Buzz
Assignment:
Spain has long been renowned as a beautiful country, with lush green meadows, deep green oak trees, and the enchanting Flamenco dancers twirling in their vibrant, wild, and yet powerful dance. It has given birth to individuals who always lean towards freedom, always embracing the most beautiful aspects of life, and one of the outstanding representatives is the talented artist Federico García Lorca. Thanh Thảo composed The Guitar of Lor-ca to commemorate this ill-fated, highly contemplative artist, who always pondered with a romantic and peculiar testament: 'If I die, bury me with the guitar'.
Born in 1946, Thanh Thảo, originally named Hồ Thành Công, hails from Mộ Đức, Quảng Ngãi. He is a poet who consistently reflects on contemporary societal issues, striving to innovate Vietnamese poetry, delving into the internal self, eliminating molds, and creating fresh poetic images. Some notable works include Footprints Across the Grass Field, Waves Overflowing the Sky, and The Square Block Whispering Bic. The Guitar of Lor-ca is extracted from The Square Block Whispering Bic, where the image of the guitar resonates throughout the work, significantly contributing to the poetic meaning.
Throughout the entire work, the sound of the guitar is heard suddenly with various emotions – sometimes joyful and free, other times intensely sorrowful. The guitar carries a significant symbolic value, originating from the poem's title and dedication. The title of the poem, The Guitar of Lor-ca, signifies Lor-ca's profound connection with the guitar, a cultural symbol of Spain and also representative of Lor-ca's artistic philosophy. It reflects Lor-ca's deep bond with the homeland and its culture, which he wholeheartedly fought to protect and love. The dedication 'If I die, bury me with the guitar' encapsulates Lor-ca's wish, portraying the artist's attachment to the guitar and the hope that future generations will surpass his artistry, forgetting the poetic sound of his guitar. In doing so, they can innovate and renew, leading to the success of the nation's artistic transformation. This is the aspiration of an artist with a noble soul, and Thanh Thảo incorporates this wish into the dedication with deep respect and profound gratitude towards the beloved artist.
The poem opens with the line 'the sounds of guitar water bubbles/li-la li-la li-la', portraying fragility, vulnerability, perhaps the clear and fragmented guitar notes, resembling bubbles that boil and burst in the flowing stream. This symbolizes the fragility of life and the tragic fate, the talented but ill-fated destiny of the artist Lor-ca, with lofty aspirations for art and justice for the nation. The echoing, solitary sounds 'li-la li-la li-la' symbolize both the artist's guitar and the image of the traditional Spanish flower, the lily. Through the image of the guitar sounds, the artist emerges with immensely lofty aspirations but also profound loneliness, 'on a weary horse,' the tragedy of the artist.
'brown guitar sound
that girl's sky
green leaf guitar sound, who knows how many
guitar sound round water bubbles burst
guitar sound long
blood flowing'
When Lor-ca was alive, creating art, and fighting, his guitar sound bore the image of a romantic hero, lonely and sometimes weary because no one could understand and empathize with his soul. When he passed away, amidst the gloom of enemies, in the fresh red blood and a dreamy soul, the guitar sound once again echoed, expressing the tragic ordeal that the artist had to endure. In the above verses, Thanh Thao revealed her sophistication by incorporating the guitar sound into the poem, symbolizing Lor-ca's art encapsulated in the guitar sound, an object that accompanied and deeply connected with the poet in both artistic aspirations and the journey to the eternal realm. 'brown guitar sound' in the poem conveys the significance in Lor-ca's art, hiding countless thoughts about art and human life. Brown is the color of the guitar, the color of the homeland, and also the color of contemplation and serenity. Lor-ca dreamed of a 'girl's sky/guitar sound green leaf knows how many,' expressing the artist's desire for a peaceful sky where life continues with a beautiful green, and life always has the free-spirited guitar sound full of art. In addition, the guitar sound carries the fragile, transient fate of the artist 'Guitar sound round water bubbles burst' with the ending being 'Guitar sound long blood flowing,' depicting the cruelty of the era, when the authoritarian empire did not listen to the artistic guitar sound, the sound of struggle, demanding justice, and the desire for innovation of the artist. The poem expressed Thanh Thao's compassion and boundless pain for Lor-ca's tragic death.
The guitar sound in Lor-ca's poem 'Guitar' is a deeply symbolic image, representing both the romantic artistic style of the artist Lor-ca, deeply connected to the homeland and the nation through the traditional guitar sound, and also symbolizing the identity of the artist with all the characteristics predicting a life of talent but unfortunate fate, that is the fragile, bright, yet easily vanishing guitar sound into the void.
