Indeed, I live in the dark ages!

It is foolish to tell the truth. A smooth forehead

It means insensitive. Laughing person

I just haven't received it yet

Terrible news.

What era was that?

Talking about trees is almost a crime,

Because doing so includes keeping silent about so many crimes!

A leisurely stroll in the street.

Maybe his friends who are trapped in poverty

Never go near him again?

Really: I can still make a living.

But please believe me: it was just an accident. What I did,

None of them are qualified to feed me.

I survived by luck, ie if my fate is bad, I will be finished.

People said to me: eat, drink and drink! If there is, be happy!

But how can I eat and drink if

I grabbed something to eat from the hungry people.

The thirsty man lacks my glass of water?

But I still ate and drank.

I also want to be smart.

Ancient books recorded how to be smart:

Away from worldly struggles, fearless.

Spend a short life,

You don't have to use violence to deal with it,

Good for good,

Don't satisfy evil desires, forget it.

Very clever.

I can't do all this:

Indeed, I live in the dark ages!

2

In an era of hunger and chaos,

I have been to different cities.

I mingled with the crowd during the riot,

I fought with them.

That's how I spent it.

Give me time in the world.

I ate during the battle,

I lay down to sleep in the killer,

I can't take care of love,

I can't observe nature patiently.

That's how I spent it.

Give me time in the world.

In my time, roads lead to mud pits.

If I say anything, I will sell myself to the butcher.

I can do very little. But the ruler

I can rest easy without me. I hope so.

That's how I spent it.

Give me time in the world.

Weak intensity, target

Far, far away,

Obviously, although for me,

It's hard to reach.

That's how I spent it.

Give me time in the world.

three

You, sinking from us.

You emerged from the flood,

when you

When it comes to our weaknesses,

Please remember what you escaped.

That dark time.

We can travel to more countries than changing shoes.

Take part in class struggle and look at that time.

Only grievances without resistance, but also lost confidence.

However, we also know that:

Hatred of meanness can also

Let people disguise.

Anger at injustice can also

It makes people hoarse. Alas, we,

We want to prepare the soil for friendship,

But they can't get along well.

But you, if you get to that time,

People can help each other,

Please forgive me a lot

Think about us.

(translated by Qian Chunkun)

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Although Brecht is famous for his drama creation and drama theory, his poetry creation is also an important part of his whole literary career. Holtzky, a famous German political satirist, called Brecht "a great lyric genius" and "the greatest lyric poet in contemporary Germany". This shows his important influence and position in German poetry. Written in 1938, "For the Younger Generation" is one of Brecht's most famous poems. Once this poem was published, it aroused strong repercussions in the society.

"Indeed, I live in the dark ages!" At the beginning of the poem, the poet directly tells the darkness of the whole society. 1933 Hitler came to power and the fascist dictatorship began to be established in Germany. The whole German society is getting into a kind of confusion and panic, and the society is becoming more and more absurd. As the poet described it, "It is foolish to tell the truth. A smooth forehead/indicates insensitivity. People who laugh/just don't receive/terrible news. " In that abnormal era, everything seemed irrational and crazy. Faced with such a situation, the poet can't help asking: "What era was that? At that time/talking about trees was almost a crime. " This is a poem that was widely circulated in Germany at that time. With vivid language, the poet accurately and profoundly revealed the absurdity of the existence of the whole society and the real situation faced by people. Brecht did not forget to tell his own experience while describing the real situation.

1933 At the end of February, the morning after the Nazi concocted the "parliamentary arson case", Brecht moved to Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, and began his exile for 15 years. As can be seen from the poem, when describing his exile life, the poet reveals a little remorse, and at the same time, it also has a little self-excuse. Because as a writer with a sense of social responsibility, it is a criticized behavior to choose to leave at an extraordinary moment. But in this respect, Brecht still maintained a clear understanding. Although in exile, I can live a relatively stable life. "Really, I can still make a living. But believe me, it was just an accident. Nothing I have done qualifies me for a full stomach. " The poet didn't enjoy a comfortable life because he was far away from Germany. Is running away a wise choice? I want to be smart, but my inner conscience and sense of responsibility tell me never to do that. "I can't do all this:/Indeed, I live in the dark ages!" The suffering that people are suffering in the dark society cannot be ignored, nor can the justice and morality that are being destroyed.

