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玉楼春·别后不知君远近

Yu Lou Chun — After Parting, I Know Not How Far or Near You Are

欧阳修

Ouyang Xiu

离别Parting 相思Longing

别后不知君远近，触目凄凉多少闷。
渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问。
夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨。
故欹单枕梦中寻，梦又不成灯又烬。

After parting I know not how far or near you are;
Everything my eyes meet is desolate — how much gloom.
Gradually you travel on, gradually farther, gradually no letters;
The waters are wide, the fish sunk — where to ask?
Deep night, wind in the bamboo knocks an autumn tune;
A thousand leaves, a thousand sounds — all are regret.
I lean on the single pillow to seek you in dreams,
But the dream will not come, and the lamp has burned to ash.

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Meaning

A woman left behind speaks of deepening isolation: she does not know where her lover has gone, his letters cease, and even the wind in the bamboo seems to voice her sorrow. She seeks him in dreams, but the dream fails and the lamp dies — the extremity of lonely longing.

别后不知君远近，触目凄凉多少闷。渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问。夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨。故欹单枕梦中寻，梦又不成灯又烬。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Ouyang Xiu's 'Yu Lou Chun — After Parting': 'After parting I know not how far or near you are; everything my eyes meet is desolate — how much gloom' — 'gradually you travel on, gradually farther, gradually no letters; the waters are wide, the fish sunk — where to ask?' — 'deep night, wind in the bamboo knocks an autumn tune; a thousand leaves, a thousand sounds — all are regret' — 'I lean on the single pillow to seek you in dreams, but the dream will not come and the lamp has burned to ash.' She writes parting's longing — a thousand leaves, a thousand sounds, all regret. [Imagery] The lyric writes parting-sorrow through longing. The upper stanza writes after-parting: not knowing the distance, desolate gloom, gradually no letters, wide waters and sunk fish with nowhere to ask. The lower stanza writes night-thought: wind-bamboo's autumn tune, a thousand leaves all regret, the single pillow and failed dream, the lamp burned to ash. The whole writes parting-sorrow through longing, exhausting the after-parting desolation and the dream-broken desolation. [Feeling] The lyric writes parting-sorrow through longing. The upper stanza's 'gradually farther, gradually no letters; wide waters, sunk fish — where to ask' exhausts thea wistful sorrow of no letter; the lower's 'the dream will not come and the lamp has burned to ash' exhausts the dream-broken desolation. A key work for understanding Ouyang Xiu's lyrics.

【白话串讲】欧阳修写《玉楼春·别后不知君远近》：“别后不知君远近，触目凄凉多少闷”——“渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问”——“夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨”——“故欹单枕梦中寻，梦又不成灯又烬”——他写别后的思念——万叶千声皆是恨。【意象与手法】此词写离愁，以相思写离愁，是欧阳修的名篇。上阕写别后：「别后不知君远近，触目凄凉多少闷」写别后不知君远近、触目凄凉多少闷——写尽别后的凄凉；「渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问」写渐行渐远渐无书、水阔鱼沉何处问——写尽无书可问的惆怅；下阕写夜思：「夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨」写夜深风竹敲秋韵、万叶千声皆是恨——写尽风竹的秋恨；「故欹单枕梦中寻，梦又不成灯又烬」写故欹单枕梦中寻、梦又不成灯又烬——写尽梦断灯烬的凄凉。全词以相思写离愁，写尽别后的凄凉与梦断的凄凉，是欧阳修的代表作。【情感与主旨】此词写离愁，以相思写离愁，是欧阳修的名篇。此词写思妇别后的离愁。上阕写别后：别后不知君远近，触目凄凉多少闷——写别后不知君远近、触目凄凉多少闷，写尽别后的凄凉；渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问——写渐行渐远渐无书、水阔鱼沉何处问，写尽无书可问的惆怅；下阕写夜思：夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨——写夜深风竹敲秋韵、万叶千声皆是恨，写尽风竹的秋恨；故欹单枕梦中寻，梦又不成灯又烬——写故欹单枕梦中寻、梦又不成灯又烬，写尽梦断灯烬的凄凉。全词以相思写离愁——那「渐行渐远渐无书」写尽无书可问的惆怅，「梦又不成灯又烬」写尽梦断灯烬的凄凉，写尽别后的凄凉与梦断的凄凉，是理解欧阳修词的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「别后不知君远近，触目凄凉多少闷」写别后的凄凉；「渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问」写无书可问的惆怅；「夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨」写风竹的秋恨；「梦又不成灯又烬」写梦断灯烬的凄凉；以及全词以相思写离愁、以景写恨的手法。

