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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

无题二首 二

Untitled No. 2 (of Two Untitled Poems)

李商隐

Li Shangyin

重帷深下莫愁堂卧后清宵细细长神女生涯原是梦小姑居处本无郎风波不信菱枝弱月露谁教桂叶香直道相思了无益未妨惆怅是清狂

Layered curtains hang deep in Mo-chou Hall,
and once I lie down, the clear night drags on, slow and long.
The Goddess's life of love was, from the very first, only a dream;
in the Little Maiden's chamber there never was a bridegroom.
The stormy waves refuse to believe how frail the water-chestnut stems are;
who, if not the moon and dew, taught the cassia leaves their fragrance?
It is plainly said that longing, in the end, brings no gain at all —
why not let my melancholy pass for a lucid madness?
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Meaning

The poem begins in a curtained, empty hall, where the sleepless speaker feels the night stretch out minute by minute. Love is recalled as illusion: like the Wu Goddess's fabled dream encounter, or the Little Maiden who dwells forever without a mate. The middle couplets turn from love to the self — a frail water-chestnut stem snapped by waves, a fragrant cassia leaf left untended by moon and dew — images of talent bruised by circumstance. Knowing full well that longing is futile, the speaker chooses it anyway, embracing his melancholy as a conscious, lucid madness.

重帷深下，莫愁堂中，卧后清宵，细细长长。神女生涯，原是一场梦，小姑居处，本就没有郎。风波不信菱枝之弱，月露谁教桂叶之香。直道相思了无益处，也未妨惆怅，作那清狂。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Behind heavy curtains in Mo-chou Hall the poet lies down and feels the clear night pass minute by minute. His love, he realizes, was a dream like the Wu Goddess's; his solitude is that of the Little Maiden who has no mate. [Imagery] The third couplet shifts from love to selfhood: the water-chestnut's frail stem is battered by waves that 'refuse to believe' its weakness, while the cassia's fragrance owes itself to moon and dew that no longer attend it — frailty and fragrance both left unsheltered. [Structure] The closing couplet performs the poem's famous turn: since longing is admittedly profitless, the poet does not renounce it but renames it 'lucid madness' (qingkuang) — a conscious, willing surrender. [Theme] Ambiguity is essential: the poem can be read as love lyrics or as the lament of a talented man unappreciated, the double reading characteristic of Li Shangyin's 'Untitled' verse.

【白话串讲】 李商隐写《无题二首其二》：“重帷深下莫愁堂，卧后清宵细细长”——“神女生涯原是梦，小姑居处本无郎”——“风波不信菱枝弱，月露谁教桂叶香”——“直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂”——他写无题——未妨惆怅是清狂。 【意象与手法】 首联“重帷深下莫愁堂，卧后清宵细细长”写重帷莫愁堂中，清宵细长的独处；颔联“神女生涯原是梦，小姑居处本无郎”以神女、小姑之典写情爱的幻灭与独居的孤寂；颈联“风波不信菱枝弱，月露谁教桂叶香”以菱枝桂叶写身世的弱质与清香；尾联“直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂”写明知相思无益而仍痴狂的深情。用典之密、意旨之隐。 【情感与主旨】 李商隐写相思的痴狂与失落的惆怅，是李商隐无题诗的代表作。 【名句点睛】 常考“神女生涯原是梦，小姑居处本无郎”以神女小姑写幻灭孤寂；“直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂”写痴狂深情。

Background

Li Shangyin (c. 813–858), courtesy name Yishan, was a late Tang poet from Huaizhou. Brilliant but unlucky, he spent his career caught between the Niu and Li factions and never held high office. His poetry — dense with allusion, emotionally indirect, and famously elusive — reached its purest form in the series of poems he left 'Untitled'. The present piece, the second of two untitled poems, is a regulated verse on longing, illusion, and the choice to remain devoted even when devotion is known to be hopeless.

