Buzz
Prompt: Reflect on the following verse in 'Moonlight': 'Since returning to the city... startles us'
I. Outline
II. Sample essay
My thoughts on the following verse in 'Moonlight': 'Since returning to the city... startles us'
Sample essay: My thoughts on the following verse in 'Moonlight': 'Since returning to the city... startles us'
The imagery of the moon has always been intimate and closely intertwined with the people of Vietnam. The full moon of the eighth month, the round moonlight shining from house to alley... It is this intimacy that has made it a recurring motif in literary works, serving as a special source of inspiration for poets. Nguyen Duy found his poetic inspiration through the image of the moon in his exceptional poem 'Moonlight.' The poem conveys messages and philosophical insights the author wishes to impart, most notably evident in its final four verses.
In the first stanza, the moon symbolizes complete emotional fidelity and nostalgic attachment to the past, while in the second stanza, the moon's presence alters the sentimental character's emotional trajectory:
'Since the day I came to the city
Becoming accustomed to electric lights and mirrored doors
The moon passing through the alley
Like a stranger crossing the street'
In times of peace, amidst changing human circumstances, thoughts shift. Living harmoniously with electricity, mirrors, with ample comforts, estranged from nature, the moon now resembles a passerby, unfamiliar and distant. The moon of yore has become the past, fading into the forgotten memories of humanity. The moon remains unchanged, its meaning intact, yet humanity has transformed. People have become apathetic, cold to sentimental past.
The character's emotional pulse shifts upon the emergence of an unexpected situation:
'Abruptly, the electric light extinguishes
The room plunges into darkness - nails biting into the night
Hastily flinging open the window wide
Suddenly, the full moon appears'
An unexpected situation prompts urgency, humans hastily fling open the window. People and the moon meet. And the emotional pulse continues to be expressed in the following lines:
'Looking up at the face
Something feels moist
Like fields, like oceans
Like rivers, like forests'
Face to face, here we understand the face to be both the moon and the human face. Both confront each other. Humans at this moment feel moist, as if all the past rushes back. It is the awakening after the forgetfulness of sentimental past. Facing the moon, people realize their long-standing indifference, all the past suddenly rushes back in a very dear emotion. The moon is still here, still intact:
'The moon remains round and serene
Why recount the indifference of others
Moonlight quietly arrogant
Enough to startle us'
