To——,in Her Seventieth Year➀
Wordsworth
Such age how beautiful! O Lady bright,
Whose mortal lineaments seem all refined
By favouring Nature and a saintly Mind
To something purer and more exquisite
Than flesh and blood;whene’er thou meet’st my sight,
When I behold thy blanched unwithered cheek,
Thy temples fringed with locks of gleaming white,
And head that droops because the soul is meek,
Thee with the welcome Snowdrop I compare;
That child of winter,prompting thoughts that climb
From desolation toward the genial prime➁;
Or with the Moon conquering earth’s misty air,
And filling more and more with crystal light
As pensive Evening deepens into night.
➀歌咏一位七十高龄的妇人,而且赞颂她的美(包括内心美和外形美),不能矫饰失真,不能违心悖理,这是一个颇为棘手的题材。华兹华斯这首十四行诗,字斟句酌,巧譬善喻,句句写她的美,而又句句暗示她的老年(白发、寒冬、夜色等等),基本上可算写得恰到好处。据作者原注,这位女士是菲茨杰拉德夫人。
➁雪花莲于冬末春初开白色小花。
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