Top 6 Best Lesson Plans for "Tương tư" by Nguyễn Bính for 12th Grade

CORE KNOWLEDGE

Content:

The poem expresses pure, unrequited, and intense love. The soul of rural Vietnam is present in every verse, reflecting the poet’s sincere admiration for the nation's traditional and cultural beauty.

Artistry:

The poem uses the six-eight meter to emphasize the deep national character and enhance its emotional richness. The language is simple and natural yet remains deeply romantic and evocative. Symbolism and paired imagery—betel leaves and areca, ferry docks, flowers and butterflies—express the longing for a faithful, connected love.

ANSWER GUIDANCE

Question 1: SGK – 50

The feelings of longing and unspoken blame, distant dreams, and hopes of the rural boy. Deep, earnest yearning: "nine parts longing, ten parts wishing." His feelings of expectation, disappointment: The verse "day passes, another day passes" with a 3/3 beat, the word "another" emphasizes the repetitive passage of time. The changing colors from green to yellow leaves symbolizes the prolonged wait. There’s also a sense of despair in the wish for an impossible encounter: boats, flowers, and docks unable to meet. The boy’s yearning remains until the end of the poem, unfulfilled, with intense and profound emotions.

I. The Author
1. Biography - Life
- Nguyễn Bính (1918 - 1966), born Nguyễn Trọng Bính.
- Hometown: Thiện Vịnh village, Đồng Đội commune, Vụ Bản, Nam Định.
- Family: From a poor Confucian family, orphaned at an early age.
- 1945 - 1954: Participated in the resistance against the French in Southern Vietnam.
- 1954: Returned to the North, engaged in literary work and journalism.
- Passed away suddenly on January 20, 1966.
- Nguyễn Bính was intelligent, sensitive to a turbulent era, always eager to preserve traditional values.
2. Literary Career
a. Major Works
- Began writing poetry at the age of 13, composed various genres (poetry, narrative poetry, chèo opera).
- Major works: "My Soul" (1937), "Crossing Paths" (1940), "Twelve Watersheds" (1942), "The Pipa" (1944), "To My Southern Wife" (1955)...
b. Poetic Style
Nguyễn Bính's poetry is rich in rustic, countryside elements:
* Content:
- A poet deeply touched by a chaotic time, he expresses a profound longing for the traditional values threatened with disappearance ("Rustic Spirit"). His poetry is imbued with the spirit of the countryside, blending a rural tone with simple yet heartfelt words.
- His work is connected with the life of rural Vietnam, reflecting a deep affection for the countryside and its people.
* Form:
- Simple poetic images: banyan trees, riverside docks...
- Traditional verse forms: Six-eight meter (lục bát).
- Language: Incorporates elements of folk songs.

II. The Work
1. General Overview
a. Origin - Context
- Taken from the collection "Crossing Paths" (1940).
- Written in Hoang Mai village, Hanoi in 1939.
b. Title
- "Longing": The yearning and love between two souls, embodying the heart of love.
- Distance in space and time fuels the longing, making it a desire to bridge the gap.
- Longing is the most dynamic and complex form of love.
c. Structure: 2 parts
- Part 1: First 16 lines – The longing of the young man.
- Part 2: Last 4 lines – The desire for union.
d. Content Value
- The poem expresses pure, unrequited, strong love.
- Reflects sincere emotions filled with the essence of Vietnamese countryside culture and folklore.
e. Artistic Value
- Six-eight meter: Strongly evokes national sentiment and emotion.
- Language: Simple yet romantic and poetic.
- Unique metaphors and synecdoches.
- Paired imagery: betel leaves and areca nuts, riverbank and ferry, flowers and butterflies, Doai village and Dong village; symbolizing loyalty and commitment in love.
- Folk material: The poem showcases Nguyễn Bính’s signature rustic style.

1. Question 1 - Page 50
The romantic soul in "Longing" has spent countless nights yearning, "nine parts thinking, ten parts dreaming," continuously longing for their beloved, "Leaf green has turned to leaf yellow." According to the Confucian doctrine of righteousness, such sentiments are seen as ruinous for a gentleman. However, the charm of Nguyễn Bính’s love poetry doesn’t lie in the yearning alone but in the deeply emotional resonance his words create, fusing romantic feelings with folk traditions.
The unfulfilled yearning of the poetic persona persists throughout the poem, leaving the longing unanswered by the end. This continuous longing fuels the depth and intensity of the emotion.

