1.-- O, my Love is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my Love is like the melodie,
That's sweetly played in tune.
——A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns (1759-1796)
在愛情詩句里,彭斯的這首《一朵紅紅的玫瑰》總能贏得一席之位。在詩人眼中,"愛人就是六月初綻的玫瑰,火紅斗妍;又是一支奏起的曲子,美麗悠揚"。
2.-- Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
——from Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
或許我可用夏日將你作比方,
但你比夏日更可愛也更溫良。
莎士比亞這首十四行詩恐怕對多數人來說并不陌生,把愛人比作濃濃的夏日突顯了愛人的多情。對多雨霧天氣的英國來說,"心愛之人如同夏日般令人愜意",實在是再貼切不過的比喻了,夏季溫暖而不炎熱,是一年中最宜人的季節(jié)。
3.-- Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
——from Song to Celia by Ben Jonson (1573-1637)
"詩人祈求情人只用目光向他祝酒,他也會回報脈脈含情的目光"。真情無多話語,眉目已傳情。情人在杯中留下一吻,勝過美酒千杯。作者本·瓊森與莎士比亞同時代,這首《致西莉亞》是一首膾炙人口的抒情詩。以間接委婉的筆法描繪了情人的眉目顧盼和醉人的吻。
4.-- With thee conversing I forget all time,
All seasons and their change, all please alike.
——from Paradise Lost by John Milton (1608-1674)
"與亞當說話,能讓夏娃忘記時間、季節(jié)輪轉與變化",或許,在常人眼中,人世間最純樸的愛情表白就是這句了。彌爾頓的《失樂園》是英國文學史上最偉大的一部史詩,運用了大量典故和比喻。但是描述愛情的這句簡潔明了,通俗易懂。
5.-- Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one another's being mingle:-
Why not I with thine?
——from Love's Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
在雪萊這首《愛的哲學》里,詩人站在哲人的角度寓教戀人,展開求愛攻勢。"在神圣的自然法規(guī)里,世間萬物從不孤零零存在,它們都必然容于一體,為什么你我卻要例外?"