(Untitled)➀
Wordsworth
Not Love,not War,nor the tumultuous swell
Of civil conflict,nor the wrecks of change,
Nor Duty struggling with afflictions strange—
Not these alone inspire the tuneful shell;
But where untroubled peace and concord dwell,
There also is the Muse not loth to range➁,
Watching the twilight smoke of cot or grange,
Skyward ascending from a woody dell.
Meek aspirations please her,lone endeavour,
And sage content,and placid melancholy➂;
She loves to gaze upon a crystal river—
Diaphanous because it travels slowly;
Soft is the music that would charm for ever;
The flower of sweetest smell is shy and lowly.
1823.
➀这首诗的大意是:诗人不要只唱激越奔放的调子,宁静婉约、温柔敦厚的歌曲才有永久的魅力。其实,作者本人中年以前也不乏雄健豪宕之作(例如《献给民族独立和自由的诗》中的若干篇什);而这首诗则是他中年以后(53岁)发表的,大约是由于年事渐高,英锐之气日减,沉静淡泊的一面愈来愈占上风。
➁缪斯,希腊神话中主管诗歌、音乐和艺术的女神。上文第4行的“诗琴”即竖琴,是缪斯手中的乐器。下文第9行、第11行的“她”都是指缪斯。
➂“明智知足”、“志趣恬淡”、“寂寞勤苦”、“沉郁安详”等语,基本上是作者的自画像。作者认为,诗人的形象应当如此,缪斯所瞩望于诗人者也是如此。
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