Ⅱ.对弈

 

她坐的那把椅子，如同抛光的宝座，

在大理石地板上闪闪发光——此暖房由

结过果实的葡萄藤打造成的支柱支撑——

一只金色的丘比特曾在葡萄藤上偷窥

（另外那只将眼睛藏在翅膀后面）。

七孔大烛台的光线照射着桌面，

火舌在那儿变成原来的两倍长，如同

她身上宝石的闪光脱身与之相会，

从富足慷慨的缎子倾泻而出；

打开盖子的象牙状彩色玻璃瓶里，

藏着她用的那种奇特的合成香水，

粉末或液体状的油膏——令人不安，头脑混乱

气味令人窒息；从窗口吹进来的新鲜空气

摇动着烛光，这些增大拉长的蜡烛火焰

袅袅上升，

朝laquearia冒烟，

唤醒了镶花格的天花板上的图案。

高大的海树以铜色小灰蝶为食，

燃烧的翠绿和橘黄，镶嵌在彩色石头边框里，

那儿，海豚雕像在幽暗的光线里游泳。

古老的斗篷上所展示的图案，

好似窗外的乡村景象。

野蛮的国王如此冷酷地

迫使夜莺迁徙；然而在那里，夜莺

用不可亵渎的歌声充满了整个沙漠，

她仍在大声哭喊，人们仍在尔虞我诈，

“乳房、乳房”声传入龌龊的耳朵里。

其他无生机活力的残余时间，

可在墙上辨认出；星号标记的形体

屈身而出，倚靠着，隔离的房间渐渐安静，

楼梯上有人拖着脚步，踯躅而行。

火光中，在灌木丛里，她的头发

散开成了火红的斑斑点点，

燃烧成话语，而后又回归鸿蒙初开般的安静。

 

“今晚我神经紧张。对，紧张。陪着我。

“对我说话。为什么你从不说话？说话呀。

“你在想些什么？你想什么？是什么？

“我从不知道你正在想什么。想。”

 

我想我们是在老鼠成群的巷子里

死者们在这里没了骨头。

 

“那是什么声音？”

门底下的风。

“现在是什么声音了？风在做什么？”

没什么，没什么。

“你

“什么也不知道？你什么也看不见？你什么也

“不记得了？”

我记得

那些珍珠是他的眼睛。

“你活着，还是死了？你大脑一片空白？”

可是

哦哦哦哦那莎士比亚式的帷幕

如此简洁明快

这般才华横溢

“现在我该做些什么？我该做些什么？

“我要奋力夺门而出， 头发下垂着

“步测街道的长度，就这样。明天我们该做些什么？

“我们该始终做些什么？”

十点钟的热水。

如果下雨，四点钟关门的车。

那时，我们将下盘棋，

按住盖子眼，等待敲门声。

 

莉儿的丈夫复员那天，我说——

我没有装作斯文地讲话，我对她说，

赶快，是时候了

现在阿尔伯特就要回来了，你机灵点。

他会问你，你把他给你的那笔装假牙的钱

怎么着了。他问了，我在那儿。

你都给花光了，莉儿，做了个漂亮的习惯姿势，

他说，我发誓，看着你，我无法忍受。

我再也不能，我说，想想可怜的阿尔伯特，

他已经当了四年兵，想要过得开心点。

如果你不给他，别人会给，我说。

哦，这里有，她说。某些东西，哦，那，我说。

那时我会知道该感谢谁，她说，坦率地面对我。

赶快，是时候了

如果你不喜欢，你可以用它来应付，我说。

如果你不能，其他人能捡起并做出选择。

可如果阿尔伯特匆匆走了，我这话也不乏是忠告。

你看上去如此不开窍，我说，你应当感到羞愧。

（她还只31岁。）

我没办法，她说着，拉长了脸，

我吃的这药片，拿走，她说。

（她已流产五次，差点因年轻的乔治而死。）

药剂师说，没事的，可我不可能再像从前。

你这个名副其实的傻瓜，我说。

好吧，如果阿尔伯特不离开你，给你，我说，

若你不想生孩子，你结婚干嘛？

赶紧，是时候了

好吧，那个周日阿尔伯特在家，他们吃热烘烘的腌猪腿，

邀请我共进晚餐，品尝猪腿热烘烘的美味——

赶紧，是时候了

赶紧，是时候了

晚安，比尔。晚安，路。晚安，梅。晚安。

嗒嗒。晚安。晚安。

晚安，女士们，晚安，亲爱的女士们，晚安，晚安。

 

   

译后记：

1、2010年3月6日晚完成本节诗初稿。本节诗中个别名词未译出，部分诗行有待译者再次推敲定稿。

2、《对弈》主要写一对偷情的情人在情妇丈夫当兵复员回来时的戏剧性张力，对弈本是两名棋手在进行的棋盘上的智力争斗，在本节诗中，却是情人之间复杂的心理活动和“对弈”。情妇的丈夫回来了，情人惊慌失措，要夺门而逃。情妇责备他没胆量，敢做不敢当。情人却坚持要情妇服用打胎药，尽管这个31岁的情妇已经堕胎五次。情人之间因爱而生恨，相互指责。情妇的丈夫却邀请情人共进晚餐，最后还互道晚安。诗中反复用hurry up please it’s time，表明当时的二人关系的紧张，濒临破坏和被拆穿的边缘。最后，在两个连续的hurry up please it’s time的急促里，以互道晚安戏剧性地结束。

