英國文學作品《貝奧武夫》簡介

2023年12月24日發(作者：諫太宗十思疏翻譯)

beowulf簡介

《貝奧武夫》是迄今為止最古老的英國民族史詩，與法國的《羅蘭之歌》、德國的《尼伯龍根指環》并稱為歐洲文學的三大英雄史詩。其但作者已無從考證。《貝奧武夫》現存手稿僅有一部，收藏在大英博物館，其編號為Cotton Vitellius ，現存的手稿屬于10至11世紀。

現存手稿分為兩部分，總共3182行。第一部分以神話中的英雄、主人公貝奧武夫先后戰勝巨怪格蘭代爾和母怪的英雄事跡為主線索，描寫主人公年輕時代斬妖除魔的光輝業績。第二部分記述英雄晚年時不畏火龍、英勇奮戰的壯舉

故事情節

開篇

故事以丹麥國王赫洛斯伽（Hrothgar）建立一座名叫“鹿宮”（Heorot）的豪華宮殿以供他及部下娛樂（詩篇1—100行）。一個名叫格蘭代爾（Grendel）的妖怪在夜晚頻頻闖入宮中，并在一個夜晚吃掉了30名睡在那里的勇士，以至于一到夜晚怪物便襲擊宮殿，從此宮殿空無一人，被荒廢長達12年之久（詩篇101—193行）。格蘭代爾闖入鹿宮的消息最終傳到了瑞典南部，葉亞特（Geat）部落國王許基拉克（Hygelac）有一個名為貝奧武夫（Beowulf），他是一位見義勇為、救人危難、力臂超群的勇士。貝奧武夫聽到這個消息，帶著他的14名隨從乘船來到丹麥，以幫助赫洛斯伽。他們到達丹麥海岸，在向導的指引下來到赫洛斯伽的鹿宮（詩篇194—319行）。期間，這位丹麥國王講述他與貝奧武夫的父親Ecgtheow的友情，貝奧武夫陳述了他來此的目的。隨后，來訪者們受到國王的盛情款待（詩篇320—497行）。英雄的一名名叫翁非斯（Unferth；意為“好斗者”）的手下卻很不友好，根據道聽圖說污蔑我們的英雄在一次游泳比賽中輸給了布雷卡（Breca），貝奧武夫用鐵的事實駁斥了翁非斯，并譴責他膽小怯懦，不敢與格蘭代爾交手（詩篇498—606行）。隨后，赫洛斯伽的王后Wealhtheow斟滿貝奧武夫的酒杯，我們的英雄表示了他要么征服怪物，要么被怪物殺死的決心。很快，天色暗了下來，國王和他的隨從離開了宮殿，剩下貝奧武夫和他的武士保衛宮殿（詩篇607—665行）。

英雄的第一次冒險經歷

貝奧武夫與他的隨從準備入睡前，我們的英雄脫去身上的盔甲，聲稱在這場與妖怪的決斗中不使用他的利劍。很快，妖怪格蘭代爾闖進宮殿，并很快地吃掉了一名勇士，直奔貝奧武夫。我們的英雄空手與妖怪展開了激烈的搏斗，宮殿內響起了他們搏斗之間所產生的巨大聲響。最終，貝奧武夫用他那力大驚人的力臂把格蘭代爾的右臂從肩頭硬是活生生地撕扯了下來，格蘭代爾受到了致命的創傷，逃走了（詩篇665行—833行）。勝利者向眾人展示了格蘭代爾的手臂，丹麥人相互述說著英雄的豐功偉績，以表達他們對貝奧武夫的欽佩與贊賞。國王赫洛斯伽獎賞貝奧武夫富有的寶藏（詩篇834—1062行）。在宴會期間，赫洛斯伽的一位行吟詩人歌唱了弗里西亞人國王芬恩（Finn）由于背信棄義引起血親報仇而造成多人死亡的悲慘故事（詩篇1063—1159行），王后隨后現身，并贈送貝奧武夫一條價值連城的項鏈（詩篇1160—1323行）夜晚，一名名叫Aeschere的勇士留守宮殿，然而，妖怪格蘭代爾的母親來到宮殿，并抓走了國王的議長Aeschere（詩篇1233—1306行）。國王告訴貝奧武夫這件極其不幸的事情，并詳細地向他介紹了妖怪洞穴的情況，我們的英雄許諾，將為Aeschere報仇雪恨（詩篇1306—1396行）。

