讀詩 | “唯有孤獨恒常如新”

Elizabeth Bishop, PHOTO / Paris Review


今天,我們來聊一個詩人,和一首詩。


伊麗莎白·畢曉普(Elizabeth Bishop),曾被譽為美國20世紀最偉大的詩人之一。


伊麗莎白·畢肖普(1911年2月8日-1979年10月6日),美國著名女詩人。她是美國1949-1950年度的桂冠詩人,并于1956年獲普利策獎。代表作為《北方和南方——一個寒冷的春天》。

維基百科


她曾是美國的桂冠詩人(Poet Laureate);詩歌榮獲普利策獎(the Pulitzer Prize);作品集獲得美國國家圖書獎(the National Book Award)。


她身上有著各式各樣的光環,獲得了數不盡數的榮耀,然而卻告訴同為詩人的朋友羅伯特·洛威爾(Robert Lowell)說:「在我的墓志銘上,一定要寫下我是世上最孤獨的人」。


In 1974, Elizabeth Bishop seemed to have all the things a poet could want: a teaching position at Harvard, a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, and a first-look contract with The New Yorker, which almost always decided to publish her work. And yet she was inconsolably unhappy. “When you write my epitaph,” Bishop said to the poet Robert Lowell, “you must say I was the loneliest person who ever lived.”

“Hiding in Plain Sight: The loneliness of Elizabeth Bishop”,?
The Nation


epitaph,墓志銘。


她幾乎擁有了一位詩人可以擁有的一切榮耀,卻偏偏要說:「When you write my epitaph, you must say I was the loneliest person who ever lived. 」


我猜,這大概也是為何,她詩歌的中文譯本取名為《唯有孤獨恒常如新》。


豆瓣讀書


伊麗莎白·畢曉普如此強烈的孤獨感究竟從何而來?


她出生于美國麻省,是家中獨女,才八個月時父親便因病去世。母親隨后患上精神疾病,在畢曉普五歲時,母親被強制永久關進精神病院,從此二人再未相見。


經歷了生離與死別之后,她被外祖父母收養,在加拿大生活了幾年。但由于這二老家境困難,她的祖父母隨后獲得監護權,將她從加拿大小鎮接回美國麻省。但畢曉普思念外公外婆,整日郁郁寡歡,甚至患上哮喘。后來,爺爺奶奶便將她送往了姨父姨母家中。


小畢曉普的童年,就這樣輾轉于一個又一個親戚的家中,期間還遭到了姨父的性侵與虐待。也正因如此,她對男性充滿了厭惡與恐懼(嗯,沒錯,她是同性戀)。


因為這段經歷,在日后寫給她的精神科醫生的信中,畢曉普甚至說道,所有的男性都是自私粗暴的,只要有機會,他們一定會傷害女性。


Bishop later wrote to her psychiatrist. “I got to thinking that they [men] were all selfish and inconsiderate and would hurt you if you gave them a chance.”

"The lonely life of Elizabeth Bishop",?The Economist


童年經歷帶來的創傷讓她內心充滿了憤怒。這股憤怒化為悲傷,悲傷又化為了詩歌。


Whatever anger she felt in these early traumatic years turned into sadness, and the sadness into poetry.

“Hiding in Plain Sight: The loneliness of Elizabeth Bishop”,?
The Nation


長大后,畢曉普的感情生活也是一路坎坷。她此生最愛的女人,巴西建筑師蘿塔(Lota),于1967年自殺。后來的伴侶愛麗絲(Alice)也拋棄了她,并嫁給了一個男人。


畢曉普與蘿塔的禁忌之戀被拍成一部十分唯美的電影,Reaching for the Moon,西班牙語片名Flores Raras,中譯片名《月光詩篇》。


豆瓣電影


這部影片十分動人,若有時間,不妨找來看看。


在了解畢曉普的人生之后,我們大概也就能夠理解,為何她說自己是世上最孤獨的人了吧。




畢曉普先后失去父親、母親、外祖父母、蘿塔、愛麗絲,童年輾轉于各個親戚家中,成年后又離開了自己的故土。她的一生,充斥著告別與失去。在一連串的打擊之后,在得知蘿塔自殺、又去愛麗絲的她瀕臨崩潰。可似乎痛苦總能與好詩掛鉤,畢曉普在最低落的時光里,寫下了她最著名的詩篇,One Art,《一種藝術》。


But it was also at this low point on her high perch that she wrote, over several painstaking drafts, what became her most anthologized and best-loved poem, “One Art.”

