The 6 Best Essays Analyzing the Emotions of the Revolutionary Soldier in Tố Hữu's Poem 'When the Cuckoo Calls' (Literature 8)

Tố Hữu is a poet deeply connected to communist ideals, with his poetry filled with romantic revolutionary imagery. The emotions of the revolutionary soldier in his poem 'When the Cuckoo Calls' perfectly reflect this style.

The title of the poem, though seemingly simple, carries deeper meaning. It refers to a moment in nature’s cycle, symbolizing not only the blossoming of the natural world but also the inner longing of the individual.

The essence of the poem can be summarized as follows: As the cuckoo calls (marking the arrival of summer), the revolutionary prisoner feels increasingly suffocated and isolated within their cramped prison cell, yearning for the freedom to soar outside.

The cuckoo's call resonates deeply with the poet, for it signals the approach of a bright summer, representing a symbol of freedom.

When the cuckoo calls

The rice fields ripen, and the fruits grow sweet.

It's not just a lone bird’s call, but one that gathers others, signaling joy. The sound of the cuckoo calling is a reminder that “the rice fields are ripening, and the fruits are becoming sweeter.” Yet, it’s more than that. The cuckoo's call invokes a world full of sound, color, and imagery:

The garden hums with the sound of cicadas

The corn turns golden, grains spread across the sunny ground

The sky grows broader, ever-expanding

Two kites swoop and dive through the open sky...

These vibrant colors and sounds capture the essence of life. The yellow of the corn, the pink of the sunlight, the blue sky—each element is alive with energy, accented by the sound of cicadas and the image of kites soaring through the air. The space is full of vitality, alive and constantly growing.

On closer inspection, the descriptions seem to intensify the everyday scenes, as though everything is magnified to its fullest potential. The corn isn’t simply golden, but “the corn spreads golden grains,” the sun is not just shining, but “the sunlight is like a peach’s glow.” The sky isn’t merely blue, but “ever-broadening and expansive.” The cicadas don’t just hum, they “roar.” Even the kites don’t fly lazily, but dive and loop through the vast sky. The world is brimming with energy, as though the poet is embracing it despite his confinement.

This exaggerated description, though vivid and dynamic, comes from a place of imagination. The poet, trapped in prison, cannot directly observe the world. All of this is reconstructed from memory, imagination, and most importantly, his longing for freedom. In captivity, even the simple colors of corn, sunlight, and the blue sky become treasures, transforming into shimmering, magical, radiant images. This stanza reflects the poet’s profound love for life and homeland.

The greater the dream, the more bitter the reality.

We hear summer awakening within our hearts

But my feet long to break free from the walls, oh summer!

How suffocating, how painful

The cuckoo outside keeps calling!

The connection between these two stanzas may not seem immediate, and the poem’s flow might appear disconnected. However, this is a subtle, intricate link—the call of the cuckoo. The cuckoo’s call symbolizes the vast, vibrant world beyond, but the more magnificent the world seems, the more suffocating the prison becomes for the prisoner, who remains isolated from it.

The cuckoo’s call at the beginning and end of the poem represents the call for freedom, for a life outside, full of allure for the prisoner. But the prisoner’s feelings change with time. In the first stanza, the cuckoo’s call evokes a longing for life’s beauty and freedom, while in the last stanza, it reminds the prisoner of his unfulfilled desire, leaving him frustrated and tortured by his continued captivity.

The poem’s beauty lies in its use of simple, relatable imagery that evokes deep emotions, in its smooth and natural use of the lục bát meter, and in its intense, heartfelt expression of the communist spirit.

In the pitch-dark confines of the prison, it seemed as though life had come to an end, surrounded by coldness and solitude. Yet, amidst the harsh, grating sounds of chains, the heartbeat of a young, passionate soul longing for life and freedom can still be heard. Tố Hữu, with his genuine emotions, voices the heartfelt feelings of a revolutionary fighter who has devoted his life to the ideals of communism and his burning desire for freedom in the poem "When the Cuckoo Calls".

