The Sisters' Tragedy
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Summary
The Sisters' Tragedy is a short verse drama by the American writer and poet Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907), first collected in the 1891 volume of the same name published in London by Macmillan, The Sisters' Tragedy, with Other Poems, Lyrical and Dramatic. The play is set around 1670 in a northern land "cloaked in gloom for half the year": the elder sister, Aglae, has been widowed, while the younger, Muriel, is still unmarried. Sharing a room as they mourn the dead, Muriel at last confesses a secret she has kept for years—that she has always loved her sister's husband, yet remained silent to preserve her sister's happiness. Written in blank verse and brief in span, the work interweaves restrained love, sacrifice, and a long-delayed confession, its central line—"There is no purer love than this: the secret love that guards another's happiness"—serving as the keynote of the poem. As the opening piece of the collection, it joins such lyrical and narrative poems as The Last Caesar, Batuschka, and Pauline Pavlovna in displaying Aldrich's refined, understated, faintly elegiac style. This edition presents the original English text; no complete Chinese translation has been published.
Editor's review
这是一部容易被忽略的小经典：奥尔德里奇长期执掌《大西洋月刊》，是十九世纪美国文坛的重要编辑与诗人，而《The Sisters' Tragedy》正是他最有名的诗作之一。全篇不足千行，却用最省俭的笔墨写尽“爱而不得”与“为爱缄默”的双重痛苦：姐姐得到婚姻却未得到丈夫真正的爱，妹妹得到爱却终身不言。两人在暮色房间里的对白像一场安静的审判，最后落在额头上的一吻，比任何哭喊都更有力量。对今天读惯长篇小说的读者，它是一剂“浓缩剂”——十页之内体会维多利亚时代诗歌的节奏、克制与余韵；对学习英语诗歌的读者，它句式规整、用词古雅，是练习素体诗朗读与细读的好材料。需要提醒的是，本书为英文原版诗剧，不是情节曲折的爱情小说，购书前请确认预期。
Who it's for
A good fit for
- 喜欢英美古典诗歌、想读短篇诗剧的读者
- 正在学习英语诗歌格律与素体诗的学生
- 对维多利亚时期家庭伦理与情感题材感兴趣的人
- 想用零碎时间读完一部完整文学作品的读者
Not a good fit for
- 期待曲折剧情与对话体长篇小说的读者
- 需要中文译本、不习惯阅读英文原诗的读者
- 偏好现代白话与快节奏叙事的读者
Reading tips
- 先通读一遍把握情节，再回看开篇八行，理解“隐秘之爱”这一题眼。
- 朗读时可以注意素体诗的重音节奏，体会奥尔德里奇用停顿制造情绪的手法。
- 把它当作诗集的第一篇，读完诗剧后再挑《Batuschka》《Pauline Pavlovna》等叙事诗对照阅读。
- 若读电子版，可参考古登堡计划第595号电子文本核对原文。
Contents
- The Sisters' Tragedy
- The Last Caesar
- In Westminster Abbey
- Alec Yeaton's Son
- At the Funeral of a Minor Poet
- Batuschka
- Act V
- Tennyson
- The Shipman's Tale
- I Vex Me Not with Brooding on the Years
- Monody on the Death of Wendell Phillips
- Interludes (Echo-Song, A Mood, Guilielmus Rex, Threnody, Sestet, A Touch of Nature, Memory, etc.)
- Pauline Pavlovna
- Bagatelle (Corydon: A Pastoral, At a Reading, The Menu, An Elective Course, L'Eau Dormante, Thalia, Palinode, A Petition, etc.)
- Mercedes
- Later Lyrics (On Lynn Terrace, Heredity, Epics and Lyrics, Prescience, One Woman, Comedy, Pepita, Discipline, The Voice of the Sea, Apparitions, Realism, etc.)
FAQ
《The Sisters' Tragedy》是长篇小说吗？
不是。它是一首诗体短剧，篇幅仅数百行，最初作为同名诗集的开篇作品于1891年出版，与其余抒情诗、叙事诗合为一册。
这首诗剧讲的是什么故事？
寡妇阿格拉埃与未婚妹妹缪丽尔共同追念亡人，缪丽尔坦白自己多年暗恋姐夫、为成全姐姐而沉默。作品围绕隐忍的爱与牺牲展开，结局含蓄而感伤。
这本书有中文译本吗？
目前未见权威出版的中文全译本，中文世界多以英文原著或古登堡计划电子文本流传，阅读时需具备基本英语阅读能力。
奥尔德里奇是谁？
托马斯·贝利·奥尔德里奇（1836—1907）是美国诗人、小说家与编辑，曾长期主编《大西洋月刊》，代表作包括《The Story of a Bad Boy》与本诗集。
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