Nature and art seemed to be hiding from each other,
But unexpectedly, they met together again;
I felt that the hostility had disappeared,
Both seem to attract me equally.
It just depends on sincere efforts!
As long as we use our limited time
to devote ourselves to art wholeheartedly,
nature will be active in my heart.
The same is true for all literature and art.
The bohemian will not be able
to complete the pure sublimity.
To create greatness, one must be mentally focused.
Only within limitations can one show his talent.
Only rules can give us freedom.
(Translated by Feng Zhi)
Appreciation
Over the past five hundred years, the status and influence of the sonnet in the European poetry world has been enduring. It was introduced to Germany a little later and was not promoted until about the 17th century. Among them, Goethe and other romantic poets paid considerable attention to this poetic style and actively used it in their creations. "Nature and Art", written in 1800, is a representative work of German sonnets. Due to the particularity of verbs in German, the meter of the poem is particularly neat, and the rhyme form is different from the usual sonnets, which is aaaa|aaaaabaaba. Each line of poetry has eleven syllables, iambic. Goethe deliberately used this rigorous metrical poetic style to express his views on the relationship between nature and art, freedom and law.
In the first two stanzas of the poem, the poet raises the issue of the relationship between nature and art, believing that they are mutually exclusive and mutually reinforcing, and they attract me equally. This attitude towards nature and art comes from our sincere efforts. Full devotion to art will inevitably allow nature to absorb the power of life in our hearts. In these two short stanzas, the poet vividly renders his love for nature and his persistence in art, and his words are extremely passionate, which provides a basis for the deepening and conclusion of this issue in the next two stanzas. bedding. In the third stanza, the poet continues to prove the negative of the concept of total devotion proposed in the second stanza, and includes all literary and artistic creations in his creative concept. We can point out the key words discussed by the poet: sincerity, hard work, wholeheartedness, purity and nobility. In the eyes of the poet, to truly achieve the integration of nature and art, only these noble words and actions can be completed. The last stanza of the poem is particularly insightful. The tone of the poem changes from passionate to serious and quiet. Goethe condensed his creative views into these short three lines of poetry. The author once again emphasizes the importance of mental concentration and does not regard rules as obstacles to artistic creation. On the contrary, laws are natural reactions, art cannot violate nature, and true freedom can only be achieved on the basis of mastering objective laws. Although the definition of this law is different from that in traditional Chinese poetry, the sincerity and hard work of "dancing with anklets" is a spirit that should be passed down in all artistic creations.
(Shen Zhe)