The title of the poem is strangely incomplete, yet this very incompleteness opens up numerous associations. Now, one can no longer see the lonely, heavy figure of Tố Hữu the prisoner, but only hear the poet's heart beating, resonating with the sound of the distant cuckoo. The cuckoo calling its flock is a familiar sound in the rural villages of Vietnam, signaling the arrival of summer and the changing of life. In this moment, as the cuckoo calls, the revolutionary soldier feels even more suffocated and trapped in his isolated prison cell, intensifying his burning desire for the beautiful freedom outside:

"When the cuckoo calls its flock

The summer rice ripens, and the fruits grow sweeter

The garden hums with the sound of cicadas

The cornfields turn golden, with seeds filling the sunlit yard

The sky grows wider and higher

Two kites soar freely through the vast sky"

At nineteen, full of youthful energy and idealism, Tố Hữu found his noble purpose in life. His tireless journey, interrupted suddenly by confinement, made him bitterly exclaim: "Loneliness is the fate of a prisoner." Yet, this moment of despair quickly gives way to a world bursting with life: ripening rice, golden corn, peach-colored sunlight, the vast blue sky, the soaring kites, and the buzzing cicadas... Such a vibrant, lively depiction of summer can only come from a romantic imagination, a soul deeply in love with life. This beautiful scene is not reality; it is a product of the poet's vivid imagination, stretching all his senses to feel, hear, see, and breathe in the essence of summer through the cuckoo's call. With just a few strokes of color, sound, and imagery, the poet paints a picture brimming with life in the familiar rice fields of his homeland, which have appeared countless times in Tố Hữu's poetry:

"Here, the young green rice sprouts..."

Now, it returns in its fullest, most joyful form, as the rice turns golden, symbolizing the vibrant joy of summer, the culmination of sweat and effort.

With his delicate romantic soul, Tố Hữu perceives the changing hues of sunlight from different angles: from the pale evening light (in "Thoughts in Prison"), to the "peach-colored sunlight" in summer, overshadowing the "shaded garden". This verse creates a soft, gentle space with a unique pinkish glow, a light that embraces people amid life's losses and hardships. Perhaps, it is from the young man’s wondrous encounter:

"From that moment, summer sunlight burst inside me

The truth of the sun shines through my heart"

That the summer sunlight seems to take on such a refined transformation. And the image of the clear sky, like calm water, lifts the soaring kites to their highest, most expansive flight:

"The sky grows wider and higher

Two kites fly recklessly through the sky"

In the prisoner’s gaze, a vast, endless space looms. Although his vision might be obscured by the prison bars, the sky is not empty; the kites fly in pairs, free to soar in their own private sky. How much more so should humans experience that freedom? Yet, in reality, the prisoner is lonelier than ever, deprived of freedom.

It is no coincidence that the poem divides into two stanzas. The poet contrasts the lively summer scene with the bleak winter in the prison, highlighting the revolutionary soldier’s burning desire for freedom. The closing four lines capture this fervent yearning:

"I hear summer rise within me

My feet long to break free from this room, oh summer!

How suffocating it is, I feel I’ll die of frustration

The cuckoo outside keeps calling"

This stanza directly expresses the prisoner’s emotional turmoil. The four exclamatory lines compress the intense feelings of a heart aching with pain and frustration due to the loss of freedom. The poet hears the arrival of summer, senses it through the cuckoo’s call. Summer has arrived, and the three months of imprisonment have passed, yet the young man’s fiery spirit surges stronger than the call to freedom. From the depths of his soul, the prisoner realizes that the life he once dreamed of is only a distant memory, a memory of fields, trees, and gardens now tainted by the oppression of his captors. The space of freedom he so longs for is merely another cage, another metaphorical prison. Therefore, this stanza represents a moment of clarity, a burst of realization, a yearning to break free from all restraints and find true freedom. With powerful words like "break down" and "die of frustration," the poet expresses his intense love for life and the people he cherishes.

