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Prompt: Select some exemplary folk verses on the theme of love and camaraderie and express thoughts on these verses
Sample: Choose some exemplary folk verses on the theme of love and camaraderie and express thoughts on these verses
I. OUTLINE
1. Introduction:
- Folk verses - the poetry of the people - vividly depict the rich inner life, thoughts, and emotions of ancient laborers.
- Folk verses - expressions of love and camaraderie...
- Below are some exemplary folk verses (Referencing 5 verses).
2. Body:
* Analysis of the first three lines:
- She stands by the riverbank,
Wishing you sway like a rose branch for the beloved.
- Wish the river widens just a span,
North bridge strips a sash for the beloved to play.
- I wish you transform into a mirror,
Let me gaze at you every ordinary day.
- I wish you turn into a cradle,
So I can hold fresh betel leaves and golden areca nut for you.
+ The beauty of these three folk verses lies in the skillful combination of reality and illusion in poetic imagery.
- Real: A girl stands by the river, the river, you, me.
- Illusion: rose branch bridge, sash bridge, turns into mirror, turns into cradle.
- The image of the bridge is a quite common artistic detail. It symbolizes a meeting place, a rendezvous of lovers. It is embellished with rich imagination, romance of ancient people to become the rose branch bridge, the sash bridge,... interesting and lovely, expressing longing for love, intimacy...
- The image of the mirror, the cradle holding betel (objects associated with village girls) is also exploited by folk authors, transformed into an excuse to express passionate love.
In the depths of desire, I long to be intertwined with my beloved, like the very essence of shadow and light. I yearn to be the mirror that reflects your beauty every day, to be wrapped in your embrace. If only I could transform into a cloak, so I may accompany you wherever you tread. The imagery of fresh betel leaves and golden areca nuts symbolize a union of enduring happiness.
* Analyzing the following two sentences:
+ Loyalty as unyielding as steel.
- The imagery of the banyan tree, riverside, and boat are employed to convey deeper meanings. The banyan tree and riverside represent those who stay behind; the boat and traveler symbolize those who venture forth.
The fifth statement: Affirming unwavering loyalty. Through sun and rain, as time flows on and circumstances change, the banyan tree and riverside still await travelers, and travelers always reminisce about the old banyan tree and riverside.
The sixth statement: Evoking a paradoxical scene: The old banyan tree and riverside still hold onto centuries-old promises. A different boat replaces the one from years past. (Symbolic significance, lamentation) - Where is my former lover now? The phrase evokes feelings of nostalgia, wistfulness, and regret.
3. Conclusion:
Love and friendship are the cherished traditions of the Vietnamese people.
That tradition has become a prominent theme in folk poetry and songs. Through them, we can envision the rich and profound inner lives of our ancestors.
II. WRITTEN WORK
Folk poetry and songs depict the rich inner lives, thoughts, and emotions of ancient laborers in their relationships of love, family, homeland, and nation. Sentimental folk verses are words of love and affection uttered from lives filled with sorrow and bitterness yet brimming with the deep affection of Vietnamese farmers amidst lush bamboo groves, by the well, beneath banyan trees, and in communal courtyards...
Below are some exemplary folk verses on the themes of love and affection:
1. She stands by the river,
Longing for him across the rose branches to come.
2. If only the river were a single span wide,
A silk ribbon bridge would be laid for him to cross and play.
3. If only you became a mirror,
So I could see myself in you every ordinary day.
If only you became a cradle,
So I could hold fresh betel leaves and golden areca nuts in you for me.
4. The old banyan tree, the ancient riverside,
Even through journeys, meaning remains; under sun and rain, still waiting.
5. Centuries-old promises left unfulfilled.
The old banyan tree, the familiar riverside, another boat now carries.
There are two groups of folk verses. The first group consists of the first three verses, while the second group consists of verse 4 and verse 5. Arranging the verses into these groups is based on their similarity in content and artistry.
* First Group:
What makes these verses remarkable is the skillful combination of reality and illusion in poetic imagery.
The woman standing by the river is real. However, to elevate her presence, the river and the bridge of pink flowers become illusions, similar to the wide river mentioned in the second verse, where a girl crosses the bridge wearing a sash. The bridge of pink flowers, the sash bridge – none of them are real; they are woven from the lofty dreams of humanity. Yet, it is these imaginary bridges that create the peculiar beauty that only folk verses possess. The charm of these verses lies in the romantic imagery they evoke and the tender sentiments they inspire.
In the first scenario, the young man asks the young woman if she would like to come to this side of the river, he will bend a rose branch to bridge the gap. Although the bridge - rose branch is just imaginary, it's truly beautiful and delicate. That is the bridge of love that he wants to build from his heart to hers, but that desire is hidden very carefully within the image of a unique bridge, like no other.
