Reflections on the Opening Stanza of Autumn Prelude

Prompt: Reflections on the Opening Stanza of Autumn Prelude

Reflections on the First Stanza of Autumn Prelude

I. Outline for Reflecting on the First Stanza of Autumn Prelude (Standard)

1. Introduction:

- Hữu Thỉnh is a poet who writes extensively about people, nature, and everyday life.
- 'Autumn Prelude' is his work depicting the autumn scene in the Northern Delta.

2. Body:

a. Signs Indicating the Arrival of Autumn:

The author employs simple, intimate imagery such as guava scent, cool breeze, and dew to herald the arrival of autumn.

-  Guava scent - characteristic of autumn:
+ The flavor associated with Vietnamese countryside.
+ “Phả”: the scent of guava intertwines with the wind, spreading through the air.

- The autumn atmosphere is depicted through 'cool breeze' - chilly gusts of wind.

- Space is enveloped by a veil of mist: 'Dew lingering through the alley'
+ The term 'lingering' deliberately slows down the pace.
+ The author employs personification: the dew seemingly lingering, moving slowly, spreading throughout the space.

b. Author's Impressions:

- Surprised, astonished upon recognizing the signs of autumn: 'suddenly realizing'

- Astonished, puzzled by the appearance of autumn:
+ The uncertainty conveyed by 'seemingly': implying speculation, not certainty.
+ The combination of 'seemingly' with the announcement of autumn's arrival - 'autumn has come' - indicates the poet's astonishment, disbelief, and confusion as autumn arrives.

c. Artistic Highlights:

- Utilization of the five-character verse form.
- Employment of rhetorical devices, distinctive phrases.
- Simple poetic language, intimate imagery.

3. Conclusion:

- The poem depicts the tranquil early autumn scene of rural Vietnam.
- It contributes to enriching the treasury of Vietnamese poetry.

II. Sample Composition Reflections on the Opening Stanza of Autumn Prelude (Standard)

Hữu Thỉnh is a poet who has written extensively about people, nature, and the everyday scenes of life. His work 'Autumn Prelude' is one of the outstanding modern poems depicting the autumn landscape of the rural Northern Delta. The opening stanza of the poem describes the signs of change in the land and sky, along with the author's sudden realization of the arrival of autumn.

Throughout the year, the earth experiences four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter, yet autumn seems to be the season that poets hold a special fondness for. Hữu Thỉnh, the author, is no exception; he has painted a vivid picture of autumn with remarkably distinctive strokes, imbued with the essence of the Northern Delta region:

'Suddenly realizing the scent of guava
Wafting in the cool breeze'

Guava is a familiar fruit to the Vietnamese people. It represents autumn, evoking memories of the Mid-Autumn Festival with its colorful feasts. In the transitional moments of morning, the poet suddenly detects the familiar scent lingering in the chilly autumn breeze. The word 'suddenly' evokes a sense of abruptness, a sudden encounter with something very familiar, here being the ripe scent of guava quietly spreading in the fresh, cool breeze. Then, the verb 'wafting' placed at the beginning of the sentence vividly depicts the guava scent enveloping the space. Typically, scents are carried by the wind, but here, the ripe guava scent, the first flavor of autumn, seems to actively 'waft' into the passing cold breeze. Are these two verbs at the beginning of the sentence indicative of the poet's surprise, astonishment, even bewilderment, upon suddenly realizing that the signs of autumn, both the guava scent and the cool breeze, are they? All these signs blend together, touching the keen senses of the artist, allowing him to open his heart, embrace, and enjoy the beginning moments of autumn in the Northern Delta.

Not only the 'guava scent,' but also the 'cool breeze,' autumn brings forth hazy mist: 'Dew lingering through the alley.' The line achieves a level of sophistication by personifying the autumn mist. The mist does not overwhelm forcefully but gently, shyly like a young girl. The mist 'passes' through the alley yet intentionally slows down, intentionally 'lingering' a bit, perhaps waiting for something? The village roads, lanes are surrounded by a veil of mist. All the scenery is silent within that mist, with no movement except for the slow, silent steps of autumn dew. It evokes an image of a peaceful rural countryside. All the scenes within it are sparkling, magical yet so simple, so humble under the ethereal mist.

Reading the first three lines of the poem, one can feel the very slow movement of the transitioning autumn. Everything is blurred and unclear, 'guava scent,' 'cool breeze,' 'mist,' they seem to make people's hearts also blurred and unclear. And the author himself must also exclaim in the haze, hesitation that: 'It seems like autumn has come.' It's not a statement but a question, a poet's inner question: has autumn arrived? When did autumn arrive? From which moment? It's a doubt, a bit of confusion of the poet when perceiving the transition of the land and sky.

In the poetry of Nguyễn Khuyến or Xuân Diệu, we see a strong, deeply imbued autumn atmosphere:

'The autumn pond, clear water serene,
A small fishing boat sways gently.
Blue waves follow the gentle breeze,
Yellow leaves lightly sway in the wind.
Layers of clouds float in the deep blue sky'

(Autumn Pipe)

Or like: 'Here comes autumn, autumn is here' (Here Comes Autumn - Xuân Diệu) - a proclamation of the arrival of autumn. In Hữu Thỉnh's poetry, however, we find a hesitation, a hesitation difficult to describe due to his perception, which is subtle, profound, and also very delicate.