The cuckoo’s call resonates throughout the poem, urging the prisoner to escape captivity and return to freedom. Perhaps it is for this reason that three years later, Tố Hữu escaped prison and returned to join the revolution, fulfilling his vow to dedicate his life to the cause of freedom.

"When the Cuckoo Calls" is a harmonious blend of scenery and emotion. The landscape is vibrant, eager, and full of life, while the emotions are deep, sorrowful, and poignant. With his national spirit and flexible, delicate pen, Tố Hữu rightfully earned his title as the leading poet of the Vietnamese revolutionary literary movement.

Tố Hữu wrote the poem "When the Cuckoo Calls" in Huế in July 1939. This poem was published in the "Chains" section, one of the three parts of his poetry collection "From That Moment". Written during the time when the poet was imprisoned by the French colonialists at the Thừa Thiên prison, the poem reflects the emotional state of a young man yearning for freedom but trapped in the confinement of prison.

While in his prison cell, Tố Hữu hears the distant call of a cuckoo. The bird's call reminds him that summer has arrived. One of the deprivations of being a prisoner is the separation from society, the detachment from the wide open world, leaving only the cramped, cold confines of a prison cell. Thus, the poet longs for connection with the outside world, with its variety and open spaces.

In the same prison cell, in April 1939, Tố Hữu had written another poem titled "Thoughts in Prison":

"Loneliness is the fate of a prisoner!

The ears are wide open, and my heart is bubbling with energy

I listen to the sounds of life from beyond

Out there, happiness awaits!"

So every day, he listens intently to the "sounds of life" from the outside world. To catch these glimpses, he relies solely on his hearing. Through sound and imagination, he can "smell" and "taste" the images of the outside world, especially those he has previously witnessed.

Now, the cuckoo's call has enabled him to hear even the sound of kites fluttering and cicadas chirping. He can vividly picture the scenes around him—fields with "ripening summer rice", cornfields turning "golden with seeds", and fruit ripening to sweetness.

He even imagines, hears, and feels a vast, open space, full of beauty:

"The sky grows wider and higher

Two kites soar freely in the sky".

The cuckoo's call stirs memories of a vibrant summer full of life—colors, sounds, the yellow of ripening rice, the golden corn, the red of ripening fruits, the early sunlight, the green of the garden, and the endless blue sky...

This beautiful and lively summer awakens the passionate patriot in him. But it is his deep love for his country that pulls him back to the call of his homeland, to the restlessness of summer.

The familiar surroundings of Huế, now transitioning into summer, make him regret the lost time in prison and intensify his longing to return to the revolutionary movement. He longs for freedom, to break out of prison and continue his activism:

"I hear summer rising within me

My feet long to break free from this room, oh summer!"

With the weakness of being a prisoner, locked away with no tools or hope of escape, he is trapped within the harsh confines of the cell.

And the worst part is, outside, the cuckoo keeps calling, urging him forward, making him even more anxious and frustrated by his confinement:

"How suffocating it is, I feel I’ll die of frustration

The cuckoo outside keeps calling".

The emotions of Tố Hữu in the poem "When the Cuckoo Calls" reflect the inner turmoil of a young man overflowing with love for nature and life, yet frustrated as a revolutionary soldier unable to act due to imprisonment. His youthful passion makes this frustration unbearable. He had to find a way to escape, and a few years later, he successfully broke out of prison.

In the peaceful and serene times we live in, have you ever wondered what we would do if our country were plunged into war? Asking this question makes us admire the previous generations who sacrificed their all for the nation. They carried with them an unwavering love for their homeland and a burning desire for freedom, even while enduring imprisonment and torture. Reading the revolutionary soldiers' poems, especially 'When the Cuckoo Calls' by the revolutionary poet Tố Hữu, evokes both sadness and respect for their courageous spirit. This poem will forever resonate with the flame of patriotism, the passion for freedom, a voice from the youth of a past era.

