大量時間，所以我主張成年人可以利用「音標」加速協助自己「正音」，然後利用「背誦」來強化〝articulation〞（發音清晰）。這樣就可以兼顧成年人「左腦」（利用音標分析聲音）和「右腦」（利用聲音記憶內容）的優勢了。至於背誦的材料，我個人特別推薦以英文詩歌為起步，因為散文嫌長，英文歌曲嫌慢，商務英語太正式，日常英語又太乏味。唯有押韻的詩歌有美感、有內容、有深度、又有智慧，「誦」之高低抑揚、充滿了學習的樂趣，確實一舉數得，十分適合成年人有限而必需善加利用的學習時間。

為了協助讀者們進入「背誦英語詩歌」的殿堂，我用心挑選了四首屬於「入門」級水準的名詩推薦給有心人學習，第一首是威廉布萊克（William Blake, 1757-1827）的老虎之歌〞（The Tiger）。根據美國哥倫比亞大學1992年的〝英語詩歌流行榜〞(Poems in Order of Popularity), "老虎之歌"赫然排名第一，足見此詩在英語世界中流傳之廣、受喜愛之深。

布萊克的詩歌在形式上打破了古典主義的呆板教條，用的是簡樸的語言和歌謠的節奏，但含有生動的意象和豐富的象徵，雖然同時代的人視他做瘋子，後世卻把他和彭斯（Robert Burns, 1750-1796）並奉為浪漫主義的先驅詩人。這首〝老虎之歌〞結構勻稱、語言簡潔、聲音鏗鏘，宛如鐵匠鍛冶，充滿了力和美(稱之為〝鐵砧節奏〞- anvil rhythm)。据考證，詩人用老虎來象徵歌頌法國大革命的力量，讀者在大聲朗誦這首詩的時候是否也能感受到詩人當年的激情與震懾？

 

When First My Way to Fair I Took

Alfred Edward Housman (1859-1936) 英國詩人霍詩曼

(A poem of 3 quatrains riming abab) 瞿立恆譯

 

When first my way to fair I took                             當我小時遊集市，

Few pence in purse had I,                                     手中僅有幾便士。

And long I used to stand and look                         心愛玩具買不起，

At things I could not buy.                                       攤旁徘徊立多時

 

Now times are altered: if I care                              如今情形已改變，

To buy a thing, I can;                                             買個月亮也有錢。

The pence are here and here’s the fair,                    攜款舊攤尋舊夢，

But where’s the lost young man?                            只惜心境殊當年度！

 

To think that two and two are four                          二加二只等於四，

And neither five nor three                                       既非三來亦非五。

The heart of man has long been sore                       畢竟此時非彼時，

And long ‘tis like to be.                                          心情天真不如故！

 

                                                                                                                    WHEN I WAS ONE-AND-TWENTY 當時年齡二十一

             A. E. Housman  霍斯曼 (1859-1963)

 

When I was one-and -twenty當時年齡二十一，        

I heard a wise man say, 有位智者對吾道：        

"Give crowns and pounds and guineas金銀財帛可拋棄，   

But not your heart away; 且莫把心也掏掉。      

Give pearls away and rubies真珠寶石可放棄，

But keep your fancy free." 想像力可要珍惜。

But I was one-and-twenty, 當時吾才二十一，

No use to talk to me. 對吾多言亦無益。

 

When I was one-and-twenty當時年齡二十一，

I heard him say again, 智者另又對吾道：

"The heart out of the bosom真情實意付出去，

Was never given in vain; 務使受者能珍惜。

'Tis paid with sighs aplenty否則代價是嘆息，

And sold for endless rue." 報酬是追悔無期。

And I am two-and-twenty, 吾今年齡二十二，

And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true. 方知所言確無訛。

 

In natural and light tones, the poet tells that the young may learn only by experience the sad truth that, if the advice is not taken, the heart is easily broken. At twenty-one, the poet scoffed at the wise man's warning not to give his heart away. But at twenty-two as he gres older, he had learned and become wiser.

