Somnus

EMILY  DICKINSON

*A sequestered and obscure life

與世隔絕&默默無聞的人生

*家

The small town of Amherst, Massachusetts → 清教徒背景

*She became more and more reclusive, dressing only in white, seeing no visitors, yet working ceaselessly at her poems-nearly eighteen hundred in all, only a few of which were published during her lifetime.

Because I could not stop for Death-

He kindly stopped for me-

The Carriage held but just Ourselves-

And Immorality.

我不能因為死亡而駐足等候
Death 很好心的為我停留下來

馬車上只載我們兩個人(指speaker和Death)和永生

*Death 的D大寫 表擬人用法 後面的Immorality用法相同

We slowly drove-He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility-

我們慢慢的往前走 他也不疾不徐的

我也把工作的辛苦和空閒放在一邊

只因為他的殷勤

We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess-in the Ring-

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain-

We passed the Setting Sun-

我們經過學校

在遊戲場上 小朋友在短短的下課十分鐘玩耍

路過路旁的稻田

路過即將西沉的夕陽

Or rather-He passed Us-

The Dews drew quivering and chill-

For only Gossamer, my Gown-

My Tippet-only Tulle-

或者可以說 他經過我們

露水讓我顫抖&寒冷

因為只穿一件薄紗

我的披肩(圍巾)也只是薄紗

*Tippet = Gossamer = thin soft silk = 薄紗 

We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground-

The Roof was scarcely visible-

The Cornice-in the Ground-

我們在一棟房子前停下來

它像地上壟起的地方

屋簷幾乎看不到

因為飛簷(屋頂最高的地方)在地下

*有墳墓的feel

Since then-’tis Centuries-and yet 
Feels shorter than the Day 
I first surmised the Horses’Heads 
Were toward Eternity- 
從此以後 過了好幾個世紀

比白天來得短

到那天我才發現

我馬車的頭是指著永恆

老師說

這首詩

是在講

“當我們體力還行時 要去做很多事 讓生命有意義

不要等待死亡”

這首詩是在寫 作者跟Death 一起坐馬車

回顧一生

*　　　*　　　*

很有feel

不過　聽完老師講解

才知道作者想表達更深一層的意思

很有意境

但是若 沒有老師的講解

我大概也不知道不到深一層的涵義吧～

呵呵...