Exploring English Poetry with Translation

English poetry encompasses a rich tradition of literary works ranging from sonnets to haikus, each showcasing unique themes, styles, and emotions. Let's explore some classic English poems along with their translations to delve deeper into the beauty and nuances of poetic expression.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Translation:

我把你比作夏日？

你更温柔、更可爱：

五月的风把嫩芽吹摇，

夏天的时限太快逝。

有时上天之眼炙热，

金质容颜也会黯淡；

所有美丽终将凋零，

逝去无常或自然稍嫌；

而你的夏日永不褪色，

永远拥有你之美好；

死亡不可炫耀你偏离，

因为你在永恒的诗行里：

只要人们还有气息、还有眼睛，

这首诗就长存，并将使你永生。

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Translation:

黄色树林里有两条分岔路，

遗憾无法同行到两处，

我独自思量久久如何处，

向一路极目，远至傍晚逢丛；

后踏另途，同样优美，

理由或许更具说服力，

因它覆草想被蹂躏；

虽说从旧路迹与此刻旁，

轶事以致成平起平坐。

晨间无人踏得黑叶，

我保留首途供他它日；

虽然明了途径通，

我却怀疑能否再回。

我将沉默传之后人——

无尽岁月彼时彼处：

两条路在林间分歧，

我——

我选了途行人少，

这就造成了一切不同。

English poetry is a treasure trove of emotions, reflections, and creativity. Through translations, we can appreciate the universal themes and timeless beauty of these poems across languages and cultures.