此诗为晚唐诗人李商隐的《无题二首》其二之作，是李商隐无题诗的代表作。李商隐（约813—约858），字义山，号玉谿生，怀州河内（今河南沁阳）人，晚唐诗人。他才华横溢而身世坎壈，一生卷入牛李党争，困顿不遇，其诗多写身世之感、爱情之思，好用典、好隐晦，形成「深情绵邈」的独特风格，后人以「无题」名其寄意无题的组诗。此诗写相思的痴狂与失落的惆怅：「重帷深下莫愁堂」，写重帷深下，莫愁堂中——「重帷」写帷幕之重叠，「莫愁堂」用「莫愁女」之典，洛阳女子莫愁，嫁卢家为妇，堂称莫愁堂，写闺阁之堂；「卧后清宵细细长」，写卧后清宵，细细长长——「清宵」写清冷之夜，「细细长」写夜之漫长，正是独处难寐的孤寂；「神女生涯原是梦」，写神女生涯，原是一场梦——用「巫山神女」之典，楚襄王梦遇巫山神女，神女生涯原是梦，写情爱的幻灭；「小姑居处本无郎」，写小姑居处，本就没有郎——用乐府《青溪小姑曲》「小姑所居，独处无郎」，写独居的孤寂；「风波不信菱枝弱」，写风波不信菱枝之弱——菱枝柔弱，风波却偏要摧折，写身世的弱质与迫害；「月露谁教桂叶香」，写月露谁教桂叶之香——桂叶之香，本有月露之助，如今无人相助，写才美的无人赏识；「直道相思了无益」，写直道相思了无益处——明知相思无益；「未妨惆怅是清狂」，写也未妨惆怅，作那清狂——纵知无益，仍甘痴狂，正是情之深、痴之极。全诗以用典之密、意旨之隐，写尽相思的痴狂与失落，是李商隐无题诗的代表作。

Art

The poem's craft lies in the density and doubling of its allusions. The opening couplet fixes the scene with sensory precision: 'layered curtains' and 'Mo-chou Hall' build a chamber that is both luxurious and empty, while 'slow and long' (xixi chang) makes the listener feel the night elapse second by second. Couplets two and three run on paired binaries — Goddess and Little Maiden, dream and no mate, waves and moon-dew, frailty and fragrance — so that every image arrives with its counterpart. The final couplet turns on two quiet pivots, 'plainly' (zhidao) and 'why not' (weifang): the poem argues against itself and then consents to itself. The result is a verse whose surface is elegant erasure and whose depth is stubborn attachment.

此诗艺术上以「用典深密」与「意旨隐晦」为特色，在典故的重叠中写尽相思的痴狂与失落。首联「重帷深下莫愁堂，卧后清宵细细长」，以「重帷深下」写帷幕之深、闺阁之幽，以「清宵细细长」写夜之漫长，「细细长」三字，写清宵一分一秒地流逝，正是独处难寐的孤寂；颔联「神女生涯原是梦，小姑居处本无郎」，以「神女」写巫山梦遇的情爱幻灭，以「小姑」写独处无郎的孤寂——两个典故相对，「原是梦」「本无郎」，写尽情爱的幻灭与独居的孤寂；颈联「风波不信菱枝弱，月露谁教桂叶香」，以「菱枝弱」写身世的弱质，以「桂叶香」写才美之质，风波摧折菱枝、月露空助桂香——写身世之坎壈、才美之无援；尾联「直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂」，以「了无益」写明知无益，以「未妨」「清狂」写纵知无益而仍痴狂——「直道」「未妨」二词，写尽痴情之深。全诗由独处的孤寂，经神女小姑的幻灭、菱枝桂叶的坎壈，而归于「未妨惆怅是清狂」的痴狂，用典深密而意旨隐晦，正是李商隐无题诗「深情绵邈」的极致。

Allusions

'Mo-chou Hall' recalls Mo-chou, the Liang-dynasty maiden of the yuefu song 'Song of Mo-chou', whose name became a byword for the boudoir. 'The Goddess' is the Wu Mountain goddess of Song Yu's Gaotang Rhapsody, who gave herself to King Chu in a dream — love that was a dream from the start. 'The Little Maiden' is the river goddess of the yuefu 'Song of the Little Maiden of Qingxi', whose dwelling 'stands alone, without a mate'. The water-chestnut stem, frail and easily snapped, and the cassia leaf, whose fragrance depends on moon and dew, are conventional emblems of fragile talent and of beauty that needs the right season and patron.

