The Miller's Daughter

    Alfred Tennyson,the 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS (6 August 1809–6 October 1892), much better known as "Alfred, Lord Tennyson," was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language.

Alfred Tennyson

    Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, "In the valley of Cauteretz", "Break, Break, Break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "Tears, Idle Tears" and "Crossing the Bar". Much of his verse was based on classical mythological themes, such as Ulysses, although In Memoriam A.H.H. was written to commemorate his best friend Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet and fellow student at Trinity College, Cambridge, who was engaged to Tennyson's sister, but died from a cerebral hemorrhage before they were married. Tennyson also wrote some notable blank verse including Idylls of the King, Ulysses, and Tithonus. During his career, Tennyson attempted drama, but his plays enjoyed little success.

    Tennyson wrote a number of phrases that have become commonplaces of the English language, including: "Nature, red in tooth and claw", "'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all", "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die", "My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure", "Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers", and "The old order changeth, yielding place to new". He is the second most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare.

The Miller'S Daughter 
                  ——Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) 
It is the miller's daughter,
And she is grown so dear, so dear,
That I would be the jewel
That trembles in her ear:
For hid in ringlets day and night,
I'd touch her neck so warm and white.

And I would be the girdle
About her dainty dainty waist,
And her heart would beat against me,
In sorrow and in rest:
And I should know if it beat right,
I'd clasp it round so close and tight.

And I would be the necklace,
And all day long to fall and rise
Upon her balmy bosom,
With her laughter or her sighs:
And I would lie so light, so light,
I scarce should be unclasp'd at night. 

“那是磨房主人的女儿
出落的多么温柔美貌
我愿化作那光洁的玉坠
在她耳垂旁轻轻悠荡
我日夜在她髻发里躲藏
抚摩她温暖雪白的颈项

我愿化作她本身的缎带
缠绕在她婀娜的腰间
她的心儿将紧贴我跳动
无论忧伤或恬静安闲
我会将它紧搂怀中
知悉它是否正常搏动

我愿化作她那串项链
整天挂在她的玉勃颈上
伴随着她的一颦一笑
起伏在她芬芳的胸膛
我会轻轻躺下敛声屏息
夜里当不会被摘掉”

这首诗给读者印象最深的便是作者运用的巧妙的比喻。作者愿自己化作女孩的玉坠、缎带和项链。这些都是女孩贴身的饰物。通过这些饰物，一方面女孩的美丽婀娜被表现的淋漓尽致；另一方面，也表现了作者想接近女孩、爱抚自己爱人的强烈愿望。从作者的叙述视角读者可以猜测，作者是在深深的暗恋着这美丽的女孩。与作者有过相同经历的男生肯定可以理解这种心情。明明深深的喜欢着那个女孩，却又不能接近她，只能在远处深情的注视着她的一颦一笑。同时心里又在幻想着，某一天自己能轻抚她迷人的脸庞，亲吻她美丽的嘴唇。