Background

This lyric writes parting-sorrow through longing, a famous piece by Ouyang Xiu. Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), styled Yong-shu, hao Zui-weng and Liu-yi Jushi, was a native of Luling (modern Ji'an, Jiangxi), a leader of Northern Song letters and one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song. The lyric writes a wife's parting-sorrow after her husband's departure. Ouyang's lyrics inherit the Southern Tang line, mostly parting-sorrow and separation-grief. The upper stanza writes after-parting; the lower writes night-thought, from day to night, exactly Ouyang's typical 'writing feeling through scene.'

此词写离愁，以相思写离愁，是欧阳修的名篇。欧阳修（1007—1072），字永叔，号醉翁、六一居士，庐陵（今江西吉安）人，北宋文坛领袖，唐宋八大家之一。此词写思妇别后的离愁。欧阳修词承南唐余绪，多写离愁别恨。上阕写别后：「别后不知君远近，触目凄凉多少闷」写别后不知君远近、触目凄凉多少闷——写尽别后的凄凉（别后不知君远近，触目凄凉多少闷）；「渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问」写渐行渐远渐无书、水阔鱼沉何处问——写尽无书可问的惆怅（渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问）。下阕写夜思：「夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨」写夜深风竹敲秋韵、万叶千声皆是恨——写尽风竹的秋恨（夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨）；「故欹单枕梦中寻，梦又不成灯又烬」写故欹单枕梦中寻、梦又不成灯又烬——写尽梦断灯烬的凄凉（故欹单枕梦中寻，梦又不成灯又烬）。全词以相思写离愁，写尽别后的凄凉与梦断的凄凉，是理解欧阳修词的重要篇章。

Art

The lyric's art can be read in four aspects. First, direct statement of desolation: 'everything my eyes meet is desolate — how much gloom' states the gloom plainly. Second, reduplicated characters for gradual distance: 'gradually you travel on, gradually farther, gradually no letters' writes the ever-farther with three 'gradually's. Third, scene writing regret: 'deep night, wind in the bamboo knocks an autumn tune; a thousand leaves, a thousand sounds — all are regret' dyes all scenery with sorrow. Fourth, the lamp writing desolation: 'but the dream will not come and the lamp has burned to ash' ends with the lamp's death. Moreover the upper stanza writes after-partinga wistful sorrow, the lower night-thought desolation, day to night — Ouyang's 'writing feeling through scene.' Especially notable is the progression 'from real to empty, ever deeper': the first lines are direct, then 'gradually farther, gradually no letters; wide waters, sunk fish — where to ask' moves the sorrow from real to empty; the lower dyes all scenery with regret; the close 'I lean on the single pillow to seek you in dreams, but the dream will not come and the lamp has burned to ash' — seeking dream yet dream fails, lamp bright yet lamp dies — even in dreams no comfort, layering the after-parting desolation to its extreme, exactly Ouyang's 'detached yet deep and gentle' (shu juan shen wan) nature.

此词的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以直抒写凄凉。「触目凄凉多少闷」以直抒写凄凉——那「凄凉」「闷」写尽触目的凄凉，以直抒写尽别后的凄凉。其二，以叠字写渐远。「渐行渐远渐无书」以叠字写渐远——那「渐行渐远渐」写尽愈行愈远，以叠字写尽无书可问的惆怅。其三，以景写恨。「夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨」以景写恨——那「万叶千声皆是恨」写尽竹声之恨，以景写尽风竹的秋恨。其四，以灯写凄凉。「梦又不成灯又烬」以灯写凄凉——那「灯又烬」写尽灯尽的凄凉，以灯写尽梦断的凄凉。此外，此词上阕写别后的惆怅，下阕写夜思的凄凉，由昼入夜，正是欧阳修词「以景写情」的写法。四重手法，使此词以相思写离愁，写尽别后的凄凉与梦断的凄凉，是欧阳修的代表作。此外，此词尤可注意其「由实入虚、愈转愈深」的递进：首句「别后不知君远近」是直抒，次「触目凄凉多少闷」是直写，至「渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问」，以三个「渐」字写远、以「何处问」写无处，离愁已由实入虚；下阕「夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨」，风竹有声而皆是恨，已将景物全部染上愁色；末以「故欹单枕梦中寻，梦又不成灯又烬」收束——寻梦而梦不成，灯明而灯又烬，连梦中亦不得慰藉，层层写尽别后凄凉之极致，正是欧阳修「疏隽而深婉」的本色。

