1.-- O, my Love is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my Love is like the melodie,
That's sweetly played in tune.
——A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns (1759-1796)
在爱情诗句里,彭斯的这首《一朵红红的玫瑰》总能赢得一席之位。在诗人眼中,"爱人就是六月初绽的玫瑰,火红斗妍;又是一支奏起的曲子,美丽悠扬"。
2.-- Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
——from Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
或许我可用夏日将你作比方,
但你比夏日更可爱也更温良。
莎士比亚这首十四行诗恐怕对多数人来说并不陌生,把爱人比作浓浓的夏日突显了爱人的多情。对多雨雾天气的英国来说,"心爱之人如同夏日般令人惬意",实在是再贴切不过的比喻了,夏季温暖而不炎热,是一年中最宜人的季节。
3.-- Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
——from Song to Celia by Ben Jonson (1573-1637)
"诗人祈求情人只用目光向他祝酒,他也会回报脉脉含情的目光"。真情无多话语,眉目已传情。情人在杯中留下一吻,胜过美酒千杯。作者本·琼森与莎士比亚同时代,这首《致西莉亚》是一首脍炙人口的抒情诗。以间接委婉的笔法描绘了情人的眉目顾盼和醉人的吻。
4.-- With thee conversing I forget all time,
All seasons and their change, all please alike.
——from Paradise Lost by John Milton (1608-1674)
"与亚当说话,能让夏娃忘记时间、季节轮转与变化",或许,在常人眼中,人世间最纯朴的爱情表白就是这句了。弥尔顿的《失乐园》是英国文学史上最伟大的一部史诗,运用了大量典故和比喻。但是描述爱情的这句简洁明了,通俗易懂。
5.-- Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one another's being mingle:-
Why not I with thine?
——from Love's Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
在雪莱这首《爱的哲学》里,诗人站在哲人的角度寓教恋人,展开求爱攻势。"在神圣的自然法规里,世间万物从不孤零零存在,它们都必然容于一体,为什么你我却要例外?"