为什么莎士比亚钟爱抑扬格五音步 - 大卫·T·弗里曼与格里高利·泰勒：英语精读讲义

To someone first encountering the works of William Shakespeare, 講解

对于初次接触威廉·莎士比亚作品的人来说，

the language may seem strange.

他的语言可能会显得有些奇怪。

But there is a secret to appreciating it. 短語搭配

但欣赏它其实有一个秘诀。

Although he was famous for his plays, 語法

尽管他因戏剧而闻名，

Shakespeare was first and foremost a poet. 短語搭配

但莎士比亚首先也是最重要的一重身份是诗人。

One of the most important things 語法

其中最重要的一点，

in Shakespeare's language

在莎士比亚的语言中，

is his use of stress. 用詞

是他对“重音”的使用。

Not that kind of stress, 表達脈絡

并不是指精神压力，

but the way we emphasize certain syllables in words more than others.

而是我们在发音时对某些音节的强调。

We're so used to doing this that we may not notice it at first. 語法

我们对此习以为常，一开始可能注意不到。

But if you say the word slowly,

但如果你慢慢读这些词，

you can easily identify them.

你就能轻松辨认出来。

playwright

剧作家 (playwright)

computer

电脑 (computer)

telephone

电话 (telephone)

Poets are very aware of these stresses,

诗人对这些重音非常敏感，

having long experimented with the number and order 語法

他们长期试验数量与排列顺序，

of stressed and unstressed syllables 用詞

也就是重读和轻读音节的搭配，

and combined them in different ways to create rhythm in their poems.

并以不同方式组合，在诗中创造出节奏。

Like songwriters,

就像词曲作者一样，

poets often express their ideas 短語搭配

诗人常常表达他们的思想

through a recognizable repetition

通过某种易于辨认的重复，

of these rhythms or poetic meter. 用詞

也就是这些节奏，或称诗歌的格律。

And like music,

就像音乐一样，

poetry has its own set of terms for describing this. 短語搭配

诗歌也有自己的一套术语来描述这一点。

In a line of verse,

在一行诗中，

a foot is a certain number of stressed and unstressed syllables 用詞

一个“音步”是由一定数量的重读和轻读音节

forming a distinct unit,

组成的独立单位，

just as a musical measure consists of a certain number of beats. 表達脈絡

就像一个音乐小节包含一定数量的拍子一样。

One line of verse is usually made up of several feet. 短語動詞

一行诗通常由几个音步组成。

For example,

例如，

a dactyl is a metrical foot of three syllables 用詞

扬抑抑格是由三个音节组成的音步，

with the first stressed and the second and third unstressed. 語法

第一个音节重读，第二和第三个轻读。

Dactyls can create lines that move swiftly and gather force, 習語

扬抑抑格可以创造出移动迅速且积聚力量的诗句，

as in Robert Browning's poem "The Lost Leader."

就像在罗伯特·布朗宁的诗《迷失的领袖》中一样。

"Just for a handful of silver he left us, 短語搭配

“为了几两碎银，他背弃了我们，

just for a rib and to stick in his coat."

只为在外套上别一条勋带。”

Another kind of foot is the two-syllable long trochee, 用詞

另一种音步是两个音节的长扬抑格，

a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one.

一个重读音节接着一个轻读音节。

The trochees in these lines from Shakespeare's Macbeth

莎士比亚《麦克白》中这些诗句里的扬抑格，

lend an ominous and spooky tone to the witches' chant. 短語搭配

给女巫的吟唱增添了不祥和阴森的基调。

"Double, double, toil and trouble, 文化背景

“不辞劳苦，加倍努力，

fire burn and cauldron bubble."

釜中沸腾，烈火燃起。”

But with Shakespeare,

但在莎士比亚的作品中，

it's all about the iamb. 短語搭配

关键在于“抑扬格”。

This two-syllable foot is like a reversed trochee, 用詞

这种双音节音步就像倒过来的扬抑格，

so the first syllable is unstressed and the second is stressed,

第一个音节轻读，第二个音节重读，

as in "to be or not to be." 文化背景

比如在“to be or not to be”中。

Shakespeare's favorite meter in particular was iambic pentameter, 用詞

莎士比亚最喜欢的格律是“五步抑扬格”，

where each line of verse is made up of five two-syllable iambs

每一行诗由五个双音节的抑扬格组成，

for a total of 10 syllables.

总共10个音节。

And it's used for many of Shakespeare's most famous lines.

