Hugh Selwyn Mauberley

原文與注釋(Text and Annotation)

XII
"Daphne with her things in bark
Stretches toward me her leafy hands,"- (192-193)
Subjectively. In the stuffed-satin drawing-room
I await The Lady Valentine's commands, 195
   
Knowing my coat has never been
Of precisely the fashion  
To stimulate, in her,  
A durable passion; (196-199)
Doubtful, somewhat, of the value 200
Of well-gowned approbation
Of literary effort,  
But never of The Lady Valentine's vocation: (200-203)
   
Poetry, her border of ideas,
The edge, uncertain, but a means of blending 205
With other strata
Where the lower and higher have ending;
   
A hook to catch the Lady Jane's attention,
A modulation toward the theatre,
Also, in the case of revolution, 210
A possible friend and comforter. (210-211)
. . . . . .
 
Conduct, on the other hand, the soul
"Which the highest cultures have nourished" (212-213)
To Fleet St. where
Dr. Johnson flourished; 215
   
Beside this thoroughfare
The sale of half-hose has
Long since superseded the cultivation
Of Pierian roses. (216-219); (218-219)
1919 1920


Line
Annotation
題解
本節中,Pound終於了解當代文學社中無他容身之地,因此他對時髦的倫敦文學沙龍加以嚴厲批評。在這些沙龍中,詩和藝術並非因其本身價值而受到重視;人們只是利用詩和藝術作進身之階。詩人Pound不得不自我讚譽,而往昔受人敬仰的文學區艦隊街,如今卻成為服飾商人的地盤。[back]
192
Daphne:希臘神話中一位半人半神少女,因受Appollo的追逐,祈求獲救,而為眾神之主Jupiter變為月桂樹(laurel tree).[back]
192-193
此二行詩係直接由法國詩人Theophile Gautier的詩"Le Chateau du souvenir"翻譯而來。Gautier為對Pound早期作品有影響力的詩人之一。在此處,Daphne的故事是194行中的drawing-room的室內裝飾(壁畫成浮彫)的一部份,表示Daphne被變成月桂樹──大腿成為樹幹,雙手變成樹葉。[back]
194
Subjectively:主觀地。Daphne這個神話的文化上的意義,對女主人毫無作用。stuffed-satin:(沙發、椅等)內部充填,外飾鍛面的。[back]
195
我等待Lady Valentine的接見。Lady Valentine是作家的庇護人 (Patron)之流的貴婦人。[back]
196-199
譬喻說法。意為我的作品風格從未得她長期的激賞。這四行在文法構造上是一個分詞片語,主詞是195行的"I".[back]
200-203
在文法構造上Doubtful的主詞也是195行的"I".Doubtful後面的兩個前置詞片是of the value . . . effortBut never of . . . vocation.[back]
201
well-gowned approbation:approval of fashionable people.時髦人物的贊同。[back]
203
vocation:職業,也就是她作為作家庇護人的動機。下面八行中有所解釋。[back]
204
Poetry, her border of ideas:詩是意識的邊界。換言之,她實際上並不了解詩。[back]
205
edge: border.[back]
205
blending: mixing.[back]
206
Strata:i.e., of society社會的其他階層。[back]
207
Where the lower and higher classes are met.[back]
208
hook:means, trick, Lady Jane: a lady of a higher rank.[back]
209
模仿舞台式抑揚頓挫的聲音。意思是說,她作為詩人的庇護人,也只是一種戲劇式姿態。[back]
210-211
如果發生革命,在她所常會見的下層階級相識中,她可能得到協助和安慰。[back]
212-219
如果文學庇護人不欣賞我的作品,另一可能選擇就是從商業性著作;然而在艦隊街,一般的商業早已超越了商業著作。[back]
212
Conduct:導引。[back]
212-213
the soul . . . nourished : the writer.[back]
214
Fleet St.:英國倫敦的艦隊街,在十八世紀時為僱傭作家集居之地。[back]
215
Dr. Johnson:Dr. Samuel Johnson(1709-1784),英國十八世紀著名作家。flourished:享有盛名。約翰生博士(Dr.Johnson)早年亦為僱傭作家(hack writer)之,但後來卻享盛名。[back]
216
thoroughfare:通衢,大道。指Fleet St.[back]
217
half-hose: short stockings.[back]
217
The sale of half-hose:i.e. commercialization商業化;商業。[back]
218-219
The cultivation/Of Pierian roses:詩歌寫作。[back]
219
Pierian roses:指詩歌。語出希臘女詩人Sappho之未完成的遺稿之一。Sappho詩中所提到的花是rose,而Pieriz地方在傳統上是與對Muses(掌詩及其他藝術之女神)的崇拜視為一體的。[back]

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