In addition to the preface, Goddess contains 56 poems. The earliest poem in this collection of poems was written in the early summer of 19 18. Except for a small part written after returning to China in 192 1, the rest were written by poets while studying in Japan, and most of them were completed in19 1992? Two years later. At this time, the guns of the Russian October Revolution awakened ancient China, and the wave of the May 4th Movement surged in China. People saw new hope in the long night. Old morality, old ethics, autocratic politics and all feudal idols have been severely hit and destroyed; Science, democracy, socialism and all new things are pursued consciously and enthusiastically. This is a dynamic era, an era full of resistance and destruction, innovation and creation. The fierce impact of Goddess on feudal barriers, the strong demand for reforming society and the incomparable enthusiasm for pursuing and singing beautiful ideals clearly reflect the characteristics of the May 4th revolutionary movement and convey the strongest voice of the spirit of the May 4th era.
This spirit of breaking the old and establishing the new runs through most important chapters of Goddess, which embodies Guo Moruo's attitude of complete revolution rather than improvement during the May 4th Movement. The most representative poems are Phoenix Nirvana and Goddess Rebirth.
"Nirvana of Phoenix" takes the legend of Phoenix as the material, and borrows the story of Phoenix's "self-immolation and rebirth in the fire" to symbolize the destruction of the old China and the poet's old self, and the birth of the new China and the poet's new self. As New Year's Eve approaches, a pair of phoenixes fly around Dan Snow Mountain to arrange cremation for themselves, where the buttonwood tree has dried up and the spring water has dried up. Before he died, he danced around with his head down, and the phoenix bird immediately sang, and the phoenix bird "completely" corresponded. They cursed the reality, cursed the cold, dark and smelly old universe, compared it to "slaughterhouse", "prison", "grave" and "hell", and doubted and questioned why it existed. They poured out their grief and indignation from the surging tears, cursing the sleeping, decaying and dead life for 500 years. In this long time, there are only "endless tears, endless filth, endless affection and lingering humiliation"; In this long time, I can't see "freshness" and "sweetness", and I can't see "glory" and "love". The vitality of my youth has disappeared. So they were in pain and set themselves on fire. In the condemnation of reality, the grief and indignation of the nation and the suffering of the people blend in the hearts of deeply repressed poets. Phoenix's self-sacrifice and self-reconstruction have formed a strong tragic atmosphere. When they sang "It's time, it's time" in unison, a fire all over the sky finally destroyed all the darkness and injustice of the old me and the old world. It is not only the phoenix that burns and gets a new life, but also the poet himself. Two days before he wrote this poem, he revealed in a letter that he was willing to collect fragrant wood like a phoenix and "burn the existing relics, ... regenerate a' me'" (note: San Ye Ji192065438+1October 18 to Zong Baihua). This heroic spirit of throwing everything into the fire and breaking with the old world, this pain and joy of destroying the old self and recreating the new one, is exactly the image portrayal of the people's thorough revolution and conscious revolutionary spirit during the May Fourth Movement. As for the shallowness and meanness of each bird, it is intended to whip the ugliness and vulgarity in reality and further set off the pain and grandeur of Phoenix's self-immolation. The legend of "Fire Phoenix" gave the poet realistic enlightenment, which closely combined the radical revolutionary spirit of poetry with historical optimism. Finally, the phoenix was reborn. With Wang Yang's wanton style and repeated poems, the poet deliberately rendered a scene that was similar and enjoyable. This is the real struggle and the creation and rebirth after smelting. It expresses the poet's praise for the new opportunities of the May 4th Movement, and it is also a symbol of the awakening of the motherland and the poet himself, and it is full of ardent enthusiasm for the pursuit of light and ideals. Guo Moruo once said that "Phoenix Nirvana" was written twice a day, and the emotion and rushing melody in the poem fully reflected the poet's spirit of going forward in creation. Like the phoenix nirvana, The Goddess's Rebirth, written according to the records of Nu Wa's refining stones and mending the sky in ancient books, also takes myth as its theme, breaking into the core of the reality of the May 4th Revolution and revealing the themes of resistance, destruction and creation. At the beginning of the poetic drama, the world was dark and the wind and waves were woven into a "bottom of sin." The gods recognized the omen from the "bottom of life", felt the "catastrophe" reappeared, and left the shrine separately. They sang in chorus:
We want to create a brand-new sun,
This niche no longer has idols!
