斯宾塞《爱情小诗》的时间观

Time in Spenser's Amoretti

时间是英国文艺复兴时期人们最为关注的话题之一。斯宾塞在《爱情小诗》中巧妙地隐含了时间的特性:时间既有衰亡意象的直线发展性,又有永恒意象的圆形循环性。他的《爱情小诗》以89首十四行诗作为整体,阐释了斯宾塞的时间观:人类可以通过爱情和诗歌两种方式战胜时间,即变直线时间为圆环时间,以达到永恒。这使得《爱情小诗》的意义已经超脱了一般的爱情诗歌,具有深刻的哲理。

For the English Renaissance people, time is one of the top concerns. As a whole, Spenser＇s 89 sonnets of Amoretti convey the properties of time： time is both linear suggesting the image of decline, and cyclic suggesting the image of eternity. The poem reveals Spenser＇s notion of time ： man can conquer time through love and poetry, moving from the linear time to cyclic time, so as to reach eternity. Thus the poem expresses a profound philosophy not usually found in the poetry on love.