Analyzing the excerpt of Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower

Analyzing the excerpt of Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower
 

I. Outline: Analysis of the excerpt of Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower

1. Introduction

Introducing the excerpt of Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower

2. Body

a. Solitude and Bitter Loneliness of Kieu's Circumstances

- The first six lines depict the natural scenery at Ngung Bich Tower, portraying its space and time.
- The artistic space is described through the eyes of Thuy Kieu:
+ Ngung Bich Tower is where Kieu is imprisoned. The phrase 'spring lock' conveys that.
+ The scene is beautiful yet vast, desolate, and cold:
- Gazing into the distance, only faint mountains are visible.
- Looking up at the sky, only a 'nearby moon' is visible…(Continued)

>> See detailed outline of Analyzing the excerpt of Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower here.

II. Sample essay: Analyzing the excerpt of Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower
 

1. Analysis of the excerpt of Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower, sample 1:

Nguyen Du is a cultural luminary, a great poet of our nation. He has bequeathed to Vietnamese literature a masterpiece of medieval literature - the Tale of Kieu. Besides its immense practical and humanitarian value, the Tale of Kieu is also highly successful artistically. Considering solely the artistic portrayal of character psychology and the poetic description of romantic landscapes, Nguyen Du reached the pinnacle of brilliance in history with the excerpt of Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower, successfully depicting the scene of loneliness, sorrow, and the loyal and filial heart of Kieu.

The excerpt 'Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower' is part of the section 'Family changes and wanderings'. The passage consists of 22 verses, not only expressing Nguyen Du's compassionate feelings towards the unfortunate human life but also showcasing his exceptional literary style regarding self-expression and the depiction of romantic scenes with an internal monologue to convey Kieu's emotions and sentiments. Kieu's situation at Ngung Bich Tower is extremely lonely and sorrowful:

Before Ngung Bich Tower, spring is locked,
The distant hills share the same moonlight.
Far and wide, all around, the view,
Golden sand and pink dust stretch for miles.
Morning mist and evening lamps, desolate,
Half love, half scene, as if dividing a heart.

With exquisite poetic descriptions, Nguyen Du successfully depicts Kieu's inner turmoil. The phrase 'spring lock' reveals Kieu's plight, likening her situation to a bird trapped in a cage, imprisoned in a high tower, her youthful vigor restrained. Here, 'spring lock' doesn't refer to maidens still forbidden in the palace, but rather mocks and pities Kieu's fate. She stands alone amidst vast time and space, in a desolate landscape, exiled and lonely, now further confined in a shameful tower. 'Ngung Bich Tower' is inherently a place of breathtaking scenery, a scene of romanticism, depicted in all three dimensions—height, distance, and breadth through phrases like 'distant hills,' 'nearby moon,' 'golden sand and pink dust miles away.' Yet, 'the melancholy have no joy!' In Kieu's confinement, the scene is truly tragic, silent, as she gazes at the moon, seeing it solitary, the ground covered in shifting sand dunes, distant pink dust swept far away, desolate and silent. Ngung Bich Tower is but a small dot amidst the stark nature, amidst the vastness of the heavens and earth. In the enclosed space, 'morning mist and evening lamps' evoke the cyclical nature of time, all seeming to imprison the youthful beauty of Kieu, her life squeezed by cruel hands. Deepening her sense of isolation, Kieu feels increasingly 'desolate,' weary and sorrowful, with no one to share her plight, only finding solace in clouds, lamps, desolate scenery, faint and blurred.

The finest essays Analyzing the excerpt of Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower

In her absolute solitude, Kieu feels distant, desolate, utterly alone, separated in a foreign land, far from her homeland, far from her beloved:

Thinking of him under the moon's silver,
Believing dewdrops wait for the dawn's first light.
In the corner of the sky, feeling forsaken,
When will the color of love fade?

