I chose these poems from the first book of love to see how poets saw their crushes, before actual love set in. These poems about attraction were very interesting because of the universality of the subject. All societies and all grapple with attraction and love, but it was interesting to see how similar the poetry are to other types of literature.
478
I merely glimpsed your
beauty barely visible--
like the blades of grass
sprouting through the deep blanket
of snow on Kasuga Fields
Mibu no Tadamine
I felt that this poem seemed an interesting beginning of a relationship. The imagery of grass sprouting through deep snow, gave me the feeling that he had to almost focus to truly understand her beauty. Another feeling, I got from this poem was that the woman that Tadamine is observing has a warm sense of beauty. The first line appears that the speaker did not have long to look at the woman, but it gave him the impression of grass in deep snow, almost like she has a sense of warmth that is lacking in the people around her.
479
A fleeting glimpse
as of mountain cherries seen
through the thick veil of
spring mists I sacrcely saw
the one who captured my heart
Ki no Tsurayuki
In the first line, Tsurayuki also has a quick glimpse of the woman in his poem, but he uses the image of mountain cherries which made me think of the cherry blossoms of Mt. Yoshino. The spring mists also give a feeling of warmth washing over the cherry blossoms. Tsurayuki feels these feelings only after a quick look at her and he uses the cherry blossoms to compare the woman's beauty to them. This poem and the one before it use the images of warmth and the coming of spring, or with the image of cherry blossoms in to transition to the middle of spring.
480
longing is not a
messenger and yet how strange
it is that my love
has carried my heart away
a delivered it to her
Ariwara no Motokata
Motokata writes how cannot see her, but longs to see her. The first two lines describe the that longing does not give messages to the one who is missed, but he feels strange. The rest of the poem describes this strange feeling the speaker feels, that though he is not near her and his desire to see her cannot take messages to her, his heart has left him to be with her. Opposed to the other poets, Motokata seems to know the woman that he is writing this poem about.
481
Since I first heard her
voice refreshing as the first faint
call of wild geese in
autumn I have wandered on
the heavens' enchanted path
Oshikochi no Mitsune
The first two images compare the woman's voice to the call of wild geese. While author is sure to use faint sounds of geese, to sound more mysterious and have the sound be more beautiful than obnoxious. Also apparently geese were able to deliver messages between lovers. The woman's voice transports the speaker to heaven because her voice is so beautiful. Similar to Motokata, Mitsue is in the beginnings of his relationship, however he has made it the furthest of any of the authors so far.
482
chance of our meeting
is as distant as the dark
clouded skies where
the thunder god rumbles like
tidings that enliven love
Anonymous
In this poem, the author feels that he will not meet his lover, but that sentiment forces his love to grow stronger. He compares their chances to meet like the dark clouds, which sounds almost sad. The use of the storm god could be symbolizing the passion the author feels for the woman in the poem. The image of the storm is also used to the connection between the author and his lover. This poem also uses the storm as the messenger between the speaker and his lover. This poem only second in this series that deals with missing a lover, but the first with using weather especially with weather usually considered violent.
All these poems were from the first book of love in the Kokinshu. Each poem spoke about a particular woman that the author was interested in. The first two poems wrote about the first encounters with the subject, usually meaning a glance or quick look. Also these first two poems conveyed a sense of warmth to the women that they write about. The other three poems go into detail about how the authors wish to get closer to their lovers, whether they miss their voices or presence. All these poems reflect deeply on the beginnings of relationships and how precious the subject is to the authors.
All these poems were from the first book of love in the Kokinshu. Each poem spoke about a particular woman that the author was interested in. The first two poems wrote about the first encounters with the subject, usually meaning a glance or quick look. Also these first two poems conveyed a sense of warmth to the women that they write about. The other three poems go into detail about how the authors wish to get closer to their lovers, whether they miss their voices or presence. All these poems reflect deeply on the beginnings of relationships and how precious the subject is to the authors.
I enjoyed reading your interpretations. Especially interesting was where you assigned connotations of warmth, and your interpretation of storm clouds as sad. Although I don't agree with you on those points, they were mind expanding and engaging. I can tell that the topic of love is one that really reaches you, which is refreshing to see in a younger person (I'm a senior, so humor me!). It was funny when you implied that the sounds of geese are obnoxious, and in the same sentence you had an interesting interpretation of faintness as mysterious. The only advice I would give is to write more extensively about each item. You really displayed a lot of individuality in the way you reacted to the poems, and I hope I get the chance to read more of your writings, whether about poetry or anything else related to the class.
ReplyDeleteYou show a clear understanding of the series of poems. I also liked your focus on warmth and the imagery in each poem, because they show you care about the ideas in the series. You picked out specifics from each poem, but you were still able to tie everything together in the series of poems as well. I like that you tied images together with your own ideas, like the cherry blossoms from Mt. Yoshino. The paper was very well-written and described each poem clearly. My one suggestion is to write a little more on how the poems affected you. The poets want to evoke some emotion in the readers, so your reactions are important.
ReplyDeleteI liked your interpretations of the poems, and the subject matter was really well-chosen. I can tell that you put thought into choosing these poems, and that you are interested in the subject you were discussing. I also appreciated the way you tied the poems together, with the mentions of warmth in the first two poems. You put the time in to think about the images, like the cherry blossoms on Mt. Yoshino, and make connections to outside ideas that could affect the poems. The only thing I would like to suggest is that you pry a little deeper into the poems, really think about the importance of each word, and think about how they affect you and what they make you feel. Other than that, I think this essay showed that you cared about the subject and that is always appealing to the reader.
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