[Edit this paragraph]
Ai Qing is a singer of the land, and "land" is one of the two most common images in his poems (the other is "the sun"). "Land" symbolizes the troubled motherland that gave birth to him and raised him. Love for "land" is an inexhaustible melody in Ai Qing's works.
If I were a bird, the whole poem begins with such an unexpected assumption, and readers can't help asking, what is the connection between the image of "bird" and the "land" that the author wants to praise?
The author explained this.
I should also sing with a hoarse voice. At the critical moment when the fire is raging and the national luck is at the head, a seemingly insignificant bird has to fight hard and make an unyielding voice with its own voice. This reminds people that "every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world." "hoarse throat", let us see that this is a bird that has suffered a lot, and its singing is made with its life.
The following four lines describe four objects that birds sing: land, river, wind and dawn, and the core is "land". It is worth noting that the author added long modifiers in front of these four objects.
This Land Attacked by Storm is a portrayal of this land being bullied by the Japanese aggressors.
"The river that always surges with our grief and indignation", the river on the land, like the grief and indignation that has been smoldering in people's hearts for a long time, surges.
"The wind of anger is endless", the wind blowing across the earth, symbolizes the people's anger at the atrocities of the invaders.
"The incomparably gentle dawn from the forest" indicates that the dawn of independence and freedom for which people struggle and devote themselves will surely come to this land.
"Then I died/even my feathers rotted in the ground." When the bird was alive, it tried its best to sing for this land. After death, it throws its whole body into the embrace of the land, and even its feathers are integrated with the land.
In the second paragraph of the poem, the author turns from a dynamic description of the singer to a close-up of "I". This is done by asking questions. A static close-up of "Why do I often have tears in my eyes" and "Tears in my eyes" shows the grief and pain that has been lingering in my heart for a long time. "Because I love this land deeply", witnessing the reality that mountains and rivers are broken and people are wiped by charcoal, the deeper my love for my motherland, the stronger my pain in my heart.
The last two sentences are the essence of the whole poem, and they are the confession of all patriotic intellectuals' sincere love for the motherland in that miserable era. This kind of love will never die, not only from the poet's heart, but also from the patriotic feelings of the whole nation. Ai Qing used these two poems to express the voice of the Chinese people in that era.
Specific appreciation
[Edit this paragraph]
■ Point out the land complex.
Appreciate the first two sentences: "If I were a bird,/I should also sing with a hoarse throat." The poet's love for the land has reached the point where he doesn't know how to pour it out. So he can only abandon people's thinking language and pour out his love in the simple and simple language of birds. In the poet's view, this simplicity and simplicity are often the most sincere and warm. The adjective "hoarse" can no longer sing beautiful and clear love songs, but this "hoarse" song can express the sincerity and persistence of the land without hesitation. So the exciting song of land complex sounded.
■ Pour out the land complex
The first verse of this poem can be divided into four layers.
The first layer: metaphor of human suffering. This land hit by the storm, this river of our grief and indignation will surge forever. The images in "The Storm" and "The River of Sorrow and Anger" tell us that the land that Ai Qing dreamily loves is a land full of pain, and there is too much sadness in his body. At that time, the Japanese invaders successively captured vast areas such as North China, East China and South China, and they were crazy everywhere, regardless of their lives. Ai Qing has a similar description in Snow on the Land of China: "Snow falls on the land of China,/the cold is blocking the wind in China,/like an old woman who is too sad,/following/sticking out cold fingers/pulling the skirts of pedestrians,/using words as old as the land/whispering constantly ..." The poet used it. These two poems were written at the same time, both of which show the poet's deep concern for people's sufferings.
The second layer is a metaphor for human resistance. The phrase "this annoying wind blows endlessly" symbolizes the indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation in the war of resistance. China has nurtured the Chinese nation and its indomitable national spirit. "Endless life" means the inheritance of the spirit of resistance, "scraping" and "provoking" indicate strength, and the poet's land complex deepens from lamenting the suffering of the land to praising the land.
The phrase "incomparably gentle dawn from the forest" on the third floor can be regarded as a symbol of the prospect of struggle, or more truly, a symbol of the vibrant liberated areas and a symbol of the great national liberation war. In short, the poet's feelings changed from sadness and praise to longing, showing a firm belief in winning and reaching a new level.
On the fourth floor, "-then I died, and even my feathers rotted in the ground." The poet did not indulge in the appreciation of the "gentle" and quiet "dawn", and made the solemn choice to leave this land forever for his love. This dedication can be interpreted as: I come from the land and finally return to the land, so that love can be sublimated and eternal. What an extraordinary, tragic and noble land complex it is!
■ Sublimate the land complex
In the Q&A in the second season, the poet changed from expressing emotion by borrowing birds to expressing emotion directly: "Why do I often have tears in my eyes?" Because I love this land deeply, my love for the land is too "deep" and too strong, which makes it difficult for poets to resort to language and can only condense into crystal tears. The word "deep" may not reach the expression intensity corresponding to the actual feelings, so the six heavy ellipsis behind it, as if surging with the passion of underground fire, beat the reader's heart more heavily and arouse the reader's continuous * * * sound. The whole poem reached its climax in this question and answer, and its warm and sincere patriotic feelings left endless aftertaste.