此诗用典之密，为李商隐无题诗之冠。「莫愁堂」，用「莫愁女」之典——古乐府《莫愁乐》「莫愁在何处，莫愁石城西」，洛阳女子莫愁嫁卢家为妇，后以「莫愁」写闺中女子，「莫愁堂」写闺阁之堂；「卧后清宵细细长」，暗含「耿耿星河欲曙天」的独处之思。「神女生涯原是梦」，用「巫山神女」之典——宋玉《高唐赋》记楚襄王游高唐，梦遇巫山神女，自荐枕席，神女生涯原是梦，写情爱的幻灭，正如神女一梦。小姑居处本无郎，用乐府《青溪小姑曲》之典——「开门白水，侧近桥梁。小姑所居，独处无郎」，青溪小姑为水神，独处无郎，此诗以「小姑居处本无郎」写独居的孤寂。「风波不信菱枝弱」，以「菱枝弱」写身世的弱质——菱枝柔弱，风波偏要摧折，「不信」二字写风波之无情；「月露谁教桂叶香」，以「桂叶香」写才美之质——桂叶之香，本有月露之助，「谁教」二字写无人相助。这些典故，或写莫愁、或写神女、或写小姑、或写菱枝桂叶，皆围绕相思与身世这一核心，织成一张深密的情网，正是李商隐诗「用典深密」的特点，也是「深情绵邈」风格的根源。

Commentary

The closing couplet — 'plainly, longing is of no avail; why not let melancholy be my lucid madness' — has become the most quoted definition of Li Shangyin's devotion: knowing yet persisting, conscious yet mad. Critics have long noted the poem's deliberate ambiguity: read as love poetry, it is a lover's refusal to forget; read allegorically, it is the cry of a talent whose whole career was a dream. Either reading rests on the same structure — illusion recognized, and embraced anyway. Among Li Shangyin's 'Untitled' poems this one is prized for the completeness of its turn: from solitude, through disillusionment and injury, to a final, lucid consent.

