Occasionally (1)
I am a cloud in the sky,
occasionally projected on your heart-
You don't need to be surprised,
you don't need to be happy-
I disappeared in a flash.
You and I meet in the dark sea,
You have yours, I have mine, direction;
You may as well remember it,
You'd better forget it,
The light that was exchanged at this meeting! (1) was written in May 1926, and was first published on May 27th of the same year in the 9th issue of Morning Post Supplement Poetry Engraving, and signed by Zhimo. This
is the lyrics of the old blind man in the fifth act of the play Bian Kungang written by Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman.
We can visualize an extremely abstract adverb of time "chance" and put it into a symbolic structure, which is full of interesting philosophy. It is not only beautiful, catchy, but also has an endless aftertaste, which is beyond the words. For me, this poem "chance" by Xu Zhimo has a special liking.
in the history of poetry, a long poem with thousands of words can be buried in the merciless historical deposit with the passage of time, while some
exquisite short poems can shine alone after a long history. This short poem with two paragraphs and ten lines should be regarded as a unique work in the gallery of modern poetry.
In the course of Xu Zhimo's pursuit of poetic beauty, this poem "Accidental" also has some unique "turning point" meanings. According to the famous poet Ka Zhilin, a student of Xu Zhimo, "This poem is the most perfect in form among the author's poems." (Collected Poems of Xu Zhimo, edited by Ka Zhilin, page 94) Chen Mengjia, a new moon poet, also thinks: "Accidental opened the gap between his previous two periods with several poems such as < P > and" Dingdong-Qingxin ",and he erased his previous anger and wrote the secret of that delicate soul with neat < P > soft and refreshing poems." (In memory of Xu Zhimo). Indeed, Xu Zhimo's skill and craftsmanship can be seen quite clearly in this poem's
law. The whole poem has two sections, and the upper and lower sections are symmetrical. The first sentence,
the second sentence and the fifth sentence of each section are all composed of three steps. For example, "occasionally projected on your wave center" and "light shells
placed on each other at this intersection", and the third and fourth sentences of each section are composed of two steps, such as "you don't have to be surprised" and "it's better if you remember
/better if you forget." Obviously, there is no lack of free and easy in the arrangement and handling of the steps, and the longer steps alternate with the shorter
steps, which makes it easy to read, euphemistic and catchy.
What I want to emphasize here is the various "Zhang
force" structures that are full of and difficult to detect in this poem. This "tension" structure exists between "muscle" and "framework", "image" and
"intention" and "intention". The unique "tension" structure should be said to be a mystery of this poem's artistic charm.
The so-called "tension" is a critical term advocated and practiced by British and American New Criticism. Generally speaking, it can be seen that
in the organism of the whole poem contains the contradictory and contradictory dialectical relationship of * *. A poem
must be organic and holistic on the whole, but it is allowed and should be full of all kinds of contradictions and tension inside. Poetry full of "tension" can be profound, chewy and memorable. Because only such a poem
is not static, but "moving in silence". For example, a full bow is still, but it is full of energy and strength that can erupt at any time.
As for this poem, first of all, there is a certain tension between the poem title and the text. "Accidental" is a completely abstract adverb of time, and what to write under this title should be said to be free and arbitrary. Under this abstract title, the author writes two more practical things, one is that the clouds in the sky occasionally project into the wave heart in the water, and the other is that "you" and "I" (both symbolic images) meet. If we use "you and me" and "meeting" as the title of
, although it is not bad, the poetic taste is quite different. If we use some practical words such as "you and me" and "meeting" as titles, the tension between abstraction and concreteness will naturally disappear.
Thirdly, there are more tension structures in the poetry text. "You/I" is a pair of "binary opposites", or
"occasionally projected on the heart of the wave" or "meeting at sea", all of which are hurried passers-by passing by in the journey of life;
"You don't need to be surprised/more need to be happy" and "You'd better remember/forget" all show sufficient "tension" with "binary opposition" emotional attitude and semantic "contradictory rhetoric". Especially the poem "you have your own,
I have my own direction", I think it is not too much to praise it as a classic poem praised by the "new criticism" and most suitable for the analysis of "tension"
. "You" and "I" meet by chance in the vast sea of people because of their own directions. < P > They shine when they meet, but they pass by and go their own way. Two completely different and opposite intentions-
-"You have yours" and "I have mine" are exactly unified and contained in the same sentence, which comes down to the same word-
-"direction".
Xu Zhimo, who gives readers a strong impression as a "romantic poet", may be particularly noteworthy for the symbolism of this poem, which has both a general symbol and a local image symbol. The overall symbol of this poem is consistent with the tension structure between "poem title" and "text" that we analyzed earlier. Under the title of "chance", which can turn many images into
, images such as "cloud-water", "you-me", "sea of night" and "mutual light"
and the relationship between images can all be understood or constructed differently because of the differences of readers' personal emotional experiences and the depth of experience
. This is the wonderful use of the "symbol" of "its name is also small, and its category is also large" (Yi Cohesion)
, which means more with less, more with small, and more with individual. Or the world suffers setbacks, or the emotions are
wrong, or regret, pain, or helpless smile, loss ... Life is bound to have such
"accidental" "meet" and "meet". And this "light that shines when meeting each other" will surely become an unforgettable memory.