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Assignment: Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection' by Ho Xuan Huong
Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection' by Ho Xuan Huong reveals profound insights into the struggles of women in ancient feudal society.
Article Contents:
1. Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection', Sample 1
2. Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection', Sample 2
3. Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection', Sample 3
1. Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection', Sample 1:
Self-reflection embodies the sorrow and solitude experienced by women who cherish life yet encounter adversity and unfinished desires.
Essay:
Within the collection of heartfelt poems by Ho Xuan Huong, 'Self-reflection' stands out as one of the finest. It depicts the profound sadness and loneliness of a life-loving individual, brimming with vitality yet facing adversity and constant disappointment in love. It portrays the unhappiness of unfulfilled dreams.
Born and raised in a turbulent period of history (late 18th to early 19th century), Ho Xuan Huong witnessed and was somewhat influenced by the tumultuous atmosphere of the movement advocating for human rights and happiness. This atmosphere impacted her intelligent and deeply introspective soul. She was dignified, awakened, and deeply troubled by her own life, a life filled with adversity and misfortune: marrying twice, both husbands passing away prematurely. For her, these were tangible, tearful manifestations of the 'misfortune of beauty and fate'. The beginning of the poem 'Self-reflection' evokes a period, a space resonating with the sound of a rooster.
This is an artistic space, a period employed as a backdrop for the author's emotional disclosure: 'The late scene echoes with the drum of night'. 'Echoes' here symbolizes both the mood and atmosphere, the lonely, silent atmosphere of a person awake in the quiet late night. The second sentence conveys poignant sentiments.
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2. Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection', Sample 2:
The collection of self-reflective poems portrays the vivid depiction of the fate and circumstances of women in ancient society.
Essay:
The humble fate of women in feudal society has been a common theme in folk literature and modern literature alike. Love and family happiness have always been major concerns in literature throughout history, contributing to the expression of humanistic values in literature. The collection of self-reflective poems is one of the representative works depicting women in Vietnamese literature - Ho Xuan Huong.
The lonely woman in the silent night listens to the drum's warning as time passes by. The late night is the period from midnight until morning. She feels the drum's warning heralding an anxious anticipation for something. But the more she hopes, the less she sees. The persistent beat of the drum is a sign of her emotional state. It reflects the restless anticipation, the whisper of doubt, full of anxiety and despair of a woman.
Ho Xuan Huong portrays the despondent mood of a lonely wife awaiting her husband, who never arrives, with a single word - deserted, deserted beauty, the fate of a woman with her country, her life, and her love.
The next two lines express the despair of a wife waiting for her husband, as depicted by Ho Xuan Huong.
The hidden meaning behind the lines only reveals actions and states. The wine cup symbolizes drinking to forget life's sorrows, yet despite getting drunk, one wakes up sober, indicating that drinking does not alleviate the sorrow! The waning moon in the fourth line signifies that the night is almost over, but the moon is not yet full, reflecting the incomplete happiness. The waning moon may also imply the aging process where happiness is not yet fulfilled.
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3. Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection', Sample 3:
Self-reflection also reflects the poignant confessions of the poetess Ho Xuan Huong about her unfortunate fate and unfinished love.
Essay:
Ho Xuan Huong was a talented female poet in our country in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In addition to the collection 'Fragrance of the Pass', she left behind about 50 Nôm poems, most of which are multi-meaning poems, combining both refined and vulgar meanings. Some of her romantic poems are deeply moving, sincere, and melancholic, reflecting the profound plight of women in the old society, with their desires for life and romantic happiness. The collection 'Self-reflection' reflects the sentiments of Ho Xuan Huong, portraying the emotions of a woman who missed her prime, suffered a tragic fate, ... This poem is the second in the 'Self-reflection' series of three poems.
