Xu Zhimo is a romantic poet, and his creation combines China's traditional poetry, Sanqu, western romanticism and aestheticism, forming his own unique style. His poetic language is fresh and natural, expressed in spoken language, and is friendly and catchy to read.
The poet's life experience is full of twists and turns, which not only makes his poems have certain achievements in artistic form and writing, but also makes his thoughts rise to a certain height.
Romanticism, simple faith in love and beauty, artistic style
The first part introduces the background of Xu Zhimo's poetry creation.
Xu Zhimo was born in a rich family and lived a rich life since childhood. His childhood life is very similar to Jia Baoyu in some ways. I was loved by my parents since I was a child and praised by my teachers when I entered school. I started studying at the age of four, and then I went to middle school and university. All these paved the way for him to become a romantic poet. But it was/kloc-0 that influenced him the most and finally made him embark on the romantic road. In September, 920, Xu Zhimo crossed the Atlantic from the United States and came to Britain to study at Cambridge University. As one of the world-famous universities, Cambridge's profound cultural background and academic atmosphere, especially the romantic and aesthetic poetry style in Europe and America at that time, had an important influence on the poet's life-long thoughts. Two years in Cambridge can also be said to be a turning point in the development of the poet's thought. Here, Xu Zhimo and Cambridge forged an indissoluble bond. He advocates freedom, and life in Cambridge gives him exactly the same freedom. Poets read books, walk, drink coffee and enjoy the romance brought by Cambridge. He later said with deep affection, "Cambridge taught me to broaden my horizons. My thirst for knowledge was aroused by Cambridge, and my self-awareness was given to me by Cambridge." In Cambridge, he deeply felt that "the beauty and tranquility of nature, the harmony between starlight and waves unexpectedly flooded into your soul." Xu Zhimo is obsessed with Cambridge and nature. There, he was "surprised to see the great brilliance of truth, goodness and beauty" and "suddenly felt open-minded". He regards Cambridge as a "bosom friend" and calls her a "land of spiritual attachment". The environment in Cambridge not only contributed to and formed his social outlook and outlook on life, but also aroused his thirst for knowledge and triggered his creative ideas. [ 1]
In the era when Xu Zhimo lived, China society was moving from closed to open, and people's personality consciousness was finally liberated from the shackles of feudal thought. The detachment of English lakeside poems from the scenery and the Byronic catharsis of struggle passion naturally touched the young Xu Zhimo's poetic heart, thus becoming the mother of his romantic poems. Xu Zhimo absorbed and inherited the English romantic poetry art and set an ideal goal for himself. At the same time, it also formed his romantic outlook on life. Hu Shi believes that Xu Zhimo's outlook on life is a kind of "pure belief": "There are only three big characters in it: one is love, the other is freedom, and the third is beauty. He dreams that these three ideal conditions can be met in his life, which is his simple belief. The history of his life is only the history of his pursuit of this simple belief. " [2]
Under the influence of Cambridge, the romantic spirit contained in Xu Zhimo's heart has been really nurtured, germinated and expanded, forming his spirit of pursuing freedom, ideal, love and natural beauty, which has had a great influence on his poems.
The second part looks at Xu Zhimo's poetic style and his simple belief from three poems.
2. 1 On Xu Zhimo's poetic style
As an important poet of the Crescent School, Xu Zhimo is a poet with complicated creative thoughts. His complex thoughts and feelings are all expressed in his poetry creation, so people have different opinions on his works for decades, both praise and criticism.
Xu Zhimo had a certain influence in the history of China's new poetry development, and made various experiments and explorations for the development of new poetry. Judging from the development of modern poetry art in China, Xu Zhimo's poems have a positive impact. He combined the essence of China's classical poetry, Sanqu and folk songs, and adopted the style of European romantic poets, forming a novel, unique and fresh poetic style. [3] His poems are harmonious in sound and rhyme, light in style, full in artistic conception, harmonious in emotion, scenery and environment, and more artistic charm. Xu Zhimo's life ideal of "poetic life" can also be seen from his poems.
His poems are rich in artistic forms, clear and concise in language, and elegant in spoken language; Strong musicality, but not limited to rhyme, but the pursuit of internal rhythm and melody beauty. [4] His poetic style is distinctive and unique, with distinctive artistic personality and certain artistic skills.
2.2 The internal relationship of Xu Zhimo's three poems, which can best express his simple faith and poetic style.
Xu Zhimo has some lyric poems that are recognized as the most representative of his creative style, such as Happy Snowflakes, A Farewell to Cambridge, and I don't know where the wind blows. The common characteristics of these poems are: elegant dictionary, elegant artistic conception, full of romance and emotional appeal.
The poet Xu Zhimo wrote in the preface to the tiger collection: "The poet is also a stupid bird. He put his soft heart close to the thorn of the rose, singing the glory of the stars and the moon and the hope of mankind, and he would not stop until his painstaking efforts were exhausted and the white flowers were dyed red. His pain and happiness are profound. " If the happiness of snowflakes, Farewell to Cambridge and I don't know which direction the wind blows are put together, it only shows the continuity of the poet's writing, the depth of his hopes and ideals. Because the styles of these three famous poems are the same, it is easy to think of Mao Dun's sentence: "If it weren't for Xu Zhimo, you couldn't have made this poem!" Mao dun on xu zhimo.
Hu Shi pointed out in "Memories of Time Past": "His outlook on life is really a simple belief, and there are only three big characters in it: one is love, the other is freedom, and the third is beauty. ..... The history of his life is only the history of his pursuit of this simple belief. " Xu Zhimo is an emotional poet who pursues love, romance and freedom. The shackles given to him by China in the 20th century deeply trapped freedom and love, which also doomed Xu Zhimo's life to be full of romance and sadness, so when we read his poems, it always gives people a faint sadness. Snowflakes, Cambridge and the wind are all among them.
