Nobel Prize in Literature laureate William Butler Yeats is one of the greatest poets in the 20th century. He "expressed the soul of the whole nation with his highly artistic and inspiring poems". Images of water, birds, trees, roses, masks and towers. The image of rose appears frequently in Ye Zhi's poems, among which the image of rose occupies an important position and has made important contributions to the development of Ye Zhi's poems. In Ye Zhi's poetic world, the rose is no longer a simple image, but has a multi-level symbolic meaning, giving poetry multiple meanings and fuzzy beauty. Just like the poem "Lovers tell about the roses in their hearts", the image of roses has many symbolic meanings, which can be understood as both the symbol of love and Ye Zhi's love for Ireland, that is, his ardent patriotism. The multi-layer symbolic meaning of the rose image not only reflects Ye Zhi's inheritance of the poetic tradition, but also reflects Ye Zhi's contribution to the rose image in poetry, from which we can see Ye Zhi's contribution to the development of poetry.
2. The multiple symbolic meanings of roses
In traditional literary works, the image of roses has different symbolic meanings. Before the Renaissance, roses had specific symbolic meanings, such as: in Greek and Roman mythology, roses represented love, beauty and secrets; In Christian culture, roses symbolize the martyrdom and purity of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. In medieval lyrics and legends, roses represent chaste and secular women. Renaissance literati boldly used roses to compare secular love, female beauty and lovers, and associated them with "eating, drinking and having fun" and "roses have thorns". After The Romantic Period, the rose gradually became an uncertain symbol, with rich meanings that other images did not have.
As the title of the poem "Lover Tells the Rose in My Heart" implies, this poem can be understood as a love poem dedicated to Modogan. Ye Zhi first met his beloved Modogan in 1889. During the ten years from 1889 to 1903, Ye Zhi boldly pursued Maudgang, but he was always rejected. This poem was written in 1892. In this poem, Ye Zhi expressed his heart, compared his lover to a rose in his heart, and expressed his ardent love for Modegang. In addition, the last sentence of the first and second sections of the poem echoes the title of the poem, and the words "heart" and "rose" are mentioned many times, which strengthens the poet's love.