Prompt: Analyze the third stanza of the poem 'Here, Thôn Vĩ Dạ'
I. Detailed Outline
1. Introduction
2. Body
3. Conclusion
II. Sample Essay
Analyzing the third stanza of the poem 'Here, Thôn Vĩ Dạ'
I. Outline Analyzing the third stanza of the poem 'Here, Thôn Vĩ Dạ'
1. Introduction
Introduction to Hàn Mặc Tử, 'Here, Thôn Vĩ Dạ,' and the stanza requiring analysis.
2. Body
a. First two lines: Aspirations towards the world beyond, the warmth of human emotions from dreamlike scenes.
- The poetic imagery is quite 'unusual' and challenging to grasp: A wanderer in the misty haze, faintly seen in a white ethereal garment.
- 'Dreaming of a traveler from afar': Creates a sense of strangeness, especially as it is repeated twice in a single line to convey the distance, the gradually fading resonance of this 'traveler,' of the shadow of the beauty explicitly referred to as 'em' (her) in the next line.
+ The phrase 'traveler from afar': Evokes a feeling of unfamiliarity, especially as it is repeated twice in a line to express the distance, the distant echo of the 'traveler,' of the figure of the beauty in the poet's imagination.
+ The life in Hàn Mặc Tử's poetry is not in the real world; it lies in the 'dream,' and when the dream dissipates, the person is also lost.
=> Unusual poetic imagery: The human figure appears like a mirage, both strange and gradually moving away, simultaneously elusive, indefinite, and vast within the poet's mind.
- 'Her dress too white to recognize':
+ The talented and ill-fated poet tries to clutch, attempting to regain the realm of life, the warmth of human emotions even if it is only in dreams, with all efforts and struggles. However, in the end, the artist seems to be unable to catch up, unable to reach, and the eyes cannot perceive.
+ The phrase 'too white' describes the extreme purity of the white color, surpassing the perception of vision. The figure of the woman now has lost all contours, leaving only an indefinite and hollow space in the poet's heart, officially marking the helplessness and despair of the author in the process of clinging to life, the warmth of human emotions.
b. Final two lines: The author turns to the inner world, cold, indefinite, and lonely:
- This world is depicted by the verse 'Here, misty smoke obscures human images,' an extremely surreal and symbolic poetic image. It is a world with the cold, hazy presence of fog, lacking the figure and warmth of humans, the most poignant pain of Hàn Mặc Tử.
- The only invisible thread connecting these two contrasting worlds is the deep, sincere connection of the poet with life, with the nature outside that is always full in his thoughts, in the verses sometimes pure and crisp, sometimes bleeding with pain.
- 'Who knows whose love is profound':
+ Contemplation on the emotions of the external world, of the beauty.
+ Wondering whether the beauty, whether Kim Cúc understands the intense longing and suffering in his heart for her.
=> Expresses a profound awareness of the delicate nature of the emotional thread connecting these two worlds in Hàn Mặc Tử's perspective.
3. Conclusion
Share overall impressions.
II. Sample Essay Analyzing the third stanza of the poem 'Here, Thôn Vĩ Dạ'
'In the future, the ordinary and the ruler will fade away, leaving only a trace of this era, that is Hàn Mặc Tử,' passionately stated by Chế Lan Viên about the talented yet short-lived poet Hàn Mặc Tử. His presence brought new highlights to the Modern poetry from 1932-1941, introducing a surrealistic style typical of the West, gradually infiltrating the traditionally measured and ceremonial Vietnamese poetry. To explore the 'madness,' the strong personal ego, and the profound desires within individuals, encompassing shame, and physicality, topics considered highly 'sensitive' in contemporary times. Hàn Mặc Tử's poetic soul carries both the romantic sentiments of New Poetry, like Xuân Diệu and Huy Cận, and the fervent admiration for pure and sacred beauty, akin to the reverence of Nguyen Binh or Thế Lữ, but with an added element of the eerie, horrifying, and grotesque, creating a poetry that constantly bewilders and reflects. 'Here, Thôn Vĩ Dạ' stands out as Hàn Mặc Tử's most remarkable and successful poem, with beautiful verses, profoundly touching on the poet's closeness to death, expressing love for life passionately even in despair. The poet finds joy in the first stanza with the dawn in Thôn Vĩ, struggles in the second stanza with the moonlit night by the Perfume River. Lastly, in the third stanza, glimpses of Hàn Mặc Tử's eccentric, poignant, and indefinite poetic soul emerge.
'Dreaming of a traveler from afar, a traveler from afar
Her dress too white to recognize
Here, misty smoke obscures human images
Who knows whose love is profound'
In the first two stanzas, through an admiring gaze and love for the beautiful Hue, Hàn Mặc Tử revealed an intense desire to integrate into normal life, to escape the deadly and solitary palace of his life, to enjoy the fresh and free beauty of nature. In the third stanza, the author no longer simply desires the beauty of nature but shifts to yearning for the warmth of human relationships, the essence of life. This is depicted through a somewhat 'unusual' and enigmatic poetic imagery: a wanderer in the misty haze, faintly seen in a white ethereal garment, perhaps the shadow of a beauty in Hàn Mặc Tử's dream, like Hoàng Thị Kim Cúc? Thus, the first line 'Dreaming of a traveler from afar, a traveler from afar' vividly presents a clear picture of a figure, the shadow of a beauty explicitly referred to as 'em' (her) in the subsequent line. However, the term 'traveler from afar' in Hàn Mặc Tử's poetry brings a sense of strangeness, especially as it is repeated twice in a line, expressing the gradually fading influence of this 'traveler,' the shadow of the beauty in the poet's imagination. This writing style of Hàn Mặc Tử somewhat resembles Nguyen Binh's in the lines 'You're going, where are you going?/ Brown sail, brown sail, brown sail,' portraying the gradual distance and disappearance of the object. The image of 'traveler from afar' is no different; it creates a feeling of gradually distancing, beyond the eyes and reach of the poet. Especially, the 'traveler from afar' brings the world in Hàn Mặc Tử's poetry not in reality but in the 'dream,' a dream that, once shattered, the person is also lost. Never has there been such a bizarre poetic image; the image of a human appearing like a mirage, both strange and gradually moving away, simultaneously elusive, indefinite, and vast. And Hàn Mặc Tử, a person in despair and deadlock in the palace of life, originally had nothing to rely on, hopes to reach the dreamer's realm. The talented and ill-fated poet tries to clutch, attempting to regain the realm of life, the warmth of human emotions even if it is only in dreams, with all efforts and struggles. However, in the end, the artist seems to be unable to catch up, unable to reach, and the eyes cannot perceive because 'Her dress too white to recognize.' The phrase 'too white' describes the extreme purity of the white color, surpassing the perception of vision. The figure of the woman now has lost all contours, leaving only an indefinite and hollow space in the poet's heart, officially marking the helplessness and despair of the author in the process of clinging to life, the warmth of human emotions.