Reflections on Her Happy Wild and Wild [Nigerian] Soyinka

Her happiness is wild and wild

She claims that she can break all waves,

If you bite this hard shell

your teeth will suffer.

her strength is wild and wild

Wild is like singing love-

it was born, but it was the last one. Give me

a happy uterus to wrap it.

This time is wild and wild

Reject that delicate time. But

when the fist is loosened and the knot is

untied, you will find it.

a lock of hair. Wild and wild

She laughed and dreamed of the ceremony in which the tribe

killed the old chief

, which was really kind.

Her words are wild and wild

Cover the future and put walnuts

between my teeth-I promised her anything

and was dismembered in her blind fantasy.

(translated by Zhao Yiheng)

Appreciation

It seems that Soyinka's works are full of intense emotions and shocking details. Even the seemingly relaxed and lively themes are often in a state of readiness, and it seems that a force will burst out at any time. Her Happiness is Wild and Wild belongs to this kind of work. Looking at the whole article, we will feel that the content of this poem does not seem to be complicated. It depicts a lively, simple, optimistic and strong young girl with wild charm in the eyes of "I". The images and allusions used are mostly local natural and cultural characteristics, and the sentence patterns are more traditional and refined, with a certain folk color, which is a work of localized style. But as long as we pay a little attention to some of the details, we will find that this poem is far from being as simple as its first impression. In fact, the work contains many shocking plot scenes, which hide the original cruel and complicated essence under the relaxed appearance.

The first sentence of the five paragraphs of the work is "... wild and wild", which seems to show a momentum and create a sense of rhythm similar to African drums. In this repetitive form, the theme spirit of the work is emphasized, and readers are guided to follow the overall mood and integrate into the artistic conception of the poem. The first paragraph is basically an overall overview of "she". "She claims to be able to break all waves" to relay the original words of "she" to make her talk to readers directly. The choice and use of images are also very vivid and vivid. "If you bite this hard shell/your teeth will suffer", it is the first time to compare "she" to some kind of nut without specifying it. It seems to imply that comparing a girl to a nut has become a common way of thinking in the local area, and this "hard shell"-like quality of "she" has long been famous. In the second paragraph, the theme of "wild" is presented by using simile "wild is like singing love", and the rare abstract metaphor seems to keep "wild" at the reader's imagination level, and then "it was born, but it was the last one. Give me/a happy uterus to wrap it around ",from the spirit to the body," the last one "and" being born "means reaching an extreme, but it also means that similar situations will not happen again, so" I "need" a happy uterus to wrap it around ". The first two paragraphs both "happiness" and "strength" belong to her own characteristics, while the third paragraph turns to another focus, that is, the "wildness" about "this hour". "This time" is located in the middle of the work, which can probably play the role of the so-called center of gravity, which may be related to the time when "she" appeared. "Rejecting that delicate time" seems indestructible on the surface, "but/when the fist is loosened, when the knot is untied, you will find it", which proves that the "delicate time" that has been "rejected" is actually hidden under the solid appearance; Perhaps the so-called "delicate time" does not necessarily focus on the short-term or depression of a certain period of time, but it may also imply that the "she" in the work also hides unknown fragility under the tough appearance. But at the same time, it also shows that "I" can't do anything even if I know her weakness, which reflects her invincible. The fourth paragraph further exaggerates the magic of "her", that is, "her smile dreams of tribes/kills old chiefs", whether "her smile" itself directly leads to the appearance of that nightmare, or it triggers other people's consciousness without her knowing, and indirectly produces some relationships. In short, this relationship itself is an ominous sign, and "dream" has important symbolic and predictive significance in African culture. "That ceremony is really kind" is even more creepy, and it seems to contain some deliberate irony. Perhaps it is "kind" compared with the "wild" of "her", which we don't know. The last paragraph seems to enter the emotional ending part. The "wild" of "words" has no effective explanation in the last three sentences, but turns to the metaphor at the beginning of the response, "Put walnuts between my teeth", and finally points out that the metaphor of "she" is "walnut", and uses the action of "biting walnuts" as a metaphor for "I" to challenge "her". "I promised her everything and was dismembered in her blind fantasy". It seems that "I" had already predicted the result of my reckless action, and knew that I had no resistance to "her", but I threw myself into it without hesitation, preferring to end it in a way similar to self-destruction. "Being dismembered" is even more bloody than "killing the chief" in the previous paragraph, and it is also an execution "in her blind fantasy". After meaningless ridicule of "her", it is a helpless feeling for "me" own situation.

(Lu Qing)