重譯《格拉斯米爾日記》

春天來了！

門前草坪邊的常青樹下，忽然冒出了幾株黃水仙。

黃水仙不同於漳州水仙，它沒有嫵媚婀娜的姿態，卻挺拔堅韌，即使在早春寒冷的室外，它也成片地開放，隨風起舞，展示著絢麗的姿采。那晶瑩閃亮的鵝黃色，又讓我想起了故國的臘梅……

我對於黃水仙，有著特殊的情感。那是剛進大學不久，係裏舉辦翻譯比賽，拿到手的是一篇日記，題目叫“Daffodil”，當時隻知道是一種花，究竟長得怎麽樣，中國沒有，所以一無所知。

大概是美麗的黃水仙顯靈，我的譯文竟得了第一名。其實當時那篇短文對我來說非常陌生，作者和背景都一無所知。但是那優美的文筆和清新的語境深深打動了我，所以“黃水仙”就一直紮根在我腦子裏了。

由於自己的粗心加上幾次搬家、出國，《黃水仙》的原文和我的原始翻譯都遺失了，之後每每想起不禁歎息：黃水仙，你在哪裏？

終於有一天在加拿大見到了那隨風跳躍舞動的黃色小花了，一問花匠，果然是”Daffodil”!

感謝互聯網，讓我再一次讀到了《黃水仙》的原文。

提到《黃水仙》， 對英國文學比較熟悉的朋友一定會想起著名浪漫派詩人威廉·華茲華斯（William Wordsworth）最有名的同名詩，可我翻譯的短文和這首詩有什麽關係呢？

原來，這篇短文是詩人的妹妹Dorothy Wordsworth的一篇日記。Dorothy是一位日記作家、書信作家和詩人。她生前默默無聞，一方麵是由於長期被哥哥的光環所遮蓋，另一方麵她自己對成名毫無興趣。她說自己寫作隻是給哥哥一點樂趣“give Wm Pleasure by it”。而威廉在一首詩裏形容妹妹：“她不為人知地活著，也幾乎無人知她何時死去”。

Dorothy1855年去世，幾十年之後，當文學批評家開始研究女性在文學中的地位時，Dorothy才受到重視。1886年，Dorothy的傳記出版，而直到1897年Dorothy的作品集才出版，從此在文學史上，Dorothy終於獲得了獨立的地位。

《格拉斯米爾》是華茲華斯兄妹在湖邊“隱居”時Dorothy對日常生活的記錄和描述，而四月“15日”這天的記錄，正是哥哥創作《黃水仙》的靈感源泉。飲水不忘挖井人，今天我有機會重譯《格拉斯米爾日記》（30年過去了，今天的心境恐怕缺少了當年那一份水仙花搬的清純），並再次欣賞《黃水仙》， 讓我們一起領略詩人兄妹的文采：

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(節選）十五號星期四。

今天早上霧氣彌漫，有些令人害怕——但氣溫卻還溫和。早餐後我們離開尤斯米爾。

克拉克森太太和我們走了一小段就回去了。風刮得很猛，我們覺得非回去不可了。我們先在一個大船塢裏休息，然後又在克拉克森先生家對麵的荊豆叢下躲著。看見有人在田裏犁地，風吹得我們喘不過氣來，湖麵波浪翻滾。一隻孤零零的小船在瓦特米勒村旁的湖灣中央漂浮著。我們又在瓦特米勒小道上休息了一會兒。樹上的山楂青一片紫一片，白樺樹遠遠近近一片蔥綠，但樹梢上卻有不少紫色。我們側身轉入一塊田野中以避開幾頭牛——人們在勞動。路邊有幾簇報春花和秋海棠，銀蓮花，紫羅蘭，草莓和星星般的小黃花——C太太稱作為毛絨草。

當我們走進戈巴羅公園旁的小樹林時，我們看見水邊開著幾朵黃水仙。我們猜想是湖水把花籽帶到岸上，這花兒就像雨後春筍一樣冒了出來。我們走了幾步就發現黃水仙越來越多，最後在那些大樹枝下，沿著湖邊形成一長條的花帶，足足有鄉村大道那樣寬。我從來沒有見過這麽漂亮的水仙花，在長滿青苔的石頭周圍到處都是。一些花兒把頭靠在石頭上就像枕著枕頭在休息，其餘的則前後左右跳躍舞動著，好像是伴隨著湖麵上吹來的微風開懷大笑。這些花兒在不停地顧盼，不停地變換，看上去那樣的歡快。