This is the theme of the whole poem. In the scene of Zhuan Xu's decisive battle with * * * workers, the poet used suggestive language to condemn the warlords' scuffle and wrote about the people's disaster. After the collapse of Tianzhu, Zhuan Xu was destroyed together with Gonggong, expressing the poet's strong hatred for the reactionary rulers in history. In the darkness, finally came the voice representing the people's will. God disdains to do the work of mending chaos. They recreated a sun and predicted that the newly created sun would "shine on the world in the sky and the world outside the sky!" " Many poems in Goddess express warmth, light and the sun with great passion, which reflects the needs of the times and is also the pursuit of the poet Guo Moruo. From the commanding heights of the times, these poems vividly and symbolically reflect the great awakening of the ancient nation in the climax of the May 4th Movement, and the spirit of the May 4th Movement in turn gave the poet a stirring mood. Although many progressive poets wrote poems yearning for the bright future at that time, they dared to break away from the old world and declare war on it, full of creative confidence and optimism, full of heroism and revolutionary idealism, but such poems as The Rebirth of the Goddess and The Nirvana of the Phoenix were rare.
Many important poems in Goddess are full of Guo Moruo's deep feelings of caring for the motherland and praising new life, which is also a tribute to the May 4th Movement. The May 4th Movement is a new patriotic movement, which marks the new climax of China's national revolutionary movement in the new situation in the past century. It is this deep patriotism that inspired Guo Moruo who lived in a foreign country for the first time during the May 4th Movement. From the enthusiasm of these patriotic poems, we can always see the goddess and phoenix reborn from the fire. "Good Morning" and "Ode to the Bandit" are two famous poems with similar styles, which are magnificent and magnificent. In the once-in-a-lifetime morning light, good morning poets shouted twenty-seven "good mornings" in one breath to the "young motherland", "new compatriots", pioneers of revolution, giants of art gardens, magnificent mountains and rivers and all the beautiful things in the world. Song of Gangsters was written to oppose the slander of China youth by Japanese newspapers. They called the students in China after the May 4th Movement "learning bandits", and the poet angrily wrote famous protest articles and sincerely praised some "real bandits" who had played an innovative role in history. Although the poet did not know the difference between proletarian socialist revolution and bourgeois democratic revolution at this time, he absorbed all revolutions against stereotypes and all foreign ideas without difficulty, but this was the common feature of young people who generally demanded progress and reform during the May Fourth Movement. Among these poems, the one that can best express his deep affection for the motherland is Coal in the Furnace. Guo Moruo said in Ten Years of Creation: "In my mind, China after the May 4th Movement is like a very young and enterprising girl. She is like my lover. ..... miss the mood of the motherland "Coal in the Furnace" is a love song I gave her. " "Good Morning" and "Gangster Ode" are both tributes to her. Love songs are not as unrestrained as carols, but they have a deep and implicit beauty. The poet described himself as burning coal in the furnace and compared the motherland to a "girl". Singing with a burning heart:
Ah, my lady!
I will live up to your hospitality,
Don't let me down.
I'm doing this for the people I love.
Burn like this!
Indeed, the poet is burning. He also said that his reckless slave had a "heart like fire" in his chest. Before being buried alive in the ground, he was a "useful pillar" and he was glad that he could "see the light of day". The poet is willing to go through fire and water for his motherland because he sees new hope from the dawn of the times. In this way, many poems in Goddess combine the hope for the future of the motherland and the nation with the determination of individuals to devote themselves to it, which inspires optimistic beliefs. However, although China has taken the first step on the new struggle road after the May 4th Movement, the thick darkness has yet to be dispelled by the long and arduous revolutionary work, and the poet's love and expectation for the motherland is really too ardent. So after he returned to China, he witnessed the tragic scene of semi-feudal and semi-colonial society: "Skeletons everywhere, coffins all over the street", and finally felt that "this girl" failed his "thought". The sorrow of illusion! (Note: Impression of Shanghai Goddess) This sad cry also expresses the poet's patriotic passion.
