在19世纪初的英国文学中，浪漫主义诗人珀西·比希·雪莱（Percy Bysshe Shelley）以其深邃的思想与激昂的情感闻名。其中，《西风颂》（Ode to the West Wind）是他最具代表性的诗作之一，不仅展现了自然的力量，也寄托了诗人对变革与希望的深切渴望。
一、原文：《Ode to the West Wind》
I
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes—O, thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the spring shall blow
Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and all
The buried feet of the half-dead in the frosty ground,
With shattering of the ice in every river,
And the sudden meeting of the sun with the wind,
And the first quivering of the grass beneath the snow.
II
If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;
A wave to be washed by thy power, my dear;
A fire to be kindled by thy blue flame;
Or a winged seed, that, after the storm,
Shall rise on the wings of the wind, and fall
In the new world, where the old world is forgotten.
O, if I could be a part of thee,
Even as the leaves are part of the tree!
Then, oh, what a joy it would be,
To be carried away by the wind,
And to feel the cool air upon my face,
And to be free, and to be wild!
III
Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
What if the loom of life be broken,
And the threads of fate be torn?
Let me be the voice of the storm,
And let my words be the thunder,
And let my soul be the lightning,
That may shake the world,
And awaken the sleeping minds
Of men who are lost in darkness.
IV
Hast thou not seen the young man,
Who, with his heart full of hope,
Fell into the deep,
And was swallowed up by the sea?
Hast thou not heard the cry of the child,
Whose mother was taken by the wind,
And who wandered through the fields,
Calling for her name?
O, if I could be the wind,
That would carry the sorrowful cries,
And bring them to the ears of the gods,
And make them weep for the pain of the world.
V
Be thou, O wind, the trumpet of my song,
And let the world hear my voice,
Though I am but a shadow,
And though I have no form,
Yet let my words be the echo of the storm,
And let them be heard in the halls of the mighty,
And in the silence of the lonely,
And in the hearts of those who dream.
二、中文翻译
第一段
啊，狂野的西风，你是秋天的灵魂，
你从那不可见的存在中，
将枯叶驱散，如同巫师逃走时的幽灵，
黄的、黑的、苍白的、病态的红，
成群的病疫之民——哦，你，
载着那些有翼的种子，前往它们黑暗的冬眠之地，
每一个都像尸体躺在坟墓中，直到
你的蔚蓝姐妹春天吹响她的号角，
唤醒沉睡大地上的半死之足，
冰层在每条河流中破裂，
阳光与风相遇，
积雪下草的第一次颤动。
第二段
如果我是一片落叶，你或许能将我带走；
如果我是一朵云，能随你飞翔；
如果我是波浪，被你的力量冲刷；
如果我是火焰，被你蓝色的火苗点燃；
或是一粒有翼的种子，在风暴之后，
乘风而起，落在新的世界，
那里旧的世界已被遗忘。
哦，若我能成为你的一部分，
就像树叶是树的一部分！
那么，多么快乐啊，
能被风吹走，
感受清凉的空气拂过脸庞，
自由而狂野！
第三段
让我成为你的竖琴，正如森林一样：
即使生命的织机被打破，
命运的线被撕裂，
让我成为风暴的声音，
让我的话语成为雷鸣，
让我的灵魂成为闪电，
震撼这个世界，
唤醒那些迷失在黑暗中的心灵。
第四段
你难道没有见过那个年轻人，
心中充满希望，
却跌入深海，
被大海吞没？
你难道没有听过那个孩子的哭声，
他的母亲被风吹走，
他在田野中游荡，
呼唤她的名字？
哦，若我能成为那阵风，
带着悲伤的呼喊，
送到诸神耳边，
让他们为世界的痛苦落泪。
第五段
啊，风，成为我歌声的号角，
让世界听见我的声音，
尽管我只是一个影子，
尽管我没有形体，
但让我的话语成为风暴的回声，
在权贵的殿堂里回响，
在孤独的寂静中响起，
在梦者的心中传开。
三、结语
《西风颂》不仅是对自然力量的赞美，更是对人类精神的呼唤。雪莱通过西风这一意象，表达了对变革的渴望、对自由的向往以及对未来的信念。无论是在英文原作还是中文译文中，这首诗都以其强烈的节奏感和深邃的哲理，打动着每一位读者。它不仅属于过去，更属于现在与未来。