Allusions

The lyric's language is deep in the tradition of parting and longing. 'Fish sunk' recalls the 'fish and wild-goose carry letters' trope — the old ballad 'a guest comes from afar, gives me twin carp' — and the 'fish sunk, wild-goose vanished' image; 'where to ask' echoes Li Shangyin's 'you ask when I return — I've no set date.' 'Wind-bamboo knocks an autumn tune' recalls the 'wind-bamboo' sound image; 'single pillow' the 'lonely quilt, single pillow' image; 'lamp burned to ash' the 'candle-glow flickers red' image. The whole transforms fish-sunk, wind-bamboo, single-pillow, lamp-ash imagery, writing parting-sorrow through longing — Ouyang's 'detached yet deep' skill with allusion. Further, 'a thousand leaves, a thousand sounds — all are regret' connects to the Chinese tradition of writing sorrow through sound: Wen Tingyun's 'leaf by leaf, sound by sound, dripping till dawn on the empty steps,' Feng Yansi's 'the wind rises, wrinkling a pool of spring water' — Ouyang fusesthe sense of hearing scene with inner regret, showing inherited yet renewed power.

此词的用语深植于离愁与相思的传统。「鱼沉」令人想到「鱼沉」写音书断绝的典故——古有鱼雁传书之说，《饮马长城窟行》「客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼」，也令人想到「鱼沉雁杳」的意象；「何处问」令人想到「何处问」写无处的意象——「水阔鱼沉何处问」正是欧阳修的名句，也令人想到「君问归期未有期」（李商隐）的意象；「风竹敲秋韵」令人想到「风竹」写竹声的意象——「夜深风竹敲秋韵」正是欧阳修的名句，也令人想到「风篁成韵」的意象；「单枕」令人想到「单枕」写独枕的意象——「故欹单枕梦中寻」正是欧阳修的名句，也令人想到「孤衾独枕」的意象；「灯又烬」令人想到「灯烬」写灯尽的意象——「梦又不成灯又烬」正是欧阳修的名句，也令人想到「烛影摇红」的意象。全词化用鱼沉、风竹、单枕、灯烬的意象，以相思写离愁，正是欧阳修「疏隽深婉」而善用典、承离愁传统写相思的本领。又「万叶千声皆是恨」可联系中国文学以声写愁的传统：晚唐温庭筠「一叶叶，一声声，空阶滴到明」写梧桐夜雨之声，五代冯延巳「风乍起，吹皱一池春水」写风起之微澜，而欧阳修以「万叶千声皆是恨」写风竹之声，正是将听觉之景与内心之恨合而为一，可见其承继而能出新的功力。

Commentary

This lyric has long been praised as a famous piece of Ouyang Xiu and a representative Northern Song parting lyric. Critics rate it highly: a Qing reader called it 'parting-sorrow through longing, deep and gentle to the extreme'; a modern notes 'gradually farther, gradually no letters; wide waters, sunk fish — where to ask' as a famous line. Its special value: in eight short lines it exhausts after-parting desolation and dream-broken desolation — the parting, the distance unknown, the desolate eyes, the gloom, the gradually-farther, the no-letters, the wide waters, the sunk fish, the deep night, the wind-bamboo, the autumn tune, the thousand leaves, the thousand sounds, the regret, the single pillow, the dream, the lamp, the ash — all Ouyang's parting-sorrow; 'the dream will not come and the lamp has burned to ash' ends desolation with the lamp. It pairs with Ouyang's 'Treading the Sands' ('parting-sorrow grows farther, grows boundless') as parting masterpieces — one writes 'the traveler beyond the spring hills,' one 'the dream will not come and the lamp has burned to ash'; and it continues Wen Tingyun's 'all the thousand sails pass, not him' tradition of longing. For today's reader it is a window onto Ouyang's lyrics and a classic of Chinese parting verse — that burned-out lamp still speaks, across millennia, the dream-broken desolation.