“Hiding in Plain Sight: The loneliness of Elizabeth Bishop”,?The Nation


寫下這首詩時,畢曉普內心充滿痛苦,卻在努力說服自己:失去,也許并沒有那么可怕。她甚至在詩中,把「失去」稱為一種藝術。


詩在心碎和淚水中寫成,改了整整十七稿,正是如上文形容的那般,several painstaking drafts,但改來改去,詩開篇第一句從來沒有變過:


Meanwhile, the poem’s recurring first line “The art of losing isn’t hard to master,” remained the same in all 17 drafts."

Coming to Terms with Loss in Elizabeth Bishop's 'One Art' ",?
The Atlantic


在電影《月光詩篇》中,米蘭達·奧圖扮演詩人畢曉普,完美細膩地演繹了這首詩(視頻 00'50 — 02'05)。如果場地環境允許,請一定,一定,一定要看這段視頻,真的非常動人。


如果只想聽詩的話,看到2分05秒就夠了,視頻后半部分是對詩人畢曉普的介紹與評價。詩歌原文就在下方,大家可以對照閱讀。



"One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop


The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

— Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write?it!) like disaster.


畢曉普采用了一種非常傳統的詩歌形式,Villanelle,維拉內拉詩,是16世紀的法國十分流行的一種文體。



維拉內拉詩又叫「十九行二韻體詩」,這其中的「十九行」很好理解,詩剛好十九行嘛。而「二韻體」則是指詩歌有兩個韻腳。這一詩歌體裁對格式要求非常嚴格,除了押韻之外,還有兩句詩需要按照規定進行重復。

(沒看太懂?沒事,下面有個例子)


維拉內拉詩最具代表性,可能也是大家最熟悉的,大概就是《星際穿越》中出現的迪蘭·托馬斯的《不要溫和地走進那個良夜》,Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night


來聽聽曾憑借《沉默的羔羊》斬獲奧斯卡影帝、在大熱美劇《西部世界》里再度征服觀眾的安東尼·霍普金斯爵士(Sir Anthony Hopkins)朗讀的版本吧——忍不住說一句,超級好聽的聲音,大家耳朵可千萬不要懷孕噢(哈哈哈哈哈哈哈)!



《不要溫和地走進那個良夜》


Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


大家看到我加粗的部分了嗎?在維拉內拉詩中,有兩個句子會不斷重復出現,專業術語叫做?Refrain,可以理解為「副歌」或者「疊句」。兩個句子分別稱為 Refrain 1 和 Refrain 2,簡稱 A1 和 A2。


在這首詩中,

Refrain 1(A1)
Do not go gentle into that good night


Refrain 2(A2)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


大家應該也注意到了,這兩行詩句不斷重復出現。光是重復還不夠,它們要嚴格按照如下順序出現:


Refrain 1 (A1)
Line 2 (b)
Refrain 2 (A2)

Line 4 (a)
Line 5 (b)
Refrain 1 (A1)

Line 7 (a)
Line 8 (b)
Refrain 2 (A2)

Line 10 (a)
Line 11 (b)
Refrain 1 (A1)

Line 13 (a)
Line 14 (b)
Refrain 2 (A2)

Line 16 (a)
Line 17 (b)
Refrain 1 (A1)
Refrain 2 (A2)


—— Wikipedia, "Villanelle"


其中 Line 2,Line 4 等等,指的是詩歌的第X行,內容可以隨意,但 Refrain 1 和 Refrain 2 出現的位置一定是固定的。


好了好了,解釋完畢,我們看回畢曉普的詩。




The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel.?None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them,?but it wasn’t a disaster.

— Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write?it!) like disaster.


