The Daffodils

4.The Daffodils

William Wordsworth

I wandered 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,
Flutteringand dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightlydance.

The waves beside them danced;but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocundcompany;
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 pensivemood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the blissof solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

【注释】

①flutter:使飘动,挥动。

②sprightly:精力充沛的,精神矍铄的。

③but they/Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:但是水仙的舞姿比闪烁的波浪还要欢快。glee:欢喜,高兴。

④jocund:欢乐的,快活的,高兴的。

⑤pensive:沉思的,忧伤的。

⑥inward eye:心灵。

⑦bliss:极乐,喜悦。

【简介与赏析】

威廉·华兹华斯(William Wordsworth,1770—1850),英国著名的浪漫派诗人,与柯勒律治(Samuel Taylor Coleridge)、骚塞(Robert Southey)合称“湖畔派诗人”。

《水仙》写于1804年,发表于1807年。1802年4月15日诗人和他的妹妹一起出游,路上见到了一大片金灿灿的水仙,欢快、美丽、无忧无虑的水仙在微风中翩翩起舞。大自然的美景给他留下了难忘的印象。每当他感到神思恍惚、孤独寂寞之时,那金水仙就会在他脑海中跳跃,并且使他变得满怀欢愉,伴随水仙翩翩起舞。

作为浪漫主义诗歌,《水仙》充满了对大自然的热爱。一开始,诗人将自己比喻为一片孤独的云霞,在高高的天空飘荡,这象征着诗人想要融入自然、自由自在翱翔蓝天的美好愿望。而翩翩起舞的花朵、漫无边际的星河、波光粼粼的湖面以及微风等意象更折射出大自然的美丽和诗人无忧无虑的情怀。在诗中,诗人的心灵和自然景象融合,表面上在咏水仙,实际上是诗人个人思想的抒发和情感的外化。

本诗由四个六行诗节(sestet)组成,每节韵脚为ababcc。

【译文欣赏】

水 仙

威廉·华兹华斯

孙梁 译

独自漫游似浮云,
青山翠谷上飘荡;
一刹那瞥见一丛丛,
一簇簇水仙金黄;
树荫下,明湖边,
和风吹拂舞翩跹。

仿佛群星璀璨,
沿银河闪霎晶莹;
一湾碧波边缘,
绵延,望不尽;
只见万千无穷,
随风偃仰舞兴浓。

花边波光潋滟,
怎比得繁花似锦;
面对如此良伴,
诗人怎不欢欣!
凝视,凝视,流连不止;
殊不知引起悠悠情思:

兀自倚塌憩息,
岑寂,悠然冥想;
蓦地花影闪心扉,
独处方能神往;
衷心喜悦洋溢,
伴水仙,舞不息。

【讨论题】

1.What is the symbolic meaning of Daffodils?

2.In the poem,the poet/speaker is personified as a cloud and the daffodils as dancers.What’s the importance of this rhetorical application?

3.What does“wandered”mean in the sentence“I wandered lonely as a cloud”?