此词历来被推为欧阳修词的名篇，也是北宋词写离愁的代表。历代论者对此词评价极高：清人评此词「以相思写离愁，深婉沉至」；近人更指出「渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问」写无书可问的惆怅，是此词的名句。在词史上，此词的特殊价值在于：它以八句的短调写尽别后的凄凉与梦断的凄凉——那别后，那君远近，那触目，那凄凉，那闷，那渐行，那渐远，那无书，那水阔，那鱼沉，那夜深，那风竹，那秋韵，那万叶，那千声，那恨，那单枕，那梦，那灯，那烬，都写尽了欧阳修笔下的离愁；那「梦又不成灯又烬」更以灯写尽梦断的凄凉。此词与欧阳修《踏莎行·候馆梅残》（「离愁渐远渐无穷」）同为离愁名篇，一写「行人更在春山外」的离愁（踏莎行），一写「梦又不成灯又烬」的离愁（玉楼春）；又与温庭筠「过尽千帆皆不是」的相思传统一脉相承，可见北宋词写离愁的传统。对于今日读者，此词是理解欧阳修词的窗口，也是中国词写离愁的经典——那又烬的灯，穿越千年，仍在诉说着梦断的凄凉。

Prosody

Form Lyric (ci) — Yu Lou Chun (Jade Tower Spring)词·玉楼春

Rhyme Yu Lou Chun is a double-tune of 56 characters; it rhymes on jin, men, wen, hen, jin — all departing-tone — one rhyme to the end, a deep, settled music.《玉楼春》双调五十六字，押「近」「闷」「问」「恨」「烬」韵（去声），一韵到底，音节沉至

Tone pattern This lyric is in the Yu Lou Chun tune, rhyming in oblique (departing) tone, one rhyme to the end, a deep, settled music fitting the parting-sorrow's weight.此词为《玉楼春》调，押仄声韵，一韵到底，音节沉至，正合离愁的沉至。

Reading note Yu Lou Chun is a double-tune of 56 characters. Upper stanza: 'After parting I know not how far or near you are; everything my eyes meet is desolate — how much gloom. Gradually you travel on, gradually farther, gradually no letters; the waters are wide, the fish sunk — where to ask.' Lower stanza: 'Deep night, wind in the bamboo knocks an autumn tune; a thousand leaves, a thousand sounds — all are regret. I lean on the single pillow to seek you in dreams, but the dream will not come and the lamp has burned to ash.' It rhymes in departing tone (jin, men, wen, hen, jin), one rhyme to the end, a deep, settled music. The whole writes parting-sorrow through longing: upper stanza the after-partinga wistful sorrow (desolate gloom, wide waters nowhere to ask), lower the night-thought desolation (a thousand sounds all regret, dream will not come, lamp burned to ash). The two stanzas move day to night, layering the after-parting and dream-broken desolation — exactly Ouyang's typical 'writing feeling through scene.' Read it with a deep, settled tone on 'gradually farther, gradually no letters,' a low, returning tone on 'the dream will not come and the lamp has burned to ash,' the closing line heavy with lingering pain, to convey Ouyang's deep, gentle restraint. Ouyang's lyrics are famed for 'detached yet deep and gentle'; this is a model of his parting-sorrow lyrics.此词为《玉楼春》双调五十六字，上阕——「别后不知君远近，触目凄凉多少闷。渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问」，下阕——「夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨。故欹单枕梦中寻，梦又不成灯又烬」，押仄声韵（近、闷、问、恨、烬），一韵到底，音节沉至。全词以相思写离愁：上阕写别后的惆怅（触目凄凉多少闷、水阔鱼沉何处问），下阕写夜思的凄凉（万叶千声皆是恨、梦又不成灯又烬）。两阕由昼入夜，层层写尽别后的凄凉与梦断的凄凉，正是欧阳修词以景写情的典型结构。诵读此词，宜以沉至的语调读「渐行渐远渐无书」的惆怅，以低回的语调读「梦又不成灯又烬」的凄凉，结句要读得沉痛而有余韵，方能传达出欧阳修的深婉沉至。欧阳修词以「疏隽深婉」著称，此词正是其离愁词的典范。

Line by line

渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问

Gradually you travel on, gradually farther, gradually no letters; / The waters are wide, the fish sunk — where to ask?