■ The tone of the article
At the beginning of the poem, the poet assumes that "I" is the image of a bird, and this "bird" is a bird with a hoarse throat, which makes the reader immediately infected by the poet's sense of hardship. This sense of hardship comes from a broad and deep love for the troubled motherland. In this tone, the poem further describes the objects that birds sing: land, river, wind and dawn. Judging from the modifiers in front of the four singing objects, they are all images of long-term suffering from wind and rain, grief and indignation, and struggling hard, which is in line with the spirit of the birds dedicated to the land below and strengthens the theme of "loving the land" and "loving the motherland" that the poet wants to express.
■ Analysis in the second quarter
If the first section is a lyrical description of the theme of "loving the land (motherland)", then the short and pithy two lines in the second section can be regarded as a highly concise summary of the theme. Without the second verse, poetry cannot be refined and strengthened.
relevant issues
[Edit this paragraph]
■ Problems in the first section
◎ Q: Combining with the writing background, accurately understand the meanings of images such as "land", "river", "wind" and "dawn" that birds sing.
A: "Land" is the land of the motherland that breeds and nurtures the Chinese nation. "River" and "Wind" represent China people's indomitable spirit of the war of resistance. "Dawn" means a liberated area full of vitality and hope.
◎ Q: What is the word "this" in the poem? What's the role?
A: The three words "this" refer to the central words "land", "river", "wind" and "dawn" in the second half sentence respectively. The word "this" echoes the word "this" in the title, which strengthens the relationship between "bird" and "land, river, wind and dawn", highlights the initiative of birds to protect the motherland, and expresses the author's love for the motherland and people.
◎ Q: The land, river and wind where birds sing are all preceded by modifiers such as "being hit by a storm", "being sad" and "being upset". What are their functions?
A: These modifiers enrich the connotation of images, and highlight the image of birds as "patriots" and "trumpeters": they sing "the land hit by storms", that is, although the motherland is suffering under the iron hoof of Japanese imperialism, as a weak bird in the artillery fire, it bravely guards Sri Lanka's native motherland, not only not abandoning it, but also cheering for its liberation. Singing the surging rivers of "sadness" and "anger", and blowing the wind of "anger", it is shouting for the indignant people of China to launch a struggle against Japanese imperialism, in order to wait for the day when "incomparably gentle dawn" comes.
Q: What is the image of the "bird" singing with a hoarse throat in the poem? This "bird" sang to death, and finally "even its feathers rotted in the ground". How to understand this?
A: "Hoarse" expresses the feelings of singing and infinite true feelings; Even if I sing until my throat is bloodshot and hoarse, I will not stop singing to the earth in the face of thousands of difficulties and dangers. This "bird" is an image that has suffered a lot and spent all her life singing.
It sings about land, rivers, wind and dawn. After its life was exhausted, it plunged into the embrace of the land and merged with the land it loved. Before and after his death, there was a sharp contrast. In this strong contrast, the bird's persistent love for the land actually reflects the poet's determination to dedicate everything to the motherland. This is really born in Sri Lanka, singing and buried until death do us part.
◎ Q: What are the advantages for poets to express their strong patriotism by pretending to be birds?
A: The poet takes If I were a Bird as a dummy, and the "singing" "bird" is also a "poet"; "Even feathers rot in the ground" is a "bird" and a "poet's wish to die for the motherland. The description with feelings in this image not only helps to express feelings, but also enhances the image sense of poetry.
Q: "If I were a bird,/I should also sing with a hoarse throat". As the beginning of I Love This Land, what kind of tone did these two lines set for the whole poem?
A: At the beginning of the poem, the poet assumes that "I" is the image of a bird, and this "bird" is a bird with a hoarse throat, so that the reader is immediately infected by the poet's sense of hardship. This sense of hardship comes from a broad and deep love for the troubled motherland. In this tone, the poem further describes the objects that birds sing: land, river, wind and dawn. Judging from the modifiers in front of the four singing objects, they are all images of long-term suffering from wind and rain, grief and indignation, and struggling hard, which is in line with the spirit of the birds dedicated to the land below and strengthens the theme of "loving the land" and "loving the motherland" that the poet wants to express.
■ Problems in the second section
Q: What is the role of the second verse in the whole text? What does it have to do with the first poem? Talk about your understanding.
A: 1. Reveal the theme of the whole poem. 2. These two poems, with questions and answers, express their feelings directly, and express the poet's sincere and ardent patriotism with the situation of "tears in my eyes", vividly express the poet's attachment to the land, and imply the meaning of dedication. 3. The last two sentences are also the essence of the whole poem, and they are the confession of all patriotic intellectuals' sincere love for the motherland in that miserable era. This kind of love is not only the deep love of the poet, but also the concentration of patriotic feelings of the whole nation. Ai Qing used these two poems to express the voice of the Chinese people in that era.
If the first section is a lyrical description of the theme of "loving the land (motherland)", then the short and pithy two lines in the second section can be regarded as a highly concise summary of the theme. Causal question and answer is a close-up of a patriot's grief and indignation when he witnessed the devastated motherland. In this section, poetry has been refined and sublimated.
These two poems are full of the poet's deep attachment and endless love for the motherland. As far as the emotional development of poetry is concerned, the first section is preparation, and the second section is emotional generation and emotional sublimation. Poetry is progressive layer by layer.