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Essay Prompt: Imagery of Waves and 'You' in the Poem 'Waves' by Xuân Qu
Sample Essay: Imagery of Waves and 'You' in the Poem 'Waves' by Xuân Qu
Assignment
Xuân Quỳnh, universally acknowledged as the poet of everyday joy, voices the soul's perpetual longing for love, wholeheartedly immersed in daily life, cherishing and nurturing the simple joys of ordinary existence.
Among contemporary Vietnamese poets, Xuân Quỳnh rightfully earns the title of a poet of love. She writes prolifically and eloquently about love, with 'Waves' standing out as a remarkable poem. With Xuân Quỳnh, modern Vietnamese poetry gains a direct expression of innocent, genuine love, coupled with the intense, passionate emotions of a woman's heart.
Love, an eternal theme in poetry, has been fervently explored by many renowned poets, leaving an indelible mark on their souls, thoughts, and artistic styles. Xuân Diệu, in the past, borrowed the imagery of the sea to speak of love. In contrast, Xuân Quỳnh, borrowing the imagery of waves, vividly portrays the rich, complex, and passionately fervent emotions of a woman's heart, thirsty for love.
The Symbolism of 'Waves' and 'You' in the Poem
The imagery of 'waves' is a unique artistic exploration by Xuân Quỳnh. Initially evoked by the rhythmic cadence of the poem, it captures the endless rhythm of the sea waves. The five-word verse, a continuous building rhythm, mirrors the cadence of the sea waves, oscillating between surging and depth throughout the poem. However, the overall melody transcends the original rhythm of the waves. It becomes the melody of a soul brimming with boundless love, harmonizing with the sea waves to the point where the distinction between the rhythm of the sea waves and the poet's rhythm fades away. Xuân Quỳnh borrows the imagery of waves to express the rhythmic essence of her soul, ablaze with a love that refuses to be static, constantly changing and yearning.
The poem commences with a distinctive psychological state, a soul yearning for love, seeking a broader love. Xuân Quỳnh vividly describes the unusual, rich, and complex state of a heart yearning for love. The vitality of a girl in love, much like the waves, inherently carries many contrasting states: 'Fierce and gentle, noisy and silent'... The girl in love, akin to the waves, refuses to accept mediocrity, always reaching towards the vastness that can sympathize and resonate with her: 'The river does not understand its smallness, The waves find their way to the ocean.' This first stanza introduces a fresh perspective on love, where the girl in love no longer tolerates humiliation, resolutely reaching for the vastness and tolerance.
The longing for love, vibrant and ecstatic in the human soul according to Xuân Quỳnh's perspective, is the eternal yearning of humanity, most vehemently expressed by the young. It is enduring and eternal, much like the waves. Love, associated with the ache of separation, is vividly depicted, enveloping both space and time. An intense longing, poignant, restless, and unrelenting, rolls and surges like endless waves. The rhythmic pulse throughout this poem is the pulse of the waves, surging, roaring, and fervent. The intertwined imagery of the wave and 'you' complements and contrasts, expressing the profound, haunting love and endless devotion of a heart aflame with affection.
Oh, waves of days gone by
And still the same thereafter
The longing for love
Echoes in the young chest
When love arrives as a natural and often mysterious psychological phenomenon, the need for self-discovery and analysis arises. However, love is an extraordinary, mysterious psychological phenomenon that cannot be explained by ordinary reasoning. How can one answer the question about the origin of love? The dilemma that previously made Xuân Diệu ponder, 'How can we define love?' is now once again candidly expressed by Xuân Quỳnh, charmingly and innocently. Love is like the sea waves, like the wind, it's natural and innocent, just like nature, and equally incomprehensible:
Waves start from the wind
Where the wind begins, who knows
You also don't know
When we will love each other.
Love is also associated with the ache of separation. Xuân Quỳnh vividly depicts the intense yearning of a loving heart. A constant longing that persists when awake or asleep, enveloping both space and time. An intense longing, poignant, restless, and unrelenting. It rolls and surges like endless, boundless waves. The rhythmic pulse throughout this poem is the pulse of the waves, but most prominently, surging, roaring, and fervent, is in this verse:
Beneath the deep, a wave's embrace
Upon the surface, waves race
Oh, the longing wave for the shore
Day and night, sleep is no more.
And, as mentioned earlier, still the intertwined imagery of the wave and 'you' complements and contrasts to express the profound, haunting love and endless devotion of a heart aflame with affection. The longing, depicted through the image of the wave yearning for the shore 'day and night, sleepless,' is not enough, still unsatisfied. It's expressed once more through the poet's direct yearning: 'My heart yearns for you, even in dreams, awake.' The overflowing memory of the poetess's love. A memory that persists in every space and time, not just in consciousness but also infiltrating the subconscious, seeping even into dreams. Yet, it demands, the longing for love from the woman is passionately revealed but so simple, just yearning for the shore as she yearns for you! A woman's love, intense, pure, faithful, unique. Through the imagery of the 'wave' and 'you,' Xuân Quỳnh sincerely and openly conveys her vibrant and fervent desire for love—a rarity in Vietnamese literature.
Xuân Quỳnh wrote the poem 'Wave' in 1967, a time when she had experienced the shattering of love. However, this innocent and fervently loving woman still harbors countless hopes, maintaining a belief in future happiness. Encouraging and consoling herself, she also believes in the ultimate destination of a love as vast as 'the wave will surely reach the shore,' 'despite myriad obstacles.' Thus, the awareness of time doesn't cause anxiety but strengthens her conviction:
Life, though lengthy
Years continue to flow by
Like the vast sea over there
Clouds still drift far and high.