读此诗，最值得注意的是「直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂」所写出的「明知无益而仍痴狂」的深情。全诗用典极密：莫愁堂、神女、小姑、菱枝、桂叶——那是情爱的幻灭、独居的孤寂、身世的坎壈，写尽了相思的苦涩。然而尾联忽然一转，「直道相思了无益」——我何尝不知，相思本是了无益处的；「未妨惆怅是清狂」——那也无妨，就让我在惆怅中，作那痴狂之人罢。这一转，是全诗的关键：不是不知相思无益，而是明知无益，仍甘愿痴狂。这种「明知不可为而为之」的痴情，正是李商隐爱情诗的精魂——那「相见时难别亦难」是痴，那「春蚕到死丝方尽」是痴，那「直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂」也是痴。以「清狂」自许，写尽痴情之深——清狂不是狂乱，而是「清醒的痴狂」：明知相思无益，却仍清醒地、甘愿地沉溺于惆怅。这种深情，是李商隐无题诗的共同底色，也是「此情可待成追忆」的深情之源。至于此诗究竟是写爱情，还是寄身世之感——神女生涯原是梦，正是李商隐「一生襟抱未曾开」的写照，那「相思」，也可是「才士之不遇」。这种「可作爱情读，亦可作身世读」的多义性，正是李商隐无题诗「意旨隐晦」的魅力所在。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse (qilü), eight lines in four couplets诗（七言律诗）
Rhyme The poem rhymes on the level-tone yang group (Pingshui rhyme, lower level No. 7): tang, chang, lang, xiang, kuang — a long, resonant rhyme whose echoing close gives the verse its sustained, far-reaching tone, matching the deep and lingering feeling (shenqing mianmiao) of the 'Untitled' manner.此诗为七言律诗，押平声「阳」部韵，「堂」「长」「郎」「香」「狂」等字皆属下平七阳韵，韵脚悠长而绵邈，正合诗情「深情绵邈」的声调。首联「重帷深下莫愁堂，卧后清宵细细长」以「莫愁堂」「细细长」起，对仗工整而见孤寂；颔联「神女生涯原是梦，小姑居处本无郎」，以「神女」「小姑」相对，工对而见幻灭；颈联「风波不信菱枝弱，月露谁教桂叶香」，以「不信」「谁教」相对，流水而对；尾联「直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂」，以「直道」「未妨」相对，转折而见痴狂。整体声调由首联的孤寂，到尾联的痴狂，悠长而绵邈，正合无题诗「深情绵邈」的诗情。
Tone pattern As a regulated verse the middle two couplets observe strict parallelism: 'Goddess' answers 'Little Maiden', 'waves that refuse to believe' answers 'who taught', 'plainly' answers 'why not'. The diction mixes heavy allusion with empty function words (yuan shi, ben wu, bu xin, shui jiao, zhi dao, wei fang), so the syntax turns and doubles even where the meter is strictly regular — the voice moves from solitude through disillusionment to consent.句式上，此诗善用典故与虚字：「神女生涯原是梦，小姑居处本无郎」，以「原是」「本无」写幻灭与孤寂，对仗精工；「风波不信菱枝弱，月露谁教桂叶香」，以「不信」「谁教」写风波之无情、月露之无援，流水而对；「直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂」，以「直道」「未妨」写明知无益而仍痴狂，转折而见深情。全诗由独处的孤寂，经神女小姑的幻灭、菱枝桂叶的坎壈，而归于「未妨惆怅是清狂」的痴狂，对仗整饬而句法多变，正是李商隐无题诗「深情绵邈」的节奏美学。
Reading note The music of the poem depends on the long yang rhymes and its pivot words. The first couplet's deep curtains and slow, long night establish a suspended quiet; the middle couplets alternate paired allusions with a flowing parallelism (liushui dui) in the third couplet; the final couplet turns on 'plainly ... why not', converting the whole poem from lament to resolve. Sound and sense rise together to the closing phrase 'lucid madness', the pitch on which the entire 'Untitled' manner rests.作为晚唐七律，《无题二首·其二》的声律之美，在于以悠长的阳韵与典故虚字的句式，写出深情绵邈的痴狂情思。全诗首联「重帷深下莫愁堂」以莫愁堂写闺阁之幽，清宵细长写独处之孤寂；颔联「神女生涯原是梦，小姑居处本无郎」以神女小姑之典写情爱的幻灭与独居的孤寂；颈联「风波不信菱枝弱，月露谁教桂叶香」以菱枝桂叶写身世的坎壈与才美的无援；尾联「直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂」以「了无益」「清狂」写明知无益而仍痴狂的深情。全诗用典深密、意旨隐晦，由孤寂经幻灭坎壈而归于痴狂，层层递进而声情相谐，正是李商隐无题诗「深情绵邈」的体现。就全诗而言，此诗以用典之密写尽相思的痴狂与失落，意旨隐晦而深情绵邈，是李商隐无题诗的代表作，与其《无题·相见时难》同为「相思」母题的绝唱，而一写「春蚕到死丝方尽」的执著，一写「未妨惆怅是清狂」的痴狂，可见「相思」这一母题在李商隐笔下的多重面貌。

Line by line

神女生涯原是梦

The Goddess's life of love was, from the very first, only a dream.

神女生涯，原是一场梦。

The goddess's life was, after all, a dream.

