[摘要]本文扼要介绍朗费罗生平,赏析了他著名的短诗《我逝去的青春》。在诗中朗氏回忆了故乡波特兰市和在那里度过的少年时光,往事历历在目,梦萦魂绕的故乡旧时情景跃然纸上,诗人渴望自由与充满幻想的青春在脑际回荡;在青少年时代的梦想和愿望中找到了逝去的青春。本文除了将 英文 诗汉译外,还分析了英诗各小节的 艺术 特色。
[关键词] 朗费罗 逝去的青春 少年
亨利•沃兹沃斯•朗费罗 (henry wadsworth longfellow),1807年2月 22日生于美国缅因州波特兰市(portland)一个幸福的律师家庭,1882年3月24日卒于马萨诸塞州剑桥市(cambridge),是美国十九世纪最著名的浪漫主义诗人。伦敦威斯敏斯特教堂诗人之角安放了他的胸像,他是获得这种尊荣的第一位美国诗人。
1849年,已人到中年的诗人丧失了父亲,次年又失去了兄长,1851年母亲离世。1854年他辞去教授职位,专事文学创作。1846年诗人曾经重回故里,后来回忆说他曾漫步于曼乔伊山(munjoy’s hill),徜徉于海边的劳伦斯堡垒(fort lawrence),他匍匐在一个射击孔上,聆听着脚下波涛轻轻拍打着海岸的声音。在这风和日丽的下午,港湾里片片白帆来往穿梭。诗人沉浸在这座古堡里,有意要把故乡写进诗里,因无人曾经写过,但是这愿望直到1855年3月29日在剑桥镇的家中才实现。他在日记中写到“一天的辛劳,围在火旁;入夜后,当我躺在床上,一首记忆中的波特兰—我的故乡—一座美丽的海滨城市的诗涌现于脑际。”诗中48岁的诗人回忆了波特兰和在那里度过的少年时光,往事历历在目,梦萦魂绕的故乡旧时情景跃然纸上,诗人渴望自由与充满幻想的青春在脑际回荡。在青少年时代的梦想和愿望中找到了逝去的青春。该诗最早发表于1855年8月的《匍南月刊》(putnam’s monthly magazine)第六期,后来又收录并重发表于《迈尔斯•斯坦狄什的求婚》(the courtship of miles standish, 1858)。
全诗共有十节,每节有九行,诗歌押韵工整,韵式为abaabcdde,充满了乐感,读来朗朗上口;每节诗以一首拉普兰歌曲中的副歌结尾“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长”,更突出强调了青少年时代的诗人对生活和未来充满憧憬与幻想、渴望无拘无束、毫无羁绊的自由。正如他所说的那样,诗歌的目的就是要给人以快感和美感,要创造一个超越现实生活的理想世界。
在《我逝去的青春》中,诗人达到了这个目标。以下是该诗的英诗全文,笔者把它翻译成中文,并进行逐节赏析,以飨读者。
my lost youth《我逝去的青春》
often i think of the beautiful town那美丽的小城常让我怀想
that is seated by the sea;它就座落在大海边上;
often in thought go up and down多少次,我神游于故乡
the pleasant streets of that dear old town,那些可爱的街衢,
and my youth comes back to me.俨然又回到了年少的时光。
and a verse of a lapland song那首拉普兰歌曲的诗句,
is haunting my memory still:一直在我记忆里回荡:
“a boy’s will is the wind’s will,“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,
and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
【评注】在首节中,诗人告诉读者故土难忘,那里曾留下青春的足迹,浓浓的乡情时常萦绕心扉。最后两行叠句是诗人把john scheffer的《拉普兰的 历史 》(the history of laplan,1674)中的诗句改编过来:“a youth’s desire is the desire of the wind,/all his essaies/are long delaies,/no issue can they find(青年的愿望就是风的愿望,他所有的愿望被长久拖延,总难实现)。”改编之后仍然沿用该隐喻或暗喻(metaphor),但是增加了首字母韵(alliteration)“w”,更富有乐感。
i can see the shadowy lines of its trees,
我望见排排葱茏的树木,
and catch, in sudden gleams,
还瞥见了远处环抱的海洋,
the sheen of the far-surrounding seas,
发出的闪闪波光,
and islands that were the hesperides
那些岛屿,就像是极乐仙境,
of all my boyish dreams.
增添我多少童年梦想!
and the burden of that old song,
那首古老歌曲的复调
it murmurs and whispers still:
依旧在耳边喃喃吟唱:
“a boy’s will is the wind’s will,
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,
and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
【评注】本节书写了诗人少年时记忆中的故乡风景,表现诗人充满浪漫幻想。“极乐仙境”(the hesperides)是希腊神话中,吃后能使人长生不老的金苹果生长的地方。第七行中“it murmurs and whispers still”是拟人修辞手法,“it”指上一行中的 “the burden of that old song”。
i remember the black wharves and the slips,
我记得乌黑的码头和船台,and the sea-tides tossing free;
海上恣意奔腾的波浪;
and spanish sailors with bearded lips,
满嘴胡须的西班牙水手,
and the beauty and mystery of the ships,
一艘艘船舶的壮丽与神奇,
and the magic of the sea.
茫茫大海迷人的魔力。
and the voice of that wayward song
那萦回不去的执拗歌声
is singing and saying still:
仍然在又讲又唱:
“a boy’s will is the wind’s will,
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,
and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
【评注】该节反映了波特兰作为国际海港的一面,轮船与大海在少年诗人稚嫩的心灵里充满神奇与磁力。第六至七行中“the voice of that wayward song/ is singing and saying still”
是拟人修辞手法。
i remember the bulwarks by the shore,
我记得岸边的防御工事,
and the fort upon the hill;
记得山头耸立的碉楼;
the sunrise gun, with its hollow roar,
朝阳的大炮隆隆怒吼,
the drum-beat repeated o'er and o'er,
鼙鼓喧天响不休,
and the bugle wild and shrill.
