Reflecting on Thế Lữ's poem 'Reminiscing the Forest'

Prompt: Reflections on Thế Lữ's poem 'Reminiscing the Forest'

Thoughts on Thế Lữ's poem 'Forest Remembrance'

I. Outline: Thoughts on Thế Lữ's poem 'Forest Remembrance'
 

1. Introduction

* Introduction to the author and the work:
- Introduction of the author: Thế Lữ is one of the prominent figures in the New Poetry movement.
- Introduction of the work: 'Forest Remembrance' is one of his notable creations throughout his writing career.
 

2. Body of the poem

a. Context of creation:
- Written in 1934.
- Included in the collection 'Some Poems' and published in 1935.

b. The emotional state of the tiger in the zoo

- The tiger's frustrated emotions: expressed in the first stanza with phrases like 'gnawing with resentment,' 'disdain for the other creatures'...
- The tiger reminisces about its golden, fierce days: recalling the sacred forest with 'shadows under ancient trees,' with the intense epic of nature and its majestic, splendid landscapes, abundant with light, colors, sounds.
- The tiger returns to reality with sighs full of weariness: 'Alas! Where is the fervent era now?'.

c. General Evaluation:

- Free verse poetry, magnificent imagery → imagery of a majestic mountain god haunting the readers' minds.
- Placing the time of poem creation in the context of the nation's situation at that time → the poem becomes a voice, a longing for freedom of the masses, as well as the poet's love for the homeland.
 

II. Sample Essay: Reflections on Thế Lữ's poem 'Reminiscing the Forest'

Thế Lữ is known as one of the prominent poets of the New Poetry movement. Throughout his writing career, he has left behind many remarkable poetic works for Vietnamese literature. 'Reminiscing the Forest' is one such masterpiece.

The poem was written in 1934 and published in 1935 in the collection 'Some Poems.' In the poem, Thế Lữ borrows the voice of the main character, a tiger confined in a zoo, to express the sense of frustration and resentment when restricted from freedom.

The poem opens with the tiger's extreme resentment and frustration:

'Gnawing with resentment in the iron cage
I lie down watching days slowly pass by'

The tiger, once known as the king of the forest, is now confined in an 'iron cage.' It is losing its freedom, controlled by humans, no longer able to roam freely. 'Resentment' represents the tiger's deep-seated anger and hatred, its usage not only evokes the heaviness of emotions but also the sense of long-standing captivity that has accumulated within the tiger, making it want to 'gnaw,' to bite through, to chew up the frustration within. The tiger's living conditions are hinted at from the very first line, followed by the posture of lying down, something never seen in a king of the forest in the lush green woods. Yet now the tiger must live in an iron cage, day by day living a monotonous, dull life. It also must feel sorry for its own fate:

'Now far away, degraded and confined,
To serve as a curious spectacle, a mere toy,
Bearing the company of foolish bears,
With a pair of cage-bound leopards, casually ignoring'

The tiger feels sorrowful as it, once the king of the forest, roamed freely, now trapped in an iron cage, turned into a 'curious spectacle,' a 'mere toy,' and especially having to endure being lumped together with other ordinary animals. The tiger is no longer itself, no longer able to live its own life, it has lost its proud, majestic self to live a monotonous life. This is the typical sentiment of anyone trapped in a state of restricted freedom. Placing the time of poem creation in the context of the nation's situation at that time, in 1934 when the country was under various forms of colonial oppression, we resonate more with the pain and helplessness of our people under colonial domination.

From that living condition, the tiger recalls its glorious years:

'I live forever in love and longing
In the days of past grandeur'

The current life must be so constrained, so oppressive that it makes the tiger 'live forever in love and longing,' constantly reminiscing about its days of freedom. Right after that, a vivid depiction of the mountainous landscape along with the silhouette of the king of the forest is vividly described by Thế Lữ:

'Remember the forest scene, with its ancient trees' shade,
With the wind's howl echoing through the valleys, with the mountain's roar,
With the fierce epic chants,

The strong verbs 'howl', 'roar', 'chant' depict the resentment of nature, the mountains and forests. But even though that picture may be grand, it only serves as a backdrop for the tiger's appearance:

'I step forth, regal and dignified,
Glide my body like rhythmic waves,
Embrace the silent shadows, thorns, and vibrant grass.
In the dark of night, when my eyes gleam,
That's when everything falls silent'

With his sharp and steel-like poetic voice, Thế Lữ depicted an invincible king of the forest with powerful strides, with a body gliding like waves and eyes shining in the dark. That majestic posture of the tiger not only instills fear in everything around it but also allows it to be proud of itself:

'I know I am the lord of all creatures
Amid nameless, ageless meadows'

The firm assertion that it is the lord of all creatures shows the confidence and unmatched courage of the tiger. Its free life, its majestic demeanor, only intensifies its frustration, its helplessness with that confined life. And all this builds up an intense longing for freedom within the tiger. It reminisces about 'golden nights by the stream,' remembers 'rainy days across all four corners,' remembers the radiant sunrises, the sounds of birds echoing throughout the forest... All of these memories are not just recollections; they are also the pain of a king of the forest being imprisoned, suffocated in an iron cage. But no matter how beautiful nature may be, how majestic that figure may be, it's all in the past, leaving the tiger to lament: 'Alas! Where is the fervent era now?'. From the golden past, Thế Lữ makes the tiger jolt back to its current situation. The verse makes the reader cannot help but feel sorry for the tiger's plight. That longing makes the tiger only able to 'embrace a thousand grievances' before the scenes of 'unchanging' dullness, blandness. The tiger longs for the 'sacred forest where it once reigned,' remembers 'the vast expanse where it roamed in the old days.' So many memories, so much suppressed resentment of the tiger. The more you read, the more you feel compassion for the fate of a king of the forest. The more you contemplate, the more it resembles the situation of our people at that time.

People often say that literature must stem from life, must reflect life so that through literature, readers can see everything in life. Thế Lữ's 'Reminiscing the Forest' has achieved that. The poet borrowed the voice of the tiger to express its own suffocation and that of the entire Vietnamese nation under various forms of colonial oppression, under extreme hardship. It can be said that, through free verse and magnificent imagery, Thế Lữ successfully constructed the image of a haunting king of the forest in the hearts of the readers.