1. Sonnet 18

(Sonnet 18 is one of the most beautiful sonnets written by Shakespeare, in which he has a profound meditation on the destructive power of time and the eternal beauty brought forth by poetry to the one he loves. A nice summer’s day is usually transient, but the beauty in poetry can last for ever. Thus Shakespeare has a faith in the permanence of poetry.)

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May;

And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines

And often is his gold complexion dimmed;

And every fair from fair sometimes declines,

By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;

  Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,

  When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st;

  So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

  So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

  Notes:

  (1) a summer’s day: Here it may refer to a period or the season of summer.

  (2) date; the period of a lease.

  (3) untrimmed; stripped of gay apparel.

  (4) ow’st; ownest.

  (5) lines; such as the lines of this poem and other sonnets.

十四行诗第18首

（《十四行诗第18首》是莎士比亚最优美的十四行诗之一。诗人对时间摧残美的破坏力进行了深刻思考，并坚信诗歌能为其所爱之人带来永恒之美。美好的夏日虽易逝，但诗中的美却能永存。这体现了莎士比亚对诗歌永恒性的信念。）

我可否将你比作夏日？

你却更加可爱更加温婉：

五月的娇蕾常遭狂风摧折，

夏日的租期又太过短暂；

有时天眼高灼炎炎难耐，

金色面容又常笼阴霾；

每一种美终将凋零褪色，

或机缘不济，或自然变迁，华服尽卸；

但你永恒的夏日不会褪色，

不会失去你拥有的美艳；

死神休夸你在他阴影里徘徊，

当你在永恒诗行中与时间共生共展；

只要人类尚在呼吸，眼睛还能看见，

此诗便将永存，并赐你生命之源。

注释：

（1）夏日：此处既可指夏季这一季节，也可隐喻美好时光的短暂

（2）租期：指租赁契约的有效期限

（3）华服尽卸：喻指美好事物被剥夺华丽外表

（4）拥有：此处为古英语"ownest"的变体

（5）诗行：既指本诗诗句，亦包括莎士比亚其他十四行诗作