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>> Essays analyzing Summer Day Scene that are excellent and score 10 points
Some issues regarding the content and artistry of Summer Day Scene:
I. AUTHOR
- Nguyễn Trãi (1380-1442), also known as Ức Trai, was born in Chi Ngại village (Chí Linh, Hải Dương). He was born into a family with a literary tradition and a strong patriotism, which helped cultivate and nurture qualities and talents for a great national talent: a poet, a national hero, a cultural celebrity. In 1980, he was awarded the title of World Cultural Celebrity by UNESCO, being 'the ambassador of the Vietnamese people', and 'an outstanding member of the human community.'
- Despite experiencing many ups and downs in life, his soul always turned to the people with a deep love and empathy. He devoted his profound and extensive love to nature and 'the red race'. This sentiment is expressed with full of emotions and elegance in the poem 'Summer Day Scene' - a vivid painting of summer days.
II. WORKS
- 'Summer Day Scene' is the 43rd poem in the section 'Bảo kính cảnh giới' (Mirror of self-discipline) of the Nôm poetry collection 'Quốc âm thi tập' consisting of 254 poems by Nguyễn Trãi.
- The poem is a creative breakthrough by the author in terms of artistry in the Đường luật poetry form and vividly portrays the summer season, stimulating all human senses, bringing to people feelings of poetic taste and warmth of humanity, echoing the author's sentiment 'Dân giàu đủ khắp đòi phương'.
III. Themes and Artistic Aspects of the Work
1. Themes
- Introduce the circumstances of the poem's creation:
+ In 1427: Lam Sơn uprising after 20 years of hardship achieved complete victory, opening up a peaceful era for the people. The Later Lê dynasty began the nation-building process in various fields. Nguyễn Trãi participated in this endeavor. However, the peace only lasted for a short period. Internal conflicts arose, with mutual resentment and plots. Due to his upright character and honesty, Nguyễn Trãi often accused the powerful of their wrongdoings, leading to numerous plots against him. Distressed by the political life, in 1439, he sought refuge in Côn Sơn, escaping the mundane life of politics for a peaceful and quiet life. Perhaps, the poem was composed after he retreated to seclusion.
+ Why the circumstances of the poem's composition are unclear?: (Referring to the Lệ Chi Viên case). In 1464, King Lê Thánh Tông exonerated Nguyễn Trãi, and later collected his literary works. It was not until the 19th century that his works were relatively fully collected. Therefore, in terms of the circumstances of its creation, as well as his other works in general, and the poem 'Summer Day Scene' in particular, the exact time cannot be determined and can only be inferred based on national history, content, and the author's emotions expressed through his works.
a. The vivid summer scene is portrayed with a variety of colors and sounds that strongly impact the reader's senses, creating a feeling as if the reader is immersing their soul to live, enjoy, and observe the painting. (The first 6 lines)
'Then yearning for the coolness of schooldays
The green hoe is densely covered with bushes
The coral tree still emits red sap
The red lotus has already bid farewell to its scent
The fish market in the fishing village is bustling
Melancholy holds the reed flute in the evening pavilion
- In 1418, Nguyen Trai joined the Lam Son uprising initiated by Le Loi in Thanh Hoa. The 10 years of resistance contained many sorrows, difficulties, and dangers for the poet. But it seems that these difficulties were a place for him to cultivate his character, hone his spirit in a great human, great intellect:
'Difficulties are like wearing a protective coat
The more difficult it is, the more heroic the determination
(Inspiration, XXI)
After years of resistance facing countless difficulties:
'When Linh Son's ration lasts only a few weeks
When Khôi Huyện's troops had no unit
Now, the 'leisure' body, moments blending with the freshness of life, the land and sky have returned to him: 'Then cool off in the school days'. 'Then' is leisurely, 'school days' are 'long days'. The whole verse really speaks of leisure, expressed through the words 'then', 'cool off'; 'in the school days'. The body may be at leisure, but is the mind really at ease? Mr. Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, though 'One morning, one fishing trip, one fishing rod', his soul is truly calm, pure 'Musing who enjoys what pleasure' (Leisure). As for Mr. Nguyễn Trãi, living in a situation of suspicion, with the authorities insinuating, flattering, can the people's lives be peaceful and happy? Perhaps that is a concern that Mr. always keeps in mind, difficult to dispel. In that concern, the fresh natural painting merges into the vigorous, joyful labor painting could be a great comfort to Mr.:
'Hòe lục đùn đùn tán rợp giương
Thạch lựu hiên còn phun thức đỏ
'Lotus flowers have bid farewell to their fragrance'
'The fish market in the fishing village is bustling'
'Melancholy holding a bamboo flute in the twilight pavilion'
The second, third, and fourth verses are vivid and lively.