At Ngung Bich Tower, Kieu reminisced about Kim Trong beforehand, a remarkable, unique pen stroke, fitting her psyche, demonstrating Kieu's steadfast heart. Words like 'think', 'look', 'wait' in Kieu's internal monologue language vividly express her relentless longing for Kim Trong. The more Kieu recalls their vows, the promise of a hundred years in Thuy's garden, the more she pities Kim Trong. The vow remains, but now each goes their own way, leaving her with regret, sorrow, like a forsaken lover. She imagines Kim Trong turning towards her, 'dewdrops wait for dawn' in vain, deepening her sorrow, increasing her anxiety. Despite their physical separation, Kieu's love, her steadfast heart for Kim Trong, is eternal, never fading. The more she thinks, the more anxious Kieu becomes, prompting her to wonder when she'll wash away the stains of her loyal heart to reciprocate Kim Trong's love. In that high tower, she cannot forget, worrying about her parents:

Pity those leaning on tomorrow's door,
Fans warmly ward off the chill, but who warms someone else's heart now?
Lai Courtyard, distant from countless suns and rains,
Perhaps the family tree already embraces someone else.

With internal monologue, combined with archaic writing style, Kieu's tumultuous emotions are vividly portrayed. Phrases like 'tomorrow', 'distant from countless suns and rains' speak of her enduring longing for her parents over the years. Kieu pities her parents, endlessly worrying, 'leaning on tomorrow's door' awaiting news, fearing their aging at home, with no one to care for them. The proverb 'fans warmly ward off the chill,' along with the symbols 'Lai Courtyard,' 'family tree,' reveal Kieu's heartfelt longing, filial piety towards her parents. She fears for her homeland, witnessing changes, her parents growing older, burdening her with immense regret for not fully fulfilling her duty of filial piety. Thus, Kieu's forgiving and filial heart shines through. In the confinement of Ngung Bich Tower, adrift at the edge of the world, Kieu is the most pitiable. Yet, with her noble soul, she always sacrifices herself, forgetting her own plight to worry about Kim Trong, to think of her parents. Kieu's longing is genuine and profound, revealing her as a dutiful daughter, a loyal lover, and a person rich in forgiveness.

Kieu's melancholic mood is vividly depicted through the external scenery. Each scene has its own uniqueness but all express an aspect of Kieu's emotions. A sail on the vast sea amidst the sunset horizon feels truly lonely, solitary:

Sorrowful gazing at the sea door in the evening,
Whose boat faintly appears with distant sails?

The frame opens at dusk, a time of indescribable nostalgia. 'Evening sea door' evokes the image of the sun's last rays reflecting on the deep blue sea, then spreading into the surrounding space, casting everything in darkness, as poignant as the night yearning for day, like Kieu's fervent longing for the peaceful days of yore. Words like 'faintly', 'distant' suggest loneliness, solitude, akin to Kieu's fragile, lingering hope. Alone there, Kieu only wearily reminisces about her homeland, her parents, awaiting a boat to rescue her, yet those boats only faintly appear in the distance before vanishing towards the horizon. 'Whose boat' sways then disappears into the distant horizon like Kieu's life, unsure when she can return home, pay respects to her parents. Kieu's gaze remains on the water, but now closer:

Sorrowful watching the newly spilled stream,
Flowers drifting, melancholy, knowing not where to go?

Delicate flowers, swaying in the current, small, unable to withstand the force of the 'newly spilled stream' like Kieu's own fragile fate in the tumultuous currents of life. Kieu's fate now adrift, lost, flowing aimlessly 'knowing not where to go' like the very flower. Watching the flower being submerged, Kieu feels even more longing for Kim Trong, more sorrowful, pitiful for a fate adrift, not knowing where it will lead. Not only the water contains immense sadness, but also the grass and trees mournfully:

Sad gazing upon the withered grass inside,
Where sky meets earth, a monotonous green.

Contrary to the hopeful azure name of 'Ngung Bich,' the continuous green of sky and earth through Kieu's melancholic eyes turns truly dismal. The word 'withered' evokes the image of a desolate, faded grassland, pitiful and forlorn. The green of the sky merges with the barren, insipid green of the earth, just as the fate confined to Kieu's lofty tower. Kieu's youthful beauty, her talents, will eventually fade into insignificance, like that faded green hue. Green, once the color of hope, now fades like Kieu's diminishing hope and the rising sorrow and remorse within her. The silent scene suddenly stirs:

Sad watching the wind tousle the face,
The sound of waves roaring around the seat.

The sound of the 'roaring' waves amidst the scene of the 'wind tousling the face' seems like the impending storms awaiting Kieu ahead. She worries not knowing when calamity will strike, like the relentless crashing waves in the distance. The roaring waves echo the impending disaster, the snares of life closing in, 'roaring around the seat,' leaving Kieu fearful.

