Analysis of the poem 'Vinh Khoa Exam Fragrance'

Topic: Analysis of the poem 'Vinh Khoa Exam Fragrance'

Analysis of the poem 'Vinh Khoa Exam Fragrance'
 

I. Detailed Outline for Analyzing the Poem 'Vinh Khoa Exam Fragrance' (Standard)

- Introduction to the poem
+ One of thirteen poems under the theme of 'exams'
+ Utilizes the imagery of exams to depict the country's situation, expressing personal sentiments.

2. Body of the Poem

- Poem's content: Depicts a scene from the final Hương exam during the Nguyen dynasty, filled with extravagance, chaos, and under the surveillance of the French colonialists.
- First two lines: Introduction to the exam venue
+ Starts with common features seen in traditional exams. The state opens the exam gates every three years
+ Unusual aspect: The Nam exam site combined with the Hà exam site

>> See detailed outline for analyzing the poem 'Vinh Khoa Exam Fragrance' here

II. Sample Essay Analyzing the Poem 'Vinh Khoa Exam Fragrance' (Standard)

Tú Xương, a renowned poet known for his satirical and humorous poems on the Vietnamese poetry forum. Throughout his extensive career, he crafted thirteen poems that blend verse and prose, all centered around the theme of 'exams,' expressing disdain and mockery towards the contemporary exam system. 'Vinh Khoa Exam Fragrance' is one of these thirteen poems. Through this piece, Tú Xương aims to depict the chaotic and oppressive reality of a semi-feudal, semi-colonial society during an important Hương exam, simultaneously expressing his personal sentiments about the country's situation.

'The state opens an exam every three years
The Nam exam intertwines with the Hà exam
Students drag their burdened shoulders
Muddy fields echo with loud cheers
The official's hat pierces the sky
The flowing gown sweeps the muddy ground
Talents from the North, who among them
Turns their head to gaze at the homeland's scenery'.

'Vinh Khoa Exam Fragrance' paints a vivid and authentic picture of Vietnam's exam system in the late Nguyen dynasty, under the watchful eyes of the French colonialists. It portrays a grand exam event organized with extravagance and chaos.

In the poem's introduction, Tú Xương cleverly introduces the imagery of an Hương exam with similarities and differences from the past. Firstly, the Hương exam is opened by the 'state' every three years as usual.

'The state opens an exam every three years'

This is a norm in the historical exam system of our country. However, it's the second characteristic that astonishes people.

'The Nam exam intertwines with the Hà exam'

Originally two distinct places, two different exam sites, yet this year, candidates from both places sit mixed together. The reason is that when the French colonialists occupied Hanoi, the exam site in Hanoi was abolished, and the 'state' directed candidates from Hanoi to take exams in Nam Định. This is an unusual point introduced this year. Moreover, Tú Xương uses the word 'intertwine' here to depict the chaotic and oppressive scene of the exam site, contrasting with the seriousness required in an important Hương exam of the dynasty.

The opening lines have effectively played their role in introducing and setting the scene, leading to the following two lines where readers witness and verify the chaos mentioned earlier:

Students drag their burdened shoulders
Muddy fields echo with loud cheers

A scene truly chaotic and disorderly. Students going to the exam and examiners watching are all in a frenzy, lacking the decorum of an important Hương exam of the dynasty. The two main characters in the exam are exposed, vividly depicting their personalities. Simultaneously, it reveals the different demeanor and standards of this year's exam site compared to the past. 'Students' who should appear modest and dignified are seen here in disarray, with so much disorder and numerous flasks and bottles—quite uncouth. Tú Xương intentionally places 'drag their burdened shoulders' at the beginning to emphasize the untidiness of the examinees in this fragrance exam season. The image of the 'bottle,' usually thought to contain ink or the students' drinks, is now 'worn' on their shoulders. It seems sarcastic. This image suggests the twisted, broken, and skewed nature of these individuals, who will become the future pillars of the country. Furthermore, he wants to emphasize that these 'shoulder-bottle wearers' are scholars, individuals with knowledge in society who cannot maintain the dignified bearing expected of scholars.

Moreover, Tú Xương cleverly emphasizes the image of the 'officials'—the examiners at the exam site. He aptly finds a fitting term for them: 'echo with loud cheers.'

