SONNET 18 by: William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (a)
我能不能把你跟夏天做比较。
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. (b)
你可是比较秀丽动人与温和
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (a)
暴风会吹落五月的小花儿
And summer's lease hath all too short a date. (b)
夏季的租约又未免结束得太快

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (c)
有时苍天的巨眼(太阳)照得太灼热
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; (d)
很多时候它那光线也会被遮暗(被云遮暗)
And every fair from fair sometime declines, (c)
每一个美人/每个美丽的东西，总会离开美而凋落
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed: (d)
被时机/意外或者自然的代谢所摧残；被剥夺了

But thy eternal summer shall not fade (e)
但是你永恒的夏天决不会凋枯
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, (f)
你也不会失去你拥有的的美貌
Nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest in his shade (e)
死神也无法夸口，说你在他的阴影里徘徊
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st. (f)
在永恒不朽的诗歌里你将与时间同寿。

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, (g)
只要人类呼着吸，眼睛看得见
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (g)
我这诗就活着，使你的生命绵延

Translated by
Allan Tan
A member of Pusat Tuition Penjana Ilmu
(我能教育机构)


Meaning of difficult words

Compare to 把什么比做什么。
Thou = you = 前者主格(动词前用)。
Thee = you = 后者宾格(动词后用)。
thy，或thine, 即现代英语的your。
Art = are. 16、17世纪时与thou一起用。
Temperate: 温和Shake：摇落shake off/destroyed 。
Lease 租借期限，此处指夏天的长度。
Hath 与第三人称单数连用，相当于现代英语的has。
Dimmed: 被云遮暗clouded.
Fair form fair:前后fair意义不同。一个代表每人；一个代表美丽的东西
Chance：时运，命运。
declines：衰落
Untrimm’d.：本意为剥去美观的衣服等，此处隐喻夺去美貌等。
Fair thou ow’st: 你又的美貌 beauty you own.
His shade：shadow of death.
wander’st in his shade：在他的阴影里徘徊”。

Exercise 1
Choose the best answer.

1. The poet compares his beloved to
A. a summer's day
B. a beautiful jewel
C. a summer flower
D. a summer shower

2. The phrase 'the darling buds of May' means
A. the beautiful flowers of May
B. the beautiful girls born in May
C. the eyes of the beloved
D. the lines of the sonnet

3. What shines like gold?
A. The flowers of May
B. The beloved's hair
C. The beloved's face
D. The sun

4. The phrase 'fair thou ow'st' means
A. the beauty that death takes away
B. the beauty you owe the poet
C. the beauty you see in nature
D. the beauty you possess

5. What does 'this' mean in 'this gives life to thee'?
A. The eternal summer
B. The summer's day
C. The sonnet
D. The sun

6. The line 'summer's lease hath all too short a date' means
A. summer lasts a short time
B. summer starts on a certain date
C. summer is shorter than other seasons
D. all of the above

7. How long will the sonnet 'give life' to the beloved?
A. As long as the beloved is alive
B. As long as mankind survives
C. As long as the sonnet is read
D. As long as the poet is alive

Exercise 2
Write short answers to the following questions.

1. How is the beloved more temperate than a summer's day?

2. How is the 'gold complexion' (line 6) dimmed?

3. How do 'fair' (line 7) things decline?

4. How would you feel if this poem were addressed to you?

5. Would you praise someone you love in this way? Explain your answer.