Is there a painting, a life that is filled with fragrance and sound like this 'fishing village' painting? Is there a painting that impacts all senses and emotions of the reader like this one? It seems the scene that appears hides deep emotions, full of flavor. Spring, summer, autumn, winter: a four-season painting of the land and sky filled with colors, carrying unique and distinctive features. But summer is still the hottest, most vibrant:
'Under the jackfruit moon, summer has been called'
'At the head of the wall, grenades, blazing, pierce the cotton'
(The Tale of Kieu, Nguyen Du)
Although the summer painting of the 'fishing village' does not have the romantic moonlight like the summer painting of Nguyen Du, it still has the vibrant beauty of the blazing red grenades lighting up a corner of the land and sky 'Thạch lựu hiên còn phun thức đỏ'. Against the backdrop of that blazing summer, the green banana leaves seem to be crowding each other, rising up to decorate the vivid painting 'Hòe lục đùn đùn tán rợp giương'. In the green of banana flowers, the red of grenades, the scent of lotus faint in the pond brings a very elegant and gentle atmosphere: 'Hồng liên trì đã tiễn mùi hương'. It seems that the vivid red grenades, the faint scent of lotus are symbolic images of a lively and flavorful summer. The poet not only paints a picture of the life of plants but also paints a picture of human life:
'Lao xao chợ cá làng ngư phủ
Dắng dỏi cầm ve lầu tịch dương'
Here, the natural sounds have blended into the sounds of human life. The bustling sound of the fishing village market, the mournful sound of the cicadas are praised by the author as the sound of the guitar engraved into that summer painting more bustling but also endlessly sad. The sound of cicadas crying is already heavy but being compared to the sound of a guitar makes it even more heavy. The poet not only describes the painting of nature but also describes the painting of the fishing village life with a loving, affectionate heart. Both paintings, if the poet depicted them at 'sunrise', they would be brighter, more cheerful, but unfortunately, the poet depicted them at 'sunset', although they are bright, brilliant, they also contain a deep sadness from the bottom of the poet's heart that also seeps into the consciousness of future generations like the sadness in the two lines:
'The old way, horse-drawn carriage, autumn soul leisurely
The old foundation, castle shadows at sunset'
(Elegy for Thang Long citadel, by Ba Huyen Thanh Quan)
Thus, that summer scene struck strongly at the poet's vision, smell, and hearing, allowing the poet's emotions to spread along with the summer life with a rich, abundant love for nature.
=> From that summer scene, we can see that the author is observing the landscape from a high place, 'lau tich duong'. Therefore, that summer scene is described very delicately and harmoniously.
b. The poet's heart: longing for a peaceful, happy life for the people (last 2 lines)
'Easy to have a guqin play one sound
People are rich enough to demand everywhere'
Chinese mythology tells of two ideal dynasties, King Tang of Shang and King Yu, where society was peaceful and the people were happy. King Yu had a song called Nam Phong, which included the line: 'When the southern wind blows, it can bring our people more wealth.' Perhaps inspired by this myth, the great poet Nguyen Trai always dreamed of a peaceful and prosperous life for his people. He wished he had King Yu's guqin to play a tune of Nam Phong. Could it be that the last two lines are not only the poet's aspirations but also a praise for the two dynasties of King Le:
'In the time of the Great Ancestor, the Great Lord
With rice and grain filling the house, yet the buffalo has no appetite'
After 20 years of arduous resistance, the battle of Chi Lang - Xuong Giang ended with the heroic and resolute spirit of our nation:
'One battle, clean without surprise
Two battles, devastating the flock of birds
A strong wind blows away the dry leaves
Clearing the way, breaking the dam
(Bình Ngô Đại Cáo)
In April 1428, Le Loi ascended the throne, establishing the Later Le dynasty, and embarked on a mission to rebuild and restore the country in all aspects, especially in agriculture, creating conditions for people to have a prosperous and happy life. Therefore, the final line 'The people are rich and content in every direction' once again confirms the humanitarian and people-loving ideology in Nguyen Trai's works. He not only dreams of a 'rich enough' life for the people in his era but also aspires for many generations to come in a country where:
'Mountains and rivers divide the borders
The customs of the North and South are different'
2. Art
'Then seeking coolness from the school days
The bamboo hammock rustles, covering the bed
The pomegranate tree in the yard still spouts red beads
The red lotus has bid farewell to its fragrance
The bustling fish market in the fishing village
The melodious sound of the flute in the attic
Easy for Ngu to play the zither for a moment
The people are wealthy and satisfied everywhere
Artistic issues of the poem:
- Tone and rhyme: According to the tone and rhyme rules of Tang poetry, the second character of the first line is written in which tone determines the rhyme scheme of the poem. Therefore, 'Summer Scene' follows the rhyme scheme (the second character of the first line is in the tone 'hóng').