渐行渐远渐无书，水阔鱼沉何处问。

Going, going, ever farther, ever fewer letters; waters wide, the fish sunken—where shall I ask?

此二句是全词写惆怅的核心，以渐行渐远渐无书写渐远，以水阔鱼沉何处问写无书，写尽无书可问的惆怅，是千古名句。「渐行渐远渐无书」写渐行渐远渐无书——那「渐行渐远渐」写渐行渐远渐，「无书」写无书，写尽愈行愈远而无书；「水阔鱼沉何处问」写水阔鱼沉何处问——那「水阔鱼沉」写水阔鱼沉，「何处问」写何处问，写尽无书可问的惆怅。这句的深意在于：它以「渐行渐远渐无书」的渐远与「水阔鱼沉何处问」的无书，写尽无书可问的惆怅——渐行渐远渐无书，那「渐行渐远渐无书」写尽愈行愈远而无书——行行渐远，书信渐无，那「渐」字三叠写尽渐远的过程；水阔鱼沉何处问，那「水阔鱼沉何处问」写尽无书可问的惆怅——水阔而鱼沉，正是音书断绝的写照，那「何处问」写尽无处的惆怅；那「渐行渐远渐无书」写尽愈行愈远而无书，那「水阔鱼沉何处问」写尽无书可问的惆怅，一写渐远，一写无书，写尽无书可问的惆怅——渐远而无书，正是离愁的写照；此二句以渐远、无书写尽无书可问的惆怅，也让此二句成为全词写惆怅的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「他走了就不来信了，不知去哪问」，则失其声情；唯以「渐行渐远渐无书」写渐远、「水阔鱼沉何处问」写无书，写尽无书可问的惆怅，也让此二句成为全词写惆怅的核心。

The letters. Going, going, ever farther, ever fewer letters; waters wide, the fish sunken—where shall I ask? The going-farther-fewer-letters and the waters-wide-fish-sunken-where-ask are the longing. To have gone farther would be a going; the going-going-ever-farther-ever-fewer-letters-waters-wide-the-fish-sunken-where-shall-i-ask is the going.

夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨

Deep night, wind in the bamboo knocks an autumn tune; / A thousand leaves, a thousand sounds — all are regret.

夜深风竹敲秋韵，万叶千声皆是恨。

Deep night, wind in the bamboo strikes the autumn tune; ten thousand leaves, a thousand sounds, all are grief.

此二句是全词写秋恨的核心，以夜深风竹敲秋韵写风竹，以万叶千声皆是恨写恨，写尽风竹的秋恨，是千古名句。「夜深风竹敲秋韵」写夜深风竹敲秋韵——那「夜深」写夜深，「风竹敲秋韵」写风竹敲秋韵，写尽风竹的秋声；「万叶千声皆是恨」写万叶千声皆是恨——那「万叶千声」写万叶千声，「皆是恨」写皆是恨，写尽竹声的愁恨。这句的深意在于：它以「夜深风竹敲秋韵」的风竹与「万叶千声皆是恨」的恨，写尽风竹的秋恨——夜深风竹敲秋韵，那「夜深风竹敲秋韵」写尽风竹的秋声——夜深风动竹，敲出秋韵，那「敲」字写尽风竹的秋声；万叶千声皆是恨，那「万叶千声皆是恨」写尽竹声的愁恨——万叶千声，皆是离恨，那「皆是恨」写尽竹声的愁恨；那「夜深风竹敲秋韵」写尽风竹的秋声，那「万叶千声皆是恨」写尽竹声的愁恨，一写声，一写恨，写尽风竹的秋恨——风竹有声而皆是恨，正是离愁的写照；此二句以声、恨写尽风竹的秋恨，也让此二句成为全词写秋恨的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「晚上听到风吹竹子很伤心」，则失其声情；唯以「夜深风竹敲秋韵」写风竹、「万叶千声皆是恨」写恨，写尽风竹的秋恨，也让此二句成为全词写秋恨的核心。

The bamboo. Deep night, wind in the bamboo strikes the autumn tune; ten thousand leaves, a thousand sounds, all are grief. The deep-night-wind-bamboo-autumn-tune and the ten-thousand-leaves-thousand-sounds-grief are the lament. To have struck the autumn tune would be a striking; the deep-night-wind-in-the-bamboo-strikes-the-autumn-tune-ten-thousand-leaves-a-thousand-sounds-all-are-grief is the striking.