'Echo with loud cheers'

While the students are 'dragging their burdened shoulders,' disorderly, the officials at the exam site are 'echoing with loud cheers,' demonstrating extravagance to the extreme. Truly a creatively fitting term worthy of Tú Xương's name. The sound 'echo with loud cheers' represents muffled and unclear voices, accentuated by the ostentatious behavior of the examiners. It also describes their arrogance, posturing, and demeanor. Tú Xương played the role of a photographer to capture the most authentic images at the exam site that year. In ancient fragrance exams with a large number of candidates held in open fields, a loudspeaker was necessary to announce names clearly. However, the solemnity of the name calling during the fragrance exam was overshadowed, dimmed by the arrogance of those officials who lacked any real authority. Therefore, in that fragrance exam, not only did the examinees lose the dignity of a Confucian scholar, but the officials also lost the respect and solemnity of a grand national exam.

The juxtaposed lines highlight the scene of the exam site. Yet within it, one sees not only the silhouette of the exam site with the fragrance exam but also the chaotic panorama of the country falling into the half-colonial, half-feudal condition. The Nguyen dynasty resembles nothing more than a folding screen, a puppet controlled by the French government.

In these verses, we also witness the author's extreme sarcasm towards the Nguyen dynasty's weakness. Simultaneously, in the following lines, he reveals a scorn and disdain towards the colonial government:

'The official's hat pierces the sky
The flowing gown sweeps the muddy ground'

Remaining faithful to the realistic portrayal, Tú Xương continues to paint the picture of the exam site when it is visited by the French Governor-General and his wife. It is not by chance that Tú Xương places this image in the two key verses of the poem. This imagery of a 'Western gentleman' with a 'madam's gown' accurately reflects the situation of our country at that time. It is a society where the people are enslaved, the dynasty is a folding screen, and real power is in the hands of the French. A country invader being welcomed to an important exam site, greeted with 'umbrellas' and 'flags,' is indeed a show of pomp and sarcastic respect.

Moreover, the Western official in a gown is described as sitting in the highest position at the exam site. What is Tú Xương implying? Is it the scene of the country losing its home, unfolding right before our eyes?

However, one must be perceptive to realize that Tú Xương has wielded Tang Dynasty poetry as a sharp weapon to cleverly mock and express his disdain towards those invaders.

Using the art of symmetrical poetry, Tú Xương places the 'gown' of the madam and the 'umbrella' of the Western official on an equal plane, juxtaposing these two images. It becomes a mockery filled with satire, as if the verse is 'directly scolding' the face of that Western envoy. Not only that, the author uses the term 'official' to refer to the Western official but employs the term 'madam' when speaking of his wife. Is this not a contempt, a 'mind game' that Tú Xương plays on that French Governor? Because everyone knows, using 'madam' to refer to women diminishes their status, calling the wife of an 'official' 'madam' is no different than saying he's just a 'guy,' isn't it? Truly, Tú Xương's curse is deeply cutting and profound!

This reveals that Tú Xương's poetry not only depicts the cold, cruel reality but also incorporates a bitter, sweet laughter within. It exposes the heart of a patriotic intellectual, pained by the country losing its home, resorting to the weapon of words due to the frailty of physical strength.

Yet, in the end, that laughter cannot conceal the profound sorrow in his heart. It bursts out into words:

'Talents of the Northern land, someone out there
Turn your head and gaze at the homeland'.

'Bắc Land' originally refers to Hanoi, the convergence of a millennium-old capital, the place where emperors reign, and talents from all over the country gather. The verse is like a mournful cry from Tú Xương as his eyes witness the country slipping into the hands of the enemy. Is he speaking to himself or calling out to those who still care about the humiliation of losing the country, who still take pride in the four-thousand-year history of this nation? Reading the verse, one feels the author's sorrow and pain for the nation's situation. 'Talents' here represent whom? It's just a vague term, those who once dreamed of crossing this threshold, or those who have set foot here, look at the 'homeland scene'?

Here, Tú Xương does not vehemently express the idea of calling everyone to quell the chaos as in Nguyễn Đình Chiểu's poetry:

'Oh those who clean up the chaos, where are you now?
Would you let the people suffer this calamity?'

In Tú Xương's poem, one only sees the evocation of humiliation in losing the country, not strong and resolute like Nguyễn Đình Chiểu's poetry. He only points out the indifference of patriotic intellectuals who turned away, ignored, and did not care, allowing the enemy to seize the country and their henchmen to destroy their homeland. He urges them to 'turn their heads and gaze' - to look back and witness the country crumbling before the invaders. In these concluding lines, Tú Xương's sarcastic laughter gives way to an infinite pain as the country faces catastrophe. It's as if we can still see his tears amidst that bitter laughter.