英雄的第二次冒險經歷

貝奧武夫和他的隨從跟蹤水怪（即格蘭代爾得母親）來到一個水塘，英雄隨即跳入水中，潛入水底，到達一個地下洞穴，這正是怪物格蘭代爾和她母親的居住地。他隨即與格蘭代爾的母親展開了漫長而激烈的決斗，并最終用懸掛在洞穴中古代巨人打造的魔劍殺手了水怪。貝奧武夫割下她與死在洞穴角落里的格蘭代爾頭顱，帶著他的戰利品回到了塘岸。他的隨從們

仍正在岸邊等待著，對英雄的生還已經絕望（詩篇1397—1631行）。勝利者凱旋而歸，并受到赫洛斯伽的盛情接待，他要為英雄論功行賞（詩篇1632—1784行）。第二天，貝奧武夫向國王赫洛斯伽道別，赫洛斯伽贈與他更多的禮物。訪問者們回到了他們的家鄉（詩篇1785—1921行）。其后，詩歌贊美了許基拉克的年輕妻子Hygd的美德，并向讀者介紹了許基拉克和貝奧武夫的見面，后者講述了赫洛斯伽和他的女兒Feawaru及女婿Ingeld之間的關系，隨后，叔叔許基拉克和侄子貝奧武夫交換了禮物（詩篇1922—2199行）。隨著時間的流逝，老國王許基拉克去世了，他的兒子繼承了王位，但很快死于與瑞典人的戰斗中。貝奧武夫被推選為葉亞特國王，開始了他長達50年的國王統治（詩篇2200—2210行）。

Sir Patrick Spens

Poem Summary

Line 1

The ballad begins by introducing the main characters. Here, we meet the

king, who is in Dumferling, Scotland. The king “sits,” in that he

“reigns” and his throne is a “at” of his power. He also “sits”

in the n of being stationary. He does not move, though his actions

will make others move.

Line 2

The wine that the king drinks is “blood red,” suggesting his power over

life and death, as well as the ea with which he controls other people’s

lives. He nds men to their deaths as casually as one might drink a glass

of wine.

Lines 3-4

“Oh where will I get a good sailor, to sail this ship of mine?” the king

asks. Soon, the king will choo Sir Patrick Spens. Although being

lected by the king is an honor, it also means that Spens must undertake

an impossible journey. As a sailor, Spens is a “good,” skillful sailor

and becau he is brave, he is a good man as well; but this cannot save

him from his fate. No matter how skillful a sailor he is, no human can

withstand the fury of nature. And no matter how loyal and true he is, like

all people, Spens must die.

Lines 5-6

An “elder” knight speaks up. The fact that the knight is an elder

suggests that he is respected, a nior advisor to the king. The knight

also has power in court becau he sits at the king’s , at his

right knee. As we will e, becau the knight speaks “up,” Spens and

his ship are nt down “fifty fadom deip.”

Lines 7-8

The elder knight prais Sir Patrick Spens as the world’s best sailor.

Notice the sibilance in lines 7 and 8; the repetition of “s” sounds

imitates the sound of waves crashing on the shore.

Lines 9-10

The king writes a broad letter of command, ordering Spens to sail the royal

ship. It is signed with the king’s hand, the royal signature, and must

be obeyed.

Lines 11-12

The letter is nt to Spens as he walks along the beach. Notice that the

word “who” ems to be omitted from line 12; it is not stated, but implied

(The line might read “who was walking on the sand”). This kind of

omission is called an ellipsis. Just as the “who” is abnt from the

line, so Spens will be abnt from the earth when the letter nds him

to his death.

Lines 13-14

Spens reads the first line of the letter and laughs. Perhaps it prais

his skill as a sailor, or perhaps it identifies his assignment, the

impossible journey, and Spens laughs becau he thinks it is a joke. In

a n, it is a joke, played on him not by the king or the knight, but

by fate.

Lines 15-16

Spens reads further and realizes that the king is rious about nding

him on a dangerous voyage. His fate is aled, but his tear-blinded eye

is ironic. Irony is wit or mockery that usually means the opposite of what

is said. Destiny or fate are traditionally reprented as “blind” —

think of Oedipus, Homer, and Milton, who blindness is en as a sign

that they “e” a higher truth. Like them, Spens can “e” his fate,

his inevitable death after the impossible voyage, though tears “blind”

him.

