1.-- O, my Love is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my Love is like the melodie,
That's sweetly played in tune.
——A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns (1759-1796)
在愛(ài)情詩(shī)句里,彭斯的這首《一朵紅紅的玫瑰》總能贏得一席之位。在詩(shī)人眼中,"愛(ài)人就是六月初綻的玫瑰,火紅斗妍;又是一支奏起的曲子,美麗悠揚(yáng)"。
2.-- Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
——from Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
或許我可用夏日將你作比方,
但你比夏日更可愛(ài)也更溫良。
莎士比亞這首十四行詩(shī)恐怕對(duì)多數(shù)人來(lái)說(shuō)并不陌生,把愛(ài)人比作濃濃的夏日突顯了愛(ài)人的多情。對(duì)多雨霧天氣的英國(guó)來(lái)說(shuō),"心愛(ài)之人如同夏日般令人愜意",實(shí)在是再貼切不過(guò)的比喻了,夏季溫暖而不炎熱,是一年中最宜人的季節(jié)。
3.-- Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
——from Song to Celia by Ben Jonson (1573-1637)
"詩(shī)人祈求情人只用目光向他祝酒,他也會(huì)回報(bào)脈脈含情的目光"。真情無(wú)多話語(yǔ),眉目已傳情。情人在杯中留下一吻,勝過(guò)美酒千杯。作者本·瓊森與莎士比亞同時(shí)代,這首《致西莉亞》是一首膾炙人口的抒情詩(shī)。以間接委婉的筆法描繪了情人的眉目顧盼和醉人的吻。
4.-- With thee conversing I forget all time,
All seasons and their change, all please alike.
——from Paradise Lost by John Milton (1608-1674)
"與亞當(dāng)說(shuō)話,能讓夏娃忘記時(shí)間、季節(jié)輪轉(zhuǎn)與變化",或許,在常人眼中,人世間最純樸的愛(ài)情表白就是這句了。彌爾頓的《失樂(lè)園》是英國(guó)文學(xué)史上最偉大的一部史詩(shī),運(yùn)用了大量典故和比喻。但是描述愛(ài)情的這句簡(jiǎn)潔明了,通俗易懂。
5.-- Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one another's being mingle:-
Why not I with thine?
——from Love's Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
在雪萊這首《愛(ài)的哲學(xué)》里,詩(shī)人站在哲人的角度寓教戀人,展開(kāi)求愛(ài)攻勢(shì)。"在神圣的自然法規(guī)里,世間萬(wàn)物從不孤零零存在,它們都必然容于一體,為什么你我卻要例外?"