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Prompt: Reflections After Reading 'The Age of the Horse' by Xuân Quỳnh
Sample Essay: My Thoughts on 'The Age of the Horse' by Xuân Quỳnh
Sample Piece: Reflections After Reading 'The Age of the Horse' by Xuân Quỳnh
Xuân Quỳnh's poetic fable 'The Age of the Horse' is innocent, playful, and profound in its essence.
At the beginning, the child asks the mother: 'Mother, what age am I?' Curiosity prompts the question, innocence makes it charming. No need for deep philosophical meanings. Understanding the child's nature since conception, the mother speaks of her 'Little Horse's' soul with all her affection:
'Your age, my child, is the age of the Horse.
Restless as a Horse
Your age, my child, is the age of wanderlust.
You're a lively and restless child. Never 'still in one place'. Perhaps you're like a 'Little Horse', running and neighing all day long?
In the second stanza, the 'Little Horse' talks about the endless miles, the vast spaces, the strange lands that it will 'gallop' to. It will travel through the central region through the 'green wind'. It will journey to the red land through the 'pink wind'. It will traverse the rocky mountains of the wilderness through the 'black wind'. And you will bring back to your dear mother the 'Winds from a hundred regions' from all four corners of the earth with various fragrances, on 'the fields of flowers'.
There's 'A dazzling white shimmer of dream flowers - A pristine unwritten page'.
There's 'The overwhelming fragrance of lilies' that one cannot fully embrace.
And there's also:
'The bustling wind and sun
Throughout fields of wild daisies'.
The flowers I pick from faraway lands I offer to my dear mother are flowers of pure souls, flowers of filial piety, and flowers of dreams, aspirations to embark on a journey.
The last stanza speaks of the love of the 'Little Horse's' mother. Despite the distance, through mountains, forests, rivers, and seas, the child always looks towards the dear mother, always seeks to return to the homeland to meet the mother:
'Though separated by mountains and forests
Despite rivers and seas apart
The child seeks to return to the mother
The Little Horse still remembers the way.
The phrase 'still remembers' affirms a belief, a bond of unwavering loyalty.
'The Age of the Horse' is a rich and evocative poem, stirring sentiments of maternal love and the child's yearning for adventure. Xuân Quỳnh beautifully captures these profound ideas through her exquisite verses.
Thus, we have suggested Reflections After Reading 'The Age of the Horse' by Xuân Quỳnh. To further enhance this essay, you can refer to the content of Preparing for the poem 'The Age of the Horse', reading exercises.