号角激昂锐利地吹奏。
and the music of that old song
那首老歌的悠扬曲调
throbs in my memory still:
依然跳动在我的心头:
“a boy’s will is the wind’s will,
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,
and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
【评注】在历史上波特兰曾几经战火洗礼,在1812-1815年的英美战争中,1813年在该市附近海域,美国的“ 企业 ”号与英国的“拳击师”号战舰发生激战,双方舰长均阵亡,后并排葬于曼乔伊山公墓;该市至今仍存有战场部分遗迹。后一节里的海战就指本次战役。第六至七行中“the music of that old song / throbs in my memory still”采用了拟人修辞手法。
i remember the sea-fight far away,
我记得那次远处的海战,
how it thundered o’er the tide!
炮声在滚滚海浪上震荡;
and the dead captains, as they lay
两位牺牲的舰长,在墓中安躺,
in their graves, o’erlooking the tranquil bay,
俯看着宁静的海湾where they in battle died.
那就是他们战死的沙场。
and the sound of that mournful song
那哀怨的歌声,
goes through me with a thrill:
震颤我的心房: “a boy’s will is the wind’s will,
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,
and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
i can see the breezy dome of groves,
我看见微风里摇曳的树林,
the shadows of deering’s woods;
熟悉的婆娑树影;
and the friendships old and the early loves
旧日的友谊,早年的恋情come back with a sabbath sound, as of doves
以安适的声音回到我心灵,
in quiet neighborhoods.
宛如幽静邻里的鸽鸣。
and the verse of that sweet old song,
那老歌的甜美诗句
it flutters and murmurs still:
依稀在颤动和低语不停:
“a boy’s will is the wind’s will,
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,
and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
【评注】“deering’s woods” 是波特兰市的一处森林公园名称,诗人青少年时代曾常去那里玩耍,因此笔者把它意译为“熟悉的”。“sabbath”?本指“安息日或主日”,此处为借代或转喻(metonymy),意指“安祥、宁静”。“and the friendships old and the early loves /come back…as of doves/ in …”中的 “as of doves”是“半明喻(semi-simile),”为“友爱、如影随形、难舍难分”之意。第六至七行中“the verse of that sweet old song, / it flutters and murmurs still ”采用了拟人修辞手法。
i remember the gleams and glooms that dart
我记得丝丝的亮光和暗影across the school-boy’s brain;
闪过我稚嫩的心灵;
the song and the silence in the heart,
心底蕴藏的歌声和寂静,
that in part are prophecies, and in part
有几分是预言,还有几分are longings wild and vain.
是狂热而又虚幻的渴望。
and the voice of that fitful song
听啊,那起伏不定的歌声
sings on, and is never still:
继续唱着,总不平静:
“a boy’s will is the wind’s will,
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,
and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
【评注】第一行中的“gleams and glooms”该两词既押首韵又押尾韵,语义形成对照,意为“高兴和沮丧”。第三行中两个“part”和“prophecies”形成首字母韵(“p”)。第六至七行中“the voice of that fitful song,/sings on,…”用了拟人修辞手法。
there are things of which i may not speak;
有一些情景我不能倾诉;
there are dreams that cannot die;
有一些梦想永不会泯灭;
there are thoughts that make the strong heart weak,
有一些心思,使坚强心灵疲弱,
and bring a pallor into the cheek,
使脸色苍白,and a mist before the eye.
使眼睛如临薄雾。
and the words of that fatal song
那句不祥的歌词好像
come over me like a chill:
一个寒颤袭过全身:“a boy’s will is the wind’s will,
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,
and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
【评注】第五行中的 “mist before the eye(眼前的薄雾)”是隐喻,暗指哭泣或伤心的泪水。第七行中的“like a chill”是明喻,把“the words of that fatal song(那句不祥的歌词)”比作“(chill)寒颤”。
strange to me now are the forms i meet
当重返我亲爱的古城,when i visit the dear old town;
眼前的景象已这般陌生;
but the native air is pure and sweet,
但故乡的空气甘美而纯净,
and the trees that o’ershadow each well-known street,
熟识的街衢洒满了树影,as they balance up and down,
树木轻盈摇曳,
are singing the beautiful song,
正在唱着那美妙的歌声,
are sighing and whispering still:
正在低声叹息和耳语:“a boy’s will is the wind’s will,
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,
and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
【评注】第四至七行中“the trees…/are singing…,/ are sighing and whispering”是拟人修辞手法。
and deering’s woods are fresh and fair,
故乡的森林清新而秀丽;
and with joy that is almost pain
怀着近乎痛苦的欢喜,
my heart goes back to wander there,
我的心在那游历;
and among the dreams of the days that were,
在重温的缤纷旧梦里,i find my lost youth again.
我又觅回逝去的青春。
and the strange and beautiful song,
树林还在吟唱
the groves are repeating it still:
那奇异而又迷人的歌声:
“a boy’s will is the wind’s will,
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长。”
【评注】第二行中 “…joy that is almost pain”采用了“矛盾修饰法(paradox)”,第六至七行中“the strange and beautiful song,/the groves are repeating it still ”采用了拟人修辞手法。
“少年的愿望就是风的愿望,青春的遐想是多么悠长悠长”在诗中被重复了十次,那风的愿望究竟是什么?在世界各地的风都应有这样的共性吧:任意性,来无影去无踪,无人能挡,无人能捕捉。青春——一个火辣辣的字眼;青春年少,激情有余,理性不足,常如脱缰的野马,与风的本性不也有惊人的相似吗?古今中外的青春不就是这样!
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