Buzz
Upon delving into the excerpt of Kiều at the Ngưng Bích Pavilion, one is immediately captivated by its essence.
I. Outline of Sensations towards the Kiều Excerpt at Ngưng Bích Pavilion (Standard)
1. Opening
- Providing a succinct overview of the author Nguyễn Du (brief summary of biography, personality, creative career, etc.)
- Introducing a general overview of 'The Tale of Kiều' (circumstances of its creation, summarizing key aspects of its ideological and artistic content, etc.)
- Offering a concise overview of the excerpt 'Kiều at the Ngưng Bích Pavilion' (position within the narrative, summarizing the intrinsic value of its content and artistic significance,...)
2. Introduction
a. The Scene and Inner Torment of Thúy Kiều
- 'Locked Spring': depicting the situation where Thúy Kiều's youth is constrained, locked, and buried.
b. Remembrance of Kim Trọng and Thúy Kiều's Parents
* Fond Memories of Kim
- 'Recollection': Thúy Kiều reminisces, imagines, and recalls the days of promises and happiness with Kim
+ Recalling moments when she and Kim Trọng made vows under the moonlight while drinking wine.
+ Thinking of Kim Trọng anxiously awaiting news about her day and night.
- She suddenly feels pity for her current situation: The phrase 'washing away' vividly portrays Thúy Kiều's deep pain as her honor and dignity are tarnished.
* Fond Remembrance of Thúy Kiều's Parents
- The verb 'pitied': Kiều feels deep pity as her aging parents wait day and night at the door, yearning for news of their daughter.
- Using the phrase 'warm embrace, cold chills' and the anecdote of 'Sân Lai,' the author vividly illustrates Kiều's filial piety and her anxieties.
→ Thúy Kiều's affection for her lover and her parents once again reveals her loyalty and filial devotion.
b. Thúy Kiều's Emotional State Through Nature's Lens
- The phrase 'sadly gaze' is reiterated four times by the author, deeply carving out Thúy Kiều's emotional turmoil.
- A series of natural images evoke Thúy Kiều's existential plight:
+ The image of 'a distant boat's fluttering sail' suggests a journey of endless wandering without a destination.
+ The image of 'newly sprouted waves,' 'drifting flowers,' evoke a sense of insignificance, amidst the tumultuous flow of life.+ The image of 'tangled weeds' evokes a sense of hopeless, lingering sadness from day to day.
+ The image of 'wind-swept faces' accompanied by the sound of 'roaring' waves seems to foreshadow Thúy Kiều's future, fraught with countless difficulties and trials.
3. Conclusion
Summarizing the highlights of the content's value and artistic significance of the excerpt and providing personal reflections.
II. Exemplary Essay: Sensations on the Kiều Excerpt at Ngưng Bích Pavilion (Standard)
Nguyễn Du stands as a literary giant of the nation, contributing numerous outstanding literary works to Vietnamese literature, both in Nôm script and Chinese characters. Many of his works have left a profound impression on readers of all generations, with perhaps the deepest impression being his Nôm-script masterpiece - 'The Tale of Kiều' (New Song Section). 'The Tale of Kiều' enthralls readers with its compelling narrative, unique artistry, and the excerpt 'Kiều at Ngưng Bích Pavilion,' spanning from lines 1033 to 1054, stands out as one of the most iconic passages of the work.
Firstly, the excerpt vividly portrays the scene and inner torment of Thúy Kiều at the Ngưng Bích Pavilion.
Before Ngưng Bích Pavilion, spring locks its doors
Where distant hills and nearby moon share the same space
Surrounding scenes stretch far and wide
Golden sandbanks, thatched mounds, and distant pink hues mark the journey's length
The phrase 'spring locks' aptly employed by the author, succinctly encapsulates Thúy Kiều's situation. 'Spring' represents youth, Kiều's youth, and from there, 'spring locks' convey the idea of being restrained, locked, and buried in one's youth. Especially, the subsequent verses paint a desolate, cold landscape - distant mountains, vast expanses, golden sands blending with distant pink hues. Moreover, the desolation of the scenery is accentuated through the author's use of contrast, juxtaposing 'distant hills' with 'nearby moon' and employing the term 'bát ngát,' creating an even more expansive, vast space. Amidst this vast expanse, Thúy Kiều is engulfed by her myriad of sorrows and her fate.
Early clouds, late lamps
Half love, half scenery as if splitting a heart.
With just two lines, the author vividly and distinctly portrays Thúy Kiều's emotional state. Using the phrase 'early clouds, late lamps' evokes a sense of repetition, echoing the word 'gloom' at the beginning of the verse, expressing Kiều's sadness, despair, loneliness, and weariness. Not stopping there, Kiều's anguish, her sorrow is further articulated through the line 'half love, half scenery as if splitting a heart.' It seems only the scenery can witness, perceive, and comprehend all of Kiều's pain.
Not only depicting the pain regarding her circumstances, Thúy Kiều's longing for Kim Trọng and her parents is also depicted in the excerpt. Thúy Kiều's longing for her beloved Kim is vividly expressed through the following verses.
Thoughts of you beneath the moon's silver goblet
Believing in dewdrops, awaiting the dawn's first light
The word 'thoughts' placed at the beginning of the verse seems to intensify Thúy Kiều's longing, as if she is reminiscing, imagining, and recalling the days of promises and happiness with Kim. She remembers moments of making vows under the moonlight with Kim Trọng, and she even thinks of Kim Trọng anxiously awaiting news about her day and night. And then, after that intense longing for her beloved, she suddenly feels pity for her current situation.
The desolate riverbank at the corner of the lonely sea
When will the applied rouge ever fade
The more Kiều remembers Kim Trọng, the more she pities her 'desolate' situation at the 'lonely riverbank corner' and her own fate. The verb 'applied' reveals the extreme pain of Thúy Kiều as her honor, and dignity are tarnished. Thus, through these lines of poetry, we can see the profound sadness of longing for her lover and the plight of Kiều.
Along with that, the poem also vividly portrays Thúy Kiều's longing for her parents.
Pity those who lean against the door tomorrow
Who now fans warm yet chilly breezes?
Sân Lai, how many suns and rains away
Perhaps the ancestral tree has just hugged someone.
When expressing Kiều's feelings towards her parents, the author cleverly uses the verb 'pity.' Kiều feels deep pity as her aging parents wait day and night at the door, yearning for news of their daughter. Especially, with the use of the phrase 'warm embrace, cold chills' and the anecdote of 'Sân Lai,' the author vividly illustrates Kiều's filial piety and her anxieties. With the heart of a dutiful child, Thúy Kiều thinks of her parents back home who are now old and have no one to take care of them. Thus, it can be seen that despite having sold herself to redeem her father and younger brother, deep down in her heart, she still remembers, cares for, and worries about her parents. Thúy Kiều's affection for her lover and her parents once again reveals her loyalty and filial devotion.
If the above verses show us Kiều's longing for her lover and parents, then the remaining verses of the excerpt highlight Thúy Kiều's loneliness and sadness through her perspective, her perception of the scenery, and nature.