2. Question 2 - Page 50
The key element of national identity in "Longing" is the continuous, unshaken patience for love, waiting and hoping despite the absence of a response. Unlike extreme romantic reactions, Nguyễn Bính’s characters display a quiet endurance typical of rural Vietnam.

3. Question 3 - Page 50
Hoài Thanh’s statement that Nguyễn Bính’s poetry carries the "spirit of ancient Vietnam" is well illustrated in "Longing." The simple yet profound love for the countryside breathes through his lines, making even the most ordinary rural scenery deeply evocative.
"Across the river the ferry doesn’t come,
No crossing is allowed, and the path is long.
Yet from here, not far at all,
But our love, alas, is distant."
His verses speak to the common soul of the rural landscape, filling the reader with a sense of connection to the rustic world. This is what makes Nguyễn Bính’s poetry resonate so widely with the Vietnamese people, both urban and rural alike.

Question 1 (Page 50, Literature Textbook 11, Volume 2)

The emotions and feelings of the young man:

- The intense longing, which turns into 'lovesickness,' in the young man from Thôn Đoài:

+ Sincerely expressing his longing: sitting and missing, constantly yearning (idiom).

+ The natural, burning longing becomes 'lovesickness': comparing his 'lovesickness' to the 'storm sickness' of the heavens, confessing his restlessness for several sleepless nights.

+ The endless, anxious waiting: Day by day.../…turns the green leaves into yellow.

- The young man's irrational but endearing and sympathetic complaints:

+ Why over there... and not here?: blaming the girl for not taking the initiative to come to him.

+ But here it's only.../…yet the emotions are distant: describing the paradox in their love, where the emotional distance feels vast despite the physical proximity.

+ Longing…/ Who can I tell, who will understand?: lamenting that the girl doesn't know of his heartfelt longing and sincere feelings.

- The yearning for long-lasting connection, the eager yet hopeless desire:

+ Hoping to meet, to unite, but silently nursing his hopes in vain: When will the ferry meet the dock? / Will the aristocratic flower and the wandering butterfly ever meet?

+ The desire for marriage and lifelong connection: the image of betel leaves and areca nuts (in the last 4 lines) symbolizes Vietnamese wedding customs.

=> The young man's love is unrequited, unknown, and unfulfilled. It's a sincere, intense, yet silent love of a modest, reserved, and passive rural man.

Question 2 (Page 50, Literature Textbook 11, Volume 2)

The way love is expressed, the tone of the poem, and the use of comparisons and metaphors:

- Love is expressed subtly, elegantly, using the indirect speech typical of folk songs, with familiar literary devices, rustic imagery, and charming, witty comparisons:

+ Comparisons and metaphors: using metonymy: Thôn Đoài (the young man) – Thôn Đông (the girl), metaphors (the dock, the ferry, aristocratic flower, wandering butterfly), personification (Does Thôn Đoài's betel remember any areca from another village?).

+ The use of parallel structures: The storm.../…of my love for her.

+ Frequent use of rhetorical questions.

+ The confessional tone typical of folk songs about love and longing.

- The tone of the poem: sometimes passionate and longing, sometimes filled with reproach and sadness, sometimes hopeful, but the overall tone remains sincere, quiet, and hopeless.

Question 3 (Page 50, Literature Textbook 11, Volume 2)

Through the poem 'Longing,' prove that Nguyễn Bính's poetry carries 'the ancient soul of the nation':

- Rustic, relatable language, deeply rooted in the indirect, distant way of expressing love in the rural North of Vietnam.

- Sincere, subtle, and discreet emotions.

- Traditional Vietnamese poetry form: Lục bát (six-eight verse).

- Rustic imagery, full of the spirit of Vietnamese villages: Thôn Đoài, Thôn Đông, betel, areca.

- The comparisons, metaphors, and expressions are rich in the flavor of folk songs.

Structure

Structure: 2 parts

- Part 1 (first 16 lines): The young man's longing.

- Part 2 (last 4 lines): The hope for a harmonious union.

Main Content

- The poem is the heartfelt expression of a pure, unrequited, and powerful love.

- It reflects the sincere emotions and the soul of the Vietnamese countryside, deeply imbued with the beauty of folk culture.

Structure

Part 1 (First 4 lines): The start of the longing feeling

- Part 2 (Next 12 lines): Expressing the feelings of longing

- Part 3 (Remaining lines): The eternal desire for love and happiness.

Question 1 (Page 50, Literature Textbook 11, Volume 2):

The feeling of longing and the man's complaints, dreams, distant hopes.

- Deep yearning, 'nine thoughts, ten longings'

- Complaints to express his longing (why hasn't the other side come over yet?)

