多“面”之秋

【摘要】本文以英語拟人化手法为例，简要叙述了英语作家笔下秋天的多种角色的呈现，意在提供一种有关秋天的文学阅读和文学审美的新视角，并强调加强英语文学手段学习和运用的重要性。

【关键词】秋；拟人； 阅读审美

【作者简介】陈认真（1970-），男，湖北工业大学外语学院教师，研究方向：英语文学、翻译。

在中国文化语境下，秋天是万物成熟、农家收获的季节，春华秋实，硕果累累；秋天又是万物凋零、满目肃杀的季节，秋瑾的“秋风秋雨愁煞人”即有此意。在英语文化语境下，英语作家也用各种文学手段，赋予秋天非常丰富的内涵。下面以英语中的拟人化手法为例，简略归纳叙述。

秋天是作家们非常喜欢描述的主题。西方作家如邓恩、朗费罗以及乔治·艾略特等众多文章高手，他们在描写秋天的时候，都不约而同地使用了拟人法，为秋天创造出了多种鲜活的角色。这些多“面”变换的角色，令人遐想，回味无穷：

秋是艺术家：秋借风威，点染群山：Fiery colors begin their yearly conquest of the hills， propelled by the autumn winds. Fall is the artist.

秋是空中持练人：它用美丽彩虹的色调，让山峦亮丽，让河谷生辉。The bright summer had passed away， and gorgeous autumn was flinging its rainbow-tints of beauty on hill and dale.

秋是一团火：它熊熊燃烧，火把般穿过莽莽群山……Autumn burned brightly， a running flame through the mountains， a torch flung to the trees.

秋是神奇的装订师：它把诗歌装订在枯萎的树叶里。Autumn binds poetry in its own withered leaves.

秋是恪尽职守的女服务员：它为每一片秋叶服务到极致。Autumn doesnt always promise that Winter will come， but she works hard until every colored leaf has reached its destination.

秋是舞者：人们可以从南瓜和被太阳烧烤过的枯脆的秋叶的甜美的凉意中，“闻到”秋天在微风中翩翩起舞。I can smell autumn dancing in the breeze./The sweet chill of pumpkin and crisp sunburnt leaves.

秋是技法高超的画匠：它把乡间涂抹得色彩斑斓——绯红、橙黄、灰褐……Autumn that year painted the countryside in vivid shades of scarlet， saffron， and russet， and the days were clear and crisp under harvest skies.

秋是沉思的哲人：在多雾的清晨里，晚秋沉默地站着，聆听着这世界的静默。I saw old Autumn in the misty morn stand shadowless like silence， listening to silence.

秋是挥毫泼墨的诗人：秋兀自写诗，世界默然静观……Autumn writes her own poetry，we are merely observers.

秋是美丽的女性：秋天的脸上，有着春天和夏天所没有的美丽（beauty）和雅致（grace）：No spring nor summers beauty hath such grace/As I have seen in one Autumnal face....秋天的九月和十月，有如美丽的俩姐妹：The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August， and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many.... September is dressing herself in showy dahlias and splendid marigolds and starry zinnias. October， the extravagant sister， has ordered an immense amount of the most gorgeous forest tapestry for her grand reception. 秋是作家心目中的灵魂伴侣：：Is not this a true autumn day？ Just the still melancholy that I love — that makes life and nature harmonize. The birds are consulting about their migrations， the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay， and begin to strew the ground， that ones very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air， while they give us a scent that is a pefect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn！ My very soul is wedded to it， and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

秋是魔术师：秋叶魔法般地隐藏了小路falling leaves hide the path so quietly，秋天暗淡了夏空：When autumn dulls the summer skies，/And paler sunshine softly lies/Upon the brown and fallow lands：—/As fairy artists come in bands/To paint with brushes dipped with frost：—/They pay with gold， for verdure lost...

秋是舞会持办者：它开派对：October gave a party；/The leaves by hundreds came，—/The Ashes， Oaks， and Maples，/And leaves of every name./The sunshine spread a carpet，/And every thing was grand；/Miss Weather led the dancing；/Professor Wind， the band..../The sight was like a rainbow/New-fallen from the sky....它彬彬有礼，为黎明皇后戴上美丽的皇冠：Autumn bowed to place a beautiful crown on the Queen of Morning， and her velvet robes sway merrily in the chilly breeze.

秋是勇士：它宏偉壮观，身穿黄铜铠甲，横空出世：Magnificent Autumn！ He comes not like a pilgrim， clad in russet weeds. He comes not like a hermit， clad in gray. But he comes like a warrior， with the stain of blood upon his brazen mail. His crimson scarf is rent.... The wind.... wafts to us the odor of forest leaves， that hang wilted on the dripping branches， or drop into the stream. Their gorgeous tints are gone， as if the autumnal rains had washed them out. Orange， yellow， and scarlet， all are changed to one melancholy russet hue.... There is a melancholy and continual roar in the tops of the tall pines.... It is the funeral anthem of the dying year.

秋天真烂漫：它象个儿童，口袋中总装着美好的东西：Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.

秋古道热肠：它用repay表达它的温情厚意：Autumn repays the earth the leaves which summer lent it.

秋冷酷无情：它抓（clutch），扣（clasp），夹（grasp），拼命想窒息那执着于夏的绿意：And the Autumn clutches the forests green/In a hasty and eager clasp；/But the leaves are true to the Summer they love，/And they wither and fade in his grasp它携带着死亡的阴影：The human soul is slow to discover the real excellence of things given to us by a bountiful Creator， and not until the shadows of death begin to gather around the object that we love， do we see its worth and beauty. Autumn is the dim shadow that clusters about the sweet， precious things that God has created in the realm of nature. While it robs them of life， it tears away the veil and reveals the golden gem of beauty and sweetness. Beauty lurks in all the dim old aisles of nature， and we discover it at last. 它传布着死亡的气息：The breath of autumn had already passed along the foliage， and a coming death had spread over its hues golden， brown and crimson—a strange gaiety of decay， which， with all its beauty， carries an idea of sadness into ones heart.

以上秋的多“面”角色转换，都以拟人化的手法呈现出来，生动形象，让读者印象深刻，给文学内容增加了色彩和深度，提供给读者新的不同的视角，来观察和欣赏秋的特质。

总之，英语文学的表现手法，除了拟人法之外，还有很多。我们平时要多加熟悉和研究它们，这样，在阅读英语作家的作品的时候，就能更有意识地品味这些文学手段的功能与作用，更好地欣赏文字的魅力，吸收文学的养分，提升阅读审美能力。

参考文献：

[1]胡壮麟，刘世生.西方文体学词典[M].清华大学出版社，2004.

[2]秦涵荣.英语常用隐喻词典[M].北京大学出版社，2011.