莎士比亚十四行诗歌评注.docVIP

Sonnet 1 1. FROM fairest creatures we desire increase,2. That thereby beautys rose might never die,3. But as the riper should by time decease,4. His tender heir might bear his memory:5. But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,6. Feed’st thy lightst flame with self-substantial fuel,7. Making a famine where abundance lies,8. Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.9. Thou that art now the world’s fresh ornament10. And only herald to the gaudy spring,11. Within thine own bud buriest thy content12 And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding. 13. Pity the world, or else this glutton be, 14. To eat the worlds due, by the grave and thee. Notes Line 1: fairest: the best, the most beautiful increase: procreation, offspring. We hope that the best species give birth to offspring and grow in number. Line 2: that: so that thereby: by means of fairest creatures, by means of increase, in that way, by that means. beauty’s rose: all the beautiful flowers in general, the bloom of youth, beauty’s prime. So that, by reproducing themeselves, the beautiful things could never disappear and live for ever. Line 3: But as: though the riper: the riper rose, the older or more mature creatures. by time: in time, in the course of time. decease: wither, die, disappear. Although the riper ones could die in the course of time, Line 4: tender heir: young offspring bear his memory: (his heirs) carry on the memory of parents through the generations. his young heirs could be the living reminders of parents through generations. Line 5: thou: you contracted: engaged to, betrothed to. But you, being betrothed to your own bright eyes, Line 6: feed’st: -st is a suffix used in old English to form a predicate for “thou”, meaning “to support, or supply”. thy: your self-substantial: fuel from its own body. supply your light with your own substance. Line 7: famine: emptiness, starvation, lack of provis