Act I
Prometheus, who was tied to the Caucasus, would rather endure the pain than prophesy to Macquarie, the messenger of Zeus, which led to the basic conflict in poetry and drama.
In the deep valley of the Caucasus iceberg, Prometheus was tied to the cliff, and at the foot of the mountain sat his two sisters, Pandia and Hyon Nie, daughters of Poseidon. It was late at night, and Prometheus endured the pain and angrily condemned Zeus' atrocities:
Look at this land, where your slaves were bred.
You actually rewarded them with terror, resentment and despair,
to pay their respects, prayers and praises ...
For the benefit of mankind, Prometheus endured great pain and suffering in order to destroy Zeus. This is his accusation against the tyrannical rule:
Ah, three thousand years of sleepless hours,
every moment is divided by the stinging pain,
every moment looks like a year, engraved with
torture and loneliness, engraved with despair and resentment.
He was nailed to a cliff that was difficult for birds to cross. "It was dark, cold and dead everywhere, and there were no flowers, plants, insects and wild animals ..." The ice and snow stung like a gun, and the chain was so cold that it bit into the bone. The evil spirits used the mountain to shake the earthquake to keep the rock wall from breaking, so as to shake the nails that nailed Prometheus' limbs and increase his pain. But he is determined to put up with all this and not cancel his curse on Zeus.
Mountains, springs, air and whirlwinds all expressed sympathy for Prometheus. They saw the torture and heard the unyielding curse. Mother Earth is condemning this "dim country", but she dare not repeat Prometheus' curse for fear that the cruel God will harm her.
Zeus's vision appeared, and the poet described his image through the mouths of two sisters. He was dressed in deep purple and covered with stars. With his bare hands, holding a golden imperial staff, he strode proudly among the clouds. His face is fierce and mighty. "He would rather let people down than be let down." Prometheus scolded this illusion as "the tyrant of the whole celestial world and mankind", as long as he tried to destroy mankind, "as long as you are emperor in heaven for one day, I won't want to sleep and keep my head down for one day.
Prometheus repeated the curse on Zeus: let his endless life become a poisonous robe tied to his body; Let his omnipotent power become a crown that makes him miserable, and wrap his own mind like a golden hoop; Let his soul be full of evil obstacles and sins, suffering and suffering forever, and the land is as long as the sky; Let his idol show his true colors when the "time of destiny" comes, so that people can blame and laugh at him for thousands of years.
Macquarie was sent by Zeus to persuade Prometheus to yield. He said that being alone against authority can never win. Zeus will use his power to persecute Prometheus. He wants to find a counselor who specializes in evil in hell and create all kinds of pain for him; Bring the most treacherous, despicable and savage evil spirits in the underworld to Prometheus and torture him. But as long as he lowers his head proudly, tells the secret of Zeus' fate that only he knows, and expresses obedience, then the fierceness of the Emperor of Heaven will become "gentle".
Prometheus' answer is categorical: he would rather endure eternal punishment and endless pain than wait for the "time" to come and destroy the throne of the ruler. He said:
... My beloved human being
was ravaged by his unruly minions.
That tyrant can't escape what he deserves:
It's fair, and the wicked will never get a good result;
...
Obedience, you know I can't do it:
... It will bind mankind forever, ...
Sin is only temporarily perched on the throne of omnipotence, ...
I will endure injustice and wait ...
It's time for retribution to draw near ...
Macquarie will use it first. So Macquarie carried out the orders of the Emperor of Heaven and called out many evil spirits and ghosts to harm Prometheus. They are demons in charge of pain, fear, disappointment, suspicion, resentment and indelible sins. But they only got Prometheus' disgust and ridicule.
Prometheus can hear and see the blood shed by human beings, the fire and the miserable groans. But there are more miserable and hidden disasters that he can't hear or see. The female ghost who came with Macquarie said to Prometheus: the human mind has been punctured and filled with terror; Hypocrisy and custom fill the mind; Kindness has no power, as long as tears flow in the air, and powerful people have no kindness; Wisdom needs kindness, but kindness can't get wisdom: people with strength and money have no affection among their compatriots; Everything in the world is a mess. The female ghost tried to stab Prometheus' heart and make him yield.
Pandya asked Prometheus what he saw with concern, and Prometheus said,
I saw those names, the sacred slogans of nature, written there resplendent and magnificent,
many countries surrounded them,
calling with one voice: truth, white cause and fraternity!
