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Topic: Analysis of the verse: 'This year the peach blossoms bloom again... Where is the soul now?' in the poem The Old Man by Vu Dinh Lien
Sample essay Analyzing the verse: 'This year the peach blossoms bloom again... Where is the soul now?' in the poem The Old Man
Essay:
Vu Dinh Lien embarks on New Poetry with a heartfelt sympathy laden with nostalgia in 'The Old Man,' a masterpiece by the poet. The poem concludes with the imagery:
'This year peach blossoms bloom again
No sight of the old scholar
Those from ancient times
Where are their souls now?'
The poem opens with a very subtle image and closes just as gently. In the past, when peach blossoms bloomed, we saw the beautiful and vibrant image of the old scholar: his hand writing couplets. But now, also when the peach blossoms bloom, the old scholar is no longer there. The image has faded and disappeared into time. The question posed swirls deep into the reader's heart:
'This year peach blossoms bloom again
No sight of the old scholar'.
Why does the poet not say that peach blossoms bloom but instead feels it with the sensation of 'peach blossoms bloom again'? This imagery has evoked in us new changes. Tet comes,
spring returns, peach blossoms bloom brightly again, everyone eagerly goes to the market to prepare for Tet, welcoming the new year full of hope and belief. Everything is bustling, eager. The scene is still there but where are the people now? The image of the old scholar now only remains as 'a pitiful relic of a bygone era' (Vu Dinh Lien). The old scholar is no longer here, on every occasion of Tet and spring, to bring joy to every home. The image of him has faded into the past. And perhaps no one thinks of him anymore, except for a poet Vu Dinh Lien. Life has swept away the peaceful and beautiful life. Now it's just emptiness, melancholy. Poet Vu Dinh Lien is saddened by an era, by 'the pitiful relics of a bygone era'. Time has pressed down on the lives of the old scholars, making Vu Dinh Lien feel sorry:
'Those from ancient times
Where are their souls now?'
In addition to analyzing the excerpt from the poem 'Where has the soul gone?' in the poem The Old Man, students should explore other topics such as Reflecting on the poem The Old Man or discussing the two verses in the poem The Old Man to reinforce their knowledge.