From "Happiness of Snowflakes" to "I don't know where the wind blows", people naturally find the basically consistent poetic images and lyric styles in Xu Zhimo's poems. In this kind of poems, which can best represent Xu Zhimo's talent and poetry, not only impress readers with his beautiful imagination and ethereal artistic conception, but also make readers realize the value and significance of art because of his vague understanding and grasp of life. In these poems, Xu Zhimo constructed his own world of "love, freedom and beauty".
The full text of The Joy of Snowflakes reveals the author's persistence and pursuit of beauty. Stepping into the "what if" architectural world, people are often not only bathed in beauty, but also guarded by budding beauty. Cambridge is another excellent pure poem by Xu Shi after Snowflake, and it is also Xu Zhimo's guardian of beauty, love and freedom. In front of the beautiful scenery of nature and the spiritual hometown of mankind, I come and walk gently, "without taking away a cloud." This kind of guardianship is completely poetic. And this is completely in line with the choice of the soul in the snowflake. Only when the dream of pursuing and guarding is finally realized can the wind finally open the truth of "not knowing" and the infinite nostalgia and melancholy of "wandering in the light waves of dreams"
Therefore, Snowflake, Cambridge and Wind have become the representative works of Xu Zhimo's poetic style, which is not only the consistency of superficial language style, but also the attraction and connection of inner soul charm. [5]
2.3 Appreciate the happiness of snowflakes. I don't know which direction the wind blows after farewell to Cambridge.
2.3. 1 Enjoy the joy of snowflakes
Xu Zhimo pays great attention to artistic conception when writing poems. Most of his poems, such as The Joy of Snowflakes, have formed his unique artistic realm, which is an open book and a masterpiece of poetry.
Among Xu Zhimo's poems, love poems are the most distinctive part of all his poems, expressing his pursuit of love and beauty. Sometimes he takes his own emotional foundation as the object, and sometimes he takes the imaginary opposite sex as the object. In Happiness in Snowflakes, the poet sublimated it, which not only linked the pursuit of love with the ideal of changing the real society, but also was warm, fresh, sincere and natural, and truly expressed the poet's persistent pursuit of all good things.
Snowflakes are flying in mid-air, heading for the "quiet residence" and meeting her in the "garden" until it melts into "her gentle heart". Poets compare themselves to "snowflakes", using metonymy and taking flying snowflakes as images. "She" is the poet's imaginary lover, and also a kind of sublimated sacred love, which skillfully conveys the poet's persistent pursuit of love and beautiful ideal. This is the snowflake of spirit, he is the spirit of human beings, and he will die for beauty. It is worth recalling that he did not feel pain or despair in the pursuit of beauty. On the contrary, he fully enjoyed the freedom of choice and the joy of love. Snowflakes "fly, fly, fly", so firm, cheerful, relaxed and free, is really a self-evident and conscious result. In fact, the poet is crossing the reality to gain inner innocence and stick to lofty ideals. The rotation and final destination of snowflakes completely conform to the poet's belief of freedom, firmness and persistence.
This poem has four verses. These four verses with sonorous rhythm are not so beautiful in structure as they reflect the wonder of the poet's passion ups and downs. A sober poet avoids the barriers of reality and builds everything on "if". "If" makes this poem set a soft and hazy style, and its enthusiasm and freedom are shrouded in a faint aura of sadness. The rotation, delay and final destination of snowflakes are completely consistent with the freedom, firmness and persistence of the poet's beautiful soul. The rhythm of this poem is the sound of nature and the symphony of the soul.
"Happiness of Snowflakes" has a harmonious rhythm and is full of musical beauty. For example, the poet connects the three "flies" repeatedly, and there is no lack of brisk rhythm. Secondly, the happiness of snowflakes is also full of painting beauty. Not only the "quiet residence" and the quiet "garden" construct an elegant and beautiful picture, but also the repeated "flying, flying, flying" weaves a profound picture of the soul. Literally, the happiness of snowflakes is also imaginative and symbolic. For example, the word "she" in the last three sentences can symbolize the poet's "sweetheart" and can also be understood as the ideal pursuit that the poet yearns for. The author combines the subjective feeling of pursuing the ideal with the objective natural scenery, thus turning the real scene into a virtual scene, creating a beautiful artistic conception and showing its flying and elegant artistic style.
2.3.2 Appreciation of Farewell to Cambridge
. Farewell to Cambridge is also a lyric ballad that has been widely circulated and sung for a long time.
Cambridge, the seat of the famous Cambridge University in Britain. 1June 920 to1October 1922, the poet studied here. The Cambridge period was a turning point in Xu Zhimo's life. The poet once came from director Chen in the preface to the tiger: before the age of 24, his interest in poetry was far less than that in relativity or civil contract theory. It was the He Kang River that opened the poet's soul and awakened his long-dormant fate. So he later said with deep affection, "Cambridge taught me to broaden my horizons. My thirst for knowledge was aroused by Cambridge, and my self-awareness was given to me by Cambridge." (Smoking and Culture)
1In the autumn of 928, Xu Zhimo visited Britain again, and his old place was full of poetry. He turned his life experience into a series of emotions, which merged into the beautiful scenery of Cambridge and galloped in the poet's imagination. 1On October 6th, he wrote this masterpiece on his way home from Nanhai. Farewell to Cambridge is a beautiful lyric poem, just like an elegant and beautiful light music. The vivid artistic conception and flowing pictures in the poem give people beautiful enjoyment. It can be said that "Cambridge complex" runs through Xu Zhimo's poems all his life. And Farewell to Cambridge is undoubtedly one of the most famous songs.