Richard Burton (李察波頓) 朗讀 Dylan Thomas 的詩 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night'

Richard Burton (李察波頓) 朗讀 Dylan Thomas 的詩 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night' (link)

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.



Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

(詩人自己朗讀版)

這首詩是詩人因他父親的死亡, 想到所有人終需一死而寫。電影 Interstellar (星際穿越) 這首詩被讀了好幾次, 用以呈現電影要探討的存活的多層意義。Michael Caine 飾演的Professor John Brand 喜歡讀這首詩, 是對自己的獨白, 是對星際求生計畫成員的激勵, 也是電影向觀眾向生命的詰問和解答。即使滅亡看起來是如此確定的結局, 但要溫馴地走向那安息的暗夜嗎? 還是要堅決地 'Do not go gentle into that good night'?(link)

Matt Damon (麥特狄蒙) 飾演的Dr. Mann 為了搶奪稀有的援救資源而陷前來營救的 Cooper 於死地。看著Cooper倒地痛苦掙扎, 雖然自己的存活多一絲希望, 然而懷疑和絕望完全離開他的心嗎? 這一刻Dr. Mann 想Professor Brand他們的學術精神父親也許欺騙了他們這群星際成員, 也許早已離開人世, 而人類尋求外星存活的計畫根本是一場騙局。此刻他正追隨同樣滅亡的腳步, 不僅他, 整個地球和所有人類正步向滅絕。他不願溫馴地放棄又能如何? 於是他複誦教授常念的這首詩, 提醒自己勉勵自己用滿懷的憤怒, 面對光明消逝的黑暗終局。

  這一幕 Dr Mann 的台詞如下:

You’re feeling it, aren’t you?
That survival instinct -
that’s what drove ME,
that's what drove all of us,
and it's what gonna save us.
It's gonna save all of us.
For you, Cooper.

I’m sorry I can’t.
I can't watch you go through this - I am sorry.
I thought I could but I can't.
I’m here.
I’m here for you.
Listen to the sound of my voice, Cooper.

You are not alone.
Do you see your children?
That's ok.
They are right there with you.

Did Professor Brand tell you that poem before you left?
Do You remember?
’Do not go gentle into that good night’
'Old age should burn and rave at close of day;'
'Rage, rage against the dying of the light.'

好! 我們看了這部電影, 也讀了這首詩, 產生了對存活, 存在, 存有的詰問, 那我們如何回答? 第一句 'Do not go gentle into that good night' 有受聖經經文影響, 事實上我要用聖經經文來理解整首詩。

聖經記載耶穌問一個想追隨他的人:

“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him.
“No one is good but One-God.

詩人 Thomas 希望讀者讀了第一句, 心中會問詩人說 'Why do you call the night good?' 死亡有甚麼好的?方便詩人接下來鋪陳對讀者的回應。詩人首先叫智者出來回答。

'Though wise men at their end know dark is right',

這個 wise man 的文學原型為聖經傳道書中那位智者。

Ecclesiastes(傳道書)第一章開頭:

The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility.
Everything is futile.”

(在耶路撒冷作王、大衛的兒子、傳道者的言語。
傳道者說：虛空的虛空，
虛空的虛空，
凡事都是虛空。)

詩下來用good men, wild men 有教養的, 野蠻的人來回答。然而不論甚麼人, 下場都是變成 grave men。
grave (形容詞) ~ serious, solemn,
grave men 嚴謹對待生命的人,
grave man near death, 臨近死亡。
但這只是詩表面的意義, 因為 grave (名詞) ~ tomb, 所以實際上 grave men 是墳中之人, 是 grave men in the death. 比起前面 good night, 這裡的反諷口吻更強烈。

總之所有人最後都是黃土中一具枯骨, 聖經傳道書中智者在遍覽人情世事後產生了詰問:

What does a man gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?

(人一切的勞碌，
就是他在日光之下的勞碌，有什麼益處呢?)

詩人Dylan Thomas 的答案是甚麼? 就是反覆出現在詩中的這句
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.



