Abstract: There is a big difference between English and Chinese. Literal translation and free translation are two important methods in translation. Literal translation is a translation method which not only maintains the original content, but also the original form of the text. Free translation is only to maintain the original content without considering the original form. People often use "casual form but concentrated spirit "to describe the characteristics of a prose. Literal translation could reflect this unique style. Rhetoric is often used in a prose to make it vivid. Literal translation retains the original structure of a prose, so it reflects the vividness of the original. While free translation only conveys the meaning of the original, the vivid description is lost. This text takes Moonlight over the Lotus Pond as an example, and uses a lot of examples to compare literal translation and free translation. In order to prove that literal translation and free translation should be combined together when translating a prose. 

Key words:  prose   literal translation   free translation

摘要：英语和汉语存在很大差异，在英汉互译中直译和意译是两种重要的翻译方法。所谓直译是既保持原文内容又保持原文形式的翻译方法。意译 ,也称为自由翻译 ,它是只保持原文内容不保持原文形式的翻译方法。人们常用“形散神不散”来形容散文的特色，意译可以体现散文这种独特的风格；散文中经常运用修辞使之生动，直译保留了散文的原始结构，因此它体现了原文的生动性，而意译仅仅传达了原文的意义，生动形象的描述却丧失了。本文将以朱自清《荷塘月色》的译本为例,运用大量例句对比分析直译与意译在翻译散文时的区别，旨在证明在翻译散文时应将直译与意译结合起来，根据原文和译文的需要灵活处理，准确把握。

关键字:  散文 直译 意译