Toby Lantz
Poem : Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month
By Su Shi
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Betty_Corrigal%27s_grave_-_geograph.org.uk_-_140852.jpg
Explanation- This photo depicts a lonely grave on a mountain. I feel this represents the wifes grave, which is thousands of li away from anything else, and is falling apart, suggesting it is ten years old.
Biographical information (britannica.com)-
-Lived from 1037 to 1101,
-Was banished by another poet, Wang Anshi in 1079, but remained friendly and later they exchanged poems.
-Was a master of nearly all literary forms, including songwriting and painting
-Was optimistic in his life, and in most of his poems
-Banished by other forces in 1094, but was allowed to return to the main land shortly before his death and was restored to favour and office.
Analysis-
Paraphrasing- She died ten years ago, her grave all alone. Sometimes I have dreams about her and the place where her grave is.
Speaker- The speaker is a middle aged man, who is heartbroken about his wife's early death. You can tell because he dreams of her as she was right before she died, young and dressed in makeup. the speaker is trying to forget the pain of the past, but is yearly reminded of his wife on the day she died, the 20th day of the first month.
Figurative language- The author uses figurative language to produce imagery and help the reader see her when "She sits before a little window, and sorts her dress and make-up". Notice that she sits at a little window. This detail suggests that they lived in a small apartment, which could mean they didn't have a lot of money for medicine, which would in turn explain how she died so young. The author also said "a thousand tears now flow." This quote illustrates how much the unfortunate couple misses each other, and how truly anguished the author must be.
Form- In this poem, there is no rhyme scheme. This is likely because rhyming is associated with joy and unity, but in this poem there is much sorrow and separation.
Tone-The tone of this poem is quite somber. as I mentioned, there is no rhyme scheme, with almost dampens the tone as well as the subject of death. In addition, the author is trying to escape here dreams of his dead wife, but is continuously reminded of her every year.
Theme- The theme of this poem is: People always stay with you after they die-even when you don't want them to.
By Su Shi
source: www.chinese-poems.com
Ten boundless years now separate the living and the dead,
I have not often thought of her, but neither can I forget.
Her lonely grave is a thousand li distant, I can't say where my wife lies cold.
We could not recognize each other even if we met again,
My face is all but covered with dust, my temples glazed with frost.
In deepest night, a sudden dream returns me to my homeland,
She sits before a little window, and sorts her dress and make-up.
We look at each other without a word, a thousand tears now flow.
I must accept that every year I'll think of that heart breaking place,
Where the moon shines brightly in the night, and bare pines guard the tomb.
Ten boundless years now separate the living and the dead,
I have not often thought of her, but neither can I forget.
Her lonely grave is a thousand li distant, I can't say where my wife lies cold.
We could not recognize each other even if we met again,
My face is all but covered with dust, my temples glazed with frost.
In deepest night, a sudden dream returns me to my homeland,
She sits before a little window, and sorts her dress and make-up.
We look at each other without a word, a thousand tears now flow.
I must accept that every year I'll think of that heart breaking place,
Where the moon shines brightly in the night, and bare pines guard the tomb.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Betty_Corrigal%27s_grave_-_geograph.org.uk_-_140852.jpgExplanation- This photo depicts a lonely grave on a mountain. I feel this represents the wifes grave, which is thousands of li away from anything else, and is falling apart, suggesting it is ten years old.
Biographical information (britannica.com)-
-Lived from 1037 to 1101,
-Was banished by another poet, Wang Anshi in 1079, but remained friendly and later they exchanged poems.
-Was a master of nearly all literary forms, including songwriting and painting
-Was optimistic in his life, and in most of his poems
-Banished by other forces in 1094, but was allowed to return to the main land shortly before his death and was restored to favour and office.
Analysis-
Paraphrasing- She died ten years ago, her grave all alone. Sometimes I have dreams about her and the place where her grave is.
Speaker- The speaker is a middle aged man, who is heartbroken about his wife's early death. You can tell because he dreams of her as she was right before she died, young and dressed in makeup. the speaker is trying to forget the pain of the past, but is yearly reminded of his wife on the day she died, the 20th day of the first month.
Figurative language- The author uses figurative language to produce imagery and help the reader see her when "She sits before a little window, and sorts her dress and make-up". Notice that she sits at a little window. This detail suggests that they lived in a small apartment, which could mean they didn't have a lot of money for medicine, which would in turn explain how she died so young. The author also said "a thousand tears now flow." This quote illustrates how much the unfortunate couple misses each other, and how truly anguished the author must be.
Form- In this poem, there is no rhyme scheme. This is likely because rhyming is associated with joy and unity, but in this poem there is much sorrow and separation.
Tone-The tone of this poem is quite somber. as I mentioned, there is no rhyme scheme, with almost dampens the tone as well as the subject of death. In addition, the author is trying to escape here dreams of his dead wife, but is continuously reminded of her every year.
Theme- The theme of this poem is: People always stay with you after they die-even when you don't want them to.
I feel as though the poem is about a dream the speaker had. He dreamed that he saw his beloved wife, as if it were in person. I feel as well that, the author lost his wife in real life, but didn't look at it in a negative way. I think he saw it as his wife moving to a new life or form, beyond our world. As I mentioned earlier about the speaker having a dream about his deceased wife, possibly the author might have had a dream about his deceased wife.
ReplyDeleteI like the poem and the explanations you gave and i do think that the speaker felt his wife's death was negative. He obviously heart broken and reminded by it because of the dreams he has. I have to disagree on rhyme scheme because i don't see it but yes there is a lot of separation in this poem. I also like the explanation for the picture but i felt there could have been a more clear representation that could have been less literal. Overall this post is very well laid out and well explained. I also really like your theme and agree with it because you loose someone death wise but yet that part of them will always stay with you, that dead persons legend lives on.
ReplyDeleteI agree in every shape, angle, hypotenuse, and other measures. The speaker lost a loved one, and he sees her in his dreams. The only confusion I came across was when the speaker says, "Where the moon shines brightly in the night." I am confused by this because he is talking of his dead wife and in my mind something shining brightly is a good thing and maybe even a symbol of peace. I like your theme statement because it made me look back at the poem and I saw that he made no mention of how she died, and now I think he may have killed her.
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