A Psalm of Life及六种汉译的“三美”再现

On the Representation of "Three Beauties" in the Six Chinese Versions of A Psalm of Life

美国诗人Longfellow的代表诗作之一A Psalm of Life是第一首被翻译成汉语的英语诗歌,其句式整齐,音韵谐美,基调慷慨激昂。文章以许渊冲先生的"三美论"为理论视角,分析了六个典型汉译本中形美、音美与意美的再现,其中黄皋炘先生译文更好地再现了原文之"三美"。因此,对该诗进行翻译,译者要在同时精通原语与译入语,用中国传统诗歌题裁翻译限制较多,选择"以顿代步"是可行之法。

A Psalm of Life, one of Longfellow＇s poetic masterpieces, is the first English poem that has ever been translated into Chinese. It is rigid in its structure, harmonious in its rhythm and impassioned in its mood. According to Professor Xu Yuanchongs ＂Three Beauties＂ theory, we make an analysis of the representation of formal beauty, metrical beauty and meaningful beauty in its six Chinese versions. Rendering such an English poem, a translator should acquire mastery of both source language and tar- get language. The method of ＂replacing pause with foot＂ can be feasible in the translation instead of the traditional Chinese poetic styles and meters.