这一句用巫山神女之典，写情爱的幻灭，是此诗由独处转入感叹的关键。「神女生涯」，用「巫山神女」之典——宋玉《高唐赋》记楚襄王游高唐，梦遇巫山神女，自荐枕席，「神女生涯」写神女自荐枕席、与襄王相会的生涯；「原是梦」，写原是一场梦——那神女的生涯，本是一场梦，梦醒即空，正是情爱的幻灭。以「神女」写情爱，比直写「爱情」更见迷离与空幻——神女之遇，本是梦中之事，神女生涯原是梦，正是情爱如梦幻的写照；「原是」二字，写那幻灭之确凿——不是或许，而是本原就是梦。这一句，是此诗由独处转入感叹的关键，与「小姑居处本无郎」相对，一幻灭一孤寂，写尽情爱的空幻与独居的凄清，正是李商隐用典深密写情爱的典型。

This line uses the Wushan goddess allusion to write love's disillusionment, the poem's pivot from solitude to sighing. The goddess's life uses the Wushan goddess allusion - Song Yu's Gaotang Rhapsody records King Xiang of Chu roaming Gaotang, dreaming of the Wushan goddess who offered herself; the goddess's life writes her offering herself and meeting the king. After all, a dream writes it was a dream - the goddess's life was originally a dream, empty when one wakes, precisely love's disillusionment. Using goddess for love, more hazy and empty than writing love directly - the goddess's meeting was dream itself; the goddess's life was a dream is the portrait of love as dream. After all writes the certainty of disillusionment: not perhaps, but originally a dream. This line is the poem's pivot from solitude to sighing, paired with the young sister's dwelling without a mate below - one disillusionment, one solitude, writing love's emptiness and the loneliness of living alone; precisely Li Shangyin's dense-allusion method of writing love.

风波不信菱枝弱

The stormy waves refuse to believe how frail the water-chestnut stems are.

风波不信菱枝之弱，偏要摧折。

Wind and waves do not believe the water-caltrop's branch is weak, yet break it.

这一句以菱枝弱质写身世的坎壈，是此诗由情爱转入身世的关键。「风波」，写风波——那摧折草木的风波，暗喻世事的迫害、党争的倾轧；「不信」，写不相信——风波不相信菱枝之弱，偏要摧折，「不信」二字写风波之无情；「菱枝弱」，写菱枝之柔弱——菱枝生于水中，柔嫩易折，「菱枝弱」写身世的弱质。以「菱枝弱」写身世，比直写「身世坎壈」更见柔弱与无辜——那柔弱无依的菱枝，风波偏要摧折，正是李商隐一生卷入党争、困顿不遇的写照；「不信」二字，写风波之无情，正是「风雨凄凄」的坎壈。这一句，是此诗由情爱转入身世的关键，与「月露谁教桂叶香」相对，一摧折一无助，写尽身世的坎壈与才美的无援，正是李商隐以物写身的典型。

This line uses the weak caltrop branch to write life's hardship, the poem's pivot from love to personal fate. Wind and waves write the storm that breaks plants, secretly alluding to the world's persecution, factional strife's squeezing. Do not believe writes the wind and waves not believing the caltrop's branch is weak, yet breaking it; do not believe writes the storm's mercilessness. Water-caltrop's branch weak writes its tenderness - caltrop grows in water, tender and easy to break; weak writes life's frailness. Using the weak caltrop branch for life, more tender and innocent than writing life's hardship directly - the frail, rootless branch, yet storm must break it, precisely Li Shangyin's life wedged in factional strife, struggling and unrecognized; do not believe writes the storm's mercilessness, precisely the hardship of wind and rain's desolation. This line is the poem's pivot from love to fate, paired with moon and dew, how should the cassia leaf be fragrant - one breaking, one helpless, exhausting life's hardship and beauty's lack of aid; precisely Li Shangyin's method of writing self through things.

直道相思了无益

It is plainly said that longing, in the end, brings no gain at all.

直道相思了无益处。

Say it straight: this longing is altogether profitless

这一句写明知相思无益，是此诗由感叹转入痴狂的枢纽。「直道」，写直说、纵然说——「直道」即直言、纵道，「直道相思了无益」写纵说相思是了无益处的；「了无益」，写了无益处——那相思，全然无益，「了」字写无益之彻底。以「直道」写纵说，以「了无益」写无益之彻底，正是「明知无益」的清醒——我何尝不知，相思本是了无益处的。这一句，是此诗由感叹转入痴狂的枢纽，为「未妨惆怅是清狂」的痴狂作铺垫——正因明知无益，那「未妨惆怅是清狂」的痴狂，才更见深情。以「了无益」写清醒，是「知」的极处；那「清狂」，正是「知而仍痴」的深情。这一句，写尽相思的清醒与无奈，是李商隐痴情诗的关键转折。

