胡适留学日记卷十五二〇、印象派诗人的六条原理

卷十五二〇、印象派诗人的六条原理

　　On the whole, one cannot help admiring the spirit that animates the "new poets" in spite of some of their ludicrous failures to reach a new and higher poetry in their verse. They at least aim for the real, the natural; their work is a protest against the artificial in life as well as poetry. It is curious to note, moreover, that the principles upon which they found their art are simply, as Miss Lowell, quoted by Professor Erskine, tells us, "the essentials of all great poetry, indeed of all great literature." These six principles of imagism are from the preface to "Some Imagist Poets":

　　1．To use the language of common speech, but to employ always the exact word, not the nearly exact nor the merely decorative word.

　　2．To create new rhythms—as the expression of new moods—and not to copy old rhythms, which merely echo old moods. We do not insist upon "free verse" as the only method of writing poetry.We fight for it as for a principle of liberty. We believe that the individuality of a poet may often be better expressed in free verse than in conventional forms. In poetry a new cadence means a new idea.

　　3．To allowabsolute freedom in the choice of the subject.

　　4．To present an image.(hence the name "Imagist") We are not a school of painters, but we believe thatpoetry should render particulars exactly and not deal in vague generalities, however magnificent and sonorous.

　　5．To producepoetry that is hard and clear, never blurred nor indefinite.

　　6．Finally, most of us believe thatconcentrationis of the very essence of poetry.

　　FromThe N. Y. TimesBook Shechor

　　〔中译〕

　　总之，尽管“新诗人”关于在其诗作中达到一个新的更高境界的向往遭到了荒谬可笑的失败，但人们不禁要赞赏他们诗作中的虎虎生气。至少他们追求真实、自然；他们反对生活中及诗歌中的矫揉造作。更有甚者，人们惊奇地注意到，他们建立他们那种艺术的基础很简单，正如劳威尔小姐告诉我们（引自厄斯金教授）：“所有伟大诗篇之精华，确乎就是伟大文学之精华。”《印象派诗人》前言所介绍的六条印象主义原则即为：

　　1．用最普通的词，但必须是最确切的词；不用近乎确切的词，也不用纯粹修饰性的词。

　　2．创造新韵律，并将其作为新的表达方式，不照搬旧韵律，因为那只是旧模式的反映。我们不坚执“自由体”为诗歌写作的唯一方法，我们之所以力倡它，是因为它代表了自由的原则。我们相信诗人的个性在自由体诗中比在传统格律诗中得到了更好的表达。就诗歌而言，一种新的节奏意味着一种新思想。

　　3．允许绝对自由地选择诗的主题。

　　4．给出一种印象（因其得名“印象派”）。我们不是画家，但我们相信诗应表达出准确的个性，而非模糊的共性，不管其用词是多么的华丽，声音是多么的响亮。

　　5．创作出确切、明朗、具体的，而不是模糊和不明朗的东西。

　　6．最后，我们大多数人都认为浓缩是诗的核心。

　　摘自《纽约时报》Book Shechor

　　此派所主张与我所主张多相似之处。

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