经典译文（演讲稿）：WilliamButlerYeats威廉·巴特勒·叶芝（中英对照）

William Butler Yeats （June 13， 1865-January 28， 1939）， often referred to as W.B. Yeats， was an Irish poet， dramatist and mystic. He served as an Irish Senator in the 1920s. 　　Born in Dublin， in 1865， the firstborn of John Butler Yeats and Susan Mary Yeats. In 1877， W.B. entered Godolphin school， which he attended for four years， after which he continued his education at Erasmus Smith High School， in Dublin. For a time （from 1884 - 1886）， he attended the Metropolitan School of Art. 　　In 1885， Yeats\' first poems were published in the Dublin University Review. 　　In 1889， Yeats met Maud Gonne， a young heiress who was beginning to devote herself to the Irish nationalist movement. Gonne admired Yeats\' early poem The Isle of Statues and sought out his acquaintance. Yeats developed an obsessive infatuation with Gonne， and she was to have a significant effect on his poetry and his life ever after. In 1896， he was introduced to Lady Gregory by their mutual friend Edward Martyn. Lady Gregory encouraged Yeats\' nationalism and convinced him to continue focusing on writing drama. With Lady Gregory and others， he founded the Irish Literary Theatre， from which developed the Abbey Theatre， Dublin， in 1896. 　　He was highly interested in mysticism and spiritualism， and attended his first séance in 1886. Later， Yeats became heavily involved with hermeticist and theosophical beliefs， and in 1900 he became head of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn， which he had joined in 1890. That same year， maintaining his interest in the literary arts， Yeats confounded the Rhymer\'s Club with John Rhys. 　　All his life， Yeats maintained friendships with a number of poets and literary figures； for a time in 1913， Ezra Pound served as Yeats\' secretary. Yeats was also known and respected by Oscar Wilde， John Millington Synge， T.S. Eliot， and Virginia Woolf， among others. 　　Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923. 　　Yeats， after suffering from a variety of illnesses for a number of years， died in France in January 1939， eight months before the German invasion of Poland. Yeats was first buried at Roquebrune， until his body was moved to Drumecliff， Sligo in September 1948. His grave is a famous attraction in Sligo. Of this location， Yeats said， \"The place that has really influenced my life most is Sligo.\" The stone reads a line from one of his poems （Under Ben Bulben） 　　Cast a cold eye 　　On life， 　　On death， horsemen 　　pass by！威廉·巴特勒·叶芝（1865～1939），爱尔兰诗人、剧作家、神秘主义者。二十世纪二十年代曾任爱尔兰参议员。 　　叶芝于1865年生于都柏林，是约翰·巴特勒·叶芝和苏珊·玛丽·叶芝的长子。1877年，叶芝就读于葛多分小学，在那儿上了四年学。之后，在都柏林伊雷斯摩斯史密斯高中就读。1884～1886年就读于大都会艺术学校。 　　1885年，《都柏林大学评论》首次发表了叶芝的最初诗作。 　　1889 年，叶芝邂逅了正积极投身于爱尔兰民族主义运动的年轻女继承人昴德·冈昂。她仰慕叶芝的早期诗作《雕塑之岛》，并设法结识了他。叶芝着了魔似的迷恋上了她，而昴德·冈昂也对他日后的诗作产生了重要的影响。1896年，他通过朋友爱德华·马汀的介绍结识了格雷戈里夫人。格雷戈里夫人鼓励叶芝的民族主义精神并说服他继续专注于戏剧创作。同年，他和格雷戈里夫人等一起创建了爱尔兰文学剧院，即后来的艾贝剧院。 　　叶芝热衷于神秘主义和唯灵论，1886年初次体验降神会。之后，叶芝沉迷于炼金术和通神论，1890年他加入金色黎明秘术修道会，并于1900年成为该会的领袖。然而，他对文学艺术的热情始终如一。同年，他和约翰·莱斯一起创立了诗人会社。 　　叶芝一生中和许多诗人及文学名人保持着友谊。1913年，埃兹拉·庞德曾一度担任过他的秘书。 奥斯卡·王尔德、约翰·迷林顿·辛格、艾略特、维吉尼亚·伍尔夫等人都认识并十分尊敬他。 　　1923年，叶芝荣获诺贝尔文学奖。 　　1939 年1月，在德国入侵波兰的八个月前，多年苦受各种病痛折磨的叶芝在法国辞世。他起初葬于罗克布隆恩，1948年9月他的遗体在斯莱果郡的壮姆克利福重新下葬。他的墓地成了斯莱果郡的名胜。对于这个地方，叶芝曾说过：\"斯莱果是对我一生影响最大的地方。\"墓碑上刻着他的一首诗中的著名诗行： 　　冷眼一瞥 　　生与死。 　　骑者，去也！