聖經的 Job (約伯)也有類似的憤怒:

After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born. He said:
May the day I was born perish, and the night when they said, “A boy is conceived.”
If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above not care about it, or light shine on it.
May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it. May an eclipse of the sun terrify it.

If only darkness had taken that night away!
May it not appear among the days of the year or be listed in the calendar.
Yes, may that night be barren; may no joyful shout be heard in it.

(此後，約伯開口咒詛自己的生日，說：
願我生的那日和說懷了男胎的那夜都滅沒。
願那日變為黑暗；願神不從上面尋找他；願亮光不照於其上。
願黑暗和死蔭索取那日；願密雲停在其上；願日蝕恐嚇他。

願那夜被幽暗奪取，不在年中的日子同樂，也不入月中的數目。
願那夜沒有生育，其間也沒有歡樂的聲音。)

約伯紀中記載約伯一直持續憤怒下去, 因為他認為對生命的憤怒不是答案。這是約伯和詩人Thomas最大的差異。約伯知道上帝存在, 所以生命不應該是如此的沒有意義。約伯的朋友給他一堆解釋和勸勉, 基本上認定你做了壞事所以上帝在懲罰你。讓約伯更憤怒，約伯完全不能接受這樣的解釋。約伯一直希望上帝現身來回答他的詰問。後來上帝果真在風聲中回答約伯。

上帝用一連串的反問來回答, 嚇得約伯全身發抖:

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind. He said:
Who is this who obscures My counsel with ignorant words?
Get ready to answer Me like a man; when I question you, you will inform Me.
Where were you when I established the earth? Tell Me, if you have[a] understanding.

(那時，耶和華從旋風中回答約伯說：
誰用無知的言語使我的旨意暗昧不明？
你要如勇士束腰；我問你，你可以指示我。
我立大地根基的時候，你在哪裡呢？你若有聰明，只管說吧！)

生命由上帝創造, 生命的進程由上帝規劃, 生命的終點由上帝決定。上帝賜給我們人自由選擇的自由意志, 同時給我們人超越此世生命而獲得來世永生的希望。那就是因信他的兒子耶穌基督, 在十字架上為人的罪而死, 並在三天後復活, 因而人的罪得以赦免, 並獲得復活永生的恩典。這就是基督教所傳的福音。

人無法靠自己的努力和才智來救自己, 這是基督教的基本教義之一。相反地 Instellar 電影的結局是人類靠自己的科學成就, 加上父女之的愛, 而救了人類自己。這種己力救贖的哲學觀已經成為好萊塢電影的主流思想。但這不是甚麼新時代思潮, 早在巴比倫人建造通天塔 (Tower of Babel), 埃及人建造金字塔時已經很流行了。Instellar 中未來世代中, 人建造了五度空間, 因超越時空所以可以永生。這只是古老的通天塔想法和欲望用科幻語言表現出來而已。

聖經多處記載這個世界, 現在的天與地必有毀滅的一日, 居於其間的人, 連已經逝世的都將從墳墓起來, 面對由耶穌基督審理的最後審判。只怕今世中的 rage, rage against the dying of the light 會變成審判後在恆久火湖中 (lake of fire) 的哭叫咒罵。

聖經 Revelation (啟示錄) 中還記載:

Then he said to me, “Write: Those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb are fortunate!

(天使吩咐我說：「你要寫上：凡被請赴羔羊之婚筵的有福了！」又對我說：「這是　神真實的話。」)

這裡羔羊代表為把人從罪的代價-死亡中贖出而犧牲的耶穌基督。我們人的盼望就是被邀請參加基督的婚宴, 享受恆久的喜樂生命。若想知道「羔羊之婚筵」代表是甚麼意思, 可以開始自己讀聖經。你不需要是一名基督徒, 或者有上教會才有資格讀聖經。也不會說一讀聖經, 門口馬上有人來敲門要強拉你去受洗。

沒讀英語聖經, 你的英語有缺口, 讀了聖經對英語文學, 英語電影會有更深入的理解。
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