莎士比亞詩一首

原文：2011/06/29    修改：2013/09/22

前兩天字彙課提到的一首十四行詩。

李安導演的電影Sense and Sensibility，Marianne Dashwood與John Willoughby第二次見面時，兩人合力背誦這首詩，埋下男方為了現實背叛愛情的伏筆。

詩的重點很單純：什麼是真愛？什麼不是？

請容我很cynical地說一句：被歌頌的，往往是難立足於此濁世者。這首算是淺白的詩，卻因此而更令人動容。

Sonnet no. 116

By William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

¹Admit ²impediments. Love is not love

Which ³alters when it alteration finds,

Or ⁴bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ⁵ever-fixèd mark

That looks on ⁶tempests, and is never shaken;

It is the ⁷star to every ⁸wandering ⁹bark,

Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.

Love’s not ¹⁰Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending ¹¹sickle’s ¹²compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But ¹³bears it out ¹⁴ev’n to the ¹⁵edge of doom;

If this be error, and upon me proved,

I never ¹⁶writ, nor no man ever loved.

注釋：

1. admit: to allow scope for; permit 容許

2. impediment: a bar or a hindrance to a lawful marriage 阻礙合法婚姻的事物（例如：未成年）

3. alter: to become different 改變

4. bend: to become curved, crooked, or bent; to submit 屈從

5. ever: (used as an intensive 加強語氣). Fixèd: securely placed or fastened 牢牢固定住的; not subject to change 不變的. An ever-fixèd mark: 一說是指lighthouse 燈塔, 或說是指第七行的star（個人認為是第一義）

6. tempest: a furious storm 暴風雨

7. the star: the North Star; the Polestar 北極星; a directing principle 指導原則

8. wandering: deviating from a course; going astray 迷途的

9. bark: any small sailing ship 小船; a craft of any size or character that is propelled by sails or oars 任何大小、型制、風帆或槳划的船

10. Time: Father Time 時間老人 (time personified 擬人化的 as an old man who is bald, bearded, and holding a scythe 長柄鐮刀 and water jar or sometimes an hourglass 沙漏)

11. sickle: 鐮刀

12. compass: a circular course 圓形路徑; range 範圍

13. bear…out: tolerate…to the point of exhaustion or depletion 熬過，捱過

14. ev’n: even

15. the edge of doom: the last day of life; cf. 婚禮上常說: “till death do us part” 至死才分開

16. writ: wrote

演員朗讀：

http://youtu.be/hdlZVZW9wGQ

http://youtu.be/bt7OynPUIY8

雖然有些對不起莎翁，還是把他的詩句寫成一般敘述句吧：

Let me not admit impediments to the marriage of true minds.

Love {which alters when alteration finds it/when it finds alteration, or bends with the remover to remove} is not love.

Oh no! Love is an ever-fixèd mark that looks on tempests, and is never shaken.

It is the star to every wandering bark.

His worth is unknown, although his height can be taken.

Love is not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks come within Time’s bending sickle’s compass.

Love does not alter with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error, and proved upon me, I never wrote, and no man ever loved either.

以下的翻譯來自Ask.com

Marriage has no impediment. Love is not real if it alters when circumstances change or if one of the couple has to leave or be elsewhere. Love is constant. Even if the lovers face difficult or trying times, their love is not shaken if it is true love: “That looks on tempests and is never shaken.”

Love is the star that guides a lost boat.

The star’s worth cannot be calculated even though we can measure its height. Love does not change over time, but physical beauty will fade. (Comparison with the grim reaper’s scythe should be noted here – even death should not alter love.)

Love is unchanging through hours and weeks but lasts until the edge of doom. If I am wrong about this and it is proved, then all my writing and loving is for nothing and no man has ever really loved.