The poetic phrase 'sad gazing' placed at the beginning of each hexameter stanza in the poem acts like a sigh alongside the slow rhythm and the emphasized tones, highlighting the ever-rising sadness within Kieu's heart, blending with the increasingly vast and desolate scenery. Words like 'far away,' 'faint,' 'subdued,' 'withered,' 'greenish,' 'roaring' are like gnawing waves, sorrowfully flooding Kieu's heart.

The poem 'Kieu in Ngung Bich Tower' is the most exquisite depiction of sentimental scenery in Truyen Kieu as well as in Vietnamese medieval literature. This passage helps us understand Kieu more, a loyal lover, a filial child, and a person rich in compassion, making us resent the unjust cruelty of feudal society pushing talented individuals into miserable confinement in the green tower.

Kieu in Ngung Bich Tower is a delicately portrayed passage of the character's inner thoughts combined with skillful landscape depiction, highlighting Kieu's situation and demonstrating Nguyen Du's talent and compassionate heart for the character and life. That poetry, that heart has penetrated the thoughts of generations, leading us through various emotions, unforgettable like the profound affection of poet To Huu for this great poet:

Last night in Nghi Xuan district,
With a vague longing for dear Kieu.

2. Analysis of the excerpt from Kiều at Ngung Bich Tower, sample 2:

Nguyen Du is a literary genius, a talented and prolific literary figure of Vietnamese literature. He is hailed as the poet of poets. 'The Tale of Kieu' is Nguyen Du's greatest work and the pinnacle of poetic art. Reading the work, we cannot forget the excerpt 'Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower.'

After numerous horrific events: upheavals, family members imprisoned and exiled, assets plundered, Kieu sacrifices her love to honor her parents. Deceived by Ma giám Sinh and sold to Tu Ba's green tower, Kieu attempts suicide but fails. Tu Ba lures Kieu to live at Ngung Bich Tower under the guise of finding a husband, but it's actually a form of captivity, waiting for an opportunity to force Kieu back to the green tower. Ngung Bich Tower, desolate amidst the vast sea, marks the first stop on Kieu's bitter and humiliating journey of exile. The excerpt 'Kieu at Ngung Bich Tower' depicts loneliness, poignant longing for her homeland and loved ones. It also illustrates Kieu's loyal and filial heart.

Beginning with the first six lines of the excerpt, it encapsulates Kiều's emotions within an artistic space. Before her, the vast sea from the high tower engulfs her in an overwhelming expanse. In the distance, mountain ranges, with sand dunes blowing dust into the air. Only Ngung Bich Tower reduces itself to a fragile, solitary existence. It is a completely enclosed space. Confronting 'early clouds, late lamps,' Kiều suffers to the point of humiliation, lamenting her unlucky fate:

'Melancholy, early clouds, late lamps,
Half love, half scene, as if splitting a heart.'

The space is already so, time completely closed, making Kieu sorrowful, lingering alone in utter loneliness.

Moving on to the next eight lines is Kieu's poignant longing for her family and loved ones. Firstly, Nguyen Du reminds Kieu of Kim Trong (which is different from Thanh Tam). She once made vows with Kim Trong under the moonlight but then sadly bestowed that sweet love to Thuy Van. On her way back to Lam Tri with Ma gia Sinh, she still mourns for Kim Trong in lonely sadness: 'One autumn sky for whom, one person alone.' Now as time keeps passing, Kieu's reminiscence of Kim Trong is reminiscent of their vows:

'Thinking of you under the moon, sharing a copper cup,
Believing in misty dewdrops, waiting for dawn's first rays,
In the corner of the sky and the sea, desolate,
When will the washed lipstick fade?'

The vows and curses are no more, the bare bridge that Kieu and Kim Trong had to cross is truly lamentable. She imagines Kim Trong facing towards her, nights of agonizingly waiting for news in vain 'Believing in misty dewdrops, waiting for dawn's first rays'. In that longing, readers recognize a poignant and painful sentiment. She promises herself 'When will the washed lipstick fade?'. It's the faithful heart, iron-clad vows, an ocean of loyalty.

