威廉.布萊克<老虎>新譯

傅正明譯 老虎 1

老虎老虎！燦爛燃燒，

黑夜林莽，虎視朗照，

駭人勻稱，誰之聖手，

永恒天眼，為爾鍛造？
 

爾之雙眼，熊熊火炬，
深淵昊天，何處燒制？
何種羽翼，助他高舉？
何種手掌，攫火無炙？
 

何種膂力，何種絕技，
為爾搓捏，心臟肌肉？
爾之心跳，協以音律，
恐懼之美，何種舞步？

虎頭虎腦，熔爐鍛制？
鐵砧之上，錘擊鏈繫，
其形若何？想其怪異，
何種手掌，敢於擺布？
 

星辰敗北，擲其長矛，2
以其淚珠，澆灌天照，
主神見爾，可曾微笑？
造爾之前，先造羊羔？
 

老虎老虎！燦爛燃燒，
黑夜林莽，虎視朗照，
駭人勻稱，誰之聖手，
永恒天眼，為爾鍛造？

1 譯自布萊克的《經驗之歌》。

2 在布萊克的《四天神》中，詩人明顯地把老虎與敗北的烏理森（Urizen，或意譯為智力神）聯系起來，詩中的烏理森說：在那黑暗之夜，我呼喚縈繞腳下的星辰，星辰投擲他們的長矛，然後赤身裸體撤退了。

The Tiger

William Blake

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forest of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could Frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And, when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?