第二節 頑皮的詩韻
詩的構成不只是字連綴成了句,或者句堆疊著句,詩存在微言大義,更存在 音韻的節奏,因此林良在《小東西的趣味》中對於童詩有著「意義」與「聲音」
的雙重要求,在他看來,詩人比任何其他行業,或任何其他形式的作品更該使用
「耳朵」來處理語言,他認為:「詩人是用耳朵寫作的人」。39因此稱職的好詩 人更善於雕琢詩的音與韻,能夠「『聽到』他所寫的每一個字,『聽到』他所寫 的每一個句子,『聽到』他所寫的每一行詩」。40好詩人所產生的作品,是聲律 與音韻交織的傑作。
此節將就希爾弗斯坦詩中的押韻進行解析,其作品中音韻的律動無所不在,
有時整齊劃一,重複強調一種如同主旋律般的意義;有時詞彙大變身,天馬行空 的創字、拆解語詞單位並重新組構,為了押韻,使出渾身解數;而頑皮的詩韻不 只充滿節奏感,還有諧音與諧義的雙關語意,一起演繹詩的律動。
一、強迫詩韻
希爾弗斯坦對押韻的堅持有時帶點任性,那樣為了韻而偏執的寫法,刻意營 造出的牽強感,字裡行間顯露出可愛的心機,都是為了成就一首音與韻兼俱的好 詩。〈蜥蜴〉(“LIZARD”)41(表 3-2-1)在風雪中,並沒有什麼特別值得期待 的事會發生,作者直截了當告知讀者,牠只是想讓 lizard(蜥蜴)、blizzard(風 雪)、gizzard(蜥蜴的喉嚨)玩一玩押韻的遊戲。
39林良,〈談兒童詩裡的語言〉《小東西的趣味》,臺北市:國語日報社,2012,頁 85。
LIZARD A lizard in a blizzard
Got a snowflake in his gizzard
And nothing else much happened,I’m afraid, But lizard rhymed with blizzard
And blizzard rhymed with gizzard
And that, my dear,is why most poems are made.
在〈羅曼史〉(“THE ROMANCE”)43(圖 3-2-1)中,也有如此頑皮的詩 韻。鵜鶘與大象談起戀愛,而「詩韻」是讓牠們願意永浴愛河的理由;「鵜鶘對 大象說,『我覺得我們該結婚,因為沒有人的名字跟我是押韻的,也沒有人的名 字跟你是押韻的。』大象對鵜鶘說,『妳說的有幾分道理,押韻是很好的理由
(……)』」因為押韻是好理由,因此希爾弗斯坦不顧一且讓 pelican(鵜鶘)、
elephant(大象)結婚,生下 baby pelicant(小鵜象),牠們從此幸福快樂的押韻 在一起,吃著 lemons (檸檬)與 limes(萊姆),作者開心的宣布:“everybody rhymes. ”(大家都押韻了)。
THE ROMANCE Said the pelican to the elephant,
“I think we should marry, I do.
Cause there’s no name that rhymes with me, And no one else rhymes with you.”
Said the elephant to the pelican,
“There’s sense to what you’ve said, For rhyming’s as good a reason as any For any two to wed.”
And so the elephant wed the pelican, And they dined upon lemons and limes, And now they have a baby pelicant, And everybody rhymes.
圖 3-2-1:“THE ROMANCE”, Every Thing on It, p. 58.
二、創字詩韻
為了不做功課,希爾弗斯坦創造了〈豪課〉(“HURK”)44,不必追究豪課 是什麼?這只是作者在 tennis 與 dentist,soccer 與 doctor 押韻之後,硬是憑空創 造出來的可愛產物,因為不管 HURK 是什麼,一定好過 Work(功課)。
I’d rather play tennis than go to dentist.
I’d rather play soccer than go to doctor.
I’d rather play Hurk than go to work.
Hurk? Hurk? What’sHurk?
I don’t know,but it must be better than work.
〈蟾蜍與袋鼠〉(“THE TOAD AND THE KANGAROO”)45(圖 3-2-2),他 們在詩裡相遇,為了培育下一代絞盡腦汁,愛的結晶該如何取名字?蟾鼠
(Toadaroo)?袋蜍(kangaroad)?蟾袋(Rangatoo)?鼠蜍(Tadakango)?為
44Shel Silverstein,“HURK”,A Light in the Attic.NewYork:HarperCollins,1981,p.60.
了押韻,多荒謬都不足為奇,讓文字重組就像在玩「大風吹」,不停跳動、游 移、排列、創新,不停挑戰讀者的想像。
THE TOAD AND THE KANGAROO Said the Toad to the Kangaroo,
"I can hop and so can you, So if we marry we'll have a child
Who can jump a mountain or hop a mile And we can call it a Toadaroo,"
Said the hopeful Toad to the Kangaroo.
(…)
What a loss--what a shame--
Just 'cause they couldn't agree on a name.
圖 3-2-2:“THE TOAD AND THE KANGAROO”, A Light in the Attic, p. 128-129.
三、字義延伸詩韻
除了創造新字,希爾弗斯坦也在原有的字義上大做文章,因此,在〈新快 樂〉(“HAPPY NEW”)46(表 3-2-2)中,各式問候語競相出籠,「Happy Moo Year」是牛的祝福、「Happy Boo Year」是幽靈的祝福、「Happy Flu Year」則來 自醫生。作者將問候語隨意冠上祝賀者的特質,將這樣的特質中所代表的聲音與 意義融入詩中,擴大了詩意也成就了詩韻。
HAPPY NEW Joe yelled, “Happy New Year.”
The cow yelled, “Happy Moo Year.”
The ghost yelled, “Happy Boo Year.”
The doctor yelled, “Happy Flu Year.”
(…)
There were more “Happy Ooo-Years”
Than you ever heard
新快樂
At our New Year’s party…
Last June twenty-third.
就在我們的新年派對上
EGGS RATED These eggs
Are eggscellent.
I’m not eggsaggerating.
You can tell by my eggspression They’re eggceptional —
Eggstra fluffy, Eggstremely tasty, Cooked eggsactly right By an eggspert
With lots of eggsperience.
Now I’ll eggsamine the bill….
Ooh — much more eggspensive Than I eggspected.
I gotta get out of here.
Where’s the eggxit?
圖 3-2-3:“EGGS RATED”, Falling Up, p. 149.
蘇軾曾在評論柳宗元的詩提到「詩以奇趣為宗,反常合道為趣」48的稱讚,