In-depth analysis of Kieu at Ngung Bich Pavilion, easy to understand

Next, Kieu remembers her parents. Thinking of her deceased parents, Kieu feels immense sorrow:

'Pity those waiting by the door tomorrow,
The warm fan embraces the cold forlorn ones,
Lai Courtyard, how far from the sun and rain?
Sometimes, the ancestral roots seem to embrace a person'

Thinking of the scene where her parents sit by the door, waiting for her in the early morning or late afternoon. Yet, still silent and faithless. She feels sorry for her aging parents with no one to care for them. The vague feelings of longing, along with the deep sense of pity, deeply reflect her filial piety. Many words from the dictionary, combined with folk words, express both the distant past and the relentless harshness of nature towards humans. Monologuing the inner self, a classical style harmonized with the national style creates expressive verses depicting a tragic mood, a scene full of Kiều's tragedy. In the falling twilight, the landscape easily evokes profound sympathy:

The last eight verses depict an evening scene that deeply saddens the soul:

'Sorrowfully watching the sea gate in the evening,
Whose boat with faint sails is far away?
Sadly watching the newly flowing water,
Flowers drifting melancholically, where will they go?
Sadly observing the internal oily grass,
Clouds at the feet, the earth a green hue,
Sadly watching the wind twist the face,
The roaring waves clamoring around the seat'

Every expression of the coastal scenery at this moment reflects a mood and a pitiful scene. Seeing the faintly visible sails amidst the ocean, gradually fading away, the more she watches, the more sorrowful she feels, reminiscing about her lonely and precarious life on foreign soil. Watching the withered flowers drift in the floodwaters, she wonders where they will eventually float aimlessly. Those flowers, or perhaps her own fate, adrift with no place to anchor, like Kiều's fate. Observing the oily grass in the vast space, the bleak and gloomy color reflects the intense pain of a wandering girl. Life seems to lose all meaning like the faded color of the grass losing its vitality. Then, the 'roaring waves clamoring around the seat' herald the onset of the raging sea, whether from the wind's fury or nature's jealous malice enveloping her. Perhaps this is what Nguyễn Du prophesied, the terrible calamities descending upon her. The more anxious Kiều becomes, the more terrified and fearful she feels. Thus, from sight to sound, 'sorrowfully watching' unfolds in four lines within a verse.

The eight lines of verse form a melancholic refrain repeated through the changing scenery. The scene unfolds from afar to near, from pale to deep hues, and the sound shifts from silence to the roar of sadness, from melancholy to fearful dread. Nguyễn Du once concluded:

'No scene escapes sorrow's shroud,
For one in sadness, joy is never endowed.'

The passage employs numerous rhetorical questions, idiomatic expressions, inner monologue, and a somber tone to create an artistic space and emotional resonance.

The excerpt 'Kiều at Ngưng Bích Pavilion' is one of the finest poetic descriptions of sentimental scenes in 'The Tale of Kiều.' The author delves deep into the labyrinth of Kiều's inner thoughts, profoundly stirring the reader's sympathy. The intertwining of scene and sentiment highlights the thematic essence of the passage. The emotional tableau of the Vương family's daughter remains deeply ingrained in the reader's heart.

3. Analysis of the excerpt from Kiều at Ngưng Bích Pavilion, model 3:

Nguyễn Du is a master of scene description. Many of his verses depicting scenes could be considered the epitome of classical poetry's beauty. But Nguyễn Du is not only adept at describing scenes but also at portraying emotions and feelings. In his view, the elements of emotion and scenery are inseparable, always complementing each other.

The excerpt from Kiều at Ngưng Bích Pavilion is a poignant emotional portrait. Through the technique of describing sentimental scenes, Nguyễn Du brilliantly captured the character's emotions. The verses depict various shades of Kiều's emotions, from loneliness and sadness to loyalty and kindness towards Kim Trọng and her parents.

The structure of the excerpt from Kiều at Ngưng Bích Pavilion is very logical. The first part introduces the scene of Kiều's confinement at Ngưng Bích Pavilion; the second part: in her loneliness and sadness, she reminisces about Kim Trọng and her parents; the third part: Kiều's feelings of sorrow and her forebodings about the storms that life will bring upon her.