Suddenly, a cloud of cigar smoke fell from the sky among them.
Then there came disputes, deception and fear.
tyrants swarmed in and divided up the victory.
Prometheus described the human situation, which is the reality in Europe after the failure of the French Revolution. Here, the poet skillfully combines symbolic description with reality, which makes the poetic drama not only have a solid life foundation, but also have profound philosophy and symbolism.
Mother Earth and two sisters, Hyon Nie and Pandia, saw the noble and beautiful flying elves. Mother Earth asked them to comfort Prometheus.
Elves sing about the struggle between good and evil and the victory of good:
Wisdom, justice, love and peace,
Seeing that they are struggling to produce ...
Prometheus saw the ethereal form, and he said, "All hope except love is empty".
Ah, I'd rather take the post assigned by fate,
be the savior and guardian of mankind,
or let everything return to the original state:
There will be no more distress and frustration;
the earth will come to comfort, and heaven will never suffer again.
Pandia said that she saw Xiaoxing turning pale, and Prometheus' lover Arcia was waiting in her exile. The valleys there are full of exotic flowers and exotic grasses, and the air, Woods and streams are filled with wonderful smells and sounds. But if you're not with her, all this will be wiped out. Say that finish, the first act ended.
Act II
Scene I: The Valley of the Caucasus. The scenery here is beautiful, and Arcia is looking forward to the arrival of Pandya. She seemed to hear the sound of the green wings of the Pandya Sea vibrating in the crimson morning light. With the rising of a red sun, Pandia flew to her side and brought her the figure of Prometheus; Arcia said that without it, she would not survive.
Portia told Arcia about the sweet dream she had had beside Prometheus. She felt his figure, full of scars and shining in the sky. He hugged Pandya, and she felt his blood flow into her body; Her also flowed into his body: they melted and became one.
Arcia also saw the figure of Prometheus. He flew up and his voice rang everywhere: "Follow, follow, follow me!" " Arcia and Pandia followed closely hand in hand.
In the second scene, Arcia and Pandia walk into the forest, and there are rocks and caves everywhere. The poet described the environment they entered through the singing of the elves. They are marching in the dense forest. It is a strange and colorful world inside. Flowers and trees of various colors, with residual dew.
the little shepherd comes out. They want to go back and listen to the old shepherd god telling them ancient stories and the deeds of Prometheus.
In the third scene, Arcia and Pandia come to the top of a tall rock among the mountains. They sigh, this is the entrance to the underworld.
Arcia and Pandia see that there are various scenes of nature unfolding below, which are beautiful and spectacular. There are shallow lawns, dense forests, dazzling flowing springs, deep caves and idle colorful clouds. On the skyscraper mountain, the morning light jumps out of the ice rock, and generate shines with thousands of golden lights. The year-round snow, melted by the sun's light and heat, rushed down.
at this moment, they heard the singing of the elves. They followed the song to the deep abyss, crossed the curtain and fence, and went to the underground palace, where an omnipotent fairy lived.
the fourth scene enters hades' abode of fairies and immortals.
When they opened the curtain, Pandia saw the Pluto. She described:
The throne full of authority radiates
dark light in all directions ...
He is invisible and shapeless, and he has no limbs or body outline, but we feel that
he is indeed a living god.
So Arcia asked Hades: Who created the world, who gave
human thinking, and who brought sin and sorrow to the world? The answer is almighty god.
Then, Arcia narrated the changing history of heaven. Finally, Prometheus used wisdom and strength to overthrow his father, gain power and constellation for Zeus, and put on a golden crown for him. There was only one condition at that time: "Let mankind be free". However-
rulers often forget loyalty, kindness and law,
with omnipotent power, they will forget their close friends;
Zeus rules now; What has befallen human beings is
famine first, then labor and disease,
disputes and trauma, and unprecedented and terrible death;
He sent strong desire, crazy troubles and
hypocritical morality into their empty hearts,
which caused mutual killing and fierce war,
and their nest for living was completely destroyed.
Then, Prometheus awakened hope among the flowers and plants, and injected love into human hearts, making them separate and combine, taming fire and bringing it to mankind. He also brought steel, gold and silver to mankind, treasures and treasures under the mountains and the sea. It has given human thought and language, created law, science and music, made human beings spiritual and can create miracles. At last, she said:
Prometheus improved mankind in this way,
but he was hung on a dangerous cliff and suffered
inevitable pain.
