Why Shakespeare loved iambic pentameter - David T. Freeman and Gregory Taylor

譯者: 葉Ye 睿恩Rui En 審譯者: 瑞文Eleven 林Lim

To someone first encountering the works of William Shakespeare,

對於第一次閱讀 莎士比亞的作品的人

the language may seem strange.

他的用語可能有些奇怪

But there is a secret to appreciating it.

但是要了解他的作品 有一個秘訣

Although he was famous for his plays, Shakespeare was first and foremost a poet.

雖然以戲劇聞名 莎士比亞卻是一位詩人

One of the most important things in Shakespeare's language

莎士比亞的語言中 最重要的一點

is his use of stress.

是他的強調音

Not that kind of stress,

不是那種強調

but the way we emphasize certain syllables in words more than others.

是強調詞中的某些音節

We're so used to doing this that we may not notice it at first.

我們已經習慣這樣做了 以至於我們察覺不出來

But if you say the word slowly, you can easily identify them.

但是如果你慢慢地讀一個詞 你能聽得出來

Playwright, computer, telephone.

編劇、電腦、電話

Poets are very aware of these stresses,

詩人很注重這些重音

having long experimented with the number

他們常試驗各種重音節 和輕音節的個數和順序

and order of stressed and unstressed syllables,

and combined them in different ways to create rhythm in their poems.

用不同的組合方式 去產生詩歌中的韻律

Like songwriters,

像作曲家一樣

poets often express their ideas through a recognizable repetition of these rhythms

詩人靠重複一個 可識別的節奏來表達想法

or poetic meter.

這就叫韻律

And like music,

就像音樂一樣

poetry has its own set of terms for describing this.

詩歌有特殊的術語 描述這些韻律

In a line of verse,

在一行詩中

a foot is a certain number of stressed and unstressed syllables

韻腳是一定量的重音節和輕音節

forming a distinct unit,

組成了一個明顯的單位

just as a musical measure consists of a certain number of beats.

就像音樂的小節 由一定數量的拍子組成

One line of verse is usually made up of several feet.

一行詩通常有好幾個韻腳

For example, a dactyl is a metrical foot of three syllables

比如，一個長短格 是一個帶三個音節的韻腳

with the first stressed, and the second and third unstressed.

第一個音節是重音節 而後兩個是輕音節

Dactyls can create lines that move swiftly and gather force,

長短格可以創造出 流暢有力的詩句

as in Robert Browning's poem, "The Lost Leader."

就像羅伯特·布朗寧的 詩歌《 失落的領袖》

"Just for a handful of silver he left us. Just for a rib and to stick in his coat."

「只為了一把銀錢 他離開了我們」

「只為了一條緞帶 綴在他的衣裳」

Another kind of foot is the two-syllable long trochee,

另一種韻腳是 長達兩音節的揚抑格

a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one.

第一個重音節 接著一個輕音節

The trochees in these lines from Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

莎士比亞《馬克白》中的揚抑格

lend an ominous and spooky tone to the witches' chant.

賦予了女巫的咒語 一種不祥和怪異的感覺

"Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble."

「不憚辛勞不憚煩 釜中沸沫已成瀾」

But with Shakespeare, it's all about the iamb.

但是莎士比亞 使用的是抑揚格

This two-syllable foot is like a reverse trochee,

這個長達兩個音節的 韻腳和揚抑格恰好相反

so the first syllable is unstressed and the second is stressed, as in,

所以第一個是輕音節 第二個是重音節

比如「生存還是毀滅」

"To be, or not to be."

Shakespeare's favorite meter, in particular, was iambic pentameter,

莎士比亞獨愛的韻腳 是五步抑揚格

where each line of verse is made up of five two-syllable iambs,

每行詩是由五個 兩音節抑揚格組成的

for a total of ten syllables.

總共十個音節

And it's used for many of Shakespeare's most famous lines:

許多莎士比亞的名句 都使用這個韻腳

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

「我能否把你比作夏日璀璨？」

"Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon."

「升起吧，美麗的太陽！ 趕走那嫉妒的月亮。」

Notice how the iambs cut across both punctuation and word separation.

我們可以看到抑揚格 不論標點符​​號或單詞長短

Meter is all about sound, not spelling.

韻腳是看音，而不是拼寫

Iambic pentameter may sound technical,

五步抑揚格可能聽上去很專業

but there's an easy way to remember what it means.

但是有一個很簡單的方法 能記住它的含義

The word iamb is pronounced just like the phrase, "I am."

「抑揚」 的發音很像「我是」

Now, let's expand that to a sentence

現在，把它擴展成一個

that just happens to be in iambic pentameter.

正好是五步抑揚格的句子

"I am a pirate with a wooden leg."

「我是一個有木腿的海盜」

The pirate can only walk in iambs,

這個海盜只能一步一步地走

a living reminder of Shakespeare's favorite meter.

可以聯想到 莎士比亞最喜歡的韻腳

Iambic pentameter is when he takes ten steps.

五步抑揚格是他走完了十步

Our pirate friend can even help us remember how to properly mark it

這個海盜還可以幫我 記住裡面的輕重音節

if we image the footprints he leaves walking along a deserted island beach:

如果我們想像 他在沙灘上留下的腳印

A curve for unstressed syllables, and a shoe outline for stressed ones.

曲線代表輕音節 鞋印代表重音節

"If music be the food of love, play on."

「如果音樂是愛情的食物， 那就繼續演奏吧！」

Of course, most lines of Shakespeare's plays

當然，莎士比亞戲劇裡 大多數的台詞

are written in regular prose.

都是普通的散文

But if you read carefully,

但是如果你仔細閱讀

you'll notice that Shakespeare's characters turn to poetry,

你會發現莎士比亞的人物運用詩歌

and iambic pentameter in particular,

尤其是五步抑揚格

for many of the same reasons that we look to poetry in our own lives.

就像我們欣賞我們生活中的詩歌一樣

Feeling passionate, introspective, or momentous.

感覺到激情、內省或重大

Whether it's Hamlet pondering his existence,

無論是哈姆雷特 思索他存在的意義

or Romeo professing his love,

或是羅密歐表述他的愛意

the characters switch to iambic pentameter when speaking about their emotions

這些人物都運用五步抑揚格 來表達他們的情感

and their place in the world.

和他們的境地

Which leaves just one last question.

現在就剩下一個問題了

Why did Shakespeare choose iambic pentameter for these moments,

為什麼莎士比亞 在這些時刻使用五步抑揚格

rather than, say, trochaic hexameter or dactylic tetrameter?

而不是用六步揚抑格 或四音長短格

It's been said that iambic pentameter was easy for his actors to memorize

據說五步抑揚格方便演員記憶

and for the audience to understand

觀眾也更容易理解

because it's naturally suited to the English language.

因為五步抑揚格與英語十分切合

But there might be another reason.

但是可能有另一個原因

The next time you're in a heightened emotional situation,

下次你情緒高漲的時候

like the ones that make Shakespeare's characters burst into verse,

就像使莎士比亞的角色 高歌的情景一樣

put your hand over the left side of your chest.

把你的手放在你的胸部左側

What do you feel?

你能感覺到什麼？

That's your heart beating in iambs.

你的心臟跳動的韻律也是抑揚的

Da duhm, da duhm, da duhm, da duhm, da duhm.

咚噠、咚噠、咚噠、咚噠、咚噠

Shakespeare's most poetic lines don't just talk about matters of the heart.

莎士比亞最有詩意的台詞 不只談論內心的想法

They follow its rhythm.

它們也跟著心跳的節奏