Lorelei's German spelling is "Loreley", which consists of two words "Lore" and "IEy" in ancient German. "Ley" means "reef" in ancient Celtic, and "Lore" comes from the middle German verb "lorlen", which means "whispering". According to records, there used to be a small waterfall in the Rocky Mountain in Lorelei. The water in the waterfall formed a heavy echo, which sounded like a whisper from the Rocky Mountain, so it was named "Lorelei" by the locals. There have been two opposing views on the true origin of the witch in Lorelei on the "Rock Mountain in Lorelei" in Germany: some people think that the story of the witch in Lorelei has a long history and was only passed down orally until Brunpeno compiled this ancient legend into words; Others think that the story of the witch in Lorelei was written by brentano, the best proof is that the Brothers Grimm didn't include it in their collection of fairy tales, because both of them think that she is just a character written by brentano, not a real legend. The story of the witch in Lorelei has been widely circulated, both in ancient times and by literati. Many famous poets, including Eichendorff and Li Hai, have written immortal poems on this subject. Today, Lorelei has become the "father of Germany"-a symbol of the Rhine River, and an indispensable role in the history of German culture and literature.
The story of the witch in Lorelei is closely related to the natural phenomena in the rocky mountains of Lorelei. As mentioned earlier, in the past, shipwrecks often occurred on the Rhine River near the rocky mountain in Lorelei. Therefore, people fantasize that there is a beautiful and mysterious witch on the rocky mountain in Lorelei. She sat half-naked on the hillside near the Rhine, with long blond hair and singing sad songs, seducing the passing boatmen and fascinating them. If this is the official chapter of the witch of Lorelei, what is the prequel of the story? Where is she from? Why is she singing a sad song? Brentano described the whole story for us in Lorelei.
In brentano's works, Lorelei is a "beautiful and elegant" young woman who lives in the small town of bacharach. At the same time, she also has an identity-"Zauberin", that is, a woman who can cast spells. Every man who sees her spoon is "bound by her love rope" and "can't find the savior again". If it weren't for witchcraft or magic, how could she have such amazing charm? Therefore, she must be a witch. Witches, for the Christian world, are pagans, and have been expelled and persecuted by the church since the Middle Ages. The bishop of Lorelei decided to "exercise the power of the church" and punish the enchanted witch. Surprisingly, Lorelei not only failed to defend herself, but also repeatedly asked the bishop to "throw her into the fire". But because of her beauty, the bishop couldn't bear to sentence her to death, and finally decided to send her to a monastery to be a "nun with white skin and black clothes." On the way to the monastery, Lorelei asked to escort her three knights so that she could climb the huge rock mountain for the last time. She wants to have another look at (the castle of Shinjiro) and Deep Rhine. When she stood on the steep rocky mountain and looked at the Rhine, she vaguely felt that the man on board was her lover, so she "leaned down" and "jumped into the middle of the Rhine". In fact, the man sitting on the boat is a bishop. He "clung to the cross" and heard the voices of three knights shouting from the rocky mountain-"Lorelei", "Lorelei" and "Lorelei" ...
Throughout the poem, we can see that the hero and heroine described by brentano are not Lorelei and his lover, but Lorelei and the Bishop. In identity, one is a beautiful witch and the other is a holy and dignified bishop, representing lust and abstinence, evil and goodness respectively. However, our poet is obviously not satisfied with the superficial binary opposition, but runs this tension through the hero himself.
Lorelei is not pure "evil". In fact, brentano has described her kindness many times. In the Inquisition, all she wanted was a quick death. On the one hand, she can't explain her "stunning appearance". She is also a parrot. She felt that she was the incarnation of a witch, with "two flames" in her eyes and "-a wand" in her arms, and her heart was full of guilt. On the other hand, her lover betrayed her and "went away from home", which made her disheartened. For others, she thinks that she "can't live"; For herself, she found herself "no longer attached to life". All this made her willing to die. In the body defined as "evil", Lorelei shows his recognition of mainstream ethics, his undying love for his lover, and his tolerance for gossip and betrayal.
At the same time, the bishop is not a pure "spirit". When Lorelei should be tried according to Christian moral standards, he was moved by his beauty and felt pity for her. "I can't help forgiving her" decided to let her go to a monastery for the rest of her life. His judgment is actually a kind of protection-in Christian doctrine, if Lorelei is really sentenced to death as a "witch", she can't go to heaven; And if she enters a monastery and dies as a nun, she can enjoy the rights of Christians and even go to heaven. Finally, when Lorelei threw himself into the river, he grabbed the cross on his chest and suppressed the inner waves with years of pious faith. Obviously, the bishop is still full of physical desires and the most natural humanity.
Witches and bishops, as bipolar figures, have such rich personality tension in short narrative poems, which is really commendable. Their struggle between religious morality and personal desire not only avoids the disadvantages of simplification and typology of works with folk stories as the theme, but also deepens the emotion of poetry and strengthens the rendering. It also reflects the ethical confusion of poets and most people and the strong voice of the times. /kloc-Germany in the 0/9th century is a society where serious religious culture and secular pleasure culture coexist. Although people have devout religious beliefs and are full of awe of God, they are strongly attracted by romantic culture and pursue natural passion and personality. This contradictory ideological tendency and ethical dilemma have become the theme of many excellent works. Goethe vividly said in Faust that "there are two kinds of spirits in our hearts".
In addition to the characters and themes, Lorelei's external form is also quite ingenious. The whole poem is a typical folk style, with four lines per section. The first 25 verses are in the form of Ababou's kotaro oshio rhyme, and the language is plain and music. The last section is accompanied by a call to Lorelei, all of which have the same rhyme and endless aftertaste.