The poem was written in the Thừa Phủ prison when Tố Hữu, a young patriot, was just 19 years old. The dark and isolated prison life only amplified his yearning for freedom. Even though his body was confined, his spirit remained free, always reaching out to the world beyond. The work is split into two clear sections: the first six lines describe the lively, beautiful world 'outside,' while the last four lines express the revolutionary prisoner’s suffocating desire to escape. The thread connecting the two parts is the persistent call of the cuckoo, which explains why the poet named the work 'When the Cuckoo Calls'.

In the stifling and oppressive prison, the only link the prisoner has to the outside world is through hearing. As he listens to the cuckoo’s call, memories and images come rushing back:

When the cuckoo calls its flock

The summer rice ripens, the fruits grow sweeter

The garden hums with the sound of cicadas

Golden corn fills the yard beneath the warm sun

The sky stretches ever wider and higher

Two kites soar, twisting in the open sky...

The cuckoo’s call signals the arrival of summer, a symbol of the vibrant harvest. The poet blends memories of the past with present realities to paint a lively image of summer in full bloom. Everything in nature is at its fullest: the rice is ripe, the fruits are sweet, the corn is golden, and the sun is warm. The poet uses warm colors like yellow and peach to highlight the vitality of life. This summer scene is not only visually vibrant but filled with sounds—the cicadas buzzing, the kites soaring—bringing the tranquility of the countryside to life. The image of the 'blue sky' and the 'two kites soaring' symbolizes ultimate freedom. The poet has crafted a picture of life and peace, filled with longing and deep yearning.

The more beautiful the outside world appears, the darker the prison life becomes. The last four lines of the poem capture the prisoner’s emotional state and his desperate wish for freedom:

I hear summer stirring within me

My feet long to shatter the cell, oh summer!

How suffocating it is, I feel I will die of frustration

The cuckoo keeps calling from outside!

The vibrant, free world outside intensifies the prisoner’s yearning. 'My feet long to shatter the cell, oh summer!' The interrupted rhythm of the line expresses both the power and frustration of the prisoner. The two words 'oh summer!' separate the line, creating a pause filled with sorrow. But this pause only builds toward the climax: 'How suffocating it is, I feel I will die of frustration.' The 3/3 rhythm splits the line in two, reflecting the suffocating atmosphere of the prison and the intense anguish of a freedom-loving revolutionary. Despite the fiery desire for freedom, the harsh reality of imprisonment cannot change, so the poem ends with a lingering sense of yearning: 'The cuckoo keeps calling from outside!' The cuckoo’s call, no longer a beckoning to a beautiful world, becomes an eerie sound, urging the prisoner to reach for the light of freedom.

'When the Cuckoo Calls' is written in the traditional Vietnamese six-eight meter, with simple yet powerful words that express the emotional state of a revolutionary prisoner. These young, passionate people, eager to break free and fight for the country, embody the strength that brought the Vietnamese people to independence and freedom.

Tố Hữu wrote the poem 'When the Cuckoo Calls' at the Thừa Phủ prison (Huế) during the summer of 1939, after being imprisoned by the French colonizers for his patriotism and revolutionary actions. The poem reflects the restless and suffocating feelings of a young communist prisoner who, upon hearing the cuckoo's call signaling the arrival of summer, longs to break free from his chains and return to his beloved people and comrades.

The cuckoo's call reminds the poet of the vast skies outside and intensifies his sense of confinement within the small, suffocating cell, fueling his yearning for freedom. The sound of the bird triggers a flood of emotions:

When the cuckoo calls its flock

The summer rice ripens, the fruits grow sweeter

This marks the arrival of a radiant summer, full of life and renewal. The bird's song unconsciously stirs the young prisoner’s soul. Lying in his cramped, dark cell, cut off from the outside world, the poet listens to the bird’s lively call, hearing all the sounds of life with the sensitive heart of an artist. Even the sound of a bird evokes in him memories of the warm summer days of his homeland.