Praising the rebellious self-image and showing the self-strength combined with everything is another important content of Goddess. The poems included in Goddess, whether resisting, destroying or creating, almost everywhere show distinct self-characteristics through lyric images; In some poems, I sang a radical carol for myself as a rebel. This ego swallowed the sun and the moon and turned its eyes to the whole world, which is "the total energy of the whole universe". It burns like fire, screams like the sea and flies like electricity (note: see the goddess, I am an idol worshipper, and the pyramid is different from the drunken song under the plum tree. This ego ignores all idols and feudal authority and publicly declares that "I am an idol destroyer again" (note: I am an idol worshipper, a drunken song under a pyramid and a plum tree, respectively); This ego seems to be a "magnificent giant system" that can compete with the gods, and "even the sun in the sky is bowing to me" (note: see "Tiangou", "I am an idolater", "Pyramid" and "Drunk Song under the Plum Tree" in Goddess respectively); This self is also integrated with the "ontology of the whole universe", which makes the poet sing "I praise the ontology of the whole universe that expresses myself" (note: see the drunken songs of Tiangou, I am an idolater, pyramid and plum tree in Goddess respectively). This extreme exaggeration of self reveals a strong demand for personality liberation. In China before and after the May 4th Movement, the departmental masses were bound by feudal ideas for a long time and did not realize their own strength, so they soon woke up. This idea of developing individuality and emphasizing self from the standpoint of the revolutionary petty bourgeoisie has the function of opposing idolatry and breaking the trap. Whether it's the self-immolated phoenix, the goddess who created the new sun, the coal in the burning stove or the dog that devoured the universe, the self contained in these images is mixed with the poet's personal anger and the humiliation suffered by the nation for a long time. Therefore, this self is not an arrogant, sad and decadent self imprisoned in the narrow world of individualism, but a self that embodies the requirements of the times and national liberation. This "self" is the poet himself, and it is also a young man in China who Qian Qian absolutely wants to break away from the old and decadent cage and demands constant destruction, constant creation and constant efforts. "We are" He "in" Phoenix Nirvana ",and they are me! I have you, and you have me! " That's the point. A poet and his motherland and people suffer together, fight together and enjoy the joy of victory together. In those poems praising self, the poet is not only full of passion of self-worship and self-praise, but also sometimes expresses his thoughts of self-dissection and self-transformation.
In many poems of Goddess, the praise of labor and workers and peasants is a very striking place. In "Three Pantheists", he praised the three pantheists as people who live by labor. On earth, my mother! He thinks that the farmer in the field is the nanny of all mankind, and the workers in the charcoal pit are the Promethean monks of all mankind. In The Journey to the West, he wants to kneel in front of an old man who hoes the ground under the Leifeng Tower, "lick the yellow mud off his feet." This sincere feeling for the working people is the symbol of the poet's class awakening. As he wrote in The Lessons of Jupao, the thunderbolt of the times woke him up from his dream.
In Goddess, the praise of the working people, the October Revolution and the proletarian leaders, although few chapters and unclear understanding, reflects the poet's yearning for socialism. It is very important to the goddess of poetry, and it is the whole chapter, so it is so optimistic and confident. Its appearance at that time was even more commendable. When various ideological trends appear in the chaos and new camps begin to divide, they sing praises for the most revolutionary ideas and expand their influence.
Guo Moruo has deep feelings for nature. There are many poems praising nature in Goddess. At that time, influenced by pantheism, the poet thought that "the ontology of the whole universe" was only the "self-expression" of everything, and man was a part of nature. Therefore, he likes to eulogize nature, dissolve himself in the vast nature, and achieve the realm of "integration of things and me". This can be clearly seen in poems such as "The Sea of Lights" and "Drunk Songs under Plum Trees". These poems praising nature are not only devoted to the greatness and beauty of nature, but also like other poems in Goddess, they yearn for light and rebirth, labor and creation, and are full of positive spirit. The poet sang Sunrise and Spring Fetal Movement, and praised Sun and Snow Dynasty. He felt the "light wave of life" and "fresh artistic conception" in Infinite Nature (note: See the Sea of Lights, Heart Lamp, Ode to the Sun, Sunshine Dynasty, Goddess in The Journey to the West). The eagle flying over his head, in this part of the poem, there is a great spread of meteorology and a magnificent description. However, whether it is to praise Rough Waves, The Newborn Sun and Cloud Island in the Sky (note: see the articles in Goddess, Heart Lamp, Praise of the Sun, Clear Tide and Journey to the West respectively), or to praise "several new willows on the pond, one in Liu Xia. And "drunken new leaves, tender grass vines, high-standard forest trees" (note: seeing the sea of light, heart lights, praising the sun, sunny days, the trip to the West Lake in the goddess) always has a fresh breath, which is enough to make people feel happy and full of energy. Here, it also shows that there are significant differences between Guo Moruo and his contemporaries in terms of thought and taste.
Goddess has distinctive features of revolutionary romanticism. Thorough resistance and destruction to the dark reality and stale tradition, eager pursuit and praise for freedom and liberation and a bright new life, firm belief in the future of the revolution and optimism in creating ideals, etc. , strongly reflects the wishes, demands and ideals of the people of China, especially young intellectuals. This revolutionary idealism constitutes the basic spirit of revolutionary romanticism in Goddess. The galloping imagination and bold exaggeration in poetry spread the ideas of poetry with deep colors, passionate tones and fast melodies, as well as the clever use of myths. All of them are in line with the poet's "endogenous emotion of volcanic eruption" (note: "Boiling Soup Collection My Preface to Poetry"), which embodies the advantages of revolutionary romanticism in technique. Guo Moruo once said: "Poetry is not made, but written." (Note: Letter from San Ye Ji 1920 65438+ 10/8 to Zong Baihua) The poems in Goddess are mostly natural expressions of feelings. Write "Phoenix Nirvana" and "Earth, my mother! When waiting for poetry, poetry often strikes suddenly, and there is no time to carefully scrutinize and process it repeatedly, so that poetry can flow into chapters. However, due to the poet's full feelings and profound artistic accomplishment, people feel that whether it is rough or graceful, it is handwritten rather than carved, but it can achieve a harmonious and sonorous situation. For example, a part of Xiang Lei:
The white clouds on Jiuyi Mountain have gathered and disappeared.
