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Assignment: Reflect on the excerpt 'Remembering ourselves, ... Tân Trào, Hồng Thái, the banyan tree village temple' from the poem 'Viet Bac'.
Sample Essay: Reflection on an Excerpt from the poem 'Viet Bac'
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Assignment:
After the Geneva Agreement of 1954, the northern region of our country was liberated. Around October of that year, central Party and State agencies left Viet Bac and moved to Hanoi. The nostalgia between the people of Viet Bac and the revolutionary cadres inspired To Huu to compose the poem 'Viet Bac' consisting of 150 six-eight couplets, which is the most beautiful love song in his collection of poems of the same name. The opening 20 lines of the poem express the deep bond between those leaving and those staying, epitomizing To Huu's style of political romantic poetry.
The Farewell and Sentiments of Those Left Behind:
Remembering ourselves, we remember us,
Fifteen years of earnest, passionate devotion.
Do we remember ourselves when we return,
Gazing at trees, recalling mountains and rivers?
With a structure akin to a serenade, the verses portray the farewell between the people of Viet Bac and the revolutionaries. The bond between those staying and those leaving is expressed profoundly through the pronouns 'ourselves' and 'us', evoking endless nostalgia during the parting moments.
The farewell messages from those staying behind, with their suggestive phrases asking if we remember us, echo endlessly with poignant sentiments. The fifteen years evoke memories of time, trees, mountains, rivers, and sources evoke space. It's the time of revolutionary activities and resistance against the French, the space of a revolutionary base area. Adverbs of earnest devotion express a love filled with the rich flavor of cherished memories. The verb 'to remember' evokes endless reminiscence...
Whose earnest voice lingers by the riverbank,
Vague in the mind, restless steps.
An illusion leads to separation,
Holding hands, what shall we say today...
This is the heartfelt voice of the one returning. Hearing the question, their heart flutters, steps hesitant, attire simple, and sincere. The verse hangs in suspense with its hesitant rhythm, holding hands - what to say - today, expressing the turmoil of emotions too overwhelming to articulate.
The question from those staying behind:
When I leave, will you remember the days
Of source water rains, floods, clouds, and mist?
When I return, will you remember the war zones
A morsel of rice dipped in salt, burdensome grudges?
When I return, do you recall the forests and mountains
With falling bauhinia petals, aging bamboo shoots?
When I leave, will you remember the homes
With gray thatched roofs, deeply imbued with loyalty?
When I return, do you still remember the hills and mountains
Remembering the anti-Japanese resistance, the Viet Minh era?
When I leave, will I remember myself
Tân Trào, Hồng Thái, the banyan tree village temple?
The next twelve verses are in the voice of Viet Bac. The poetic tone evokes nostalgia over time, spreading through space. Recalling distant memories from the revolutionary beginnings, during the resistance against the French.
The spaces, places gradually emerge from the haze, source rain, floods, clouds, and mist, to become defined as sturdy battle zones, then stirring up a fighting spirit during the anti-Japanese resistance, the Viet Minh era, giving birth to landmarks like cradles welcoming Tân Trào, Hồng Thái, village temples, banyan trees. Details of life and human sentiment: a bowl of rice with salt, bauhinia fruit, bamboo shoots, thatched roofs, gray and solemn... gradually reappear, reminding of shared burdens, steadfast hearts that never fade.