Summer is the season when the rice ripens and the fruits grow sweeter under the golden sunlight of central Vietnam. The vivid sounds and bright images of summer come alive in the poet's memories:

The garden hums with the sound of cicadas

The corn is golden, filling the yard beneath the peach-colored sun

The sky stretches higher and wider

Two kites soar, twisting in the vast sky...

Ah, the sound of cicadas! Their song has accompanied the poet through his childhood and youth. The cicadas' call brings memories of shaded gardens, sun-dried cornfields. The yellow of the rice, the golden corn, the pink of the sunlight, and the blue of the sky create a colorful, shimmering picture of the countryside. The scent of rice and ripening fruits fills the air.

In the distance, the cuckoo calls loudly, the cicadas hum in the trees. High above, kites dance in the breeze, and the sound of the flute fills the cool summer air... The poet must have loved his homeland deeply to imagine such a vivid summer scene of Huế. These were the summers when the young man was free, surrounded by family, friends, and his beloved comrades.

The six lines of traditional lục bát verse open up a world full of life and vitality. Many iconic sounds and images of summer appear in the poem: the cicadas buzzing in the garden, the ripe rice fields, the vast sky with kites soaring, the sweet fruits... The cuckoo's call sets the tone for a summer filled with sound, color, and fragrance, as experienced by the prisoner. This section reflects the poet’s keen sensitivity and the burning desire for freedom of a young revolutionary soldier who, though imprisoned, still loves life.

As the poet recalls the past, he is brought back to the harsh reality of his prison:

I hear summer stirring within me

And my feet long to shatter the cell, oh summer!

The muse is sparked by the cuckoo’s call. The bird’s song reminds the poet of summer and stirs powerful emotions within him. The feelings rise like waves, urging the poet to break free from his chains and return to a life of freedom.

The heat of summer seems to burn in the veins of the young patriot, Tố Hữu. The intense vitality of summer mirrors the fiery spirit of youth, eager for revolutionary ideals and ready to contribute to the nation and its people.

The cuckoo’s call is a reminder of life’s urgency for the imprisoned revolutionary soldier. Outside lies freedom, while here, in prison, the air is stifling and oppressive:

How suffocating it is, I feel I will die of frustration

The cuckoo keeps calling from outside!

The poet’s anguish and frustration are captured in words of great intensity. The irregular pauses and expressive words convey to the reader the deep sense of bitterness and burning desire to escape from the prison and return to the free world outside, where the young revolutionary can once again live among his people and comrades.

The line holds the poet’s longing and torment, both physical and emotional. In such a moment, the communist must struggle with himself, overcome the bitterness of prison life, and preserve his will, standing firm in his revolutionary spirit. This form of struggle is one that Ho Chi Minh highly valued when he found himself in the prison of Chiang Kai-shek: 'My body is in prison, but my spirit is free.' Revolutionary predecessors also affirmed: 'They may imprison my body, but they cannot imprison my mind.' (Xuân Thủy).

The cuckoo’s call keeps echoing, reminding the poet of his plight and urging him to break free and reclaim his freedom.

'When the Cuckoo Calls' follows the traditional lục bát form, perfectly capturing the character’s inner thoughts. The first six lines are slow and serene, with simple words and joyful images that create a beautiful summer scene. The rhythm of the last four lines changes abruptly, carrying a tense energy that seems on the verge of exploding. This reflects the state of a young revolutionary soldier, who, after such a short time of freedom, is now imprisoned, constantly yearning for freedom, wanting to break out of the cold prison walls to return to his people and comrades.

