胡適留學日記卷十五二〇、印象派詩人的六條原理

卷十五二〇、印象派詩人的六條原理

　　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

　　〔中譯〕

　　總之，儘管「新詩人」關於在其詩作中達到一個新的更高境界的嚮往遭到了荒謬可笑的失敗，但人們不禁要讚賞他們詩作中的虎虎生氣。至少他們追求真實、自然；他們反對生活中及詩歌中的矯揉造作。更有甚者，人們驚奇地注意到，他們建立他們那種藝術的基礎很簡單，正如勞威爾小姐告訴我們（引自厄斯金教授）：「所有偉大詩篇之精華，確乎就是偉大文學之精華。」《印象派詩人》前言所介紹的六條印象主義原則即為：

　　1．用最普通的詞，但必須是最確切的詞；不用近乎確切的詞，也不用純粹修飾性的詞。

　　2．創造新韻律，並將其作為新的表達方式，不照搬舊韻律，因為那只是舊模式的反映。我們不堅執「自由體」為詩歌寫作的唯一方法，我們之所以力倡它，是因為它代表了自由的原則。我們相信詩人的個性在自由體詩中比在傳統格律詩中得到了更好的表達。就詩歌而言，一種新的節奏意味著一種新思想。

　　3．允許絕對自由地選擇詩的主題。

　　4．給出一種印象（因其得名「印象派」）。我們不是畫家，但我們相信詩應表達出準確的個性，而非模糊的共性，不管其用詞是多麼的華麗，聲音是多麼的響亮。

　　5．創作出確切、明朗、具體的，而不是模糊和不明朗的東西。

　　6．最後，我們大多數人都認為濃縮是詩的核心。

　　摘自《紐約時報》Book Shechor

　　此派所主張與我所主張多相似之處。

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