Sonnet 73

That time of year thou mayst in me behold

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

In me thou see’st the twilight of such day

As after sunset fadeth in the west;

Which by and by black night doth take away,

Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.

In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire,

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

As the death-bed whereon it must expire

Consum’d with that which it was nourish’d by.

This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,

To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

William Shakespeare

selected from Shakespeare Complete Works, Oxford University Press1966

16世纪末至17世纪初，莎士比亚创作了154首“十四行诗”(Sonnet)，最终题献给其“唯一的促成者”W.H.先生(“Mr. W. H.”)。四百余年过去，这部诗稿究竟写于何时、如何出版又题献给谁，却仍谜雾重重。可以确定的是组诗书写的一大主题，如题辞所示：“不朽之所在，源于诗人永生。”(That Eternitie Promised By Ovr Ever-living Poet)诗比人寿，莎翁以身示范了这一点。

“莎士比亚十四行体”最显著的特征，藏在每首诗末尾两行。最后两句往往来个“twist”(神转折)，反向加强或完全解构自己先前十二行的立意。而在前十二行中，诗人亦自觉逃离彼时流行的陈词滥调，别求新声。

在玫瑰与春日弥漫的时代，自带反骨的莎翁如何写爱？第73首十四行诗中，“秋天”“暮霭”“余烬”作为爱人的隐喻，以垂暮之年的丧气冷冽登场。眼看最后一丝爱火即将浇熄，结尾两句笔锋一转：正是由于时日无多，趋于寡淡的爱，才能在缩紧的时空中浓烈。

或许，再特立独行的修辞与韵律，都难逃为后世反超、陷于平庸的命运，沦落为“拙劣可怜的诗卷”。爱情诗的传世，总要仰赖于技法背后的东西。于是，在第32首十四行诗末尾两句中，莎翁似乎对此给出了最后的反转：

But since he died, and poets better prove,

但他既死去，诗人们又都迈进，

Theirs for their style I’ll read, his for his love.

我读他们的文采，却读他的心。

荐诗 / 曲木南

2018/10/24

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