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Exploring the Excerpt 'Homeland' - by Nguyen Khoa Diem
Sample Essay: Exploring the Excerpt 'Homeland' - by Nguyen Khoa Diem
Written Assignment
The author Nguyen Khoa Diem was born in 1943. He is a poet from Hue. He graduated from Hanoi University of Education. During the resistance against the United States, he lived and fought in the Trị Thiên battlefield. He has served as the Minister of Culture and Information.
Poetic works include 'Suburban Land', 'Thirsty Roads',...
- Nguyen Khoa Diem's poetry is profound, modest, innocent, filled with contemplation, pent-up emotions, reflecting the thoughts of intellectual youth actively engaged in the cause of national liberation and unification.
Theme:
Nguyen Khoa Diem's poetry delves into the profound historical roots and vast geographical expanse of the homeland. The imagery of Mountains and Rivers is inseparable from the soul and spirit of the People, the individuals who create the Nation. The enduring homeland promises a bright and melodious future.
Beautiful verses, beautiful ideas
1. Homeland - the Root of the Nation
The nation has existed for ages, since the 'ancient days of storytelling mothers'. The nation is closely associated with traditional customs, with folk tales like 'The nation began with a betel nut, now grandmother is chewing - The nation grew when our people learned to plant bamboo to fight invaders - Mother's hair is tied up behind her head - Parents express love with spicy ginger and salty salt.'
- The nation is connected with familiar simple things around us:
'The ridge, the pillar, bear names
Rice grains must be pounded, ground, and sifted in one dew, two mists.'
The homeland is 'where we make promises', where 'you dropped your handkerchief in silent longing', where 'he goes to school' and where 'she takes a bath'...
- The homeland is inseparable from folk songs like 'the phoenix flying back to the silver mountain..., the fish swimming in the deep sea', it is intertwined with the sacred legend of 'A hundred eggs':
'Land is where the Bird returns
Water is where the Dragon resides
Lac Long Quan and Au Co
Giving birth to our fellow countrymen in an eggshell
- The homeland endures through time, sprawling across a vast expanse. It is cherished deeply because 'the homeland is where our people reunite', it is the homeland of a thousand generations:
'Every year, eat wherever, work wherever
Also remembering to bow on Ancestor's Memorial Day
- The ancient homeland 'since time immemorial', the homeland today, and the homeland of tomorrow. A sacred lofty belief:
'In the future, our children will grow up
They will carry the homeland far away
In those dreamy days
The homeland belongs to everyone, including a part of 'you and me today'. Every day, the homeland becomes stronger, becoming 'complete and immense'. The homeland is formed and sustained by the blood and bones of each of us. Patriotism is about 'bonding and sharing'. This is one of the most profound and beautiful verses in the poem about love for the homeland:
'Oh my love, the homeland is our flesh and blood
We must bond and share.
One must embody the figure of the homeland
Creating the eternal homeland'
In summary, the 42 verses in Part I discuss the origins of the homeland and the bonds, sharing with the homeland. That profound idea is expressed through a rich language of folk colors, a whispering tone of deeply felt emotions, and stirring. The sincerity blends with the argumentativeness.
2. The People's Homeland - The Homeland of Folklore
The magnificent homeland. The resplendent landscapes. That idea, that pride has been spoken of by many poets throughout the ages, so beautifully, so emotionally. Nguyen Khoa Diem speaks of that idea, that pride in a very poetic and unique way. The imagery, the rivers and mountains are intertwined with the precious virtues, the noble qualities of the Vietnamese people. It's loyalty in love. It's the unyielding heroic tradition, the spirit of unity, and brotherhood. It's the lofty aspirations, the spirit of learning. It's the virtue of diligence and solidarity, the spirit of independence and self-reliance. Every mountain, every river becomes intimate in our souls:
'Wives longing for husbands contribute to the nation the Vong Phu mountains
Loving couples contribute to the nation the Trong Mai rocks
The hoofprints of Saint Giong pass through leaving behind hundreds of ponds and lakes
Ninety-nine elephants contribute to the building of the land of Hung Vuong's Ancestors
The silent dragons contribute to the deep blue river
Poor students contribute their efforts to their homeland with the Non Nghien Pen Mountain
Frogs, chickens from the countryside all contribute to the majestic scenery of Ha Long
Those people who have contributed their names like Mr. Doc, Mr. Trang, Mrs. Black, Mrs. Diem...
The aesthetic character, imagery, and unique style converge in this passage, creating genuine humanistic value, making readers incredibly intrigued as they perceive and explore.
The names of mountains, rivers, fields, hills... carry with them 'aspirations', embodying the 'ancestral way of life' as the soul of the nation:
'And wherever across the fields and hills
They do not carry a figure, a wish, an ancestral way of life
Oh Homeland, after four thousand years wherever we go, we see
The lives that have become our mountains and rivers
The sweat and blood of the People, of the nameless heroes who built and defended the Homeland:
'In every era, every person, every class
Daughters, sons the same age as us
Work diligently
When there's an enemy, sons go to battle
The daughter returns home to raise her child
When the enemy comes, the women also fight
Many have become heroes
The people themselves have 'preserved and passed down' grains of rice, have 'passed on the fire', 'passed on the melody', 'borne the village and commune names'..., 'built dams and embankments for those who come after to plant trees and harvest fruits'. The people themselves have made the Homeland, so the Homeland belongs to the people. The poetic verses contain beautiful ideas, a way of expressing with a sweet taste:
'Against foreign invasion, we resist foreign invasion
Against internal enemies, we rise up to defeat
So that this country is the People's country
The country of the People, the country of folklore'
- The country embodies intense vitality, hidden because the People know how to love and hate, persevere and be resilient, know to 'value the gold in hand', 'plant bamboo and wait for it to become a cane', know to seek revenge for the nation, cleanse hatred for future generations without fear of enduring.
- The image of the boatman, pulling the boat over waterfalls while singing loudly, is a symbol of the People's strength in overcoming all challenges, optimistically leading the country towards a very bright future:
'Oh those rivers taking water from somewhere
But when they return to our country, they sing
People sing as they row boats, pull boats over waterfalls
Evoking a hundred colors on a hundred river shapes
Conclusion:
The poetic voice is deeply emotional. Utilizing proverbs, folk songs, fairy tales, legends... in an innocent and engaging manner. There are some very distinctive passages: beautiful ideas, harmonious emotions and imagery, converging into beautiful verses. The ideology of the People's country is expressed profoundly with all pride and patriotism. Some parts are still scattered, lacking depth. Nguyễn Khoa Điềm has contributed a wonderful and rich poem to the theme of the Homeland.
Alongside Exploring the excerpt of Homeland - Nguyễn Khoa Điềm, students should further explore other topics such as Interpreting the two poems Across the Đuống River and Homeland or the section Discussing the poem excerpt in Homeland to strengthen their knowledge.