This line writes knowing full well longing is profitless, the poem's pivot from sighing to wild devotion. Say it straight means plainly, even if - straight means frank, even; say it straight, this longing is altogether profitless means even if I say it, longing is utterly useless. Altogether profitless writes the thorough uselessness; altogether exhausts the completeness of uselessness. Using say it straight for even, altogether profitless for thorough uselessness - precisely the clear knowledge of knowing it is useless: how should I not know that longing is utterly useless? This line is the poem's pivot from sighing to wild devotion, preparing the wild devotion of yet a sorrowful madness is the refined wildness below: precisely because he knows it is useless, the wild devotion of yet a sorrowful madness is the refined wildness shows the deeper feeling. Using altogether profitless for clarity is the extreme of knowing; the refined wildness is precisely the deep feeling of knowing yet still痴. The line exhausts longing's clarity and helplessness, the key turn of Li Shangyin's devotion poetry.

Study

Word focus

清宵 'Clear night' — the cold, silent night after the speaker lies down; 'fine and long' (xixi chang) makes each minute of it felt, and the phrase anchors the poem's mood of sleepless solitude. 「卧后清宵细细长」之「清宵」，写清冷之夜，是此诗独处孤寂意象的核心语。「清宵」即清冷寂静的夜晚——「清」写夜之清冷，「宵」即夜，「清宵」写清冷之夜的寂寥；「细细长」，写一分一秒地漫长——「细细」写时光之细碎，「长」写夜之漫长，「清宵细细长」写那清冷之夜，一分一秒地流逝，正是独处难寐的孤寂。以「清宵」写夜，比直写「长夜」更见清冷与寂寥——那清宵，是独处者眼中的夜，清冷而漫长；「细细长」三字，写时光之细碎，正是「夜长如年」的孤寂。这一词，是此诗独处孤寂意象的核心，与「重帷深下」相连，正是深闺独处的寂寥，也是「神女生涯原是梦」的铺垫。
清狂 'Lucid madness' — the poem's key term: not wild frenzy but a clear-eyed, willing surrender to melancholy, knowing all the while that longing is futile. 「未妨惆怅是清狂」之「清狂」，写清醒的痴狂，是此诗深情意象的核心语。「清狂」即清醒而狂放——「清」写清醒，「狂」写狂放，「清狂」写那清醒的痴狂：明知相思无益，却仍甘愿沉溺于惆怅，正是「清狂」；「未妨惆怅是清狂」，写纵知无益，也未妨在惆怅中作那清狂之人。以「清狂」写痴情，比直写「痴狂」更见清醒与自觉——那不是浑浑噩噩的狂乱，而是清醒地、甘愿地痴狂，「清」字正写那「直道相思了无益」的清醒；「未妨」二字，写甘愿之坦然——那也无妨，就让我清狂罢。这一词，是此诗深情意象的核心，也是李商隐痴情诗的注脚，写尽「明知无益而仍痴狂」的深情。
菱枝 The water-chestnut's slender stem, frail and easily snapped by the water; it emblematizes the poet's own fragile, defenseless position in a world of storms and factional strife. 「风波不信菱枝弱」之「菱枝」，写菱的柔枝，是此诗身世弱质意象的核心语。「菱枝」即菱的柔枝——菱为水生植物，其枝柔嫩易折，「菱枝」写那柔弱无依的菱枝；「风波不信菱枝弱」，写风波不相信菱枝之弱，偏要摧折——「风波」暗喻世事的迫害、党争的倾轧，「不信」写风波之无情，「菱枝弱」写身世的弱质。以「菱枝」写身世，比直写「身世」更见柔弱与无辜——那柔嫩易折的菱枝，风波偏要摧折，正是李商隐一生卷入党争、困顿不遇的写照；「菱枝弱」三字，写尽弱质之无辜，与「风波不信」相对，正是「无端却被风波误」的坎壈。这一词，是此诗身世弱质意象的核心，与「桂叶香」相对，一弱质一才美，写尽身世的坎壈与才美的无援。

Related Reading

无题·相见时难 Untitled ('Hard to meet, hard to part') 李商隐 · 同为李商隐无题相思之作，一写春蚕蜡炬的执著一写清狂惆怅的痴狂，无题相思互为双璧 Both are Li Shangyin's 'Untitled' poems of longing — one voiced through silkworms and candles, the other through Goddesses and Little Maidens.

