Reflection on Tran Dang Khoa's Poem 'Rain'

Essay Prompt: Reflection on Tran Dang Khoa's Poem 'Rain'

4 Sample Essays Reflecting on Tran Dang Khoa's Poem 'Rain'

Sample Essay 1: Reflection on Tran Dang Khoa's Poem 'Rain'

The poem 'Rain' by Tran Dang Khoa was written in 1967, when the author was just nine years old. Khoa's childhood poetry often portrays simple scenes and ordinary people in the countryside, within the backyard corners of homes. However, it transcends those settings to capture the essence of the country and embody the spirit of the era, resisting American intervention. The poem 'Rain' aligns with this thematic thread.

Tran Dang Khoa paints the rain shower in chronological order, capturing the moments from the impending rain to the midst of the downpour.

The scene as the rain approaches begins with two repeated lines:

Rain is coming Rain is coming

A very urgent warning for everyone that the rain shower has arrived. The scene unfolds with a series of vivid images depicting the lively activities of the landscape: the termite family leaving their nest, soaring high and low, somersaulting in the air, old termites, young termites – so many termites! It's precisely the sign that rain is imminent! On the ground, baby chicks are frantically searching for a hiding place. Hurry! Look, the heavens have donned black armor, rain is wielding its sword, ants are on the march, dust is swirling, the wind is blowing... Everything, absolutely everything, is in a hurry, taking urgent action as the rain is approaching. Is there any image more beautiful than this:

Grasshoppers buzzing in the ears
Listening
Rustling bamboo
Occasionally
Untangling hair
A line of grapefruit trees
Swaying
Carrying the playful children
Round heads
Barefoot

From the movements of the grass and its gentle swaying in the wind, the author imagines it as the ears of the grass buzzing to listen to the sounds of the impending strong winds; the bamboo branches and leaves swayed forcefully are depicted as a tangle of hair of the bamboo bush being unraveled. However, the more unraveled, the more tangled it becomes as the wind grows stronger. A daring metaphor by the poet: grapefruits likened to a group of hairless-headed children hiding among the branches, swaying back and forth against the wind...

The poet must observe attentively and extremely delicately, through the perception of both eyes and the soul of a child, combined with rich and powerful imagination to achieve such innocent and unique verses!

The rain is described in increasing intensity. While the scene before the rain is characterized by the urgent and hurried activities of plants and animals, in the rain, the natural landscape is described more violently, with the activities of creatures, including humans, appearing somewhat more powerful.

Lightning
Tears across the sky
Harsh.

From the ravine, the rapid and powerful flashes of lightning evoke an image as if someone wielding a knife swiftly and forcefully cuts through the sky, creating a rift from which bursts of electric sparks signal that the rain has arrived. Accompanying the lightning is thunder, a natural and logical association. Personification is employed continuously in the verse: Thunder laughs, coconut trees stretch their arms in a swimming motion, banana leaves dance. In Tran Dang Khoa's poetry, even inanimate objects possess a soul.

The vivid and lively scene becomes more vibrant as the author describes the sounds:

Rain
Rain
Roaring like milling rice
Splish splash
Splish splash.

The entire expanse of land and sky is obscured by the white misty rain. Water bubbles and foams under the eaves. The leaves drink the rain, bathed in the refreshing rain with joyous 'aha' sounds.

The image of humans emerges beautifully in the natural canvas. Amidst the torrential rain, humans defy all odds:

Thunder team
Lightning team
Rain team...

Here, there is a contrast between nature and humans. On one side, there is the intense rain, thunder, and lightning, while on the other, there is the active calmness of humans. Perhaps the author has used nature as a backdrop to elevate the stature of humans. The human figure here is the father returning from plowing. Plowing is a common and familiar task in the village, portrayed with a grand demeanor, standing firm amidst the tumultuous nature of the rain, defying everything with confidence and triumph. The repetition of the team in the last three lines makes the human figure shine amidst the natural tableau.

With free verse, short and rhythmic lines, widespread and precise personification, keen observation and delicate description, rich imagination, and a profound and childlike perception of nature, the poem accurately depicts the scenes before and during the rain in the village through the activities and states of various elements, animals, and humans. Standing out in the natural panorama is the image of humans elevated with strength and power to match nature and the universe.

Above is the section Reflection on the poem 'Rain' by Trần Đăng Khoa. Next, prepare to answer textbook questions, Analysis of the poem 'Rain', and along with the part Transforming Trần Đăng Khoa's poem 'Rain' into prose to excel in the subject of Literature.