The flowing water in Dongting Lake has ebbs and flows.
The clouds in our hearts!
Our eyes are full of tears, ah!
Never disappear!
Always just the tide!
Singing and sighing, this naturally flowing syllable is suitable for his feelings with nature. Guo Moruo has extensively read China's classical poems and the works of some famous foreign poets. Of course, Whitman's influence can not be ignored. The poet himself said: "Whitman got rid of all the old-fashioned poetic styles and was in tune with the spirit of the May Fourth Movement. I was completely disturbed by his bold and unrestrained style." (Note: My poetry writing process, Collected Works of Mo Ruo, vol. 1 1 page 43), and the influence of China ancient romantic poets Qu Yuan and Li Bai is also a very important factor. Guo Moruo has a deep love for Qu Yuan. The spirit of resisting ugly reality and pursuing beautiful ideals expressed in his poetic drama Xiang Lei not only conforms to Qu Yuan's character, but also represents the poet's own situation and mood during the May 4th Movement. This spirit runs through many poems of Goddess. Li Bai is also Guo Moruo's favorite poet. He once wrote Li Bai's Sunrise and Moonrise in the style of new poetry. The style, spirit and temperament of the poem "I will cover a large area, and I am noble and fortunate" are closely related to Guo Moruo. All these show the profound spiritual connection between him and two ancient poets, and also show that Goddess is the inheritance and development of the romantic tradition of China's classical poetry in the new revolutionary era.
The majestic free verse is the most distinctive and wonderful poem in Goddess, which really opened up a new world for free verse after the May 4th Movement. The appearance of these poems, on the one hand, is the expression of the poet's own broad mind and rich and powerful imagination, on the other hand, it is also the product of the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal spirit of the May 4th Movement. Guo Moruo's free poems broke through the barriers and shackles of poetry. It has no fixed meter, form or even footnotes, but the inner melody of the poem is in harmony with the rhythm of the poet's feelings. In many places, poets express endless imagination and feelings with overlapping poems, which gives readers strong inner excitement and makes them angry, shout and resist with him. As he expected in the preface, Goddess really "touched their heartstrings and lit up their wisdom" in the hearts of young people at that time.
In addition to free verse, some poems in Goddess are quite strict in form and meter. For example, the traditional five-character poem form is adopted in the aria part of the poetic drama Flower of Tang Di. The form and rhythm of Qing Chao and Huangpu River Mouth are neat, while some short poems in The Journey to the West show poetic flavor. All these can explain how the poet is good at expressing his different feelings in colorful forms.
1923, Guo Moruo once wrote such a poem for Liu Haisu's painting "Nine Rivers and Eighteen Rivers": "Art traitors have great courage, don't make strange paintings in the stream, and they are always deceiving others ..." It is also very appropriate to use these sentences to illustrate the bold creation of Goddess, which is full of rebellious spirit.
The distinctive color of the times, great artistic courage and unique artistic style in Goddess have enriched the treasure house of China's poetry creation and exerted great influence on later poets. Shortly after the publication of Goddess, Wen Yiduo wrote in the article "The Spirit of the Goddess of the Times": "If we talk about new poetry, Guo Moruo's poetry is worth new. His works are not only farthest from the old poems in art, but most importantly, his spirit is completely the spirit of the times-the spirit of the late 20th century. Some people say that literary and artistic works are the product of the times. The goddess is really the last filial son. " He also believes that the goddess "not only shouted out the passion in everyone's heart, but also shouted out the most sacred passion in everyone's heart" (Note: The Complete Works of Wen Yiduo, Volume III, Ding, pp. 185, 194). To commemorate Guo Moruo's 50th birthday, Zhou Yang said in Guo Moruo and His Goddess that Guo Moruo was "the representative of the great poetry of the May 4th Enlightenment, and the prophet poet of new China" called the goddess "horn and war drum, which warned us, gave us courage and guided us in our struggle." (Note:1941116 Yan 'an Liberation Daily) These comments explain the fundamental reason why the goddess can gain great influence. Guo Moruo's passionate revolutionary romantic poetry created a new poetic style for China's modern poetry.