'When we meet it is hard; when we part it is harder still ... the spring silkworm spins its silk to the very end, the candle weeps till it is ash' expresses longing as unwavering persistence; this poem says instead 'why not let my melancholy pass for a lucid madness' — devotion turned conscious and wry. One burns to the end, the other smiles through the ashes; together they show the twin faces of longing in Li Shangyin's untitled verse.

李商隐《无题·相见时难》「相见时难别亦难，东风无力百花残。春蚕到死丝方尽，蜡炬成灰泪始干」，写相思的执著与无望，是无题诗写爱情的绝唱；李商隐此诗「直道相思了无益，未妨惆怅是清狂」，同样写相思的痴狂。一写「春蚕到死丝方尽」的执著，一写「未妨惆怅是清狂」的痴狂；两诗都以「明知无望而仍深情」为核心，一以春蚕蜡炬为喻，一以神女小姑用典。并读两作，可见李商隐无题诗「深情绵邈」的共同底色，也可见「相思」这一母题在李商隐笔下的执著与痴狂。

 无题·昨夜星辰昨夜风 Untitled ('Last night's stars, last night's wind') 李商隐 · 同为李商隐无题之作，一写灵犀一点的通会一写清宵细长的孤寂，无题组诗互为映照 Both belong to the 'Untitled' series — one records a rendezvous and spiritual communion, the other a curtained solitude.

'No phoenix wings to fly with you, yet one heart within us beats as one' celebrates the communion of lovers; 'deep curtains in Mo-chou Hall, the clear night slow and long' records the same poet alone after the encounter. Read together, the two poems map the whole geography of Li Shangyin's love poetry — the sweetness of meeting and the cold of the empty chamber.

李商隐《无题·昨夜星辰》「昨夜星辰昨夜风，画楼西畔桂堂东。身无彩凤双飞翼，心有灵犀一点通」，写昨夜星辰下的相会与灵犀一点的通会；李商隐此诗「重帷深下莫愁堂，卧后清宵细细长」，写重帷深闺中的清宵独处。一写「心有灵犀一点通」的通会，一写「小姑居处本无郎」的孤寂；一写相会的欢愉，一写独处的凄清。并读两作，可见李商隐无题诗既写相会之乐、也写独处之苦的两面，也可见「昨夜星辰」与「重帷深下」两种场景下的深情。

 锦瑟 The Brocade Zither 李商隐 · 同为李商隐深情之作，一写锦瑟无端的惘然一写相思无益的清狂，身世深情互为映照 Both are masterpieces of Li Shangyin's indirect, allusive manner — one brooding on lost time, the other on futile longing.

'This feeling might have become a memory to await — only, back then, I was already lost' turns to vanished youth with a melancholy retrospect; 'why not let my melancholy pass for a lucid madness' answers with a wry, forward-leaning consent. Both are built on the sentence 'it was a dream' — one retrieves the dream, the other keeps faith with it.

李商隐《锦瑟》「锦瑟无端五十弦，一弦一柱思华年。此情可待成追忆，只是当时已惘然」，写华年如梦、此情惘然，是李商隐深情诗的代表作；李商隐此诗「神女生涯原是梦，未妨惆怅是清狂」，同样写情爱如幻、痴狂深情。一写「此情可待成追忆」的惘然，一写「未妨惆怅是清狂」的痴狂；两诗都以「原是梦」「成追忆」写情爱的幻灭，一追忆一痴狂。并读两作，可见李商隐深情诗的两面——惘然与痴狂，也可见「此情」在李商隐笔下的多重面貌，可作爱情读，亦可作身世读。