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Sonnet #100
Where art thou, Muse, that thou forget'st so long
To speak of that which gives thee all thy might?
Spend'st thou thy fury on some worthless song,
Darkening thy power to lend base subjects light?
Return, forgetful Muse, and straight redeem
In gentle numbers time so idly spent;
Sing to the ear that doth thy lays esteem
And gives thy pen both skill and argument.
Rise, resty Muse, my love's sweet face survey,
If Time have any wrinkle graven there;
If any, be a satire to decay,
And make Time's spoils despised every where.
Give my love fame faster than Time wastes life;
So thou prevent'st his scythe and crooked knife.
1、thou,muse:此首对 muse 说话，诗中 thou,thee,thy均指 muse；muse参见38.1注。
2、that which...：指 the beauty of the beloved.
3、Spend'st thou:Do you waste.fury:poetic frenzy；参见17.11.poet's rage:按古希腊认为诗人系被神所附体，其灵感近于疯狂，所谓 poetic enthusiasm(the state of being possessed by a god),rage,fury都有是一个意思。
4、Dark'ning:Disgracing,reducing.pow'r:poetic power.to lend:in order to lend(light to worthless subjects).
5、straight:immediately.
6、gentle numbers:noble verses.idly:(1)wastefully；(2)foolishly。上行末至此行意为：Redeem(i.e. make up for) wasted time by means of noble poetry.
7、ear:指 ear of the beloved.lays:songs.
8、argument:subject matter,theme.
9、resty:inactive,torpid；骑士用语，通常用以形容精神尚未焕发的迟钝的马。survey:look into.
10、If:To see if.have:虚拟语气。 graven:engraved,cut.
11、be a satire to:be a satirist of(i.e. write satire on).
12、spoils:(1)acts of spoliation；(2)booty,prey.
13、wastes:destroys.
14、So:Thus,in this way. prevent'st:(1)excape；(2)forestall. his scythe and...knife:time's scythe，参见12.13注。 crooked:malignant.
日期: 2007年4月23 周一