抗戰期間，書法大師沈尹默（1883-1971）搬到重慶，張充和有幸跟他學習，張後來這樣回憶當時到沈家觀摩他寫字的場景：
“只見筆尖在紙上舞動著，竟像是個舞者，一個字是小舞台，一篇字是大舞台，舞台的畫面與動態，都達到和諧之美的極境。運筆時四面八方，抑揚頓挫，急徐提按都是音樂的節奏，雖然是看得我眼花繚亂，卻於節奏中得到恬靜。我在嘆賞之余，忽想到我本是來請教的，如何卻沈酣在欣賞中而不學習呢。”
說也奇怪，我引導學生讀懂 GCSE English 閱讀理解題，有時也能達到這種忘我境界。因 GCSE 經常把出自名家之手的文章給學生分析，我跟學生一起讀文章，遇上寫得特別捧的，真的會沉醉於閱讀而忘了學生的存在！
下面這條閱讀題，來自 GCSE 2017年的試卷，reading passage 來自紐西蘭作家 Katherine Mansfield，是我做 GCSE English past papers 過程中，遇過的寫得最好的文章。
Question
How does the writer use language here to describe Rosabel’s bus journey home?
You could include the writer’s choice of:
Words and phrases
Language features and techniques
Sentence forms.
Passage
Rosabel looked out of the windows; the street was blurred and misty, but light striking on the panes turned their dullness to opal and silver, and the jewellers’ shops seen through this were fairy palaces. Her feet were horribly wet, and she knew the bottom of her skirt and petticoat would be coated with black, greasy mud. There was a sickening smell of warm humanity – it seemed to be oozing out of everybody in the bus – and everybody had the same expression, sitting so still, staring in front of them. Rosabel stirred suddenly and unfastened the two top buttons of her coat… she felt almost stifled. Through her half-closed eyes, the whole row of people on the opposite seat seemed to resolve into one meaningless, staring face.
My response
Mansfield employs a variety of literary techniques to portray the dull existence typically led by someone of Rosabel’s working class status.
The passage begins with a surprisingly effective use of metaphor. By equating the jewellers’ shops as seen through the bus’s light-splattered window with “fairy palaces,” Mansfield is suggesting that just as it is unlikely for fairy palaces to exist, it is likewise unlikely for Rosabel to be able to afford jewellery.
Mansfield also resort to the five senses to paint a vivid picture of the drabness of Rosabel’s life. Due to the rain, her feet are “horribly wet” (the sense of touch); her skirt is “coated with black, greasy mud” (the sense of sight); the air in the bus is thickened with “a sickening smell of warm humanity,” with the sweat of fellow passengers (the sense of smell). Mansfield is implying being poor casts so extensive a shadow on one’s life that one’s senses are overwhelmed.
Mansfield’s repetition of the word “everybody” (sweat “seemed to be oozing out of everybody in the bus – and everybody had the same expression”), together with yet another reference of the sameness of the passengers towards the end of the passage (they “seemed to resolve into one meaningless, staring face”) serve to highlight the way financial hardships tend to rob people of their individuality. When one is preoccupied with putting bread on the table, it will be a long time – if ever – for self actualization to be a priority. In addition, the use of alliteration – “everybody had the same expression, sitting so still, staring in front of them” – with its replayings of the long “s” sound, echos the unending tedium that is the lot of the passengers.
My favourite is Mansfield’s artful insertion of ellipsis points (“Rosabel stirred suddenly and unfastened the two top buttons of her coat… she felt almost stifled”). The time it takes for the reader to process this punctuation mark is almost the same as the time it takes for Rosabel to loosen her buttons. This has the magical effect of making the reader identify with Rosabel’s feelings of physical and mental suffocation.
最近我跟吳明德分享我的寫作和教學心得，有興趣可以去看看：
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOKqZYDozPk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6YMHk1nvqg
Michelle Ng
英國牛津大學畢業，前《蘋果日報》和《眾新聞》專欄作家，現在身在楓葉國，心繫中國大陸和香港。
聯絡方式： michelleng.coach@proton.me
個人網站： https://michellengwritings.com
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