What is this? ——This kind of sound and rumor that everyone hears,
Like the wind coming from the empty valley, heralding an approaching storm,
Like the roar of the sea, in a thrilling dusk?
This is the people marching.
Who are you talking about? Where do you come from and where are you going?
In which kingdom between heaven and hell do they live?
Can they be hired? Can you serve your master well?
Rumors are spreading everywhere.
Listen, listen to the rumble of thunder!
Behold, in the sun
Anger, hope, and surprise are rising -
An army is marching here.
They come from disasters and hardships, and they move towards health and happiness.
The whole world and every corner is their residence.
You buy and sell them to serve you and see if it is profitable!
Because time moves on.
It is they who weave your clothes, grow your crops, and build your buildings.
It is they who turn bitterness into sweetness, develop wasteland, fill up ravines,
work endlessly for you. What is the reward for them—
Until the army marches this way?
Listen, listen to the rumble of thunder!
Behold, in the sun
Anger, hope, and surprise rise—
Here comes an army.
They worked deaf and blind for hundreds of years.
Their pain could not hope for good news, and their hard work could not see hope.
Today they finally heard hope, and their voices rose high in the wind.
And their footsteps are marching.
Rich people, tremble! I heard this rumor contained language:
"We used to work for you and the God of Death, but we have to change from now on.
We are human beings, and we have to fight for the human world and life,
p>
Our army is marching. ”
Listen to the thunder!
Behold, in the sun
Anger, hope, and surprise rise—
Here comes an army.
"War? You will be destroyed like dry wood against fire.
Peace? Please join us and let our hopes converge.
Come Well, life is waking up, the world will always be alive,
And hope is marching on, workers! The people heard the noise.
It is the sound of approaching battle and rescue;
The battle flag we hold high is the hope of every poor person,
And the whole world is marching forward.
Listen, listen to the rumble of thunder!
Behold, in the sun
Anger, hope, and surprise rise—
Here comes an army.
(Translated by Fei Bai)
Appreciation
In the second half of the 19th century, a giant emerged in Britain. He is a poet, novelist, painter, arts and crafts artist, social activist and propagandist. He has demonstrated his extraordinary talents and made outstanding contributions in many fields. He was William Morris, one of the three leading generals of the Pre-Raphaelites.
Morris called himself a "practical socialist" who created works to serve the working class. "Workers March" is one of Morris's most famous socialist poems. Workers marching forward bravely sang his poem during demonstrations in the 1880s. The whole poem is majestic and full of proletarian fighting passion. The poem has twelve sections, and four identical sections divide the whole poem into four parts. In the first part, the rich man panicked and asked who came and what happened. A series of question marks led to the protagonists of the revolution, who were as unstoppable as the turbulent sea. The second part answers the question in the first part. They are proletarians all over the world. They have served the exploiting class all their lives but live in poverty. Now they are organized to fight. The army of struggle is marching, and their hope is coming. The third part indicts the suffering caused by the ruling class to the working people for hundreds of years and expresses the people's determination to "fight for the human world and life." The fourth part asks: Should the rich fight for war or make peace? If you do not surrender, the flames of battle will surely burn you. The stanza that separates the four parts: "Hear, hear the thunder! / Look, in the sun / Anger, hope and surprise are rising - / An army is marching this way." Repeated four times, the phrase Sonorous and powerful, with clear symbols, the angry thunder, the sunshine of hope and the fearless footsteps of the workers showed their high fighting spirit.
This poem is also full of ballads and legends, and is full of drama.
Morris did not use slogan-like sentences, but used narrative techniques, alternating questions and answers, intertwined narratives and discussions, and enriched the content. The rhyme is also rich and varied, with three lines in each stanza and one rhyme, and sonorous and powerful waist rhyme is used. The last rhyme of the twelve stanzas is the same word "march". In the process of repeated "the army is marching", we also see "the people are marching", "time is marching" and "footsteps are marching". , "Hope is marching", "The world is marching", the repetition of words, the reappearance of rhymes, and the advancement of meaning make this poem show high revolutionary fighting spirit and optimism, allowing people to see the dawn of victory. in front.
(Lu Ruirong)