the Swan of Avon
/ðə ˌswɒn əv ˈeɪvn/
/ðə ˌswɑːn əv ˈeɪvn/
- a nickname for William Shakespeare. It was invented by Ben Jonson in a poem he wrote in the First Folio. The phrase refers to the swans (= large white water birds with long necks) on the River Avon at Stratford, where Shakespeare was born, and also to the ancient Greek belief that the souls of poets pass into swans.
雅芳天鹅：威廉·莎士比亚的昵称。这是本·琼森（Ben Jonson）在他在《第一对开本》中写的一首诗中发明的。这个词是指莎士比亚出生的斯特拉特福德的埃文河上的天鹅（长颈白大水鸟），也指古希腊人认为诗人的灵魂会变成天鹅。