The vibration of anxiety, screaming everywhere.
The shadow of the distant mountain can't cover the broad leaves, it floats on them.
Like a swarm of strange cicadas.
Kick the powerful wing cymbals with tireless feet,
The greedy locusts screamed the note of victory.
Ahead, the long cut marks announce a certain fate in the name of destruction.
Clover and Spiraea are all good grasses.
Sickle is like the passage of time, leaving a scar.
Continuous filariasis at noon, with deadly light,
Seal the world and beauty in a small prison,
That's a sad corral. Maybe one winter,
The spirit of June, who has been imprisoned for a long time by spells,
Will whisper this beautiful memory in the leaves of the wood.
(Lu translation)
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Mowing the Grass is a standard English sonnet with five iambic verses and a strict rhyme at the end of each verse. It shows the English romantic poetry style that has not been completely shaken off in the early stage of nationalization of Canadian poetry, and is full of Canadian unique local flavor and strong English poetry style. It is the product of Canada's unique history and the crystallization of an English-born Canadian poet's unique culture.
But we also want to say that mowing the grass is a masterpiece of early modern Canadian poetry. The greatest success of modern poetry is the appearance of free body. In order to better accept the spirit of the original poem, the translator gave up the strict sonnet style and adopted the way of free verse. Every stage of the development of Canadian poetry and its characteristics are inspired and reflected by Canada's humanistic society, political economy and geographical environment. As Britain was once the suzerain of Canada, its powerful colonial shadow had far-reaching influence not only politically but also culturally. In terms of poetry, Canadian poetry at the end of 19 and the beginning of the 20th century has not completely got rid of the romantic style of English poetry. In the poem "Cutting Grass", the poet spared no effort to describe the unique and charming scenery of Canada: vast, calm and beautiful, thriving, exuding the charming atmosphere of every virgin land. Roberts described the scene of mowing grass in the countryside of New Brunswick in a friendly style, with impressive details and accuracy.
The high temperature in hot summer is so depressing that it becomes a concrete existence. The poet used synaesthesia here, and the heat "screamed everywhere" like an animal. This feeling makes people fidget, however, it is a business card of summer and the most important symbol. Under the pressure of close range, the poet's vision drifted into the distance. On the vast Yuan Ye unique to the Canadian countryside, the heat wave escapes from the shadows and wanders around. "Like a large group of strange cicadas/kicking powerful cymbals with their tireless feet,/and greedy locusts, screaming their victory notes", the noise of cicadas and the sounds made by swarms of locusts are mixed by the heat wave, interwoven into summer rock music. On the grassland, this hot season is announcing the final victory of cicadas and locusts, because they are the real sons of this season. The intense labor of herdsmen seems to cater to the weather, and everything becomes warmer. Everyone is working, fidgeting and happy at the same time.
"In front, the long mowing marks announce a certain fate in the name of destruction/clover, spirea and all fine grasses." The poet stood on a high place and made a holistic view. The scars in the distance declared the works of labor art, but this destructive action suddenly evoked the poet's inexplicable sadness. A fact that happened in the name of destruction touched the poet, which is not only the same feeling when all poets feel hurt by things, but also the unique complex of mutual appreciation between romantic poets and nature. The sharp sickle works indifferently and easily, without any resistance, just like the time of "not giving up day and night", which flows away; The long cutting marks left behind them are not only medals of harvest, but also footsteps that can never be caught up with behind time. The river of life is slipping away. If you see the harvest time, it has become history. The poet was infected by the prosperous labor scene, so he issued Faust's last voice: "It's so beautiful, please stay!" The North American continent, full of life and wild power, is a realistic land, from which the poet's sadness comes and cannot be contained.
Myth is a road to redemption. The grass piled high was sent to the corral for storage, and the poet suddenly felt that the vicious sunshine drove them away from the roots of growth and life, and finally sealed them in a narrow space, like a corpse. The world and beauty only lasted for so long, only so much, and the lush vitality of the poet's beloved nature reached its peak and stubbornly entered failure. The "sadness" of corral is actually the poet's sadness. He vowed that in winter, in the winter of all life, the vitality of life will recall the past that is gone forever everywhere today. The author's sadness reached its peak here, and we can even think that the last sentence of the poem is a complicated curse caused by the poet's extreme love.
The modernist elements in this poem are expressed through the poet's vague questioning spirit and pessimism. But as a federal poet, what impressed readers most was the love for nature and nation-state revealed in Mowing Grass. This poem is obviously influenced by English romantic poetry style, especially Tennyson.
(Lv Xinming)