夜裡相會
誰在Robert Browning的詩裡偷來暗去？
作者：吳哲硯 攝影：吳哲志
Meeting at Night
The grey sea and the long black land,
And the yellow half-moon large and low,
And the startled little waves that leap,
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i' the slushy sand.
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach,
Three fields to cross till a farm appears,
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch,
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, thro' its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!
羅伯．布朗寧(Robert Browning)是維多利亞時期(Victorian Age, 1837-1901)英國詩壇兩大祭酒之一。這首〈夜間相會〉饒富意象、講究音韻、琢磨修辭，很適合作為踏入英詩殿堂的入門磚。全詩結構工整，分為兩詩節，各六詩行)，共計十二行，詩短情賅。題目未言明會面者誰，已帶懸念，誘使讀者逐行索人，跟隨敍事者犂海跋田犯難冒險，乃尋至最後一行，對象才水落石出，原來是敍事者的愛人。然意猶未盡，直到重讀，方能體會作者竟是字字苦心孤詣。
本文選自《生活潮藝文誌》第二期，值得對電影、藝文有興趣的年輕人關注，各大網路書店現正販售中。