- The feeling of waiting and longing, growing weary:

+ The line 'day after day, again and again' with a 3/3 rhythm, the word 'again' shows time passing in hopeless repetition.

+ The change in leaf color from green to yellow symbolizes the passing of time while waiting.

+ The longing lasts throughout the years.

→ A delicate, meaningful way of expression.

- Distant hopes:

+ Even in dreams, there is hopelessness: the dock, flowers, and ferry find it hard to 'meet.'

+ The rural man lives with longing, but still holds distant hopes.

+ Though the phrase is altered, with 'betel of Đoài village' remembering 'areca of Đông village,' the longing remains unchanged.

- The feeling of yearning persists until the poem's end, but it is never reciprocated, highlighting the deep, unfulfilled emotion of the character.

Question 2 (Page 50, Literature Textbook 11, Volume 2):

The tone of the poem, the style of love expression, comparisons, and metaphors:

- Sincere, passionate, gentle yet melancholic tone

- Vivid metaphors and comparisons, rustic language rich in folk culture: Đoài village, Đông village, the dock, flowers, butterflies, betel, and areca.

- The expression of love is natural, discreet, subtle, filled with the honest simplicity of the rural man.

- Use of familiar, evocative images.

Question 3 (Page 50, Literature Textbook 11, Volume 2):

Nguyễn Bính's poetry is said to carry 'the ancient soul of the nation' (Hoài Thanh). This is reflected in:

+ The way emotions are expressed, the use of language.

+ Rustic, folk-inspired imagery.

+ Honest, simple speech.

+ Delicate, evocative expression.

I. Key details about the author and the work

1. The Author

- Nguyễn Bính (1918 – 1966), born Nguyễn Trọng Bính, hailed from a poor Confucian family in Thiện Vịnh village, Đồng Đội commune, Vụ Bản district, Nam Định province.

- His poetry offers readers heartfelt images of the countryside, homeland, and the deep connections of human emotions. This is why Nguyễn Bính is often referred to as the 'Poet of the Countryside' with many widely celebrated works.

- Notable works include: 'My Soul' (1937), 'Crossing the River' (1940), 'Fragrance of Old Acquaintances' (1942), 'Twelve Piers of Water' (1942), among others.

2. The Work

The poem 'Longing' is taken from the collection 'Crossing the River,' which is emblematic of Nguyễn Bính's rural poetic style.

Structure: 3 parts:

- Part 1 (First 4 lines): The onset of the feeling of longing

- Part 2 (Next 12 lines): The young man expresses his longing

- Part 3 (Remaining lines): The deep desire for a complete love and happiness.

II. Further Reading Guide

Question 1 (Page 50, Literature Textbook 11, Volume 2):

* The young man's longing:

- Indirect expression: Borrowing the vastness of nature to confess his feelings → Effect:

+ The longing becomes tangible within space → personalizing the environment: as one longs, so does nature, filling the space with yearning.

+ It reflects the young man's shyness, subtlety, and deep emotion.

- The use of the idiom 'nine thoughts, ten longings' amplifies the emotional intensity → bringing the abstract feeling of love into a vivid and concrete form.

- The unique sentence structure 'One person... one person' emphasizes the distance between two people, connected only by longing.

→ Longing is a natural and inevitable part of love.

* The young man's complaints:

- His complaints are direct, placing the other person at fault: 'They said... far away.'

- The poet negates everything: there is no distance, no barriers, yet she does not come → a subtle accusation against the girl.

- The repeated use of 'whoever' creates a melancholic, echoing tone: a familiar state of longing — lost in thought, sleepless → both complaining and wistfully waiting.

- Complaints out of love: Overwhelmed by longing, he feels neglected, leading to suspicion and reproach.

→ A distinct way of expressing feelings.

* The young man's intense longing stretches until the poem's end, but his love remains unreciprocated.

Question 2 (Page 50, Literature Textbook 11, Volume 2):

Notable features of love expression, tone, and metaphors in this poem include:

- The character's expression of love is subtle, discreet, yet filled with the sincere simplicity of a rural man.

- The poetic language is simple and rustic, yet imbued with a romantic, dreamy quality.

- Creative use of metaphors, metonymy, and symbolic imagery.

- The imagery is drawn from rural life, rich with folk colors: Đoài village – Đông village, dock – ferry, flowers – butterflies, betel – areca... → reflecting hopes for a loyal and enduring love.

- The tone is gentle, sincere, and filled with longing.