Sample 2: Reflection on the poem 'Rain' by Trần Đăng Khoa

The poem 'Rain' by the author Trần Đăng Khoa, written in 1967 when he was nine years old, portrays simple landscapes and close connections with humanity.

The author was subtle in depicting a vivid natural scene, from the impending rainy weather to the raining and the passage of the rain.

Rain is coming, Rain is coming
Chicken grass rustles its ears
Listening Bamboo dust
Frequent Smooth untangling of hair
Pomelo rowing sways
Carrying a bunch of little children
Round heads Naked necks

The opening verses act as an alarm for humans and all things around to know that the earth is changing, a rainstorm is approaching.

The swaying gusts make the chicken grass rustle, prompting the author to associate it with ears.

A uniquely bold and daring personification comparison by our young poet. The pomelos are likened to little children.

This demonstrates the author's keen observation of our nature, only with such an observation can the author produce such vivid verses, close to human life.

Thunder
A slash across the sky
Harsh.

The rain is getting closer with each moment. The lightning flashes like a shining sword, slashing across the sky, the cuts igniting flames, causing both humans and nature to tremble in fear.

The author employs the art of personification of nature, as previously described in the poetic lines.

'Thunder laughs,
coconut trees waving arms swimming,
palm leaves dancing.'

The author has given life to seemingly lifeless objects, those objects thought to be soulless live like humans. They possess a soul, thoughts, and actions similar to humans.

Rain
Rain
Roaring like grinding rice
Drip drop
Drip drop.

The vast expanse suddenly fills with water. On the awnings, raindrops fall in competition, foamy rain bubbles burst in the air. In the scorching heat of summer, if we are blessed with a rain shower, it is truly a blissful moment.

It quenches the thirst of grass, flowers, and leaves, refreshing the soul, feeling joyous and content in the summer rain, cool and delightful.

Thunder roars,
Lightning flashes,
The whole sky rains...

In these final verses, the author Trần Đăng Khoa no longer describes the natural scenery but portrays the image of a person. On one side, thunder, lightning, and fierce rain. On the other side, a person actively remains calm, proudly enduring thunder, lightning, and rain to go about their work.

The image of a person emerges, poised and resilient, without any worry or fear.

The concluding verses of the poem make the 'Rain' painting more vivid than ever with the presence of humans in such a majestic natural landscape.

The author wrote this poem in a highly liberal and free verse, with a rhythmic tempo that alternates between fast and urgent, creating a smooth rhythm for the poem. The author's personification artistry has given even the grass, flowers, and leaves a soul, making readers find it incredibly interesting.

Sample 3: Appreciation of the poem 'Rain' by Trần Đăng Khoa

The poem 'Rain' is crafted in a free verse form, following the rhythms 1, 2, 3, and 4, with rhythm 2 dominating. With short and fast-paced rhythms, the author flexibly describes the observed objects before and during the rain.

The poem is a perfect blend of using verbs and adjectives. These words vividly depict the state of everything when the impending rain is about to happen and during the rain. Some adjectives the author used include round, white mist, diagonal, looming, gleeful..., and verbs like rustling, marching, dancing, shaking, wearing, swaying. These words contribute to perfecting the personification used in the poem. It can be said that this poem widely and successfully employs personification. The animals seem to have a soul in the eyes of poet Trần Đăng Khoa. Some details of the author's use of personification include:

The dark-clad sky goes to battle
A myriad of sugarcane swords dancing
Ants marching
Grasshoppers' ears trembling
Bamboo dust rustling, hair untangling
Pomelo branches swaying, carrying little ones
Thunder approaches the courtyard, guests laugh
Coconut trees spread their arms swimmingly
Young banana leaves leap and dance

This personification makes the whole world of nature lively and blended into the human world. Reading the poem, one feels like a battle is about to take place in the heavens and on earth: The sky dresses in dark armor, goes to battle, myriad sugarcane swords dancing, ants marching. However, alongside that, there are also very simple, familiar images: Pomelo branches swaying, carrying little ones, thunder approaches the courtyard, guests laugh, coconut trees spread their arms swimmingly, young banana leaves leap and dance. The details describing nature in the poem demonstrate the author's keen observation and profound understanding of nature.

The poem truly reveals the human presence only in the final lines:

Dad returns from plowing
Thundering
Lightning
Raining across the sky...