In love folklore, the image of a bridge is a quite common artistic detail. It becomes a symbol to denote the meeting place, dating of loving couples, is a means, is an excuse to express the first difficult thing. The bridge sometimes is a rose branch, a sandalwood branch, a wisp of fog, even a ribbon:
- Two of us are separated by a river
To come over, I will bend a rose branch to bridge the gap.
Separated by a pond lies between us,
To cross over, I'll snap a sandalwood branch to bridge the gap.
Sandalwood branches vertically and horizontally,
For the one over there to step to this side.
Lately, but not coming over to hang out,
So I'll cut a wisp of fog to build the bridge.
Afraid that you won't cross the bridge,
Wasting the carpenter's effort, making me sad.
Set amidst the imagery of extraordinary bridges, the unique beauty of the ribbon bridge becomes even clearer:
If only the river were as narrow as a lane,
I'd raise a ribbon bridge for you to come over.
This is the desire to meet of the girl with her beloved. She revealed that bold desire through a unique image: Raising a ribbon bridge for you to come over. Hoping to be close, the girl wishes the river were only as wide as a lane to raise the bridge to welcome the boy with a soft ribbon, carrying the warmth and the throbbing rhythm of love in her heart.
A daring, intense yet sentimental desire, full of profound meanings! The soft ribbon always accompanies and protects the girl. She wants to use her most intimate object to build the bridge, inviting her beloved. This isn't a rose branch, sandalwood branch, or wisp of fog... which are external objects that sentimental characters borrow to build bridges, but it's her own ribbon. The bridge - ribbon is created by her sincere, fervent love. It becomes the most beautiful bridge of love in folklore, and only the bold, creative folk artistic mindset can imagine such a bridge!
Here, the river doesn't exist but the bridge is even more ethereal. Only with that river does that bridge exist. It's truly the bridge of love but it's the bridge the girl actively raises for her beloved to cross, symbolizing the constraints, obstacles of feudalism in ancient times. The wonderful meaning of the folk song lies there. In the imagery system of bridges in folk songs, the image of the ribbon bridge is the most beautiful, the most unique because it not only expresses sincere love but also demonstrates the very artistic way of expression of the working people in expressing that love.
If in the second verse, the sentimental character is a girl then in the third verse the sentimental character is a boy. When boys and girls love each other, they always turn towards each other, wanting to be close to each other.
This poem also speaks of the desire to be close but at a more intense level: If only I could turn into a mirror. The boy wishes to transform into a mirror to always be by the side of the person he loves. Transform into a mirror so you can reflect on her every day and admire her beauty, to have her shadow within his shadow. More romantic, the boy expresses: If only I could turn into a basket, To hold fresh betel leaves and gold areca nuts for you. Transform into a basket to preserve fresh betel leaves - gold areca nuts symbolizing enduring love and marriage. If the girl knew the boy's earnest desires, she would surely be deeply moved.
* The Second Group:
Folk songs often use the imagery of banyan trees, riverbanks, and boats to express human loyalty. These images correspond to the idealistic, symbolic meanings that people embed within them.
These are familiar images, leaving a deep impression in the souls of farmers. At the beginning of the village or at the ferry landing, there is often an ancient banyan tree. Beneath its roots, many farewells or meetings take place, thus it holds many memories.
In the fifth and sixth folk songs, the banyan tree and the ferry symbolize those who stay behind; travelers, the boat symbolizes those who depart.
The fifth verse affirms the loyalty between those who depart and those who stay. Despite sun or rain, despite the passing of time, even if circumstances change, the banyan tree, the ferry still await travelers, and travelers always look back to the old banyan tree, the old ferry. The affection and the duty here are always intertwined, creating the intimacy and steadfastness of loyalty.
The sixth verse evokes a contrasting scene. The old banyan tree, the old ferry still hold promises made a hundred years ago, because another boat has taken travelers across the river instead of the old one. The old scene remains but where have the old people (old lovers) gone? Everything has become memories. Love may be gone but duty still lingers. Regrets and reproaches; silently, nostalgically for oneself and also for the other.
Love and loyalty are the noble traditions of the Vietnamese people. This tradition has become a major theme in folk songs, ballads, and is expressed in countless verses. Through some representative folk songs mentioned above, we can see the rich, profound spiritual life and the talent in expressing that spiritual life through the wonderful folk arts of our ancestors.
In the Vietnamese Literature curriculum for 10th grade, the section You (or your elder sibling) choose some representative folk verses on the theme of love, affection, and express your thoughts on those verses is an important content. In addition to the above content, students need to pay attention to Analyze the comforting folk verses, the loving affection and they can also explore the section Analyze the following folk verses: “Whose handkerchief do you remember... Worried for an unease on one side...” to prepare for the lesson content ahead.
