夜莺，为雀形目鹟科的一种鸟。体色灰褐，是观赏鸟的种类之一。夜莺的羽色并不绚丽，但其鸣唱非常出众，音域极广。与其他鸟类不同，夜莺是少有的在夜间鸣唱的鸟类，故得其名。伊朗两种国鸟之一。
在西方文学作品里，夜莺最早出现在古希腊剧喜剧作家阿里斯托芬的剧作《鸟》里面。夜莺在希腊神话里也有个美丽的传说。潘特柔斯（Pandareus）之女埃冬（Aedon）是底比斯国王泽托斯（Zethus）的妻子。他们有一个女儿埃苔露丝（Itylus），埃冬有一次不幸失手杀死了女儿埃苔露丝，从此埃冬陷入了无尽的悲哀和自责中。神祇们出于怜悯就把她变成了夜莺，从此夜莺每个晚上都要悲鸣以表达对女儿的哀思。
19.夜莺颂 来自双语文摘 00:00 05:24
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains, My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
我的心在痛，困顿和麻木，刺激着我的感觉，
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains, One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
有如喝下毒汁，又好似刚刚吞服鸦片，向着遗忘河下沉；
Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, But being too happy in thine happiness.
不是我嫉妒你的好运，而是你的幸福使我快乐。
That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees, In some melodious plot, Of beeches green,
而你，是林间的精灵，扑闪轻轻的翅膀，悠扬曲调中
and shadows numberless, Singest of summer in full-throated ease.
，山毛榉的绿荫，遮蔽了万物，放开歌喉，歌唱夏天。
O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been, Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth,
哦，让我们来一杯酒！那冷藏在地底深处多年的甘醇，
Tasting of Flora and the country green, Dance, and Provencal song, and sunburnt mirth!
品闻花神的芬芳，令人想起绿色国度，舞蹈，普罗旺斯情歌，到处充满欢笑！
O for a beaker full of the warm South, Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
哦，来一大杯酒，充满南国的温暖，充满真切鲜红的山泉之灵，
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim, And purple-stained mouth;
珍珠的泡沫在杯沿闪烁，给嘴唇沾染上紫斑；
That I might drink, and leave the world unseen, And with thee fade away into the forest dim:
我也许会一饮而离开尘世，和你一起隐没在森林的幽暗处。
Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget, What thou among the leaves hast never known,
远远地消失，眼前的身影渐渐模糊，直到彻底忘记，你在树叶间从不知晓的一切，
The weariness, the fever, and the fret Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
疲倦，发热，焦急，这里，人们坐在一起，倾听对方呻吟；
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs, Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
因中风动惮不得，只有几丝银发微微颤动在这里，青春衰老，像幽灵一样枯瘦，最终死去；
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow, And leaden-eyed despairs,
稍一思索，内心就充满忧伤，灰黑的眼睛里满是绝望，
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes, Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.
美丽留不住她明眸的光泽，新生的爱情活不到明天就凋零。
Away! away! for I will fly to thee, Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
去吧！去吧！我将飞到你的身边，不受酒神和他的豹子的控制，
But on the viewless wings of Poesy, Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:
我要在诗歌中徜徉，尽管这头脑已经开始迟钝，
Already with thee! tender is the night, And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
我已与你同行！夜晚如此温柔，也许月亮女神正登上宝座，
Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays; But here there is no light,
她的星星精灵簇拥在身旁，但是这儿没有光亮，
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown, Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.
除了有一线天光，被微风吹过，葱绿的昏暗和苔藓的羊肠小路
I cannot see what flowers are at my feet, Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
我无法辨认脚下的花，也闻辨不出枝头的香气，
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet, Wherewith the seasonable month endows, The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
在芬芳馥郁的黑暗中，我只能猜想，这时令将馈赠什么样的芬芳，赋予这青草、灌木和野生的果树；
White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine; Fast fading violets cover'd up in leaves;
这白色山楂树、田园野蔷薇；这绿叶中纷飞的紫罗兰；
And mid-May's eldest child, The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine, The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.
还有这五月中旬最年长的孩子，麝香蔷薇的香气扑面而来，沾满露酒，夏季的夜晚，昆虫在耳边萦绕。
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time I have been half in love with easeful Death,
黑暗中，我静静地聆听，多少次，我几乎爱上了静谧的死亡，
Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme, To take into the air my quiet breath;
用诗歌的韵律轻轻地呼唤它的名字，求它把我的一息带入这空气中，
Now more than ever seems it rich to die, To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
死亡变得如此美好，在午夜停止呼吸，没有一丝痛苦，
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad, In such an ecstasy!
当你正倾泻你的心怀，这般地狂喜！
Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain— To thy high requiem become a sod.
无论你怎么唱，我将不再听见，你的安魂曲只能唱给一抔坟土。
Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
永生的鸟啊，你生来不是为了死亡！
No hungry generations tread thee down;
饥饿的世代不会将你蹂躏；
The voice I hear this passing night was heard, In ancient days by emperor and clown:
在这过往匆匆的夜晚我偶然听到的声音，古代帝王和村夫也曾听过；
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path Through the sad heart of Ruth,
或许这声音穿过了露丝忧伤的心，
when, sick for home, She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
患上了乡愁；她站在异邦的玉米地之中哭泣，
The same that oft-times hath, Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam, Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.
就是这声音常常，在消逝的仙境里，打开魔幻般的窗扉，在汹涌的大海中绽放。
Forlorn! the very word is like a bell, To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
失了！这句话好似一声钟响，将我从你身边拽出，只身一人！
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well, As she is famed to do, deceiving elf.
别了！这小精灵不能老耍弄它的骗术。
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades, Past the near meadows, over the still stream.
别了！别了！你那幽怨的颂歌将消退，越过草地，穿过静静的小溪。
Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep In the next valley-glades:
爬上山坡；如今它已被深深地埋在附近的山谷之中；
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
这是幻象吗，还是梦寐？
Fled is that music: —Do I wake or sleep?
那歌声已经离去——我是醒了还是睡了？
