A word is dead when it is said,some say.
I say it just begins to live that day.
有人说,当一个词被说出后它就死了.
我说,这正是它生命的开始.
网上资料：
A Word is Dead
In this poem,Emily Dickinson examines the "life" of a word.First,she discusses how some believe that once a word is uttered,its importance is no longer necessary.That is,once it has served its purpose,it is no longer anything of importance.Whatever the word meant at the time has disappeared; it now exists only as a lonely word.Dickinson,however,feels that when a word is used,its importance and meaning is never lost.She feels that the emotions and feelings that went into the words being spoken remain,and that the word's meaning will forever remain that way.For instance,if someone were to say "I love you",the words' significance would not fade out after it was said.The person being told they were loved would forever remember what the word meant,and thus,the word would always live.
This poem was written in short,concise lines to emphasize the importance of each and every word used.The rhyme scheme of aabcdb also shows importance as the tiny words that rhyme send tiny shivers through the reader because of their rhyme.
The main theme of this poem is that words never lose their meaning once they are spoken.The intentions they were spoken with remain with the person spoken to as long as the words are remembered.
大概翻译：
这首诗,作者研究"life"这个词.首先,她谈到一些人认为是一次说过一句话,但其重要性已不再需要.即一旦达到了目的,因此不再有任何意义.一词意味着什么时,它已经消失：它只是目前唯一一个孤立的词.
Dickinson认为当一个词用,从未失去其重要性和意义.她认为,情绪和情感,又被口头表达,这句话的意思永远保持下去.例如,如果有人说"我爱你"字样的意义,才不会消失.爱的人会告诉他们永远记住这个词的意思,因此,文字永远活.
这首诗很短,线路简明强调每一个字眼.这首诗的主题是一旦讲出话语永远不会失去意义的.只要记住它们的用意就在于与人交谈的话.