Farewell,

Author: Xu Zhimo
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-09-01
Features: "Goodbye to Cambridge" is a beautiful lyrical poem, resembling a graceful and melodious light music. In the autumn of 1928, the author visited Britain again and revisited his old place, which inspired him to compose poetry. He transformed his life experiences into threads of emotions, blending them with the beautiful scenery of Cambridge and letting his imagination soar. The poem begins with phrases like "lightly," "walk," "come," "wave," and "say goodbye to the clouds." It then employs a technique of alternating reality and imagination to depict a series of flowing scenes, creating exquisite artistic imagery. The poem meticulously expresses the author's love for Cambridge, his longing for past life, and his helplessness in the face of departure, all with sincerity, richness, and timelessness. This poem showcases the author's high artistic skill. The author combines concrete scenes with imagination to create vivid artistic images, skillfully blending atmosphere, emotion, and scenery into a harmonious artistic conception, achieving a balance where scenery contains emotion and emotion is intertwined with scenery. The structure of the poem is rigorous and well-organized, with a deliberate yet varied arrangement. The poem consists of 7 stanzas, each with 4 lines, forming two parallel steps: lines 1 and 3 are slightly shorter, while lines 2 and 4 are slightly longer, with each line containing 6 to 8 characters. The author seems to have intentionally blended the forms of regulated verse and free verse, creating a new poetic form that is both nationally rooted and modern in architectural beauty. The language of the poem is fresh and elegant, with a gentle and graceful rhythm that is harmonious and natural. It accompanies the fluctuations of emotion, like a slow, melodious free rhythm, light and flowing, touching the readers' hearts. In the 1920s, the poet Wen Yiduo advocated for the "musical beauty," "painterly beauty," and "architectural beauty" of modern poetry. "Goodbye to Cambridge" can be said to embody all three beauties, making it a masterpiece among Xu Zhimo's works.