3、由于对西方文化所知有限，所以不知道诗的第77到98行引用了哪些典故，但据译者所知，第99到103行诗，响应了英国浪漫派诗人济慈的《夜莺》，济慈的夜莺是永生的鸟，不是为了死亡和饥饿而生，却被驱逐，就像这首诗这几行写到的，夜莺虽被野蛮的国王冷酷地驱赶着，被迫迁徙，到了毫无生机的沙漠，却还在那里用不可亵渎的歌声，充满了整个沙漠，在那里大声哭喊，可人们却不理睬，沉溺于尔虞我诈的生存斗争，将世界当作一个可以尽情地肆意吮吸把玩的乳房。

4、从111行开始，可能引用的是莎士比亚的戏剧，戏仿了莎剧的部分内容，比如《哈姆雷特》、《李尔王》、《麦克白》里简洁明快，却富于戏剧张力和意蕴的对话和人物的自白、梦呓等，呈现了人物在当时的紧张焦虑。

 

 

 

附录：原文

 

The Waste Land

 

Poem by T.S.Eliot

 

II. A GAME OF CHESS


THE Chair she sat in, like a burnished throne, 
Glowed on the marble, where the glass 
Held up by standards wrought with fruited vines 
From which a golden Cupidon peeped out 80 
(Another hid his eyes behind his wing) 
Doubled the flames of sevenbranched candelabra 
Reflecting light upon the table as 
The glitter of her jewels rose to meet it, 
From satin cases poured in rich profusion; 85 
In vials of ivory and coloured glass 
Unstoppered, lurked her strange synthetic perfumes, 
Unguent, powdered, or liquid—troubled, confused 
And drowned the sense in odours; stirred by the air 
That freshened from the window, these ascended 90 
In fattening the prolonged candle-flames, 
Flung their smoke into the laquearia, 
Stirring the pattern on the coffered ceiling. 
Huge sea-wood fed with copper 
Burned green and orange, framed by the coloured stone, 95 
In which sad light a carvèd dolphin swam. 
Above the antique mantel was displayed 
As though a window gave upon the sylvan scene 
The change of Philomel, by the barbarous king 
So rudely forced; yet there the nightingale 100 
Filled all the desert with inviolable voice 
And still she cried, and still the world pursues, 
'Jug Jug' to dirty ears. 
And other withered stumps of time 
Were told upon the walls; staring forms 105 
Leaned out, leaning, hushing the room enclosed. 
Footsteps shuffled on the stair. 
Under the firelight, under the brush, her hair 
Spread out in fiery points 
Glowed into words, then would be savagely still. 110 

'My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me. 
'Speak to me. Why do you never speak? Speak. 
'What are you thinking of? What thinking? What? 
'I never know what you are thinking. Think.' 

I think we are in rats' alley 115 
Where the dead men lost their bones. 

'What is that noise?' 
The wind under the door. 
'What is that noise now? What is the wind doing?' 
Nothing again nothing. 120 
'Do 
'You know nothing? Do you see nothing? Do you remember 
'Nothing?' 
I remember 
Those are pearls that were his eyes. 125 
'Are you alive, or not? Is there nothing in your head?' 
But 
O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag— 
It's so elegant 
So intelligent 130 
'What shall I do now? What shall I do?' 
'I shall rush out as I am, and walk the street 
'With my hair down, so. What shall we do to-morrow? 
'What shall we ever do?' 
The hot water at ten. 135 
And if it rains, a closed car at four. 
And we shall play a game of chess, 
Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door. 

When Lil's husband got demobbed, I said— 
I didn't mince my words, I said to her myself, 140 
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME 
Now Albert's coming back, make yourself a bit smart. 
He'll want to know what you done with that money he gave you 
To get yourself some teeth. He did, I was there. 
You have them all out, Lil, and get a nice set, 145 
He said, I swear, I can't bear to look at you. 
And no more can't I, I said, and think of poor Albert, 
He's been in the army four years, he wants a good time, 
And if you don't give it him, there's others will, I said. 
Oh is there, she said. Something o' that, I said. 150 
Then I'll know who to thank, she said, and give me a straight look. 
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME 
If you don't like it you can get on with it, I said. 
Others can pick and choose if you can't. 
But if Albert makes off, it won't be for lack of telling. 155 
You ought to be ashamed, I said, to look so antique. 
(And her only thirty-one.) 
I can't help it, she said, pulling a long face, 
It's them pills I took, to bring it off, she said. 
(She's had five already, and nearly died of young George.) 160 
The chemist said it would be alright, but I've never been the same. 
You are a proper fool, I said. 
Well, if Albert won't leave you alone, there it is, I said, 
What you get married for if you don't want children? 
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME 165 
Well, that Sunday Albert was home, they had a hot gammon, 
And they asked me in to dinner, to get the beauty of it hot— 
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME 
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME 
Goonight Bill. Goonight Lou. Goonight May. Goonight. 170 
Ta ta. Goonight. Goonight. 
Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night.