浅析诗歌翻译“三美”

浅析诗歌翻译“三美”

[摘要]许渊冲教授是汉语古体诗英译的大家，他提出了译诗的“三美”翻译理论，主张从意、音、形三个层面上尽量保持和传递原诗的神韵。“三美论”对诗歌翻译理论做出了非常重大的贡献。本文以许先生宋译本中欧阳修的《采桑子》《蝶恋花》《生查子》为代表来体会“三美”论。

[关键词]欧阳修词英译三美

《采桑子》是欧阳修写景的一首词。“西湖好”是欧阳修十首《采桑子》所要表现的共同主题。先引用此诗如下：“画船载酒西湖好，/急管繁弦。/玉盏催传。/稳泛平波任醉眠。/行云却在行舟下，/空水澄鲜。/俯仰留连。/疑是湖中别有天。”此诗译文如下：

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.

且看原词，它描述了一幅乘坐游船，口饮美酒，荡漾于湖光山色之间的惬意美景。上片写饮酒游湖之乐，下片写醉后观湖之乐。俯视湖水、白云朵朵、飘于船下。船在移动，云也在移动，似乎人和船在天上飘飞。文中“急管繁弦”，这一“急”一“繁”，将音乐欢快，热烈的气氛和节奏渲染出来了。“玉盏催传”的“催”字形象地传达出了主人、客人亲密无间，开怀畅饮的情态。

《生查子》词的上片写“去年元夜”情事，下片写“今年元夜”情景，月与灯“依旧”，却“不见去年人”，突出一种物是人非的伤感之情。引文如下：“去年元夜时，花市灯如昼。/月上柳梢头，人约黄昏后。/今年元夜时，月与灯依旧。/不见去年

人，泪满春衫袖。”此诗译文如下：

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.

比较一下原文和译文，不难看出“night”和“daylight”“tree”和“me”“night”和“bright”“year”和“tear”压韵。整首诗读起来节奏感强、琅琅上口，便于记忆。这一点正体现了“三美”中的音美。其次，此词上片写“去年元夜”情事，诗中用“花市灯如昼”来描写当时热闹场景，译文中用“lunar festival night”来译“元夜时”极其恰当地传达出了原文的意思。

欧阳修的词《蝶恋花》是描写一位深闺思妇其薄幸郎出外寻花问柳独守空房时的悲苦。现引原诗如下：“庭院深深深几许？/杨柳堆烟，帘幕无重数。/玉勒雕鞍游冶处，楼高不见章台路。/雨横风狂三月暮，门掩黄昏，无计留春住。/泪眼问花花不语，乱红飞过秋千去。”此诗译文如下：

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.

原诗首句用了三个“深”字，突出庭院愈深，闺人愁苦愈深，译文用了三个“deep”来传达原意，并且有加强语气作用。在忠实与原文的基础上，体现了形美。原诗一个“堆”字更加突出了庭院之深，而译文用了“heap on heap”，此处在忠实与原文的基础上体现了音美。因此，此处传达了原诗的形美。再看诗中第三句和后面的“泪眼问花花不语，乱红飞过千秋去”的英译：

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.

可看出译文保存了原词长短句的“形美”，原词“门掩黄昏”、“无计留春住”两句，只有四、五个音节，译文用了六个音节。

通过对这三首词的分析，我们深深体会到了这位译坛专家在翻译过程中追求“三美”的孜孜不倦精神。许先生的诸多译作和“三美”不仅给我们提供了学习鉴赏机会，而且对我们年轻的翻译人员树立榜样并具有极大的鼓舞作用。

参考文献

[1]朱孝臧.宋词三百首[M].北京：中国文史出版社，2002.