"The Lady of the Lake" delivering the TRUE Sword Excalibur

 

    最后，亚瑟是被3位王后用王室之舟带走的。资料如下：

　　Arthur returned his sacred sword to the Lady of the Lake, whose hand rose from the depths to receive it; and he was carried away by three queens on a royal barge.　

                          －One Brief Shining Moment, p277

 

　　　Before England was under occupation by the Romans it was a land of several small kingdoms, each with its own Queen.

       This is from Yahoo Answers:

　　"Thus of Arthur I find never more written in books that be authorised, nor more of the very certainty of his death heard I never read, but thus was he led away in a ship wherein were three queens; that one was King Arthur's sister, Queen Morgan le Fay; the other was the Queen of Northgalis; the third was the Queen of the Waste Lands. Also there was Nimue, the chief lady of the lake, that had wedded Pelleas the good knight; and this lady had done much for King Arthur, ...” 

 

King Arthur and Sir Lancelot

 
       One Brief Shining Moment中没有提到的州名如下：

 

Colorado       科罗拉多州

Delaware       特拉华州

Nebraska       内布拉斯加

Nevada        内华达州

North Dakota    北达科他州

South Dakota    南达科他州

Utah           犹他州

 

Jackie在回复致谢英国女王时，借用了威廉·华滋华斯的诗句：the deepest comfort to know that you share with me thoughts that lie too deep for tear.（眼泪无法表达的深切的悲伤）

－One Brief Shining Moment,272

 

Ode on Intimations of Immortality

William Wordsworth

 

Thanks to the human heart by which we live,

Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,

To me the meanest flower that blows can give

Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

 

永生颂（节选）

 

作者 / [英]威廉·华滋华斯

翻译 / 黄杲炘

 

感谢我们赖以生存的人心，

感谢这心中的柔情、欢乐和恐惧，

对于我，最微贱的花朵常能给人

深刻得眼泪也无法表达的思绪。

  

 

　　When he shall die,

　　Take him and cut him out in little stars,

　　And he will make the face of heaven so fine

　　That all the world will be in love with night

　　And pay no worship to the garish sun.

　　等他死后，

　　再把他带走，

　　把他裁成小星星，

　　他会让天空变得异常地晴朗，

　　以至于整个世界都会爱上夜晚，

　　而不再崇拜耀眼的太阳。

 

　　此节台词出自《罗蜜欧和朱丽叶》。根据皇家莎士比亚剧团（RSC）版本的William Shakespear Complete Works（莎士比亚全集），第一句为Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die, take him and …意思是说：还我罗蜜欧，在我死后，再把他带走……罗伯特在纪念肯尼迪总统的致辞时改成了when he shall die，因为他们哥俩的关系非朱丽叶和罗蜜欧那种情侣关系。如此修改十分贴切。

　　　　－One Brief Shining Moment, Remembering Kennedy, William Manchester, P271

 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

雪晚林邊歇馬 

  

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.                

這是誰家的樹林呀，我想我沒猜錯

儘管他家的房子是在前頭兒的村裡座臥

他不會知道我在這兒歇息

看著他的樹林滿是白雪落

 

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.　                 

我的馬兒一定覺得很奇怪

為什麼要停在遠離農莊的荒野外

在這樹林與那冰凍的湖泊之間 

在這一年中最黝暗的夜晚

 

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.                 

牠抖了抖韁繩，弄得鈴兒叮噹響

好似問我是否出了什麼差錯沒講

此外四周一片靜謐

只聽見微風和鵝絨似的雪花輕輕颺

 

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.                 

儘管這樹林深沉幽暗又迷人

我卻有前約要履行

在我能安睡前，還有迢迢長路要行

在我能安睡前，還有迢迢長路要行

  

【賞析】

美國詩人佛洛斯特名詩《雪晚林邊歇馬》，是現代英文詩中公認的短篇傑作。此詩用語單純自然、韻律優美，意境深入淺出，哲理深奧，文字樸實無華。在二十世紀的美國，成為一首傳誦最廣遠的詩，自學童而至教授學者，多能心領神會，朗朗在口。

本詩原文只有一百零七個字，單音節的字占了八十九個，其餘的，也沒有一個會難倒學童，而意境由淺而深，由近而遠，不僅適於成人閱讀，也可以為學童朗誦、理解《雪夜林前小駐》所描寫的情景，馬兒與人默默交流，將景色融入人心中，不用解釋，但它後面的情趣、哲理、魅力，意境深遠需要細細品味。

我獨自站在樹林邊沿，裏面有一種東西在吸引我，但不能光聽內心世界的召喚，我還要許多世間的約會、責任，“路迢途遠豈敢酣眠”，這裏的“眠”既是陶醉，又是安靜，或是心靈的平靜。一個情景，引起人無限遐想，每個人會根據自己的經歷體會無數個生活背後的韻味。余光中分析此詩有三層境界，首先是純粹的田園抒情，第二層是人在自然與社會之間的矛盾與抉擇，至於第三層，則宗教氣味隱含，處處有死亡的氣味；前兩者孩童可以體會，第三個境界，則留待日後慢慢咀嚼。至於插圖，也很精采，把冬日的冷寂及以繁華構圖描繪出來，富含詩意。