Poet Xuan Dieu in the poem 'Ho Xuan Huong, the Queen of Nôm Poetry' wrote: 'These three romantic poems, along with Princess Ngoc Han's poem 'Weeping for King Quang Trung', form a separate cluster, expressing the true feelings of women speaking about their own emotions in classical Vietnamese literature...' He further commented on the poetic style, tone: '...in this trio of emotional poems, alongside the poem with an 'eh' sound and the poem with an 'om' sound full of resentment, this poem with an 'on' sound anticipates, yearns...'
'In the late night echoes the drum of impending dawn,
Deserted beauty with land and water.
The wine cup offers solace but sobriety returns,
The waning moon, incomplete, not yet full.
Horizontally skewered, the earth with mossy clusters,
Piercing through clouds, stones here and there.
Weary of springs come and gone,
A fragment of love shared, bit by bit!'
In two of the three poems, the poetess speaks of the late night, the midnight hour. In 'Self-reflection', she writes 'The distant cock's crow echoes across the countryside - Resentment gazes across every cluster'. Similarly in this poem, she wakes up at midnight, or stays awake throughout the night, in a state of disarray and worry. The echoing sound of the drum from a distant guard post seems to urge time to pass quickly, the age of a woman passing swiftly: 'In the late night echoes the drum of impending dawn'.
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4. Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection', Sample 4:
Through the poem 'Self-Reflection', poet Hồ Xuân Hương reveals complex emotions, including loneliness and sorrow over unfinished love, the tragic fate of oneself and countless other women in ancient society.
Essay:
Female poet Hồ Xuân Hương is one of the shining names in Vietnamese poetry. Among the many works she left behind, depicting romantic scenes is her predominant style. Hồ Xuân Hương's poems mostly speak of the beauty of virtue, sacrifice, and the fragile fate of women in the harsh feudal society. Among them, 'Self-Reflection' is also one of the representative works of this dominant style. The poem not only reflects the emotions of women in general but also portrays the various emotions of the author herself.
The first two lines of the poem depict a scene, but also describe the image of a lonely woman amidst the quiet night.
'In the late night echoes the drum of impending dawn
Deserted beauty with land and water'
The author employs the term 'echoes' to describe a sound that is both clear and blurry, directionless yet increasingly distinct. The time setting of the poem is 'late night' - a time when people easily fall into the most indescribable emotional states. Amidst that 'late night', there is a woman still awake, pondering her life amidst the echoing drum sounds near and far.
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5. Analysis of the poem 'Self-Reflection', Sample 5:
The sorrow and pity of the woman in the poem 'Self-Reflection' spread widely, enveloping the entire space, making the poem heavy with the hidden sorrows of a woman yearning for love but encountering tragic circumstances.
Essay:
Beginning the poem, the two lines evoke a vast, misty space from the boat bombs in the river to every hamlet and village. The woman stays awake through the long nights. The echoing crow of the rooster on the distant boat bombs is brought forth. The long night shifts, the obscure silence only hears the rooster's echoing crow. Using the sound (rooster crow) to describe the stillness of the silent long night in the countryside has helped highlight the woman's 'resentment' amidst the long nights. She sits up, listening attentively to the rooster crowing in the distance, then 'looks out' into the dark, misty night. The night envelops the woman in loneliness and resentment:
'Rooster's crow echoes over the bomb boat,
Resentment looks far across every hamlet.'
In the third and fourth lines of the actual section, the author creates two images of 'grim mortar' and 'melancholic bell' contrasting each other, echoing each other, vividly describing the pain, sorrow of one's own living in the unfortunate situation, hindrance in love, haunting verses. Negation to affirm the sound of 'thud' of 'grim mortar,' the sound of 'moan' of 'melancholic bell.' The poetess has been experiencing and enduring long nights of insomnia and loneliness, grieving for her own pain, lonely like the 'grim mortar,' no one hits 'and also thuds,' grieving for her own sorrow alone like the 'melancholic bell,' not ringing 'why moan.' Resentment, sadness, and grief penetrate deep into the heart, numb and painful, spreading wide in the space 'across every hamlet,' prolonging over the time of long nights.
https://Mytour.vn/phan-tich-bai-tho-tu-tinh-cua-ho-xuan-huong-25394n.aspx
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