它被用于莎士比亚许多最著名的台词中。

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" 用詞

“我怎么能够把你来比作夏天？”

"Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon." 習語

“升起吧，美丽的太阳，赶走那嫉妒的月亮。”

Notice how the iambs cut across 短語動詞

请注意抑扬格是如何穿插的，

both punctuation and word separation.

它跨越了标点符号和单词的分割。

Meter is all about sound, 表達脈絡

格律完全关乎声音，

not spelling.

而不是拼写。

Iambic pentameter may sound technical, 語法

五步抑扬格听起来可能很专业，

but there's an easy way to remember what it means.

但有一个简单的方法来记住它的含义。

The word iamb is pronounced just like the phrase "I am." 短語搭配

单词 iamb（抑扬格）的发音与短语“I am”（我是）一样。

Now let's expand that to a sentence

现在让我们把它扩展成一个句子，

that just happens to be in iambic pentameter. 短語搭配

它正好是五步抑扬格。

"I am a pirate with a wooden leg."

“I am a pirate with a wooden leg.”（我是一个装木腿的海盗。）

The pirate can only walk in iambs, 習語

这个海盗只能以抑扬格的方式行走，

a living reminder of Shakespeare's favorite meter. 短語搭配

他是莎士比亚最喜爱格律的鲜活提示。

Iambic pentameter is when he takes 10 steps.

当他走10步时，就是五步抑扬格。

Our pirate friend can even help us remember how to properly mark it

我们这位海盗朋友甚至能帮我们记住如何正确标记它，

if we imagine the footprints he leaves

如果我们想象他留下的脚印，

walking along a deserted island beach.

漫步在一个荒岛的海滩上。

A curve for unstressed syllables

弧线代表轻读音节，

and a shoe outline for stressed ones.

鞋形代表重读音节。

"If music be the food of love, play on." 講解

“如果音乐是爱情的食粮，那就奏下去吧。”

Of course, most lines of Shakespeare's plays

当然，莎士比亚戏剧中的大多数台词

are written in regular prose. 用詞

是用普通的散文体写成的。

But if you read carefully,

但如果你仔细阅读，

you'll notice that Shakespeare's characters turn to poetry, 短語動詞

你会发现莎士比亚的角色会转向诗歌，

and iambic pentameter in particular,

特别是五步抑扬格，

for many of the same reasons

其原因大多与

that we look to poetry in our own lives.

我们在现实生活中寻求诗歌的原因相同。

Feeling passionate, 表達脈絡

感到充满激情、

introspective,

陷入内省、

or momentous.

或者面临重大时刻。

Whether it's Hamlet pondering his existence 語法

无论是哈姆雷特思考自己的存在，

or Romeo professing his love,

还是罗密欧倾诉他的爱意，

the characters switch to iambic pentameter

这些角色都会切换到五步抑扬格，

when speaking about their emotions

当他们谈论自己的情感，

and their place in the world. 習語

以及他们在世界上的位置时。

Which leaves just one last question. 表達脈絡

这就只剩下一个最后的问题。

Why did Shakespeare choose iambic pentameter for these moments

为什么莎士比亚在这些时刻选择五步抑扬格，

rather than, say, trochaic hexameter or dactylic tetrameter? 短語搭配

而不是扬抑六步格或扬抑抑四步格呢？

It's been said that iambic pentameter was easy for his actors to memorize 語法

有人说五步抑扬格对他的演员来说容易背诵，

and for the audience to understand

也方便观众理解，

because it's naturally suited to the English language. 短語搭配

因为它天生就适合英语这门语言。

But there might be another reason.

但可能还有另一个原因。

The next time you're in a heightened emotional situation 語法

下次当你处于情绪高涨的状态时，

like the ones that make Shakespeare's characters burst into verse, 習語

就像那些让莎士比亚角色突然作诗的时刻一样，

put your hand over the left side of your chest.

把你的手放在你胸口的左侧。

What do you feel?

你感觉到了什么？

That's your heart beating in iambs. 習語

那就是你的心脏以抑扬格跳动着。

Da duhm,

哒咚、

da duhm,

哒咚、

da duhm,

哒咚、

da duhm,

哒咚、

da duhm.

哒咚。

Shakespeare's most poetic lines

莎士比亚最具诗意的台词

don't just talk about matters of the heart, 講解

不仅仅是在谈论关于内心的事情，

they follow its rhythm.

它们还跟随着内心的跳动节奏。