Ode to a Nightingale
夜莺颂

Ode to a Nightingale is a poem by John Keats written in May 1819 in either the garden of the Spaniards Inn, Hampstead, London, or, according to Keats' friend Charles Armitage Brown, under a plum tree in the garden of Keats House, also in Hampstead. According to Brown, a nightingale had built its nest near his home in the spring of 1819. Inspired by the bird's song, Keats composed the poem in one day. The tone of the poem rejects the optimistic pursuit of pleasure found within Keats's earlier poems and explores the themes of nature, transience and mortality, the latter being particularly personal to Keats.
《夜莺颂》是约翰·济慈于1819年5月创作的诗篇。关于创作地点，一说是在伦敦汉普斯特“西班牙客栈”的花园，另一说根据济慈朋友查尔斯·阿米蒂奇·布朗的讲述，是在济慈汉普斯特家中花园的一棵李树下。布朗说，1819年的春天，一只夜莺在济慈家附近筑了巢。一天受夜莺歌声启发，济慈即兴创作该诗。一改早期作品中寻求快乐的积极基调，该诗探索了自然、转瞬即逝和生老病死的主题，而后者正是济慈自身处境的写照。

The nightingale described within the poem experiences a type of death but does not actually die. Instead, the songbird is capable of living through its song, which is a fate that humans cannot expect. The poem ends with an acceptance that pleasure cannot last and that death is an inevitable part of life. In the poem, Keats imagines the loss of the physical world and sees himself dead — as a “sod” over which the nightingale sings. The contrast between the immortal nightingale and mortal man, sitting in his garden, is made all the more acute by an effort of the imagination. The nightingale's song is the dominant image and dominant “voice” within the ode. The nightingale is also the object of empathy and praise within the poem.
诗中的夜莺经历了一种“虽死犹未死”的过程，这只歌唱的鸟儿活在它的歌声中，这样的命运远非人类可及。诗末诗人接受了快乐不可持续而死亡不可避免的事实。济慈想象着自己离开现实世界，已然死去，正如夜莺此刻讴吟的“一抹坟土”。永生的鸟儿和坐在花园里凡尘的人构成了对比，在诗人想象的羽翼下，越发显得鲜明。夜莺的歌声也成为贯穿全诗的意象和主导的“声音”，而夜莺本身也是诗人寄予同情和赞扬的对象。