Question 3 (Page 50, Literature Textbook 11, Volume 2):

Hoài Thanh's assertion that Nguyễn Bính's poetry carries 'the ancient soul of the nation' is particularly true of 'Longing.' This is evident in its simple yet captivating verses.

Additionally, the poem is marked by the way it conveys emotions, its use of language, and its rich folk-inspired imagery and simplicity.

Overview of the Author and Work

1. The Author

- Nguyễn Bính (1918 - 1966), born Nguyễn Trọng Bính, grew up in a poor Confucian family in Vụ Bản district, Nam Định province.

- He lost his mother at a young age and moved to Hanoi at the age of 10 to live with his brother and make a living.

- Nguyễn Bính started writing poetry at the age of 13, and by 19, he received a commendation for poetry from the Tự lực văn đoàn literary group (1937).

- In 1943, he moved to southern Vietnam, later joining the resistance against French colonial forces.

- After the 1954 Geneva Accords, he relocated to the North, working in arts and journalism in Hanoi and Nam Định.

- His poetry, with its simple yet graceful metaphors and folk-like charm, evokes tender, heartfelt images of the homeland and its people.

- In 2000, Nguyễn Bính was posthumously awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Art.

- Notable works include:

+ Pre-Revolution: 'My Soul' (1937), 'A Step Across the Border' (1940), 'Fragrance of Old Friends' (1941), 'Twelve River Wharfs' (1942), 'The Lute' (1944, a poetic tale), and more.

+ Post-Revolution: 'The Old Man Sharpening His Sword' (1947), 'A Letter to My Wife in the South' (1955), 'The Drum Sound in Spring Night' (1958, a poetic tale), 'The Bright Night' (1962), 'Miss Son' (1961, chèo drama), 'The Boatman of Vị River' (1962, chèo drama), and others.

2. The Work

- The poem 'Tương Tư' is taken from the collection 'A Step Across the Border,' and is a prime example of Nguyễn Bính's rustic poetic style.

- Main theme: The poem expresses a pure, unrequited, and intense love. The essence of Vietnamese rural life permeates every line, reflecting the poet’s deep affection for traditional folk culture.

- Structure:

+ Part 1 (first four lines): Introduction to the longing of love.

+ Part 2 (next 12 lines): The speaker reveals his feelings of yearning.

+ Part 3 (the rest): The desire for eternal happiness in a romantic relationship.

Suggested Answers to Questions

Question 1 - Page 50 Textbook

How do you perceive the feelings of longing and the expressions of frustration from the male character in the poem? Has his love been reciprocated?

Answer:

The romantic figure in 'Tương Tư' spends sleepless nights yearning for his beloved, thinking of her endlessly. He longs for her throughout day and night, even as time passes and the seasons change: 'The green leaves have turned yellow…'

According to Confucian ideals, particularly those of Song Dynasty Confucianism, a man expressing such vulnerability in love would be considered too emotional. Yet, the charm of Nguyễn Bính’s love poetry lies not in the overt confession of deep emotions, but in the subtle national character embedded in both his thoughts and style.

Though the speaker's longing is deeply felt throughout the poem, by the end, his feelings remain unreciprocated. This leaves room for the character’s emotions to be conveyed more profoundly and sincerely.

Question 2 - Page 50 Textbook

What stands out about the way love is expressed in this poem? What about the tone, metaphors, and comparisons used?

Answer:

The national character in 'Tương Tư' is reflected through metaphors such as 'nine longings, ten hopes,' which stretch across time, with no communication, yet the speaker continues to wait: 'When will the boat meet the dock?' The hope remains distant.

Nguyễn Bính's love poetry often reflects this balance of emotions, even when dealing with unrequited or impossible love. His poetic style resonates with readers across regions and eras, combining rural charm with romantic sentiment.

Question 3 - Page 50 Textbook

Hoài Thanh once remarked that Nguyễn Bính's poetry embodies the 'soul of ancient Vietnam.' Do you agree with this statement based on 'Tương Tư'? Why?

Answer:

Hoài Thanh’s observation that Nguyễn Bính’s poetry contains the 'soul of ancient Vietnam' is certainly evident in 'Tương Tư.' The poet’s love for the countryside breathes life into even the simplest verses, with an almost magical charm:

'They said the river was too far, too hard to cross, / But here it’s just the village square— / How far can that be? And yet the distance grows…'

For Nguyễn Bính, even the mundane scenery of the countryside holds great beauty and emotion. This unique perspective allows him to convey the spirit of rural life, deeply touching readers' hearts.