Therefore, according to the needs of the anti-feudal struggle at that time, Shelley revolutionized Aeschylus' tragic story. As a result, the tyrant collapsed and Prometheus won a great victory. He became a strong, unyielding and consistent hero. This transformation was in line with the revolutionary aspirations of the broad masses of the people at that time, which inspired the people's determination and confidence to resist the feudal rulers and enhanced the ideological and image education significance of the works.
Shelley also pointed out that he wrote this work with a "desire to improve the world", and his intention was to "let ordinary readers who love poetry remember some lofty and beautiful ideals in their meticulous minds". Therefore, his poetic drama is different from Aeschylus' drama. The focus of the poet is not the conflict between Prometheus and Jupiter, but the renewal of the universe and the world after Jupiter was overthrown. The poetic drama is divided into four acts, and this part accounts for almost two acts.
According to Mrs. Shelley, Shelley's favorite theme in poetry creation is the struggle between "a kind of power" and "evil principle"; This kind of power is oppressed by "evil reason" and comes from all directions, but he is full of confidence in the power of "good", so he is indomitable. In poetry, Shelley regards Jupiter as the "evil reason" of stealing the country and usurping the throne, and Prometheus as the "reconstructor" and the embodiment of goodness. Jupiter is the image of tyrant and human oppressor in the poem. The tyrant's "cruel face", "cocky" and "extreme punishment to vent their hatred" made the gods of heaven and earth fear to change color. He was ungrateful, broke his word, tore up his promise, locked his benefactor in the Caucasus cliff, and used destruction and disaster to deal with those who worshipped him:
"First famine, then toil and disease,
Disputes and trauma, as well as unprecedented terrible death;
He reversed the order of the seasons and went down in turn.
Snow and fire, those without cover.
Pale humans are driven into caves and caves;
He put strong desires, crazy troubles,
False morality is sent into their empty hearts,
Leading to killing each other and fierce wars,
The nest where they lived was completely destroyed. "
Jupiter's motto is: "He would rather let others fail than let others fail." Therefore, he is cruel and vicious, ignorant and vicious, but he can't conquer the "human mind." These hearts are like an unquenchable flame, "full of black resentment." He is worried that one day mankind will rise up and create his rebellion: "A rebellion may shake our ancient empire." So the tyrant also appears arrogant. The image of Jupiter was a symbol of the feudal restoration forces in Europe after the failure of the French Revolution. They are afraid of another revolution when they will face extinction. Shelley exposed the cruel, selfish and treacherous upper rulers and oppressors in European and British society through the image of Jupiter. He is the mortal enemy of the people of Europe and Britain.
Contrary to Jupiter, the image of Prometheus. The struggle between them was a reflection of the struggle between bourgeois democrats and feudal restorers at that time. Prometheus embodies two spirits: "love" and "perseverance".
Prometheus is the defender of mankind. Jupiter wants to destroy mankind. He loves human beings, sympathizes with their sufferings and steals skyfire from the world. To this end, he endured the hardships of 3000 years of wind and sun, eagle biting and pecking, and evil spirits. But what he cares about is not himself, but human suffering. He said, "Whether the sun cracks my burnt skin or not,
No matter the snowflake on the moonlit night with crystal wings,
Tie my hair: my dear human.
And was ravaged by his misbehaving minions. "
Prometheus is an indomitable hero who dares to resist the tyrannical rule of heaven. When talking about his portrayal of this image, Shelley said: "The only figure in literary works that is somewhat similar to Prometheus is Satan (the devil in the Bible-the initiator). In my opinion, Prometheus is more poetic than Satan. Because he is not only brave and solemn, but also perseveres against omnipotent power, and he has no vanity, jealousy and resentment, and he does not want to fight for power and profit; The protagonist of Paradise Lost is selfish. .. but Prometheus will always be a perfect example of morality and wisdom, with pure motives and ambitious goals. "
Milton and Shelley both described the function of resisting heaven in their own works. But Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost is playful and selfish, and Prometheus in Shelley's works is upright and hateful. He publicly to Jupiter scold a way:
"Ah, as long as you are an emperor in the heavenly palace for one day,
One day I don't want to sleep, one day I don't bow my head. "
Prometheus remained firm and unyielding in his struggle with Jupiter and refused to bow to the tyrant. To this end, the great hero Hercules called him "the most glorious of all gods!" He embodies "wisdom, courage and tortured love". Even Jupiter finally had to admit: "He is gentle, fair and brave, and he really deserves to be the head of state in the world."
Shelley concentrated on Prometheus, reflecting the hatred of European people and bourgeois Democrats at that time. They yearn for freedom and equality and can't stand dark and cruel rule. Prometheus embodies their revolutionary will of freedom and liberation and their indomitable heroism. Shelley said: "Many of the images I created were drawn from the activities of human hearts or their external behaviors." Therefore, this image has practical significance, and it is not invented by the poet at will.
