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Exploring the verse from Quang Dũng's Tây Tiến: 'The camp springs to life amidst the glow of torches... Amidst the river's flood, flowers sway'
Sample essay: Interpreting the verse from Tây Tiến by Quang Dũng: 'The camp springs to life amidst the glow of torches... Amidst the river's flood, flowers sway'
Completed Assignment
Quang Dũng, a poet and soldier, once wielded a gun against the enemy and penned verses during the resistance against the French. In 1948, in Phù Lưu Chanh (Hà Tây), he composed the poem Tây Tiến, expressing longing for the battlefields of the West, reminiscing about comrades-in-arms amidst the desolate wilderness. The poem begins with a heartfelt message:
The Sông Mã River is far, oh Tây Tiến!
Recalling forests and mountains, reminiscing in solitude.
The poem consists of 34 heptasyllabic verses, divided into 4 sections, each a recollection of profound memories. This is the second section with 8 verses, akin to a lyrical discourse on two yearnings: the torch-lit gatherings and the misty Châu Mộc evenings:
The camp ablaze with torches, flowers in bloom
Behold the maiden in her graceful attire
The flute plays a tender melody, she shyly smiles
Music reminiscent of Viên Chăn, inspiring poetry's soul
Those who venture to Châu Mộc in that evening mist
Do they sense the spirit along the banks?
Do they recall figures amidst the solitary wood?
Amidst the flowing flood, flowers sway
From 'Remember Tây Tiến, smoke rising from rice - Mai Châu, your fragrance fills the air', Quang Dũng recalls the fervent camaraderie of the 'flower torch gathering':
The camp ablaze with torches, flowers in bloom
Behold the maiden in her graceful attire
The flute plays a tender melody, she shyly smiles
Music reminiscent of Viên Chăn, stirring the soul.
The flower torch is a candle lit in the bridal chamber. In the Tale of Kiều, it says: 'The flower torch has no shame before the ancient lover' (3096). Quang Dũng creatively transforms it into the 'flower torch gathering' to depict the campfire festivities among the Tây Tiến troops and the local villagers. The word 'ablaze' denotes both the flames and the resounding voices, laughter, songs, and flute music echoing vibrantly in the flower torch gathering. The campfire night surely involves traditional dances, perhaps the circular dance of Mường girls, Thai girls participating? The word 'behold' is a pronoun indicating an object (person, thing) from afar; in the context, it expresses surprise, joy, and the young Tây Tiến soldier's affection when seeing the 'maidens', the 'belles' attending the flower torch gathering in their beautiful attire. The imagery of 'shyly smiles' is a stroke of artistic talent, depicting the graceful, modest, and affectionate beauty of the young women of the Western region. The flames, the music, the colorful attire, the charming beauty of the 'maidens', the 'belles' seem to 'inspire poetry' in the young soldiers. People are youthful, beautiful, magnificent, and romantic; the pen of the poet is also very talented and romantic. Through the flower torch gathering, readers see the immensely rich spiritual life of the Tây Tiến troops in the harsh and brutal battlefields of the West.
The next four verses of reminiscence 'flow' towards an unfamiliar land, Châu Mộc in Sơn La province. Where vast meadows stretch endlessly, where the Pha Luông mountain range rises 1880 meters high, where the bustling village of the Thai people, Pha Luông, resides. Quang Dũng, the soldier with a poet's soul, discovered the enchanting beauty of Châu Mộc. Over the years, the scenery and people of that unfamiliar land have become a piece of many souls:
Those who journeyed to Châu Mộc on that misty evening
Sense the soul amidst the grass along the riverbank
Do they recall figures amidst the solitary wood
Amidst the flowing flood, flowers sway.
'On that misty evening' refers to the autumn evening of 1947. The white mist blankets the mountainous battlefields of that autumn evening, imprinting deeply on the soul; nostalgia becomes more profound. The word 'that' in the previous stanza rhymes with 'sense' in the following stanza, creating a rich rhythmic pattern, like a soft inquiry 'do they sense' rising within. The soul in the mist is the soul of autumn. White mist blossoms, leaves rustle in the autumn breeze 'along the riverbank', where the riverbank meets the stream. With the talent of a poetic soul, Quang Dũng perceived the romantic beauty of Châu Mộc's nature through the scenes of 'misty evening' and 'soul amidst the grass along the riverbank'. These literary works have created a classical beauty, a picturesque image of streams and forests in that unfamiliar land. Faintly within the Tây Tiến verses are the exquisite verses of ancient poetry:
Mist on the mountain's brow at evening's approach,
The heart of the stream's crevice remains deep...
(The Lament of a Soldier's Wife - Đoàn Thị Điểm)
Ancient poets have always referred to the soul of autumn as the soul of the reeds:
A thousand reeds laugh in the sunlight
The soul of autumn returns
The soul of autumn is about to depart
A thousand reeds rustle in white.
(Autumn Reeds - Chế Lan Viên)
The phrases 'do they see' and 'do they recall' intensify reminiscences of the misty evenings of Châu Mộc, adding a sense of melancholy and nostalgia. Remembering scenes and then remembering shrines, amidst the division still 'do they recall' the solitary wood boat and the 'figure' rowing the solitary wood boat? 'Do they recall' the image of 'swaying flowers' on the flowing flood? Are the 'swaying flowers' the forest flowers 'swaying' gracefully on the floodwaters as Professor Phan Cự Đệ suggested? Or are they 'swaying flowers' on the rivers and streams? The songs of Sơn nữ ca by musician Trần Hoàn, and Nụ cười sơn cước by musician Tô Hải give us that feeling. There must be 'a hand steering the flowers' to make them 'sway' like that.
These reminiscences above about the scenery and people of the Western forest streams, the Châu Mộc plateau, have been beautifully depicted through the talented penmanship and romantic soul of poetry. In those days, the Northwest mountains and forests were immensely desolate, sacred and remote, but Quang Dũng, with the optimistic and life-loving soul of a modern era soldier's wife, felt and discovered the romantic beauty and freshness of the natural landscapes and people of the Northwest.
Reminiscences, memories of the mountainous battlefields of the Western forests seem to be filtered through the soul. The poet's bond with the landscapes and people of the Northwest, his life and death with his comrades-in-arms, is what creates such beautiful and profound memories, what enables him to write such valuable verses.
The painting of the misty evenings of Châu Mộc and the flower torch gathering resembles a lacquer painting with the classical and romantic beauty harmoniously combined with the spirit of the times and modernity amidst the fiery blood of war.
After Discussing the following verse from Tây Tiến: 'The camp springs to life... amidst the river's flow, flowers sway', you can delve into Appreciating and analyzing the second verse in Tây Tiến or refer to Interpreting the Symbolism in Tây Tiến's Flowers to reinforce your understanding.
