"Another May Night":
What a beautiful night! Warmth enveloped everything!
Dear hometown at midnight, thank you!
Break free from the frozen borders and fly away from the land of wind and snow,
How fresh and pure your May is!
What a beautiful night! Every star among the stars,
looks at the soul gently and peacefully again,
following the melodious song of the nightingale in the sky,
spreading anxiety and overflowing everywhere With love.
Bai Hua is looking forward to it. The translucent leaves,
waving shyly, soothing the eyes.
The white birches quivered like a bride at a wedding,
both happy and ashamed to wear her attire.
Ah, night, your gentle and invisible face,
I will never tire of it!
I couldn’t help singing the latest song,
I strolled to your side again.
Everyone has breathed the fresh breath of the May night; many people have heard the euphemistic song of the nightingale; many people have seen the starry sky and the white birch trees that have just sprouted their young leaves. . But how many people can, like Fett, turn the scenery in their eyes into the scenery in their hearts, and then turn the scenery in their hearts into the scenery in their writings? But Feit is good at condensing his subtle observations and talents in his pen into poems, arousing the cries of others. He talks about what everyone has in their hearts and writes about what they don't have in their mouths. This is the excellence of the poet Feit. .
The poet Fett is particularly sensitive to subtle changes in nature. His vision, hearing, and smell are unusually alert. The freshness of the air, the softness of the stars, the gentle chirping of the nightingale, the trembling of the white birch, and the transparent and fluffy leaves were all written into his poems one by one.
The two lines of poetry quoted by Tolstoy are certainly beautiful, but they describe the white birch in May in a personified way, comparing it to "a bride at a wedding, both happy and ashamed to wear her dress." ”, the description is vivid and the verses are equally wonderful, unprecedented in Russian lyric poetry! Being able to tell things that others have not said is the embodiment of the poet's creativity.
The poet Feit loved to read Tolstoy's novels, and the novelist Tolstoy appreciated Feit's poems. The two became close friends in the literary world. They maintained a friendship for more than 20 years and exchanged letters continuously. On June 28, 1867, Tolstoy sent this letter to Feit:
“Dear friend Alphonse Alfanasiyevich, if every time I miss you , I will write to you, then you will receive two letters from me every day, and you will never finish what you want to say... We are friendly to each other, and as you said, we all think with the wisdom of the soul... ...The power of poetry is contained in love - the tendency of this power depends on the character. Without the power of love, there is no poetry... I still look forward to you as much as I look to a young poet of twenty years old. I believe you will age. I have never seen a more vigorous and powerful poet than you. Your poems are like spring water, and the buckets of clear spring water you provide to people contain strength."
More than ten years later, in May 1870, Feit sent Tolstoy another poem about May that he had just finished. The writer was so excited that he burst into tears after reading his friend's new work. . He described his feelings in a reply to a friend:
“Dear friend Alphonse Alfanasiyevich... I received your letter, opened it, and read it first Your poem made my nose feel sour, so I ran to my wife and wanted to read it to her, but I was moved to tears and couldn't read a sentence. This poem is one of those rare masterpieces that cannot be added, deleted or changed; a poem. It is alive and wonderful in itself. This poem is so well written that I feel that it is not an accident, but a burst of water that has been blocked for a long time... I hope you only worship the Muse. Ask me what I think about this poem, and you will surely know that I understand you and feel happy about it: you realize that this poem is beautiful and that you realize that it comes from your heart. Therefore, this poem is your incarnation."
It should be said that this is Leo Tolstoy's most wonderful "poetic theory"!
This lyric poem that moved Tolstoy to tears is titled "May Night":
A dark cloud that finally disappeared,
Flying over our heads.
A soft and transparent cloud
leans close to the crescent moon and melts.
Spring casts its magical charm,
Wear stars on your forehead.
On the gentle night, you promised——
Work breeds joy.
Where is the joy? Like clouds and smoke,
not in the mundane world.
Let it fly! Yuxu Volley——
We fly to eternity!
Feit's lyrical poem describing a May night is still pure and transparent. The images in the poem include disappearing dark clouds, gradually melting clouds, a bright crescent moon, and the night sky. The stars are a common sight on May nights. Why was Tolstoy moved to tears after reading this poem? This deserves our serious consideration.