The depiction of nature in the first six lines is described as desolate and vast to the point of overwhelming. Sitting atop the pavilion, looking ahead is the towering mountains, gazing upwards reveals the moon almost touching the head, looking down below are endless stretches of golden sand, scattered like tiny grains of pink dust, accentuating the loneliness and solitude of Kiều at this moment:

Before Ngưng Bích Pavilion locks in spring,
The distant mountains and the near moon are intertwined,
All around, the scenery stretches far and wide,
Golden sands on one side, pink dust on the other.

One can vividly imagine an expansive space unfolding before Kiều's eyes. This space only adds to Kiều's sorrow and pain:

Dusk's melancholy clouds blanket the early morning,
Half love, half scene, as if splitting a heart.

A single word, 'melancholy,' deeply portrays Kiều's emotions at that moment: both weary and sad for her own fate, and ashamed, embarrassed before the early morning mist, and the evening lamps. Even the scenery seems to empathize, sharing with her: half love, half scene, as if dividing a heart. The natural landscape is not objective but has a soul, it is Kiều's emotional landscape during her lonely days at Ngưng Bích Pavilion.

In her loneliness, sorrow in a foreign land, Kiều seeks solace in her loved ones. The longing for her lover, for her parents, is described by Nguyễn Du very touchingly in the character's inner monologue. The longing is evenly distributed: the first four lines are for the lover, the latter four for the parents. But the longing for Kim is mentioned first because it is the most intense and profound. This longing is deeply stirred and sworn under the moonlight, and the pain surges from it:

Thoughts of him beneath the moon, toasting with a shared cup.
Mist veils the waiting rays of dawn.
Alone at the corner of heaven and sea,
When will my being be washed away?

The poetry seems to encapsulate the throbbing rhythm of a bleeding heart in love! Kiều's longing is so earnest, so intense! Kiều imagines the scene of Kim waiting eagerly for news of her, in agony and despair day and night. Just the other day, she and Kim made solemn vows for a hundred years, but suddenly, now she becomes a betrayer, breaking her promise to him. The oath over the cup of wine is still unfulfilled, the moonlight lingering in the sky bears witness to the vow, yet now each goes their separate way. Then suddenly Kiều contemplates her fate: Alone at the corner of heaven and sea, and self-tormenting: When will the stain on my heart be washed away. Kiều regrets her pure first love, she deeply feels her loneliness, and above all, she understands that her steadfast, loyal heart to Kim will never fade. And indeed, Kim's shadow will never fade from Kiều's mind throughout her fifteen years of exile.

Analyzing the verse of Kiều at Ngưng Bích Pavilion with outlined ideas.

Remembering her lover, Kiều feels even more poignant thinking of her parents. Although she risked her life, determined to exchange three springs to save her father and brother from imprisonment, the thought of her parents envelops her in a deep, anxious sorrow. Kiều is heartbroken when she imagines her elderly parents waiting by the door for her. She worries about who will take care of her parents when the weather changes. Nguyễn Du successfully uses proverbs and idioms (leaning by the door tomorrow, the warm fan chilling, the ancestral root) to express Kiều's deep affection and her concerns when thinking of her parents, thinking of her duty as their child. In Kiều's circumstances, these thoughts and emotions further prove her filial piety.

Remembering her lover, remembering her parents, but ultimately Kiều returns to her own situation, living with her current state of mind and identity. Each scene, through Kiều's eyes, evokes a sadness in her heart. And Kiều sinks deeper into her sadness with each passing moment. Nguyễn Du's masterful pen further intensifies Kiều's profound sadness by using a unique chain of proverbs in the eight lines describing the sentimental scenes:

Sadness watching the evening sea gate,
Whose boat's faint sail is distant and vague?
Sadness seeing new water flow,
Where will the drifting flowers finally go?
Sadness seeing the weedy inner shore,
Where earth meets sky in a greenish score.
Sadness watching the wind's restless roar,
The waves' loud chant encircles the seat evermore.

Analyze the excerpt of Kiều at Ngưng Bích Pavilion as a valuable lesson for students to grasp. Following this lesson, let's prepare to answer questions, Compose an essay on Kiều at Ngưng Bích Pavilion, excerpted from The Tale of Kiều by Nguyễn Du alongside a Character analysis of Thúy Kiều in the passage Sister Thúy Kiều to excel in Vietnamese Literature.