Shakespeare the Poet 大诗人

What a wonderful world!

本集内容

作为大诗人，莎士比亚创作了两首长诗和154首《十四行诗》。《十四行诗》在莎士比亚的全部作品中占有非常重要的地位，其中许多诗句都是有关爱情的，不仅美而且富有哲理，常常作为英国人婚礼上的祝福和寄语。

Sonnet 18 is one of the best-known of the 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare.

In the sonnet the poet compares his beloved 爱人 to the summer season, and argues that his beloved is better. The poet also states that his beloved will live on forever through the words of the poem.

There are lots of great poems written in the same era. But what are the main differences between English poems and Chinese poems from the 16-17th century?

Sonnet 18 has been translated into lots of different Chinese versions.

What are the main challenges for translating Shakespearean sonnets?

Liu Lei is a lecturer in English at Tianjin University

Liu Lei, an expert in Shakespeare studies from Tianjin university, shares her views with Yang Li and William.

Today's S words features a well-known phrase 'love is blind'. But do you know where it came from?

As you listen try to answer these questions. The answers are at the bottom of this page.

1. How many lines does a sonnet have?

2. Compared with Chinese poems Shakespeare's sonnet seems quite cerebral. The word cerebral means that it has something to do with _____.

3. What is the first line of Shakespeare's sonnet 18?

莎翁名言

Today's S Words features a well-known phrase 'love is blind'. 爱情是盲目的。

But do you know where it came from?

大家可以点击下面的链接收听莎翁名言的录音或下载文字稿。

下集预告

Next week we will discuss Shakespeare the Comedian.

Answers to the Questions:

1. 14

2. the mind/ intellect

3. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day.