In this part, the poet focuses on the darkness of the whole society, the choice of self-life and the struggle of the soul that comes with it. The second part of the poem follows the first part. Faced with such a dark age, the poet showed us how "we" should spend our time in this world. This can be seen as thinking after his soul struggled. The whole society is in a state of chaos, and there are hungry, rioting, dead and angry people everywhere. "I" rose with them and joined the people's struggle. Although I can do very little, my strength is very weak, and my goal seems far away, which is difficult for me to achieve. However, as long as we bravely invest in it, it will be beneficial to this resistance. Because "without me, the ruler can sit back and relax." The poet told those young people with his own personal experience that we should bravely devote ourselves to social struggle and spend our earthly time. This is the real life choice, in order to truly realize their own value.

In the last part of the poem, after the poet has finished his reflection on society and himself, he gives his hope to the latecomers. Here, we can still feel that Brecht has a hint of making excuses for himself and defending his choice of exile. Generally speaking, people will be critical of those exiled writers, saying that they are far from the battlefield and choose to escape. The poet said here that when "you" are talking about these weaknesses of "us", "you" should also think about the dark age that "you" escaped. The implication is that "you" should also consider the real situation facing "us". In view of this, maybe you will have such a choice. In addition, the poet also said that "we" have traveled through as many countries as shoes, and spoke highly of the hardships they encountered in exile. At the same time, it also shows that "we", the exiled writers, have not given up their resistance and lost confidence because of injustice. Therefore, people who have experienced various dark realities should believe that "people can help each other."

Looking at this poem, it is not difficult to find a contradiction hidden in Brecht's heart, his bitterness about his exile abroad. But this is only one aspect of the poem. The most important thing is to tell those young people how to choose their own way of life under specific historical conditions, how to stand with the whole nation and dedicate their life energy. This may be the theme and significance of this poem. When history forcibly enters our field of vision, how to choose our own life path is particularly important. Therefore, from this perspective, it is not difficult for us to understand the sincere hope expressed by Brecht in his poems.

Brecht has a set of creative views on poetry. He believes that poetry should no longer be the object of emotion, but should be a tool to inspire people to think. Therefore, most of his poems have replaced full theme lyricism with simple and calm narration. He particularly emphasized the "use value" of poetry (a concept he learned from Marx). He believes that after a poem is written, both poets and readers can get some enlightenment from "the aphorisms and direct hints contained in it". When talking about Brecht's poems, Benjamin once pointed out: "Purifying the hymns of believers, prevaricating the folk songs of the masses, accompanying soldiers to the battlefield of the motherland, and praising the cheapest comfort love songs-all of these have gained new content here." This evaluation is very to the point of the poet.

In addition, Brecht explicitly opposed a kind of "sublime" writing in his poetry creation. He thinks that this way of writing can easily cover up a lot of things and make people unable to see clearly what it wants to express. Moreover, this kind of "sublime" writing is easy to whitewash the peaceful ending. Therefore, most of his poems pursue concise narrative style, and the language is close to spoken language and easy to understand. At the same time, because his creation is mainly drama, there are many dramatic factors in his poems. For example, in this poem, he introduced dramatic factors into the poem, and revealed his psychological characteristics in a way similar to a dramatic monologue, which received good artistic effects. No wonder Vilander Herczfeld, a German critic, commented on Brecht's poems: "He is a dramatist, and even many of his poems should be understood as the lines of the characters in the play."

(Li Chao)