听诗歌学英语：拜伦经典之作《恨别》
《When we two parted》
This poem talks about a love affair that Lord Byron had with a married woman some years before he got married. They loved each other very much, but they knew their love would have to finish, and finally she put an end to their relationship. Sometimes it sounds as if she just broke up, and sometimes it sounds as if she died. It’s a very good example of the literary genre called "Romanticism", which flourished in Europe in the 19th century.
这首诗讲述的是拜伦没有结婚之前和一个已婚女人的不伦恋。他们深爱对方，但是彼此都知道，这段感情必须结束，最后以她的离开为这段感情画下了终结。有时听上去，好像她刚分手，而有时又像是她离世了。这是一首很典型的浪漫主义文学诗歌，在19世纪的欧洲风靡一时。
1
When we two parted
昔日依依别，
In silence and tears,
泪流默无言;
Half broken-hearted
离恨肝肠断，
To sever for years,
此别又几年。
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
冷颊何惨然，
Colder, thy kiss;
一吻寒更添;
Truly that hour foretold
日后伤心事，
Sorrow to this.
此刻已预言。
2
The dew of the morning
朝起寒露重，
Sunk; chill on my brow,
凛冽凝眉间--
It felt like a warning
彼时已预告：
Of what I feel now.
悲伤在今天。
Thy vows are all broken,
山盟今安在?
And light is thy fame;
汝名何轻贱!
I hear thy name spoken,
吾闻汝名传，
And share in its shame.
羞愧在人前。
3
They name thee before me,
闻汝名声恶，
A knell to mine ear;
犹如听丧钟。
A shudder comes o'er me...
不禁心怵惕--
Why wert thou so dear?
往昔情太浓。
They knew not I knew thee,
谁知旧日情，
Who knew thee too well...
斯人知太深。
Long, long shall I rue thee,
绵绵长怀恨，
Too deeply to tell.
尽在不言中，
4
In secret we met
昔日喜幽会，
In silence I grieve
今朝恨无声。
That thy heart could forget,
旧情汝已忘，
Thy spirit deceive.
疾心遇薄幸。
If I should meet thee
多年离别后，
After long years,
抑或再相逢，
How should I greet thee?
相逢何所语?
(with silence and tears)
泪流默无声。
诗歌语言点讲解：
拜伦这首感人至深的诗歌有很多古英语(archaisms)词汇，还有很多倒装(hyperbaton)。
在古英语(莎士比亚时代)中，第二人称You写作Thou /ðaʊ/。如今这种用法只能在诗歌中，《圣经》里，还有祈祷辞里见到了。Thou后面加动词要在词尾加st。比如：
You live here = Thou livest here
Do you love me? = Dost thou love me?
当然也有一些不规则的动词变形，比如：
You are= thou art
You were= thou wert
I will give you= I shall give THEE /ði:/
This is your house= this is THY house (/ðaɪ/)
在古英语中，thou是“你”的单数，复数形式则是you。
第一诗节
To sever，被分开，和前面的better押韵。
Pale grew thy cheek and cold(倒装)=your cheeks grew cold and pale, to grow后面跟形容词，表示“更像”(to become more like that)。
第二诗节
Brow=forehead(前额)。当我们说道情绪在我们的前额刻下了皱纹(以愤怒)或是冒出汗水(以恐惧或疼痛)。
Vows= promises 和前面的cow押韵
Light is thy fame(倒装)=you fame is light.
第三诗节
Knell，丧钟声。
Mine ear= my ear. 古英语中辅音紧跟所有格my，元音后面紧跟mine。
O're= over
They knew not：在古英语里，所有动词都能接not，不用don’t。will not, work not.
Shall: 古英语里，第一人称I、we用shall,其他人称用will。
Long shall I rue thee= For a long time I’ll regret having loved you, because it was wrong.
第四诗节
In secret we met= we met secretly
In silence I grieve= I suffer but I don’t say anything
Thy spirit deceive：这句话其实不完整，因为诗人不想重复上面说了好几遍的内容了，所以完整的意思应该是I am really sad because your heart forgot me and because your spirit deceived me.
If I should meet thee：助动词should用在if条件句里，表达的是可能未曾发生的情况。比如：if you should see my sister, tell her to come (but I don’t think you will see her)。
How should I greet thee? 这句话里should又回归了它”建议“的本意。这句话的意思就是：how am I supposed to say hello to you?