爱尔兰著名诗人叶芝有一首题为Death的短诗。全诗似可分为两部分，前半部写动物以及凡人对待死亡的态度，动物几乎无生死概念，凡人则本能地惧死求生。后半部写真君子的死亡观，这种人把死亡视为气息的迭代（Supersession of breath），死亡不过是人造概念而已。

一、原诗与译稿

二、原诗词汇与句型难点解析以及翻译理据

1、  第三行至第四行（A man awaits…hoping all;）的“A man”在原文中的意思似应指“一个普通人”，即凡人。与下文“A great man”相对。

2、  第五行至第六行中的“died”和“rose again”都是一般过去时，两行用分号隔开，注意分号在英语语法中有表示原因的用法。

3、  动词“to rise”作为不及物动词，可以释义为To return to life。第六行“rose again”似应理解为“复活”或“重生”。

4、  第七行至第十行（A great man…of breath）是从以下这一句话演变而来：A great man in his pride confronting murderous men casts derision upon supersession of breath.

5、  第十行的supersession一词是从动词supersede转写而来。American Heritage Dictionary对supersede给出的释义如下：To cause to be set aside, especially to displace as inferior or antiquated。

6、  最后一行Man has created death应当如何理解，最为值得商榷。译者认为上文的“…casts derision upon supersession of breath”提示着“死亡不过气息迭代而已”的观念，所以最后这行的“created death”应当理解为“制造了死的概念”。当然，这不过是一孔之见或一家之言而已。不乏译者情愿译为“创造了死”。

三、其他译者译文选录

1、    来自http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_75ee970b0100ozsp.html

Death死亡 -William Butler Yeats 叶芝

译/李景琪·猎人hunter560 （2007年 3月）

2、来自 http://nightbringer.blogbus.com/logs/222683991.html

叶芝诗歌全集(二三) - [诗]No. 219 Death 死

垂死的野兽不知

恐惧或希望；

临终的人却满怀

希冀和恐慌；

多少次他死去，

多少次又复活。

一个伟大的人物

壮年面对杀人者，

把轻蔑投向

呼吸的交替；

他深知死亡

人类创造了死。

四、关于原诗作者

来自http://arts.pallimed.org/2009/07/death-wb-yeats.html

William Butler Yeats was both a poet and a dramatist. Born in Dublin in 1865, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. Unlike many award winners, his greatest works were actually completed after winning the Nobel with collections of The Tower(1928) and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1933).

The poem "Death" was published in The Winding Stair and Other Poems. It was actually written in reaction to the assassination of his political friend Kevin O'Higgins, which is referenced in the later part of the poem.

What I really like about W.B. Yeats is that I have to reread his poems a few times to really grasp what he's trying to say.

Death

NOR dread nor hope attend
A dying animal;
A man awaits his end
Dreading and hoping all;
Many times he died,
Many times rose again.
A great man in his pride
Confronting murderous men
Casts derision upon
Supersession of breath;
He knows death to the bone --
Man has created death.

The sentiment in the first part of the poem is that simple profound truth; that we as humans, unlike other animals, are cognizant of our own mortality. As far as we know, birds are not flitting around the sky worrying about death, or even experiencing hope for the future.

It is this fact that allows us the material we write about in this blog. People contemplating death and grief give us music, art, poetry, books, etc.

Although the next line "Many times he died,/ Many times he rose again" may sound like reincarnation, I think more accurately Yeats has something like this in mind, from his poem "Under Ben Bulben":

Many times man lives and dies/
Between his two eternities

There are many symbolic deaths we go through in life, only to rise again and continue.

Although the last portion is in direct relation to his friend, it relates to the inescapable nature of dying. Mr O'Higgins had played a role in the executions of some IRA members, his assassination being in retaliation to this. He said to his wife, "Nobody can expect to live who has done what I've done."

The image of a man looking head on towards certain death, in fact casting scorn at the idea of avoiding or replacing death (casts derision upon/ supersession of breath), may be a maturing from the initial feeling of dread at dying or hope to avoid it seen in the beginning of the poem.

As for the last line that "Man has created death", it's often quoted out of context from the poem.
There are two thoughts I have for this. The first, when thought of with the beginning idea of the poem, that animals are unaware of their own mortality, well then it is we, "man" by our own awareness of dying that indeed we have created the concept of "death". Second, he simply could be referring to his friend Mr. O'Higgins, who by his own admittance, undertook actions that led to his death, thus perhaps he actually "created" his own death?

Any other thoughts?

Jeffares, AJ "W.B Yeats, man and poet" 1996