Arcia's accusation against Zeus is just an accusation against human rulers. Obviously, it is an allusion to the tyrant on earth represented by holy alliance.
Arcia asked who was the master of Zeus. Hades didn't answer directly. He said, "All spirits driven by sin are slaves." Arcia asked hades again, when will Prometheus be liberated and return to the happy world? When will this "destiny hour" come? Hades let her see a strange sight: the earth suddenly cracked, the purple night sky was covered with flying horses with rainbow wings, and these flying horses were dragging the sacred car, with a look of panic on them, but no human body.
Hades indicated that these are the "hours" of eternal life, and one of them is waiting for Arcia, so she talked with this "hour" and said:
I am the shadow of a certain fate,
...... before the planet over there lands,
the darkness that rises with me,
will cover the sky with endless night colors.
At the end of the hour, Arcia and Pandia arrived at the front of the palace. There was a flying car parked here. The genie sang: He fed the horse with flash, gave it a drink with whirlwind, and bathed it with dawn. He wanted to travel around the moon and the planet, and asked two daughters of Poseidon to go to heaven with him.
In the fifth game, the car stopped in the clouds of the snowy mountain, and Arcia and Pandia were with the time elf. The sun has not yet risen, but it is brilliant, which makes Pandya afraid to open her eyes. Time says, this is the light of Arcia. The magical power made Arcia show her true colors. She stood on a shell and floated on the sea. Everything in nature was waiting for her love.
Arcia said to Pandya:
All love is sweet,
whether people love you or your lover.
It is as common as the light,
Its kind voice never makes people tired.
It makes reptiles and God equal ...
Arcia has become the embodiment of love in the universe. People feel that she is around, but they don't know where she is. She floats around, takes a boat and sails to an inaccessible place.
In this place, love is the air we breathe.
There are feelings in the wind and meanings in the waves.
Love is mixed in heaven and earth.
They are heading for "old age", "middle age", "youth" and "infancy", returning to death, returning to birth and coming to the paradise on earth; A hundred flowers blossom on the top of the balcony, and people's whole body emits dazzling golden light.
Shelley played the ideas in the Islamic Uprising here. Girls represent love, and love is the only powerful weapon to solve human disputes. The young girl sailed from the sinful world to the ideal place by boat. The scene shown above is to return to the ideal world of mankind before the dispute. There, love makes everything beautiful, noble and brilliant.
the third power
the first celestial court. Zeus sat on the throne, and the sea god Tethys and the gods gathered around him. Zeus was on cloud nine, telling the story of his union with Tethys. They gave birth to the second generation. He was stronger, and he could protect the sovereignty of heaven for them forever.
Zeus said:
I have been supreme in power and position since then.
Everything has surrendered to me.
Only the human mind is left.
It is like an unlit flame.
It is dark and full of resentment. ......
A burst of clamor for rebellion,
may shake our ancient empire ...
He also said that his son would take the throne in the empty throne of Pluto at "hour", and then rode to heaven to help him suppress human resistance.
Just when Zeus felt that his position was consolidated and he was very proud, he heard the wheel sound of his son "Time".
"Time" appears, it has no form, it comes and goes without a trace, and all people will feel its existence and power. He is stronger than Zeus, but only he is the grave digger of Zeus. Prometheus' hidden prophecy for mankind is that Zeus and Tethys' son will eradicate Zeus. In order that the throne of the ruler would not last forever, he endured three thousand years of suffering that non-people could not bear. Zeus finally fell into fate, and the new keeper "Hour" came to heaven by bus, ending Zeus' rule.
"Time" said to Zeus:
Don't lift your thunderbolt,
After you step down,
There will never be any need in the sky, and there will never be another tyrant to show off his power ...
This shows the poet's ideal. Shelley believes that no matter how powerful the tyrannical rule is, it will never conquer people's hearts, and the tyrant will be eliminated. The abstract "inevitability" of historical development is visualized by the poet as the spirit of "time", which is intangible, but has irresistible power for anyone.
Mousse vowed to end up with Time, fighting like an eagle and a snake, and both sank to the bottom of the sea. But he finally sank in a daze, and there was a dark cloud on his head.
In the second scene, Apollo and Poseidon meet at a big river mouth, telling the happy scene of Zeus' failure and the liberation of heaven and earth.
The sun god said that when Time fought Zeus, the sun he was in charge of was scared to death. Zeus's frightened eyes, shoot