Analysis of Tản Đà's poem 'Oath of Land and Water'

Prompt: Analyze Tản Đà's poem 'Oath of Land and Water'

Sample essay: Analysis of Tản Đà's poem 'Oath of Land and Water'

Sample: Analysis of Tản Đà's poem 'Oath of Land and Water'

If someone were to ask who the most exceptional figure in Vietnamese literature is, we could immediately say it's Tản Đà Nguyễn Khắc Hiếu. He stands out for his versatile language style, remarkably skilled in using language. Additionally, he's regarded as the 'bridge between two literary eras.' Throughout his lifetime, his extensive works, including 'Blocks of Love I, II,' 'Chinese Women,' 'To Eight,'... but perhaps the most iconic among them is the poem 'Oath of Land and Water.' In this poem, Tản Đà encapsulates numerous hidden sentiments through profoundly intimate poetic imagery.

The poem 'Oath of Land and Water' was written during a gathering where Anh Tử and a group of friends sat drinking, conversing, and connecting verses about a landscape painting with the three Nôm characters 'Oath of Land and Water.' The painting depicted only a mountain range without 'water,' yet beneath the mountains lay a thousand green pine trees. Through this anecdote, Tản Đà found inspiration to compose 'Oath of Land and Water,' praising the steadfast love between a couple and concealing deep patriotism within the verses.

Reading the opening lines of the poem, one feels drawn into an immensely melancholic scene, filled with sorrow, as the verses evoke a sense of parting ways:

'Land and water heavy with an oath
Water departs forever, not returning to the land
Remembering the oath of land and water
Water gone, does the land remain?'

Present here is an image of a parting imbued with deep sorrow. The separation of water and land after pledging 'an oath.' Yet, 'water departs forever, not returning to the land.' The stanza seems to express an endless sorrow of the parted couple. In ancient times, promises between lovers were often likened to 'oaths between land and sea,' but here, Tản Đà goes further, personifying the land and water to symbolize the loving couple. While ancient depictions saw land and sea as separate entities, in Tản Đà's poetry, 'sea' is replaced with 'water.' No longer are they distant, separate images used for comparison; rather, 'water' and 'land' in Tản Đà's poetry are closely intertwined, becoming a united pair. In the vow 'oath between land and sea,' 'land' and 'sea' were merely objects for comparison, expressions for humans, but in Tản Đà's poetry, 'land' and 'water' are the sworn objects together.

'Land and water heavy with an oath
Water departs forever, not returning to the land'

Land and water have solemnized their bond, exchanging deep promises, yet 'water' alone departs, seemingly not returning to the 'land.' The line poses a heavy-hearted question. Reading the verse, one can't help but imagine the scenes of chivalrous men, devoted women, lovers parting ways. When the chivalrous men, lovers ('water') depart, only the devoted women, wives ('land') remain, waiting and longing, filled with countless memories and expectations for their husbands' return. Water and land seem inseparable, nothing can divide them, yet here, water and land are separated. If in the first stanza, when water and land exchanged vows together, they were placed side by side. In the following stanzas, water and land stand apart, sometimes at the beginning and the end, sometimes separated by a single word, creating a vast distance in the separation of water and land. Just like that, we perceive the artistry in Tản Đà's language usage.

By borrowing the immensely familiar images of 'land' and 'water,' Tản Đà subtly hints at the human condition, specifically the plight of lovers when separated. They once exchanged vows, pledging 'an oath between land and sea,' but now, as their partners depart, will they return, and will the wives, the devoted women, remain at the promised place, awaiting their return?

No longer standing side by side, 'land' and 'water' have now parted ways, becoming two separate worlds. Emerging from the imagery of their parting, in the subsequent verses, 'land' and 'water' become clearer, more specific:

'Land stands tall, waiting and watching
Dried streams shed tears, longing for days to come
Bones thin under harsh sun
Hair of clouds, a rooftop now draped in dew
Western skies cast shadows of dusk
Revealing the beauty of gold and jade'

Now, no longer a shared, elusive image, what emerges here is the image of a girl with picturesque yet melancholic elements such as 'thin bones,' 'cloud-like hair,' 'beauty of gold,' and 'jade-like features.' The girl is portrayed through the allegorical 'land,' with a beauty so perfect yet deeply sorrowful. Reading these verses, one feels the profound sadness of separation permeating every word. Tản Đà employs picturesque imagery to describe the girl and utilizes the same artistry to depict her loneliness and sorrow. If Nguyễn Du depicted Thúy Kiều's emotions with:

Sadness fills the evening's door I gaze
Whose distant boat and sails doth amaze
Sadness reigns as new waters wade
Flowers adrift, lost, where shall they fade

Here, Tản Đà evokes a sorrow, a solitary longing as poignant as Nguyễn Du's verses of Kiều. Yet, juxtaposed with these exquisite, picturesque images is a sorrow, a tragedy within the maiden's love. In Tản Đà's poem, the maiden 'waits and watches' for her beloved, her husband, to return. In her sorrow and solitude, she has cried countless days until 'streams dry, tears no longer flow' and 'bones thin under harsh sun.' Her once 'cloud-like' hair, with time, now turns 'white with dew.' Her beloved's absence spans countless months and years, and she has awaited beneath 'western skies cast shadows of dusk,' yet her beloved has not returned. The once vivid, charming features have now faded with time. Tản Đà employs vivid imagery to describe the girl's beauty while authentically portraying her enduring longing over the passing years. With just one word, 'dry,' in 'dried streams shed tears, longing for days to come,' readers can sense the maiden's profound, hopeless longing, accompanied by tears.

