Ai Qing's poetry collection "North" is a modern poem, and its expression adopts the style of prose. This poem has nine sections and is divided into three parts.
The first part (section 1) is an inscription describing the reasons for writing poetry. Ai Qing 1938 left the north and went to Wuhan. On the way, he saw that the land in the north was trampled by the Japanese invaders. He was heartbroken and determined to express his thoughts and love for the north with poetry, so he wrote this poem.
The second part (verses 2-6) is the main body of the poem, which vividly depicts the disastrous northern environment with three verses, and sets off the deep sadness of the northern people about the natural environment.
The first part (Part 2) consists of five levels. Through the description of the northern environment, such as dry wind, never warm sunshine, no water, no vitality, frost on the earth, and so on, it shows the harsh and suffering of the northern environment. In this section, Ai Qing expresses his deep sympathy for the people in the north who are struggling to survive in a difficult environment with heavy brushstrokes.
The second section (the third section) shows people's yearning for the source of life by rutting on the dry river, and describes the displacement of people by flocks of geese fleeing to the south. Through the description of people's sufferings, this section shows the sufferings of the land and people in the north more profoundly.
The third section (section 4 to section 6) further describes the destruction brought by the war to the north and the people's struggle on the verge of death in a gloomy tone. Through the description of barren land, bombed houses, broken fields, dry river banks and other scenes, the suffering and despair of the people in the war are shown.
The third part (7 to 9) expresses the love and yearning for the people in the north of the motherland in a straightforward way, as well as the inspiration and call of the north to the poets.
In the last three verses of the poem (verses 7 to 9), Ai Qing expressed his love and determination for the northern people with full enthusiasm. He described the indomitable spirit of the northern people and praised their determination to fight for freedom in the face of difficulties. Ai Qing expressed his determination to live and die with the North and his firm belief in the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in deep and warm language.
Generally speaking, the poem "North" depicts the sufferings and indomitable spirit of the people in the north in the war with heavy rhythm and deep emotion through prose, and expresses the poet's love for the north and firm belief in the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. This is also a consistent theme in Ai Qing's poems, that is, expressing people's tenacity and courage in historical suffering and their deep love for the motherland and people through poems.