This is the author's metaphorical device, placing humans at the end of the rain to enhance the beauty and grandeur in the posture of the farmer. The rich imagination of the young boy has turned the image of the father plowing into a beautiful and dignified figure, despite the hardships of life.

Sample 4: Impression of the poem 'Rain' by Trần Đăng Khoa

Trần Đăng Khoa was born in 1958, hailing from Nam Sách district, Hải Dương province. His poetic talent blossomed very early.

Since elementary school, when the author, then only nine years old, was already a renowned child writer. The corner of the yard and the sky, the first poetry collection of the author, was published in 1968. The poem 'Rain' was extracted from that collection. Readers have perceived a rain shower in a village through the remarkable artistic techniques of the poem.

The intriguing aspect of the poem is that the author not only directly describes the rain with thunder, lightning, rainwater, etc., but mainly focuses on depicting the activities and states of various animals, plants, and humans before and during the rain. It is through this descriptive approach that readers recognize the specific and vivid scene of the rain.

The first outstanding artistic feature is that the poet has created imaginative, unique, and valuable discoveries while ensuring accuracy:

Grasshoppers' ears vibrating
Hearing the Dust of bamboo
Frequent Untangling of hair

From the appearance of the grass and its swaying movements in the wind, the author imagines it as the ears of the grasshopper vibrating to listen; while the bamboo branches and leaves being blown strongly are envisioned as a bundle of hair from the bamboo dust being untangled. And many other images appear successively in the poem, evoking delight for the reader. Not everyone can imagine like that; it is a very rich imagination of the soul of childhood that creates such amusing images!

The second remarkable feature highlighted in the descriptive art of the poem is the widespread and accurate use of personification:

The heavens
In black armor
Marching into battle
A thousand sugarcane trees
Dancing swords
Ants marching along the road

The personified images create the scene of a fierce battle with a powerful and urgent atmosphere. The heavens, clad in black armor, depict dark clouds covering the sky like the armor of a valiant general marching into battle. The sugarcane trees, with sharp, whirling leaves in the wind, are portrayed as swords swaying in the hands of soldiers in a massive army; ants marching hastily in rows like a military procession on an urgent march.

The successful use of personification here is due to the poet's keen observation, coupled with vivid imagination and strong associative ability. More skillful than a mere listing, the personified images make the painting of Rain come alive. Readers can see and feel it instantly.

The third remarkable feature is the author's art of describing the person in the painting of Rain. The image of the father plowing is constructed in an allegorical manner. Under the gaze of Tran Dang Khoa, the laborer appears with a majestic posture, standing firm amidst the intense natural scene full of thunder and lightning from the rainstorm, as if defying all odds with confidence and triumph.

Thunder rolls, Lightning strikes, The whole sky rains...

A truly heroic and valiant posture, just as the ancient proverb praises:

When it rains, just wear the rain,
My husband, a farmer, proudly in his clean shirt.

Tran Dang Khoa's lines today are still confident and powerful, full of innocence. It portrays an image of a person with grand stature, upright posture, and immense strength, a person not overshadowed by the vastness of nature and the universe. Instead, he becomes a shining point in the midst of the natural canvas.

The contrasting images between nature and human highlight the beauty of the ordinary worker (plowing) against the fierceness of the rain. The author uses nature as a backdrop to elevate the human posture. Is it because nature is the backdrop that elevates the beauty of humans? Or is it due to the creative, unique perspective and the author's delicate attitude in depicting scenes and people? Hence, the poem with 63 lines, 59 lines describing nature, and only the last 4 lines describing humans, but the human figure remains beautiful.

The poem successfully depicts the rain scene through the form and rhythm of the poem. With free verse, short lines, ranging from one to five words, most lines are short, especially with ten one-word lines. The uneven short lines create a fast, strong, and rhythmic pace, vividly expressing each intense and forceful burst of the summer rain.

Tran Dang Khoa's 'Rain' is the crystallization of remarkable artistic elements, showcasing the author's keen observation and delicate descriptive talent, along with a rich imaginative capacity. The perception of nature in the poem is both innocent and profound. It accurately and vividly describes the scene of a rain shower in the countryside through the activities and states of various scenes, animals, and people before and during the rain.

In addition to the above content, you can explore the section 'Preparing for the lesson on Adjectives and Adjective Phrases' to get ready for this lesson.

Furthermore, 'Children Still Dream of Becoming Heroes Like Saint Giong. Imagine dreaming of meeting Saint Giong and ask him for advice. How would he advise you?' is an important lesson in the 6th-grade literature curriculum that you should pay special attention to.