詩人以一種自然，輕鬆的口吻敘述年青人只能從經驗中學到慘痛的真象(事實)﹔不接受忠告就容易心碎。詩人在21歲時嘲笑智者的警告叫他不要將心送掉。但是在他22歲，當年齡增長，他獲得了教訓並變得比以前睿智(聰明)。

 

A(lfred) E(dward) Housman (1859-1936) : English poet and classical scholar. Housman's favorite theme is that of the doomed youth acting out the tragedy of his brief life in a context of agricultural activity and against a specific English background. For him, nature is beautiful but indifferent and is to be enjoyed while we are still able to enjoy it. Love, friendship, and conviviality cannot last and may well result in betrayal or death, but should be relished while there is time.

霍斯曼(1859-1963)﹕英國詩人及古典文學學者。霍斯曼所喜愛的主題是命運註定的青年扮演涉及農業事務和反抗某特定英國背景有關的短暫人生的悲劇。對他而言，自然美麗而冷漠並且要給與人欣賞，在我們仍然能夠欣賞的時候。愛情，友誼，歡樂並不能持久，而且很可能便成背叛或死亡，然而當我們還有時間的時候，我們應該享受愛情，友誼，歡樂。

 

Housman's poems are usually bare and stark; they have no word decorations, no elaborately developed metaphors or figures of speech. In other words, they are concise and keenly to the point.

霍斯曼的詩通常是簡單而率直﹔他的詩沒有文字的修飾，沒有精心演譯的隱喻或辭藻。換言之，他的詩簡單而直接了當。

 

When You Are Old      當你年老時


When you are old and grey and full of sleep, 當你垂垂老矣 髮蒼蒼睡意昏昏
And nodding by the fire, take down this book, 在爐火邊小憩 請打開這本詩集
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look慢慢地翻閱 回想那些溫柔的眼神
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; 昔日的雙眸 籠罩著多少倒影深深

How many loved your moments of glad grace, 許多人貪戀你的青春風韻
And loved your beauty with love false or true, 為你的美麗釋出假意真心
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, 我卻深愛你至誠的靈魂
And loved the sorrows of your changing face, 愛你年老時憂傷的容顏

And bending down beside the glowing bars, 在熊熊爐火旁俯下身
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled感傷愛情已悄然遠去
And paced upon the mountains overhead徘徊在飄渺的高原上
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. 隱沒在閃爍的群星裏

When You Are Old

愛爾蘭詩人葉慈(William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939)生於都柏林(Dublin愛爾蘭首府)，父親是個畫家，家境並不充裕。他在家中說英語並信奉新教，但在倫敦上小學時受到同學的歧視和欺負，因此他對英國的感情愛恨夾雜：他痛恨英國對愛爾蘭的壓迫，又愛慕優美的英語文學和莎士比亞之流的大師。這樣的矛盾迫使他不斷地從愛爾蘭的本土去尋找靈感，然後再用英語包裝，以便發揮自己在詩歌方面的天賦。

葉慈在十八歲中學畢業後，曾進入藝術學院學了兩年繪畫，隨後發現自己志不在此，便放棄繪畫，專門從事詩歌的創作。他於1887遷往倫敦，結識了王爾德、蕭伯納等一批名人學者，並於1889年出版了第一本詩集，建立自己的聲名。葉慈的詩歌風格大致分為三個階段：青年時受到王爾德等"唯美派"文人的影響，並崇拜雪萊等"浪漫派"詩人，因此詩歌中顯示出逃避現實的虛幻和憂鬱，帶著古典的音樂性；三十三歲（1898年）訪問巴黎後，充分體會了法國象徵主義詩人的藝術表現技巧，乃走出唯美主義的象牙塔，開始創建自己的一套"象徵體系"，用愛爾蘭民族的文化傳統做材料，呈現堅實而明朗的詩風，此為第二階段；晚年時期的葉慈又將現實主義、神秘主義、玄學、歌謠等一齊揉入了他的象徵技巧，表達出深刻而獨特的意象，終於攀登上詩歌藝術的頂峰。1923年葉慈獲諾貝爾獎，以表彰他「以富於靈感的詩歌和精美的藝術形式表現愛爾蘭民族精神」的成就。

 

作為一個詩人，葉慈無疑是偉大而成功的，他源源不絕的靈感、追求完美的執著和不斷超越的勇氣，確實令世人折服欽嘆。但是詩人的愛情卻是複雜而難解的，葉慈於1889年在倫敦初遇茉德岡(Maud Gonne)時驚為天人，一見鍾情而終生不能自拔。"當你年老時"(When You Are Old)就是詩人於1891年10月為茉德岡德所做，充滿了唯美和浪漫： (尤克強譯)