[摘 要]許淵沖教授是漢語古體詩英譯的大家,他提出了譯詩的“三美”翻譯理論,主張從意、音、形三個層面上盡量保持和傳遞原詩的神韻?!叭勒摗睂υ姼璺g理論做出了非常重大的貢獻。本文以許先生宋譯本中歐陽修的《采桑子》《蝶戀花》《生查子》為代表來體會“三美”論。
[關(guān)鍵詞]歐陽修詞 英譯 三美
《采桑子》是歐陽修寫景的一首詞?!拔骱谩笔菤W陽修十首《采桑子》所要表現(xiàn)的共同主題。先引用此詩如下:“畫船載酒西湖好,/急管繁弦。/玉盞催傳。/穩(wěn)泛平波任醉眠。/行云卻在行舟下,/空水澄鮮。/俯仰留連。/疑是湖中別有天?!贝嗽娮g文如下:
Song of Picking Mulberries
West lake is fine for us in painted boat loaded with wine
From pipes and strings comes music fast;
From hand to hand jade cup soon passed,
Secure on calming waves, drunk we lie,
Fleeting clouds seem to float beneath our moving boat
The sky seems near to water clear
Looking up and below; away we will not go
It seems there’s in the lake another sky.
且看原詞,它描述了一幅乘坐游船,口飲美酒,蕩漾于湖光山色之間的愜意美景。上片寫飲酒游湖之樂,下片寫醉后觀湖之樂。俯視湖水、白云朵朵、飄于船下。船在移動,云也在移動,似乎人和船在天上飄飛。文中“急管繁弦”,這一“急”一“繁”,將音樂歡快,熱烈的氣氛和節(jié)奏渲染出來了。“玉盞催傳”的“催”字形象地傳達出了主人、客人親密無間,開懷暢飲的情態(tài)。
《生查子》詞的上片寫“去年元夜”情事,下片寫“今年元夜”情景,月與燈“依舊”,卻“不見去年人”,突出一種物是人非的傷感之情。引文如下:“去年元夜時,花市燈如晝。/月上柳梢頭,人約黃昏后。/今年元夜時,月與燈依舊。/不見去年人,淚滿春衫袖?!贝嗽娮g文如下:
TUNE: SONG OF HAWTHORN
Ou Yangxiu
Last year on lunar festive night
Lanterns’mid blooms shone as daylight
The moon rose atop willow tree
My lover ha a tryst with me
Last year on lunar festive night
Moon and laterns still shine as bright
But where’s my lover of last year?
My sleeves are wet with tear on tear.
比較一下原文和譯文,不難看出“night”和“daylight”“tree”和“me”“night”和“bright”“year”和“tear”壓韻。整首詩讀起來節(jié)奏感強、瑯瑯上口,便于記憶。這一點正體現(xiàn)了“三美”中的音美。其次,此詞上片寫“去年元夜”情事,詩中用“花市燈如晝”來描寫當時熱鬧場景,譯文中用“l(fā)unar festival night”來譯“元夜時”極其恰當?shù)貍鬟_出了原文的意思。
歐陽修的詞《蝶戀花》是描寫一位深閨思婦其薄幸郎出外尋花問柳獨守空房時的悲苦。現(xiàn)引原詩如下:“庭院深深深幾許?/楊柳堆煙,簾幕無重數(shù)。/玉勒雕鞍游冶處,樓高不見章臺路。/雨橫風狂三月暮,門掩黃昏,無計留春住。/淚眼問花花不語,亂紅飛過秋千去?!贝嗽娮g文如下:
TUNE: Butterflies in love with flowers
Deep, deep the courtyard where he is,
so deep it’s veiled by smokelike willows heap on heap,
by curtain on curtain and screen on screen.
Leaving his saddle and bridle, there he has been merrymaking.
From my tower his trace can’t be seen.
The third month now, the wind and rain are raging late;
At dusk I bar the gate,
But I can’t bar in spring
My tearful eyes ask flowers, but they fail to bring an answer
I see red blooms fly over the swing.
原詩首句用了三個“深”字,突出庭院愈深,閨人愁苦愈深,譯文用了三個“deep”來傳達原意,并且有加強語氣作用。在忠實與原文的基礎上,體現(xiàn)了形美。原詩一個“堆”字更加突出了庭院之深,而譯文用了“heap on heap”,此處在忠實與原文的基礎上體現(xiàn)了音美。因此,此處傳達了原詩的形美。再看詩中第三句和后面的“淚眼問花花不語,亂紅飛過千秋去”的英譯:
The third month now, the wind and rain are raging late
At dusk I bar the gate,
But I can’t bar in spring.
My tearful eyes ask flower but they fail to bring
An answer. I see blossoms fall beyond the swing.
可看出譯文保存了原詞長短句的“形美”,原詞“門掩黃昏”、“無計留春住”兩句,只有四、五個音節(jié),譯文用了六個音節(jié)。
通過對這三首詞的分析,我們深深體會到了這位譯壇專家在翻譯過程中追求“三美”的孜孜不倦精神。許先生的諸多譯作和“三美”不僅給我們提供了學習鑒賞機會,而且對我們年輕的翻譯人員樹立榜樣并具有極大的鼓舞作用。
參考文獻
[1]朱孝臧.宋詞三百首[M].北京:中國文史出版社,2002.