The artistic beauty of the poem lies in the intense emotional resonance, combined with a psychological portrayal that is both realistic and delicate. The cuckoo’s call, in just a fleeting moment, brings to life the entire summer scene in the poet’s mind. The prisoner fully understands his tragic predicament in the stifling prison, while life outside continues to thrive and flourish. The poet must break free from his chains, destroying both the visible and invisible prisons that hold his people in slavery.

'When the Cuckoo Calls' is the voice of a young communist soldier, imprisoned yet still brimming with vitality, youth, and love for humanity and life.

Tố Hữu, a distinguished figure in Vietnamese literature, is still widely celebrated for his poetic works today. He contributed a unique political lyricism to the country's literary scene, one filled with deep affection for the nation and full of political events. His poetry is intertwined with the revolutionary milestones of the country, with each phase of the revolution inspiring different powerful verses. One of his remarkable works is the poem 'When the Cuckoo Calls,' written while he was imprisoned. This poem conveys the suffocating and frustrated emotions of the narrator, who is trapped in captivity.

The first six lines of the poem express the poet's love for life, even while confined. The prison can only imprison the body of the young soldier, but it cannot contain his spirit:

'When the cuckoo calls its flock,

The summer rice ripens, fruits begin to sweeten,

The garden hums with cicada songs,

Golden corn fills the yard under the blazing sun,

The sky stretches wider and higher,

Two kites soar and twist through the sky.'

The poet paints a vivid picture of nature, a colorful scene that represents freedom and the countryside during the summer. The cuckoo calls to its flock, and in the soldier's heart, it conjures images of the activities of farmers, with ripening rice and sweetening fruits. Summer is the season of ripe fields, filled with golden rice waiting to be harvested, and fruits like cucumbers, lychees, rambutans, and longans growing sweetly. Sadly, the prison confines the poet's heart, and his body is trapped while his soul yearns for those simple yet beautiful images of nature. His hands would have harvested the rice, and his mouth would have savored the wonderful fruits. These images symbolize the peaceful and free life he craves. The poet continues to depict familiar yet captivating images like the golden corn, the kernels like golden sunspots, covering the yard. The sight of a cornfield is mesmerizing in its abundance and beauty. Adding to this picture is the wide blue sky, making the scene even more breathtaking. And on this peaceful backdrop, two kites fly high, twisting through the sky.

This picture not only captures the colors but also the sounds of nature. The cicadas sing in the trees, bringing back childhood memories of catching them and listening to their melodies. In the summer, the sound of cicadas is inseparable. Through the cicadas' song, the poet feels a deep longing for his homeland. Despite the oppressive darkness of the prison, he knows it is summer. This reflects his love for life, his affection for the land, and his connection to his roots.

The painting also explores the height and depth of the sky. The repetition of 'wider' and 'higher' emphasizes the vastness that only summer can possess. It is not as gloomy as winter or as serene as autumn; it has a grandeur that is uniquely summer.

This poem paints a vivid picture of nature with colors, sounds, and an expansive sky. It is a picture that resonates with every one of us, depicting simple, humble things like rice, corn, sweet fruits, and the cicada's song. The more beautiful the painting, the stronger the poet's homesickness and his love for life.

As the poem concludes, the poet's feelings in the dark cell become evident:

'I hear summer stirring within me,

And my feet long to break free from this room, oh summer!

How suffocating it is, I'm choking in frustration,

The cuckoo keeps calling from outside.'

The poet links the beautiful images of summer to the sweet sounds of nature, which evoke a powerful love for the land, the country, and his longing for home. This longing is so intense that it urges him to break free from the confines of the prison. The frustration of being confined is vividly expressed in the line 'My feet long to break free from this room, oh summer!' For the poet, the prison is a living hell, where he cannot be free, and the physical body cannot meet the spiritual needs. The poet is suffocating, feeling trapped in the oppressive atmosphere.

Thus, through this poem, the poet conveys his deep emotions: a yearning for freedom, a love for life, and a powerful longing for his homeland. Despite being trapped in the prison's confines, Tố Hữu never stops loving life and longing for freedom.