Mon, Jun 02, 2008 page15

• Neither rhyme nor reason as bad poems sell 再爛的詩都有人買

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  When in July 1887 a new railway bridge was opened across the River Tay in eastern Scotland, William McGonagall, a local weaver, was moved to poetic rhapsodies: As I gaze upon thee my heart feels gay / Because thou are the greatest railway bridge of the present day / And can be seen for miles away...

  It was not his first poem about the crossing. His most celebrated work, though perhaps not for the reasons he anticipated, was written after the tragic collapse of the first Tay bridge eight years earlier. Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay! / Alas! I am very sorry to say / That ninety lives have been taken away. .. (In fact 75 people died.)

  McGonagall doesn't know beans about writing good poetry. He has long been celebrated as Britain’s worst poet, inspiring satirical tributes to his doggerel awfulness from Spike Milligan, Monty Python and even the Muppets. Now the poet, who was once pelted with fruit during his readings and who his own appreciation society call “without talent,” is in demand.

  

  This undated photo was made available on May 16, 2008, by auction company Lyon & Turnbull. It shows part of a collection of works written and published by William McGonagall. 這張未註明拍攝日期、由里昂與特恩布爾拍賣公司於五月十六日發布的照片中，展示了威廉．麥戈納格所創作發表的部分詩選。 照片：美聯社

  PHOTO: AP

  A collection of his poems, on A3 newspaper-style leaflets the poet is believed to have printed, was auctioned last month at an Edinburgh saleroom for £6,600 (NT$395,000).

  “I don’t think he would have the same impact if he was only a bit mediocre,” Alex Dove, books expert at Lyon & Turnbull saleroom, said. “His appeal is because he’s so very bad. His use of language, his inability to deal with any sense of rhythm, that’s what makes him so humorous.”

  Jonathan Steward, landlord of Dundee’s Mennies pub, home of the appreciation society, agreed. “It’s so bad it’s good.”

  (THE GUARDIAN)

  一八八七年七月一座橫跨蘇格蘭東部泰河的新建鐵橋開通時，當地一名紡織工人威廉．麥戈納格感動地吟詠詩作：當我凝望汝，我心歡喜�因為汝是當今最偉大的鐵橋�在數哩之外就映入眼簾...

  這並不是他為這座跨橋所寫的第一首詩。雖然未必出於本意，但他最著名的作品卻是一八七九年第一座泰橋塌垮悲劇發生後寫下的詩：銀白色泰河上美麗的鐵橋�唉啊！我非常難過地說�九十條人命就這樣斷送了…（事實上，是七十五人喪生）。

  麥戈納格對如何創作一首雋美的詩一竅不通。他向來有英國最糟糕詩人之稱，他那些拙劣的爛詩備受史派克•米利根（英國喜劇演員）、蒙地蟒蛇劇團，甚至大青蛙布偶秀的嘲諷。麥戈納格曾在朗讀自己詩作時被人丟擲水果，就連他的後援會都說他「毫無天份」，但他現在可是炙手可熱。

  上個月在愛丁堡一場拍賣會上，一本他的系列詩選以六千六百英鎊（新台幣三十九萬五千元）成交。這本詩選據信是他自己出錢印刷在A3大小的報紙式傳單上。

  里昂與特恩布爾拍賣公司的圖書專家艾歷克斯．德芙說：「我想如果他的作品只有一點點糟糕，就不會這麼有影響力了。他之所以吸引人，就是因為他的詩實在是爛透了。他的用字遣詞和不會處理押韻的筆調，才是讓他如此滑稽的原因。」

  鄧迪市的曼尼酒吧是麥戈納格後援會的總部，老闆強納森．史都華也認同地說：「真是爛得好啊。」

  （衛報�翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字

  1. rhapsody n. 吟誦史詩 (yin2 song4 shi3 shi1)，狂想曲 (kuang2 xiang2 qu3) 例: Did you hear that Linda called her song a rhapsody? (你有聽說琳達把她的歌稱作狂想曲嗎？) 2. doggerel adj. 拙劣的 (zhuo2 lie4 de5) 例: I found the doggerel writing very funny. (我覺得這篇拙劣的文章很搞笑。) 3. pelt v.i./v.t. 投擲 (tou2 zhi2) 例: They pelted Hubert with snowballs. (他們朝著修伯特丟雪球。) 4. mediocre adj. 二流的 (er4 liu2 de5)，普通的 (pu3 tong1 de5) 例: I don't have time to do anything more than a mediocre job. (我根本沒有時間去做平常工作以外的事情。)

  For your information

  READING COMPREHENSION 閱讀測驗

  1. McGonagall wrote ___ about bridges over the River Tay. a. only one poem b. at least two poems c. The article doesn’t say. 2. Spike Milligan... a. has never made use of McGonagall’s work. b. helped McGonagall write some of his poems. c. has used some of McGonagall’s poems in his own work. 3. Alex Dove thinks McGonagall was... a. an average poet. b. a terrible poet. c. a good poet. 4. The McGonagall appreciation society meets at... a. a pub. b. a university. c. a train station.

  For your information

  SAY WHAT? 說說看

  doesn't know beans about 對某事一竅不通 If someone doesn't know beans about something, he or she doesn’t know anything about it. For example, “Johnson saw me fixing my car engine and came in and started telling me what to do. He doesn't know beans about engines, but I couldn’t get rid of him.” A similar phrase is to not know the first thing about. For example, “Annie doesn’t know the first thing about making a good stew.” 如果某人「doesn't know beans about」某事，表示他或她對此事一無所知。例如：「強森看到我在修汽車引擎就跑過來告訴我該如何做。他對引擎根本一竅不通，但我就是沒辦法打發他」。 類似的片語還有「not know the first thing about」，例如：「安妮對燉煮食物一竅不通」。

  For your information

  OUT LOUD 對話練習

  Chris: Why are you so upset every night? Cassie: I think my thesis advisor is making unrealistic demands of me, and I’m close to breaking point. Chris: Like what kind of demands? Cassie: Well she told me to finish my rough draft within the next three weeks, plus she asked me to sub for her class while she goes on vacation. Chris: That is a lot. Kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth, doesn’t it? 克里斯：為什麼你每天晚上都這麼不開心？ 凱西：我覺得我的論文指導老師對我提出很多不切實際的要求，我已經快忍無可忍了。 克里斯：像是哪些要求？ 凱西：這個嘛，她要我在三週內擬出論文大綱，又要我在她休假時替她代課。 克里斯：要求還真多。這種感覺不太好，對吧？ leave a bad taste in one’s mouth　讓某人覺得不舒服 Something that leaves a bad taste in one's mouth causes negative feelings to arise and leaves a bad memory behind. 「leave a bad taste in one’s mouth」的意思就是引起某人的反感，並留下不好的印象。
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