Prometheus is different from the Byronic hero. Byron's hero is a lonely individual rebel who often falls into a pessimistic and disappointed situation because of failure. The protagonists in Shelley's novels always stand with the people and fight for them. Therefore, he firmly believes in his victory and never loses heart.
In his poems, the poet broke the shackles of reformism. The poet affirmed the necessity of overthrowing feudal autocracy by violence from the plot of Jupiter being pulled down by Pluto, which reflected the new progress of Shelley's thought. The poetic drama ends with the words of hades. Hades said:
"Enduring all' hopes' feels endless pain;
Forgive all darkness and evil, such as' death' and' night';
Down with the omnipotent' authority';
Love wholeheartedly, don't be afraid of difficulties; .."
This kind of love is not an empty call, but is proved through struggle. Prometheus Liberated depicts a picture of human happiness and a beautiful picture of the future society after the tyrant was overthrown, which fully embodies Shelley's idealism and revolutionary optimism. Starting from the social reality that people exploited and oppressed people at that time, Shelley dreamed of a world of great harmony without class, ruler, country, oppression and exploitation.
"It turns out that the world has become like a paradise;
No more pride, no more jealousy, no more nothing.
Shame, no more bitterness.
Destroy the sweetness of love, which can relieve sadness, forget the sorrow. ..
Since then, human beings no longer have imperial power and freedom.
Freedom; From now on, everyone is equal,
There is no distinction between class, nationality and country.
There is no need to fear, worship, and distinguish between high and low;
Everyone is an emperor who manages himself;
Everyone is fair, gentle and smart. "
In the poet's understanding, people in this new world have noble virtues and smart wisdom, science and technology have been highly developed and prospered, and labor is no longer "sadness and pain" but "relaxation and happiness". "Kindness" has become the master of this world;
"'Love' comes from its throne of wisdom and patience.
From the moment it suffered and finally fell into a coma,
From its smoothness and instability, steepness and danger.
Jumping out of the pain of being unable to climb and being rocky,
Cover the world with comfortable wings. "
Although the world described by Shelley is utopian socialism, it reflects the wishes of the broad masses of people under the historical conditions at that time, so Engels called Shelley a "genius prophet".
At first, the poetic drama only wrote three acts. The third act has described the scene of joy and freedom on earth after the tyrant was overthrown. Later, Shelley added the fourth act, describing the joy of the whole universe and the scene of great harmony, praising the victory of Prometheus' career and the fact that "love" is the king of the country. As Mrs. Shelley said: "The whole poem is full of a silence of' love' and a sacred glory"; It makes people who are suffering from torture get comfort and hope with their wishes until the prophecy comes true. At that moment, "love"-not polluted by "evil"-became the law of the world. "
Prometheus is characterized by symbolism, lyricism and rich imagination. The whole poem symbolizes the struggle against feudal tyranny and indicates the changes in the future society. All the characters on the stage also symbolize some social forces and natural phenomena. Mother Earth stands for "human suffering", Jupiter stands for "evil" and "tyrant", Pluto stands for "justice", Harcia stands for "nature" (another word stands for "love") and Prometheus stands for "love and creation". The combination of Arcia and Prometheus symbolizes the future "rebirth" of mankind.
The poet shows the suffering and liberation struggle of all mankind in the vast universe. In Heaven and Earth, the fairy mansion on earth, sometimes at the foot of the towering Caucasus, sometimes in the sea of Wang Yang, sometimes in the starry sky in heaven, and sometimes in the dark underworld, has shaped all kinds of immortals, elves and ghosts, described magnificent scenery and introduced readers into a vast and magical world.
Poetic drama does not occupy the main position in narration, but focuses on lyrical description. Among them, the lyricism of landscape writing is particularly prominent. For example, the lyrics of Time are like this:
"Ah, time doesn't come, it's like a corpse maggot!
Outside the blue mountains, it is an orange morning.
Gradually cheerful, there is a pale star.
Still flashing; When the breeze blows away the mist,
It reflects a single gap figure.
A dark lake. It's fading, but wait.
The tide receded, and the clouds intertwined in the gap.
Put away the gold thread and silver thread, and it will appear again. "
The description of the cave where Prometheus lived is:
"There are vines everywhere, and the smell is fragrant.
Fresh leaves and flowers block the sun like curtains.
The ground is covered with green leaves and clear springs.
Jump in the middle and make a refreshing sound.
The tears of joy of the mountain god freeze like snow and silver,
Like a diamond ring, from the curved roof.
Hanging down, emitting a trance-like light. "
The protagonist's lyrical memories of the past also have distinct natural scenery. For example, Assia recalled a life with Prometheus and wrote, "We seem to be together.
Those lawns are only light gray.
In the new morning, layers of white clouds are like sheep.
Crowds of people are caught in a slow-paced breeze.
Going over the mountains to graze lazily,
The Millennium hangs quietly in
On the fresh grass just emerging from the soil. "
In lyric description, there are many vivid metaphors, such as "red-faced sunset", "wrinkled sea", "violet charming eyes", "snow-fed stream" and "boundless heavenly heart". These have brought readers into the realm of poetry and fantasy.