跟着大牛，翻着书和字典学莎士比亚

Venus and Adonis 1


Even as the sun with purple-colour'd face
Had ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn,
Rose-cheek'd Adonis hied him to the chase;
Hunting he loved, but love he laugh'd to scorn;
Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,
And like a bold-faced suitor 'gins to woo him.


even as: 正当
purple-colour'd: 伊丽莎白时代的英语中多指红色
ta'en: taken
weeping：露水的
morn: morning
hied：hastened，快走，使快走, hied him, hied himself
sick-thoughted：相思的
makes amain：全力以赴，最大速度行动；用现在时态来强调气氛
bold-faced：厚颜的
'gins：begins


Venus and Adonis 2

‘Thrice fairer than myself,’ thus she began,  
‘The field’s chief flower, sweet above compare,  
Stain to all nymphs, more lovely than a man,  
More white and red than doves or roses are;   10  
Nature that made thee, with herself at strife,  
Saith that the world hath ending with thy life.  
 
9 stain to：使。。。有污迹。stain 名词
9 nymph：仙女  
11 thee：你（古，thou的宾格）  
11 with herself at strife：与自己竞争  
12 saith: says (古）  
12 hath：has（古）
12 thy: 你的（古，thou的所有格）

Venus and Adonis 11

Forc’d to content, but never to obey,  
Panting he lies, and breatheth in her face; 
She feedeth on the steam, as on a prey, 
And calls it heavenly moisture, air of grace;   
Wishing her cheeks were gardens full of flowers,   65 
So they were dew’d with such distilling showers. 

61 content: 默认，同意，顺从
62 breatheth: （古）breathes  
63 feedeth: （古）feeds  
63 steam: 热的呼吸 
64 grace:  divine love
66 so:  如果，假如
66 distilling showers: 热呼吸变冷后形成的水珠

Venus and Adonis 23

‘Were I hard-favour’d, foul, or wrinkled-old,
Ill-nurtur’d, crooked, churlish, harsh in voice,
O’erworn, despised, rheumatic, and cold,  135
Thick-sighted, barren, lean, and lacking juice,
Then mightst thou pause, for then I were not for thee;
But having no defects, why dost abhor me?

133 hard-favour'd: hard-featured, 长得粗野，不吸引人
133 foul：ugly, 难看
134 ill-nurtured: ill-bred, 没礼貌，没教养
134 crooked: deformed, 弯曲的，变形的
134 churlish：rude, 粗鲁的
135 O’erworn: worn out
135 rheumatic: dripping with rheum or catarrh
136 Thick-sighted: dim-sighted, 视力差
136 barren：不育的
136 lean： 贫瘠
136 juice：活力