With just a few embellished verses, Tản Đà paints a picture of longing with only land, sans water. This landscape, vivid and yearning, unfolds before the reader, brimming with anticipation and longing. However, it is all the more heartbreaking when 'Land still remembers water, while water forgets land.' The maiden (land) remains steadfast in her solemn vow, yet her beloved (water) has forsaken her. Despite this, the maiden still hopes:

'Though rivers dry and rocks erode
Let land and water uphold the oath of old'.

Using a proverbial expression of an impossible assumption 'rivers dry and rocks erode,' Tản Đà wishes to replace the words of the maiden, saying that as long as there are two people, the old oath will always remain, never fading. Here, the author also employs a pair of words indicating equality 'even...still...' to affirm that no matter what happens, the faithful vow remains intact. The word 'still' is repeated three times in a row, as if to emphasize the enduring, faithful, and beautiful love of the maiden.

The maiden stays, awaiting the return of her beloved. And he has promised the day of reunion:

'Does land still remember, or not yet?
Water returns to the source after reaching the sea
Land and water reunite as always
Telling land not to be sad'

The maiden's beloved has pledged to his lover that he will return 'after reaching the sea' to reciprocate the faithful heart of the maiden. Tản Đà was very deliberate in arranging the pair of words 'land - water' placed consecutively in different positions but increasingly closer. Initially, as we see in the first line, land - water are placed at the beginning and end of the sentence, but now, the difference between land and water is only in the line above and below, and finally, they join together 'land and water reunite.' Each verse resounds with optimism, bright hope for the day of reunion. In this verse, Tản Đà also cleverly uses the natural laws of the earth and sky to signify the return of the young man. The cyclical law of the heavens and earth inspires in us optimism and joy that, no matter where water goes, no matter what it does, ultimately water will return to land. Like a young man joyfully returning to his homeland with his beloved after achieving fame, success. In conclusion, the young man's declaration, though he may go far, he will return to her, with a 'promise of union.'

Not only does Tản Đà express the love between couples, but also the third layer of meaning he wants to convey here is the love for the homeland, the motherland. Writing this poem during a period when the country was falling into despair under the rule of the French colonizers, the poem initially reveals sadness and sorrow as the nation is under occupation. However, as we read to the end, we find a tone of gentle poetry, full of affection, with a cheerful melody. Perhaps, here Tản Đà is brimming with hope for a different, better, and brighter future.

'Even if that water continues to go
A thousand green strawberries, the land will rejoice
A thousand years of union
Land and water, never-ending vows'

The green strawberries here no longer carry the color of mourning, sadness anymore but symbolize a fortunate, auspicious beginning. Reading the poem, one can feel the joy of the maiden, the faithful wife welcoming her husband back home. The entire verse resounds with crisp, joyful tones. Perhaps here is also the belief, the hope of Tản Đà in the bright future of the homeland with thousands of years of history 'a thousand years of union.'

Throughout the poem 'Oath of Land and Water,' Tản Đà uses the technique of 'division - fusion' extremely skillfully. The use of language is exceptionally special, evocative and profound. 'Waiting and watching' is written as 'awaiting together and watching,' making the reader feel even more melancholic, spreading deeper, as if the wait is also much longer than usual, ... The folk poetry form of lục bát is embedded within the lines, saturated with deep emotions. Along with that are familiar metaphorical images that make the reader feel extremely close and affectionate. In summary, 'Oath of Land and Water' here is not just an ordinary landscape poem but contains within it the love of couples and one cannot fail to recognize Tản Đà's deep love for the homeland. Placed alongside other poems by Tản Đà such as 'Nightjar in the Cage,' 'Map of Torn Earth,' ... one can see the deeply hidden patriotism that the poet conveys through every word. Furthermore, upon closer inspection, we notice that in 'Oath of Land and Water,' the words 'land - water' are repeated with an extremely high frequency as an affirmation of his love for the homeland.

Tản Đà's poem 'Oath of Land and Water' is a piece of poetry with a distinctive romantic tone blending with deep affection. The poem is the longing of a young woman waiting for her distant lover to return. Alongside the folk poetry form of lục bát, embedded within the poem is the author's hidden patriotism through skillful verses, metaphorical images, and the use of poetic devices. The belief in love, the joy for the future of the country that the author wants to convey echoes endlessly in our hearts:

'A thousand years of union
Land and water, never-ending vows.'

Explore more sample essays analyzing poems

- Analysis of the poem Leisure
- Analysis of the poem Autumn Moon
- Analysis of the poem Since Then