Compared with the previous poem "Another May Night", the mood of the two poems is obviously different. The tone of the former poem is tranquility, relief and satisfaction, while the tone of the latter poem is It is tranquility, excitement and pursuit. The connotation of the former poem is relatively simple, while the connotation of the latter poem is relatively deep and complex. If the former poem is like a serenade with melodious tones, then the latter poem is like a sonata with mixed joy and sorrow and a polyphonic structure.
"Another May Night" is a lyrical poem that blends scenes, while "May Night" adds philosophical thinking in addition to the lyrical description of scenes. May once promised that "hard work breeds joy", which means that busyness in the world can bring happiness. But where is the joy that embodies happiness? Joy is like misty clouds in the sky, fleeting. The world is full of materialistic desires and noisy, and joy and happiness are nowhere to be found. Therefore, the poet fantasizes about flying with the flowing clouds on the May night, because he knows that only by transcending the material world can he enter the spiritual eternity. And isn’t this the lifelong pursuit of Leo Tolstoy?
On a May night in Russia, the sky is filled with spring and poetry. May night is connected with many beautiful and touching stories. In 1857, the "Russian Herald" published the lyric poem "Another May Night" by the poet Fet (1820-1892). Botkin, who presided over the magazine's review column, sent the manuscript of this poem to the writer Lev. Tolstoy. Tolstoy greatly admired Fett's poems. He wrote in a reply to Botkin: "Fett's poems are extremely beautiful... lines like this: 'In the air, following the gentle song of the nightingale, spread everywhere Full of anxiety and love. 'It's the ultimate beauty! Where did this kind-hearted fat officer get this wonderful lyrical courage and the talent of an outstanding poet?"
Alfonassi· Afanasievich Fet - is a representative poet of the Russian Pure Art School. He has served in the army for many years. He has a beard and a fat body. He does not look like a handsome poet at all, so Thors Ty jokingly calls him "the fat officer." Although Fett looks ordinary, he has unique pursuits. Citizen poets represented by Nekrasov pay attention to social themes and advocate that "if you want to be a poet, you must first be a citizen." Feit disagreed with their claims. He believed that the purpose of poetry creation was the pursuit of beauty. Poets tend to express inner feelings. Man and nature, love and friendship are the themes he chants repeatedly.
Feit's poetry creation has always been met with mixed praise and criticism. Some people criticize him for his narrow subject matter and his avoidance of social struggles; others praise him for his astute poetic thinking, good at grasping instant changes in nature, and good at capturing the subtle ups and downs of emotions. He is worthy of being the most talented lyric poet in Russia. The Symbolist poets of the Russian Silver Age regarded the poet Fett as a model and pioneer. However, arguments are arguments, and the most convincing way is to read the works. Now, let's enjoy the poem "Another May Night" that was highly praised by Tolstoy:
What a beautiful night! Warmth enveloped everything!
Dear hometown at midnight, thank you!
Break free from the frozen borders and fly away from the land of wind and snow,
How fresh and pure your May is!
What a beautiful night! Every star among the stars,
looks at the soul gently and peacefully again,
following the melodious song of the nightingale in the sky,
spreading anxiety and overflowing everywhere With love.
Bai Hua is looking forward to it. The translucent leaves,
waving shyly, soothing the eyes.
The white birches quivered like a bride at a wedding,
both happy and ashamed to wear her attire.
Ah, night, your gentle and invisible face,
I will never tire of it!
I couldn’t help but sing the latest song,
I strolled to your side again.
Everyone has breathed the fresh breath of the May night; many people have heard the euphemistic song of the nightingale; many people have seen the starry sky and the white birch trees that have just sprouted their young leaves. . But how many people can, like Fett, turn the scenery in their eyes into the scenery in their hearts, and then turn the scenery in their hearts into the scenery in their writings? But Feit is good at condensing his subtle observations and talents in his pen into poems, arousing the cries of others. He talks about what everyone has in their hearts and writes about what they don't have in their mouths. This is the excellence of the poet Feit. .
The poet Fett is particularly sensitive to subtle changes in nature. His vision, hearing, and smell are unusually alert. The freshness of the air, the softness of the stars, the gentle chirping of the nightingale, the trembling of the white birch, and the transparent and fluffy leaves were all written into his poems one by one. The two lines of poetry quoted by Tolstoy are indeed wonderful, but they describe the white birch in May in a personified way, comparing it to "a bride at a wedding, both happy and ashamed to wear her attire", which is a vivid description. Equally wonderful and unprecedented in Russian lyric poetry! Being able to tell things that others have not yet said is the embodiment of the poet's creativity.