風從湖上朝花兒迎麵吹來。它們這兒一群，那兒一簇地蔓延開來，還有幾朵孤零零地生長在高處，但這並不足以打擾那條繁忙的公路上的單調和一致。我們休息了好久。湖灣裏風浪還是很大，遠遠近近都能聽到浪濤聲，湖的中央卻像大海一樣。

下雨了，我們都淋濕了……

華茲華斯的《黃水仙》有許多不同的翻譯版本，但我總以為，詩歌是文學翻譯中最難以駕馭的頂峰，尤其是英譯中，一旦用中詩的格律來限製，原始的風味就完全喪失了，19世紀的英國詩歌最好用散文詩的形式來表現，不過郭沫若這樣的大師都訂了調調，我就不班門弄斧了。請欣賞：

 

黃水仙花

 郭沫若譯

 

獨行徐徐如浮雲，

橫絕太空渡山穀。

忽然在我一瞥中，

金色水仙花成簇。

開在湖邊喬木下，

微風之中頻搖曳。

 

有如群星在銀河，

形影綿綿光灼灼。

湖畔蜿蜒花徑長，

連成一線無斷續。

一瞥之中萬朵花，

起舞翩躚頭點啄。

 

湖中碧水起漣漪，

湖波踴躍無花樂--

詩人對此殊激昂，

獨在花中事幽躅！

凝眼看花又看花，

當時未解伊何福。

 

晚上枕上意悠然，

無慮無憂殊恍惚。

情景閃爍心眼中，

黃水仙花賦禪悅；

我心乃得溢歡愉，

同花共舞天上曲。

 

Excerpt from Dorothy Wordsworth's

Grasmere Journal, 15 April 1802

This excerpt taken from Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth: The Alfoxden Journal 1798, The Grasmere Journals 1800-1803, ed. Mary Moorman (New York: Oxford UP, 1971), 109-110.

Thursday 15th. It was a threatening misty morning—but mild. We set off after dinner from Eusemere.

Mrs Clarkson went a short way with us but turned back. The wind was furious and we thought we must have returned.

We first rested in the large Boat-house, then under a furze Bush opposite Mr Clarkson's. Saw the plough going in the field. The wind seized our breath the Lake was rough. There was a Boat by itself floating in the middle of the Bay below Water Millock. We rested again in the Water Millock Lane. The hawthorns are black and green, the birches here and there greenish but there is yet more of purple to be seen on the Twigs. We got over into a field to avoid some cows—people working, a few primroses by the roadside, woodsorrel flower, the anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, and that starry yellow flower which Mrs C. calls pile wort.

When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow park we saw a few daffodils close to the water side. We fancied that the lake had floated the seeds ashore and that the little colony had so sprung up. But as we went along there were more and yet more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road. I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake, they looked so gay ever glancing ever changing. This wind blew directly over the lake to them. There was here and there a little knot and a few stragglers a few yards higher up but they were so few as not to disturb the simplicity and unity and life of that one busy highway. We rested again and again. The Bays were stormy, and we heard the waves at different distances and in the middle of the water like the sea.

Rain came on—we were wet ……

 

 

The Daffodils

William Wordsworth

 

I wander’d lonely as a cloud  

  That floats on high o'er vales and hills,  

When all at once I saw a crowd,  

  A host, of golden daffodils;  

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,           

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.  

 

Continuous as the stars that shine  

  And twinkle on the Milky Way,  

They stretch'd in never-ending line  

  Along the margin of a bay:    

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,  

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.  

 

The waves beside them danced; but they  

  Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:  

A poet could not but be gay,   

  In such a jocund company:  

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought  

What wealth the show to me had brought:  

 

For oft, when on my couch I lie  

  In vacant or in pensive mood,    

They flash upon that inward eye  

  Which is the bliss of solitude;  

And then my heart with pleasure fills,  

And dances with the daffodils.

[吉普塞の魚～]

厲害呢