伊斯拉菲爾

伊斯拉斐爾這首詩是由美國浪漫主義詩人愛倫坡發表於1831年四月份的作品，愛倫坡創作於西點軍校。《伊斯拉斐爾》是一首八節律詩。在本詩的簡介中，愛倫坡説這首詩是描述《古蘭經》中的一個天使伊斯拉菲爾，他的心是用琵琶做的，他在神界擁有最甜美的聲音。在本詩中，當凡間的詩人受限於自己的心靈之聲時，他的歌聲能讓星星寧靜。愛倫坡的朋友托馬斯·霍利·齊弗斯這樣評價本詩：《伊斯拉菲爾》最能表達坡對詩歌創作藝術的理念。《伊斯拉菲爾》雖在韻律上變換，但是它儘可能地包含了抑揚格詩腳，還補之以結尾押韻，在每一小節詩的幾行裏都有貫穿全詩的押韻。坡在每節詩中的每行詩中也使用了押頭韻。儘管伊斯拉菲爾這個名字並沒有出現在古蘭經中，而只是一個無名的吹喇叭的天使印證了這個人物：“號角一響，凡在天地間的，都要昏倒，除非真主所意欲的。然後，號角再響一次，他們就忽然站起來，東瞻西顧的。”本詩則細膩地描述了伊斯拉菲爾那仙曲的美妙，星辰和其它天體都靜默地聆聽。坡引用伊斯蘭教中天堂的美女作為另一個沉浸在伊斯拉菲爾七絃琴中天體存在，暗指伊斯蘭。在詩中引用這樣的伊斯蘭教用語好像可以給人以一種異域的風情。詩中包含了詩人的猜想：如果換成自己是那天使，他是否能用他的七絃琴精心創作出比伊斯拉菲爾更大膽的旋律。

In Heaven a spirit doth dwell

"Whose heart-strings are a lute";

None sing so wildly well

As the angel Israfel,

And the giddy stars (so legends tell),

Ceasing their hymns, attend the spell

Of his voice, all mute.Tottering above

In her highest noon,

The enamored moon

Blushes with love,

While, to listen, the red levin

With the rapid Pleiads, even,

Which were seven,

Pauses in Heaven.

And they say the starry choir

And the other listening things

That Israfeli's fire

Is owing to that lyre

By which he sits and sings-

The trembling living wire

Of those unusual strings.

But the skies that angel trod,

Where deep thoughts are a duty-

Where Love's a grown-up God-

Where the Houri glances are

Imbued with all the beauty

Which we worship in a star.

Therefore thou art not wrong,

Israfeli, who despisest

An unimpassioned song;

To thee the laurels belong,

Best bard, because the wisest!

Merrily live, and long!

The ecstasies above

With thy burning measures suit-

Thy grief, thy joy, thy hate, thy love,

With the fervor of thy lute-

Well may the stars be mute!

Yes, Heaven is thine; but this

Is a world of sweets and sours;

Our flowers are merely–flowers,

And the shadow of thy perfect bliss

Is the sunshine of ours.

If I could dwell

Where Israfel

Hath dwelt, and he where I,

He might not sing so wildly well

A mortal melody,

While a bolder note than this might swell

From my lyre within the sky.