Study

Word focus

渐 In 'gradually you travel on, gradually farther, gradually no letters,' the character (jian, 'gradually') is tripled to exhaust the process of receding. means 'by degrees.' Ouyang uses 'gradually' to write the growing distance: the character carries at least two senses — first, the course of receding: traveling and gradually farther, farther and gradually no letters, the triple exhausts the process; second, the grief of no letters: gradually no letters come shows the parting-sorrow deepening, the character exhausting the bleakness of no message. Using to write receding is the hinge of Ouyang's parting-sorrow — swap for yu or geng and it loses thecoordinate with 'traveling-farther-no-letters' or the sense of degrees; only, with 'gradually travel, gradually far, gradually no letters,' exhausts the process and the no-letter grief, joining 'wide waters, sunk fish — where to ask' to exhaust thea wistful sorrow of no letter, making this line a famous phrase fora wistful sorrow. 「渐行渐远渐无书」之「渐」字是写渐远的关键词，一个「渐」字三叠写尽渐远的历程。渐者，逐渐也。欧阳修以「渐行渐远渐无书」写渐远，这个「渐」字至少有双重意味：其一，写渐远之程——那「渐行渐远渐无书」写渐行渐远渐无书，那「渐」字写尽渐远的历程——行而渐远，远而渐无书，那「渐」字三叠写尽渐远的过程；其二，写无书之悲——那「渐」字更是写悲——渐无书，正见离愁渐深，那「渐」字写尽无书的悲凉。以「渐」字写渐远，正是欧阳修写离愁的枢纽——若换作「愈」「更」等字，则或失其与「行远无书」的配合，或失其写渐的意味；唯「渐」字，以渐行渐远渐无书写尽渐远的历程与无书的悲凉，与「水阔鱼沉何处问」的何处问相合，写尽无书可问的惆怅，也让「渐行渐远渐无书」成为全词写惆怅的名句。

烬 In 'but the dream will not come and the lamp has burned to ash,' the character (jin, 'ash / burned-out') exhausts the desolation of the lamp's death. means the lamp's flower burned to ash. Ouyang uses 'lamp has burned to ash' to write desolation: the character carries two senses — first, the extinction of the lamp: 'lamp has burned to ash' is the portrait of the lamp's remnants, exhausting the desolation of the lamp's death; second, the extinction of hope: shows hope's demise, exhausting the dream-broken desolation. Using to write the lamp's death is the hinge of Ouyang's desolation — swap for mie or can and it loses thecoordinate with 'dream will not come' or the sense of ash; only, with 'dream will not come and lamp has burned to ash,' exhausts the lamp's extinction and hope's shattering, joining 'I lean on the single pillow to seek you in dreams' to exhaust the dream-broken desolation, making this line a famous phrase for desolation. 「梦又不成灯又烬」之「烬」字是写凄凉的关键词，一个「烬」字写尽灯尽的凄凉。烬者，灯花烧尽成灰也。欧阳修以「梦又不成灯又烬」写凄凉，这个「烬」字至少有双重意味：其一，写灯尽之灭——那「梦又不成灯又烬」写梦又不成灯又烬，那「烬」字写尽灯尽的熄灭——灯又烬，正是灯残的写照，那「烬」字写尽灯尽的凄凉；其二，写希望之灭——那「烬」字更是写灭——灯烬，正见希望之灭，那「烬」字写尽梦断的凄凉。以「烬」字写灯尽，正是欧阳修写凄凉的枢纽——若换作「灭」「残」等字，则或失其与「梦又不成」的配合，或失其写烬的意味；唯「烬」字，以梦又不成灯又烬写尽灯尽的熄灭与希望的幻灭，与「故欹单枕梦中寻」的单枕相合，写尽梦断灯烬的凄凉，也让「梦又不成灯又烬」成为全词写凄凉的名句。