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Prompt: Lecture on the initial three stanzas of the poem 'Kitchen Fire' by Bằng Việt
Sample essay on the initial three stanzas of the poem 'Kitchen Fire' by Bằng Việt
Composition:
There is a period of hardship that remains unforgettable. Some individuals become intertwined with our childhood, transforming into memories laden with affection and profound longing in our hearts. The poem 'Kitchen Fire' by Bằng Việt, depicting the image of a grandmother, evokes emotions and a nostalgic sense of ambiguity:
A hearth playing with the morning dew
...
Endless calls echoing across distant fields
This is the opening section of the poem 'Kitchen Fire,' expressing profound childhood memories and the deep love and longing for a distant grandmother.
The poem overflows with verses, each line a profound and nostalgic love. The first three lines express two sentiments: a longing for the kitchen fire and a love for the grandmother. The kitchen fire, 'playing with the morning dew,' is intimately linked to every Vietnamese household, symbolizing the simple and enduring qualities of the grandmother's love and sacrifice. The hearth, 'warmly embracing love,' is kindled through the tender care and warmth of affection. Remembering the kitchen fire is akin to remembering the grandmother who has weathered numerous hardships and tribulations. The poetic expression, 'a hearth,' coupled with the exclamatory sentence, evokes a poignant and emotional tone:
A hearth playing with the morning dew
A hearth warmly embracing love
I cherish you, dear grandmother, through countless suns and rains.
The second stanza recounts memories of childhood, unforgettable and tinged with sorrow: 'that year of hunger and exhaustion,' 'gaunt horses trudging through barren fields,' 'smoke stinging the eyes of the child,' and 'nostrils still smarting from the smoke.' Bằng Việt, born in 1941, when the poet was four years old, at the end of 1944 and the beginning of 1945, witnessed the devastating famine that claimed over two million lives in Vietnam. These are memories of the 'smell of smoke' and the 'stinging smoke,' depicting a life of poverty associated with the family hearth before the Revolution. The poetic rhyme conveys the hardships of childhood with authenticity and deep emotion:
At the age of four, I grew accustomed to the smell of smoke
That year marked by hunger and weariness
Dad went to gather firewood with lean horses
I only remember the smoke stinging my eyes
Reflecting on it now, my nostrils still smart from the smoke!
'Reflecting on that time' - it was in 1963, 19 years have passed, yet the grandchild still feels 'nostrils still smart from the smoke!'. Sad memories, heartaches, unforgettable wounds indeed!
The third stanza speaks of tending to the fire together for a continuous period of 8 years between the grandmother and the grandchild. The melodious call of a bird echoes, announcing the ripe rice season in the distant countryside. The bird's call, the beloved tales of Hue shared by the grandmother, have become cherished memories. 'The bird sings...', 'when the bird sings...', 'the sound of the bird'... that familiar rural sound is repeatedly recalled, becoming increasingly tender and nostalgic. It is the echo of time, a nostalgic memory of family (the kitchen fire) and homeland (the bird's call). The grandchild silently wonders or questions their heart about a distant time:
For eight years straight, I and my grandmother tended to the fire
The bird's call echoed across the distant fields
When the bird sings, do you remember, grandmother?
You used to tell stories of the days in Hue
How tender the sound of the bird!
'I and my grandmother tended to the fire,' the fire of life, the flame of love.
In those eight years, the country was amidst war - 'Mother and father busy with work, not returning.' The grandchild stayed with the grandmother, growing up in the warmth and nurturing care provided by her. Two poetic lines of 16 words, with half the words belonging to the grandmother and half to the grandchild. The language encapsulates all the love the grandmother showered upon the grandchild. A love that nurtures and shields:
Staying with grandmother, she instructed me with care
Teaching me diligently, nurturing my learning.
The most poignant, the most heartfelt are the words: 'staying with grandmother,' 'grandmother instructs,' 'grandmother teaches,' 'grandmother cares.' The role of a grandmother in every Vietnamese family is truly immense. Despite the passing years, she still tirelessly tends to the fire. Thinking about the red flame of the kitchen fire, thinking about the melodious call of the bird flock, the grandchild earnestly calls out to the bird, 'singing endlessly.' Expressing both admiration and questioning, the verses convey a deep, nostalgic yearning for the grandmother. Emotions surge within:
Tending to the kitchen fire, thinking about grandmother's hardships
O bird's call! Why didn't you come stay with grandmother?
Singing endlessly across the distant fields, why?
