Sappho [ancient Greece]
He is as happy as God,
He can stare at you with a pair of eyes,
He can sit down and listen to you,
Like music.
My heart will beat when I hear your laughter.
Beating in my heart like terror;
As long as I look at you, I will lose it at once.
The ability to speak;
The tongue becomes invalid; Painful passion
It burned all over my body like a flame;
My eyes are black; Thunder in the ear;
My mind is full of prosperity.
I'm sweating all over; Tremble in waves
Through my limbs; My face
Whiter than the grass in winter; I only see it in my eyes.
Death and madness.
(Translated by Zhou Yuliang)
The content of this love poem is rather strange, which is best understood by referring to the poet's life experience, especially his love experience. First of all, it is said that Sappho was exiled to Sicily because he disagreed with the ruler of Midrena. Five years later, he ended his exile and returned to Midulena. At this time, while writing poetry, she took some girls who love literature and art as apprentices and taught them music, dance and poetry. The poet loves these female disciples very much, regards them as girlfriends and maintains friendship. Secondly, it is said that Sappho had several love experiences, but many of them were unsuccessful, leaving a scar in his deep feelings. This poem consists of four sections, which can be divided into two parts from the ideological content.
The opening is the first part. Poets may be invited to a wedding reception or a friend's party. If it is a wedding reception, the poem "He" is probably the groom's official, while "You" is the bride. If it is a gathering of friends, "he" and "you" in the poem may be a pair of close lovers. The relationship between the poet and the two men and women in the poem is very subtle. It is said that "he" is a handsome man abandoned by the poet after he fell in love, and "she" may be the poet's girlfriend, including the poet's female disciple. On this special occasion, the poet looked at the couple carefully: "He" is charming. "Happy as a god", "You" are gentle and sincere, and "Talking like music" are undoubtedly a happy couple. The poet was infected by this wonderful love, both happy and envious. But at the same time, a strange feeling sprouted from the bottom of my heart, lurking for a while, vague and unclear.
The second, third and fourth sections are the second part of this poem. The poet's strange feelings, from latent to exposed, from vague to vivid: hearing his girlfriend's laughter, "his heart will jump", "it's like terror disturbing his heart", and looking at his girlfriend, "he immediately lost his ability to speak". This feeling finally dominated himself, and the whole body and mind were shaken by it and fell into severe pain: "The tongue became invalid; Eating people/burning my whole body like a flame; /My eyes are black; Thunder in the ear; /Great mind. " Finally, this strange feeling, like an invisible force, destroyed the poet, who cried out in pain and despair: "I am sweating all over;" Shaking/passing through my limbs; My face is whiter than the grass in winter; I only see death and madness in my eyes. "
This strange feeling expressed in the poem is a very complicated and subtle feeling. It is human nature for a poet to be happy and show some envy when he sees that his girlfriend (or female disciple) has got a happy love. But the poet is also a woman who longs for love, or can never get happy love. In this case, she can't help but arouse her desire for love, and even secretly have a little jealousy, which is possible and not surprising. This complex and subtle emotional activity of the poet not only contains the affirmation of friendship, but also shows the desire and pursuit of love, which is something useful that we have absorbed from this poem.
This love poem not only has the same characteristics as the author's similar poems, but also has rich artistic expression. In the first part (the first section), the poet, as a third party, describes the dynamic appearance and volume of a pair of lovers. In male huan, they like women and are congenial to each other, which fully shows the charm of young men and women and the magic of love and happiness, thus laying the foundation for the emotional expression in the second part. In the second part (the second, third and fourth sections), two lovers take a back seat and the male is hidden. The poet jumped to the center, and she expressed the development and change of her feelings. The girlfriend of one of the original protagonists is just the medium that causes the poet's emotional changes. The expression of the poet's feelings goes from shallow to deep, from weak to strong, like a river passing through the gates that are gradually released, and gradually speeds up the flow until it flows for thousands of miles. Emotional capacity is increasing, and emotional intensity is also increasing.
Objective description or subjective lyricism, the use of the two artistic techniques, which comes first, which is more important or less, depends on the content. The theme of the whole poem is to express the feelings, experiences, hopes and pursuits of friendship and love, so the former artistic method is supplemented and the latter artistic method is given priority to. This arrangement is not only varied, but also natural, reasonable and appropriate.