约翰·济慈(John Keats,1795—1821年),英国19世纪浪漫主义的重要诗人。他的诗歌富有丰富的想象,绚丽多彩,诗中有画,色彩鲜明。他写出了许多脍炙人口的名篇,如长诗《伊莎贝拉》和抒情诗《希腊古瓮颂》,《夜莺颂》,《秋颂》等,奠定了他在英国文学史上的重要地位。
Season of mists and mellow① fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun,
Conspiring② with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump③ the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy④ cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary⑤ floor,
Thy hair sort-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
Dows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath⑥ and all its twined flowers.
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings⑦ hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a waiful choir⑧ the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows⑨, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles form a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.
① mellowadj. (水果)成熟的,甘美多汁的;(土壤)肥沃的,松软的
② conspirevi. 同谋,密谋;协力,共同促成
③ plumpvt. 使丰满;使鼓起 adj. 丰满的;胖嘟嘟的
④ clammyadj. 发粘的;湿冷的;冷漠的;冷淡的
⑤ granaryn. 谷仓,粮仓;盛产粮食的地区
⑥ swathn. 割刈的带状地;一刈幅的草(或麦)
⑦ oozevi. 渗出;冒出;分泌出;渗出水分
⑧ choirn. 歌唱队,合唱团;舞蹈队;歌舞团
⑨ sallown. 阔叶柳,黄华柳;柳枝,柳条
秋颂
雾气洋溢、果实圆熟的秋,
你和成熟的太阳成为友伴;
你们密谋用累累的珠球,
缀满茅屋檐下的葡萄藤蔓;
使屋前的老树背负着苹果,
让熟味透进果实的心中,
使葫芦胀大,鼓起了榛子壳,
好塞进甜核;又为了蜜蜂
一次一次开放过迟的花朵,
使它们以为日子将永远暖和,
因为夏季早填满它们的粘巢。
谁不经常看见你伴着谷仓?
在田野里也可以把你找到,
你有时随意坐在打麦场上,
让发丝随着簸谷的风轻飘;
有时候,为罂粟花香所沉迷,
你倒卧在收割一半的田垄,
让镰刀歇在下一畦的花旁;
或者,像拾穗人越过小溪,
你昂首背着谷袋,投下倒影,
或者就在榨果架下坐几点钟,
你耐心地瞧着徐徐滴下的酒浆。
啊!春日的歌哪里去了?但不要
想这些吧,你也有你的音乐——
当波状的云把将逝的一天映照,
以胭红抹上残梗散碎的田野,
这时啊,河柳下的一群小飞虫
就同奏哀音,它们忽而飞高,
忽而下落,随着微风的起灭;
篱下的蟋蟀在歌唱,在园中
红胸的知更鸟就群起呼哨;
而群羊在山圈里高声默默咩叫;
丛飞的燕子在天空呢喃不歇。
这首诗形象生动地描绘出一幅初秋的美景,让人感受到秋的成熟和秋的气息。在诗的开篇就点出了秋的实质——成熟,诗人由此展开想象,描绘了湛蓝的晴空,挂着藤蔓的屋檐,房前的老树和成熟的田野。诗人重点给我们描写了秋天成熟的果实:紫色的葡萄,鲜红的苹果,金黄的葫芦,黑褐的榛子,伴随着欢唱的蜜蜂和迟开的花朵,给我们勾勒出一幅绚丽多彩的初秋美景。