One Art?這首詩中,有兩行相似的詩句也在不斷重復出現。之所以說「相似」,是因為畢曉普并未嚴格遵循維拉內拉詩的格式要求,而是在不同的小節中對詩句進行了一定改動。


很顯然,詩歌的主題是「失去」。


最初,失去的是一些很小的東西。畢曉普稱,有些東西似乎本來就是要失去的(so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost),丟了也便不可惜。


接著,畢曉普說,有些東西是每天都有可能失去的(lose something every day)。那些弄丟了的門鑰匙(lost door keys),浪費了的時間(hour badly spent),既然已經成為事實,又何必糾結苦惱,倒不如把「失去」當成一種藝術。


然后,她又輕輕告訴讀者,要練習「失去」這門藝術。那些忘掉了的名字(names),計劃要去旅行卻沒能去成的地方(where it was you meant to travel)。失去這些東西,并不會帶來災難。


隨后,她開始用自己的人生經歷舉例,說她失去了母親的手表(I lost my mother’s watch)—— 畢曉普五歲便與患上精神病的母親分離,從此再未見過,這塊手表意義重大,所以才會出現在詩中;前面我們也提到,她童年輾轉于各個親戚的家中,失去了一個又一個自己產生了依戀的家(three loved houses went)。


接著,她又說,自己遠離故土,失去了兩座她深愛的城市(two cities),甚至失去了河流與大陸(two rivers, a continent)。她很思念這一切,卻也明白,哪怕失去了這么重要的東西,仍舊算不上什么災難(I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster)。


最后,她終于提起自己失去的愛人(losing you)。從勸讀者,慢慢變成勸自己,她不斷重復,就是為了暗示自己,「失去你」,也許并沒有那么可怕。


但她的內心卻充滿了痛苦掙扎,甚至需要用第二個聲音,(Write?it!),來逼迫自己把最艱難的結尾寫出來。


蘿塔自殺,愛麗絲也離開了她,這時的畢曉普似乎不是在為讀者寫詩,而是把詩寫給了自己。她口口聲聲說「失去」算不上什么,可詩讀下來,字里行間滿篇都是心碎與痛苦。就像有些謊言,說多了,自己便先信了。




伊麗莎白·畢曉普晚年在哈佛大學任教。她當時的一名學生,Megan Marshall,2017年出版了一本傳記,名為Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast,講述了畢肖普的傳奇一生。


在許多網站上都能找到這本傳記的書評,包括 《經濟學人》,The Economist,以及《大西洋月刊》,The Atlantic,等經典刊物。


《紐約客》,The New Yorker,還專門有文章介紹了畢曉普與蘿塔和愛麗絲之間的愛情故事,她詩歌的靈感來源,等等。


大家如果感興趣,可以在底下的參考網頁中找到相關鏈接。另外還有前文提到的電影,《月光詩篇》,也可以找來看看。


嗯,好了,先聊到這兒,大家早安。


One Art”, by Elizabeth Bishop
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47536/one-art

Hiding in Plain Sight:?The loneliness of Elizabeth Bishop”, The Nation
https://www.thenation.com/article/hiding-in-plain-sight/

Elizabeth Bishop”, Poetry Foundation,
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/elizabeth-bishop

Elizabeth Bishop”, Wikipedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Bishop

伊麗莎白·畢曉普”, 中文維基百科
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BC%8A%E4%B8%BD%E8%8E%8E%E7%99%BD%C2%B7%E6%AF%95%E6%99%93%E6%99%AE

"The lonely life of Elizabeth Bishop", The Economist
https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21718852-new-biography-sheds-light-elizabeth-bishop-one-americas-finest-poets-lonely

"Coming to Terms with Loss in Elizabeth Bishop's 'One Art' ", The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2017/04/coming-to-terms-with-loss-in-elizabeth-bishops-one-art/524154/

月光詩篇”,豆瓣電影
https://movie.douban.com/subject/20521014/?from=subject-page

唯有孤獨恒常如新”,豆瓣讀書
https://book.douban.com/subject/26269845/

"‘Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast’ More of a Four-Course Meal",?The Harvard Crimson
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/4/15/elizabeth-bishop-review/

"Elizabeth and Alice", The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/elizabeth-bishop-and-alice-methfessel-one-art

"Elizabeth Bishop's Art of Losing", The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/06/elizabeth-bishops-art-of-losing

Elizabeth Bishop伊麗莎白·畢肖普詩選”,新浪博客
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4b01ac520102vyge.html

"Villanelle", Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villanelle

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