Oh, world! Oh, it's time! Oh, life!
I went to your last floor,
I can't help shivering for the place where I once stood;
When will you shine again?
Oh, never again-never again!
From the arms of day and night
There is a kind of happiness flying out of the sky,
Early spring, midsummer and severe winter give my heart.
Full of sadness, but happy,
Oh, never again-never again!
(translated by Cha Liang Zheng)
Broad images, magnificent momentum, harmonious and rigorous structure, aesthetic feeling of music, and natural art-the unique Shelley style in these lyric poems is vividly displayed in this elegy he wrote in 182 1 year.
There are three gloomy sighs at the beginning of the poem, which leads to three infinite thoughts: world, time and life. In this way, the poet naturally brought people's attention to these three areas with his own * * *. In fact, this line bears the brunt, and it also happens to be the information focus of the whole poem festival, which plays a role in outlining. When the next two lines say "I'm on your last floor,/I can't help shivering for the place where I once stood", people sort out the world, time and life referred to by "you" and draw three closely related but parallel ideas, and the artistic conception of the poem suddenly unfolds. The application of vivid concrete actions such as "boarding the ship" and "trembling" in a broad and abstract category shows great tolerance, and at the same time breeds endless poetry in obscurity. Climbing to the last level of the world refers to the turbulent and unpredictable world in which Shelley lives; Rising to the last level of time can refer to the heyday of the era or historical voyage; Climbing to the last level of life can refer to the years when you made the most brilliant achievements in your life journey. In a word, all the poet's feelings about society have reached the peak. "Trembling for the place where I once stood" refers to those unfortunate experiences, cruel killings and painful struggles that make the poet tremble in the movement of the world, time and life. The fourth line is "When will you shine again?" Declare such a ruthless law of life or movement. The last sentence "Oh, never again-never again" sang a sad song with the rhythm of music for everything dying before his eyes. This time, the theme is clear. This shows the exquisite art of "Genius Prophet" (Englishlanguage). The above is the first verse of the whole poem.
The second section melts into the true feelings of the poet's soul, which is more sad and affectionate. "The heart of day and night" (only day and night in the original poem) refers to the development activities of human society day and night, and it can also be said that it is developed by proper and improper means. "A joy flies to the sky" means that the poet's sincere and beautiful feelings from the bottom of his heart have disappeared. "Early spring, midsummer and severe winter" means that the poet actually gets only a sudden chill, a hot summer-like commotion and a ruthless severity. When the mind is full of these things, the sincerity and beauty that make people feel happy will disappear. So the lament of "Never Come Again" sang again, as if it came from the poet's heart and touched people more delicately. It can be said that the second paragraph of the poem expresses the poet's romantic feelings more vividly.
Some conservative historians of English literature believe that in his last four years in Italy, Shelley has vaguely realized that it is a mistake to stick to his rebellious spirit all his life. From this point of view, elegy has simply become a poet's regret for his past behavior and a lament for his personal fate when he feels extremely sad. However, from the perspective of positive romanticism, the sadness expressed in the poem is closely related to the current social situation at that time. As long as the poet's personal fate and mood are linked with the background of the times at that time, it is not difficult to see the positive significance and optimistic foundation of elegy, which just shows the poet's consistent spirit and temperament.
(Lin Guangyi)