书城外语那些年那些诗
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第15章 When You Are Old

William Butler Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire,take down this book,

And slowly read,and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once,and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur,a little sadly,how love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

当你老了

威廉·巴特勒·叶芝

当你老了,头发灰白,睡思昏沉,

炉火旁打盹,请取下这部诗歌,

慢慢读,回想你过去眼神中的柔和

回想它们过去的浓重的阴影;

多少人爱你优雅欢畅的时候

爱慕你的美貌,不论出于假意或真心,

只有一个人爱你那坚贞的灵魂,

爱你老去的容颜上那痛苦的皱纹。

躬身在红光闪耀的炉火旁,

凄然地低语,爱为何消逝,

在头顶的山上他缓缓踱着步子,

将脸隐没在了群星之中。

背景知识

威廉·巴特勒·叶芝(William Butler Yeats),爱尔兰诗人、剧作家,著名的神秘主义者。叶芝是“爱尔兰文艺复兴运动”的领袖。叶芝早年的诗作通常从爱尔兰神话和民间传说中取材,其语言风格则受到拉斐尔前派散文的影响,他曾被誉为“当代最伟大的诗人”。

1889年1月30日,23岁的叶芝遇见了美丽的女演员茅德·冈。诗人对她一见钟情,诗人对她的强烈爱慕之情给诗人带来了无穷的灵感,此后诗人创作了许多有关这方面的诗歌。《当你老了》就是其中一首。当时的叶芝还是一名穷学生,对爱情充满希望,对于感伤还只是一种假设和隐隐的感觉。因而这首诗没有跌宕起伏的激动和宣泄,只有朴素的语言、舒缓的调子、淡淡的感伤,娓娓道来的平静倾诉,让人感到异常亲切与温馨。据说水木年华的《一生有你》就是由这首诗的灵感而来:“多少人曾爱慕你年轻时的容颜,可知谁愿承受岁月无情的变迁,多少人曾在你生命中来了又还,可知一生有你我都陪在你身边。”

单词注解

nod [nCd] 打盹,打瞌睡

shadow [5FAdEu] 影子,阴影

pilgrim [5pil^rim] 香客,朝圣者

amid [E5mid] 在……之间;在……之中

名句诵读

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,And nodding by the fire,take down this book,And slowly read,and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once,and of their shadows deep;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,Murmur,a little sadly,how love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.