- Parallelism: 'is the arrangement of lines that adhere to each other in terms of tone, creating an intimate connection in terms of melody.' According to the Tang poetry rules, line 1 is parallel to line 8, line 2 is parallel to line 3, line 4 is parallel to line 5, line 6 is parallel to line 7, 'two lines are parallel when they share the same rhyme scheme. Two lines are parallel when the second character of both lines has the same tone.
The poem is a combination of the rules of Tang poetry and the innovation of the poet:
- Rules:
+ Structure: introduction (presentation), explanation (explanation), argument (discussion), conclusion (feeling, author's attitude - sentiment). In other words, the poem follows the correct structure of the seven-word eight-line poetry of Tang rules (the first 6 lines describe the scene, the last 2 lines express the sentiment).
+ Couplet: 'In a Tang seven-word eight-line poem, the couplet is executed in two explanation lines (3, 4) and two argument lines (5, 6). The poem successfully demonstrates this:
Thạch lựu hiên still spouts red - Hong lien tri has bid farewell to fragrance
Lao xao fish market in the fishing village - Hoarse holding the ve in the lầu tịch
+ Rhyme: 'ương' in 'the last word of the first verse and all even verses' => foot rhyme, single rhyme
'Then enjoy the coolness of the school days
The pond is lush with greenery
The pomegranate tree still spouts red
The red lotus has bid farewell to its fragrance
The bustling fish market in the fishing village
Gently holding the musical instrument under the setting sun
It is easy for Ngu to play the instrument for a moment
People in every direction demand wealth
+ Rhythm: 2/2/3 following the rules of Tang Dynasty poetry
'The green grass/ densely covers the bamboo thicket'
'The bustling/ fish market/ in the fishing village'
'The persistent/ cricket sings/ under the pavilion at sunset'
- Innovation and creativity
+ The use of two six-character lines at the beginning and end of the poem is a unique and artistically important feature. These lines are heptasyllabic with one character omitted.
+ Metrical pattern: Some lines are 3/4 syllables, while the regular pattern of Tang poetry is 4/3 syllables:
'Then enjoy the cool of school days'
'The pomegranate tree still spews red seeds'
'The red lotus has bid farewell to its fragrance'
'Ngu can play the zither for a moment'
'The people are rich enough in every way'
- Using richly expressive and descriptive words: 'dense' (Verb, to draw a lot); 'bustling' (Adjective, indicating irregular sounds), 'austere' (Adjective, describing a high, clear sound).
- Skillfully using verbs like 'stretch', 'spurt', 'bid farewell' not only describe the vitality of plants but also the intense vitality of laborers and their eager desire to dedicate themselves to their homeland and country.
- The second, third, and fourth lines bring the object forward, then describe the nuances of the object to highlight it. This is a distinctive artistic point. At the same time, the poet introduces three bright colors into the picture, 'green', 'red', 'pink', in a harmonious, balanced way.
'The lush vegetation is dense and lush
The pomegranate tree is still spraying red juice
The lotus has bid farewell to its fragrance
- The entire poem is condensed into the word 'people' in the last line: 'The people are rich enough to demand in every direction', demonstrating the humanitarian and compassionate thoughts of the great poet. And that is the 'signature' of the poem.
CONCLUSION:
In the collection 'Vietnamese Poetry', historian Tran Trong Kim wrote: 'Poetry uses feelings and scenery as materials, and uses ideas and words as applications. Abundant feelings, clear scenery, lofty ideas, and beautiful words make good poetry.' And the poem 'Summer Scene' by the great poet Nguyen Trai has achieved that remarkable content and artistry.
After studying the content above, you can delve into the beauty of Nguyen Trai's soul through the poem 'Summer Scene' to consolidate your knowledge of the work as well as understand the author's innermost thoughts.
In addition to Some issues regarding the content and art of 'Summer Scene', you should further explore other content such as Outline of the poem 'Summer Scene', the section Appreciating the natural scenery in the poem 'Summer Scene', the essay The spiritual beauty of Nguyen Trai through 'Bao kinh canh gioi', or the analysis of 'Bao kinh canh gioi' to reinforce your knowledge.