The poet Feit loved to read Tolstoy's novels, and the novelist Tolstoy appreciated Feit's poems. The two became close friends in the literary world. They maintained a friendship for more than 20 years and exchanged letters continuously.
On June 28, 1867, Tolstoy sent this letter to Feit:
"Dear friend Alphonse Alphonsevich, if I miss you every time , I will write to you, then you will receive two letters from me every day, and you will never finish what you want to say... We are friendly to each other, and as you said, we all think with the wisdom of the soul... ...The power of poetry is contained in love - the tendency of this power depends on the character. Without the power of love, there is no poetry... I still look forward to you as much as I look to a young poet of twenty years old. I believe you will age. I have never seen a more vigorous and powerful poet than you. Your poems are like spring water, and the buckets of clear spring water you provide to people contain strength."
More than ten years later, in May 1870, Feit sent Tolstoy another poem about May that he had just finished. The writer was so excited that he burst into tears after reading his friend's new work. . He described his feelings in a reply to a friend:
“Dear friend Alphonasi Afanasyevich... I received your letter, opened it, and read it first Your poem made my nose feel sour, so I ran to my wife and wanted to read it to her, but I was moved to tears and couldn't read a sentence. This poem is one of those rare masterpieces that cannot be added, deleted or changed; a poem. It is alive and wonderful in itself. This poem is so well written that I feel that it is not an accident, but a burst of water that has been blocked for a long time... I hope you only worship the Muse. Ask me what I think of this poem, and you will surely know that I understand you and feel happy about it: that you realize that the poem is beautiful and that it comes from your heart. Therefore, this poem is your incarnation."
This lyric poem that moved Tolstoy to tears is titled "May Night". Let us read the poem together. Translation:
The last dark cloud disappeared,
flying over our heads.
A soft and transparent cloud
leans close to the crescent moon and melts.
Spring casts its magical charm,
Wear stars on your forehead.
On the tender night, you promised——
Work breeds joy.
Where is the joy? Like clouds and smoke,
not in the mundane world.
Let it fly! Yuxu Volley——
We fly to eternity!
Feit's lyrical poem describing a May night is still pure and transparent. The images in the poem include disappearing dark clouds, gradually melting clouds, a bright crescent moon, and the night sky. The stars are a common sight on May nights. Why was Tolstoy moved to tears after reading this poem? This deserves our serious consideration.
Compared with the previous poem "Another May Night", the mood of the two poems is obviously different. The tone of the former poem is tranquility, joy, relief and satisfaction, while the tone of the latter poem is The keynote is tranquility, loss, renewal and pursuit. The connotation of the former poem is relatively simple, while the connotation of the latter poem is relatively deep and complex. If the former poem is like a serenade with melodious tones, then the latter poem is like a sonata with mixed joy and sorrow and a polyphonic structure.
"Another May Night" is a lyrical poem that blends scenes, while "May Night" adds philosophical thinking in addition to the lyrical description of scenes. May once promised that "hard work breeds joy", which means that busyness in the world can bring happiness. But where is the joy that embodies happiness? Joy is like misty clouds in the sky, fleeting. The world is full of materialistic desires and noisy, and joy and happiness are nowhere to be found. Therefore, the poet fantasizes about flying with the flowing clouds on May night, because he knows that only by transcending the material world can he enter spiritual eternity.
After Tolstoy read "Another May Night", he felt aesthetic pleasure and "the power of poetry is contained in love." He appreciated the poems and gave the poets good-natured ridicule and friendly compliments; but after reading "May Night", his nose felt sore and his eyes filled with tears. What touched the writer's heart was, I think, precisely the philosophical thinking of this poem. , is a spiritual pursuit. In Tolstoy's own words, it is "thinking with the wisdom of the soul."
True poets and writers can transcend the level of material enjoyment, yearn for the purification and improvement of the soul, desire to gallop imagination, and enter the vast world of the spiritual world. For them, language is the carrier of thoughts. Although it is small, it can accommodate the world. However, life is limited, but people can "think for thousands of years and see thousands of miles away." Poems that embody true feelings and novels that record the vicissitudes of history. Their lasting artistic life is the continuation of the lives of poets and writers.
It is no accident that Tolstoy shed tears for Feit's "May Night". It was the tears inspired by the collision of the two art-obsessed hearts of the writer and the poet. From this perspective, , these two lyric poems by the poet Feit describing the May night bring us not only the fragrance of poetry, but also the meaning of philosophical exploration.