Lines 17-18

Spens asks who has done this ill deed to him and the reader begins to

suspect the motives of the elder knight. Does he have some cret motive

for nding Spens to certain death? We are not told, but wonder about the

court, where things are not always what they em, where illusion can be

confud with reality. But the courtly world’s deception does not allow

it to escape from life’s only certainty: death. Consider the inversion

from “done deed” to “deed done” in lines 17 and 18. Just as Spens’s

reaction while reading the letter went from laughter to tears, so the

poem’s word order changes to show how his world has been turned upside

down.

Lines 19-20

Spens knows that the weather at this time of year is treacherous.

Lines 21-22

Although the assignment is dangerous, the men must hurry. They follow

Spens’s orders as he follows the king’s. Notice how the repetition of

“m” and “s” in lines 21 and 22 emphasize the irony. While the men make

“haste,” they are anything but “merry.” The sailors know they are

sailing off to die, and while the ship may be “good,” no ship can

withstand the violence of natural elements.

Lines 23-28

In lines 23 through 28, a sailor speaks up, hoping his master will say

it is not so, that they are not really going to sail. The sailor is

apprehensive becau he has en the new moon in the old moon’s arms,

that is, the dark shape of the new moon and only the hint of a crescent

of the old moon. This is an evil omen that predicts bad weather, and the

sailor fears, correctly, the ship and crew will come to harm. This is the

poem’s most famous image and is ud by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his

“Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” In lines 27 and 28, note the repetition

of “ei,” “e,” and “r” sounds, which call to mind the ocean’s waves

moving up and down, tossing a ship at a.

Lines 29-30

The ship has now sailed, but the nobles are “loath” to “wet” their

shoes. This is ironic, becau soon not only their shoes, but their entire

bodies will be wet, and they will be drowned. The reader compares the

nobles, who fear wetting their shoes, with Spens, who knows they are all

doomed to drown in the storm. The nobles’ concerns are petty in comparison

with Spens, who is a brave soldier fatalistically following orders. Though

they are noble becau of their family titles, Spens is noble becau of

his actions.

Lines 31-32

The shipwreck is a “play,” like a trick of fate or an event in the n

of a sports figure who makes a play. Play also suggests a child’s game,

for the sailors are like toys in the hands of nature. The fact that we

e the nobles’ hats and not the nobles themlves is synecdoche, the

substitution of the part for the whole. The hats themlves can be en

as a sign of worldly vanity, and it is ironic that the hats swim, but the

nobles themlves cannot; they drown.

Lines 33-36

The ladies stand waiting for Spens and their men to return. They stand,

while the king sits, and by the poem’s end, the men lay. Their fans are

a sign of vanity, but fans are also ud to control the weather by making

one more comfortable when it is too hot. At a, however, the weather

cannot be controlled, and the storm kills their men. Recall that the king

signs the letter with his hand, which leads to the deaths of Spens and

the nobles, that the ladies wait with fans in their hands for men who will

never return. This repetition of “hand” links cau and effect, the king,

who caud the men to go to a, and the effect, the men’s demi and

their women’s sorrowful waiting.

Lines 37-38

Again, gold is a gold traditional symbol of worldliness, and while the

gold combs will remain shiny, the women’s hair will turn grey with time.

Their attention to gold is misplaced, for like their men, they too will

pass away.

Line 39

The women wait for their “own dear lords,” but their men belong no longer

to them but to death.

Line 40

The women will never e their men again, though ironically, the reader

es them lying on the ocean floor. The women hope to e their men alive,

but the reader es the men’s dead bodies.

Lines 41-44

Half the way over to Aberdour, the ship is wrecked in the storm. Now the

“good” Spens, like the good ship, is fifty fathoms beneath the a. The

poem’s ending is ironic when we consider the ways the positions of the

body have indicated social status (for example, remember the knight who

sat at the king’s right knee). At the end, while the lords may outrank

Spens socially (note that some versions of the poem have Spens not a

“Sir,” but merely a Captain), their cowardice and concern for worldly

things — their failure to comprehend their situation and act accordingly

— ts Spens above the lords in the end. Significantly, they lie at his

feet, not he at theirs.