Mohamed Jaafar, 1
Poetry Literary Analysis
Mohamed Jaafar
Mrs. Timm
12E
27th November 2011
Mohamed Jaafar, 2
Literary Analysis Outline
I.
Introduction
A.
“But what does all this bravery amount to?” (11)
B.
Sent to Li Po as a Gift
C.
Tu Fu
D.
Shih Poetry
E.
Therefore, although this piece of poetry has an interesting story between
its lines, it probably does not attract many readers due to its disorganization.
II.
Meter and Rhythm
III.
Stanza
IV.
Sound Device
V.
Imagery and Figurative Language
VI.
Conclusion
Mohamed Jaafar, 3
Poetry Literary Analysis
"But what does all this bravery amount to?" (11). Thus the piece of poetry known
as Sent to Li Po as a Gift was concluded. This poem is accredited to a poet called Tu Fu,
addressing another poet known as Li Po. Tu Fu (712-770) was known to be as the
supreme craftsman of the Chinese Shih poetry. Tu Fu belonged to the Tang dynasty and
was known to be a follower of the Confucius' beliefs due to his strong support of politics.
The poet criticizes Li Po who had an irregular and disorganized life pattern. This poem
was translated into the English language by Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell. Its
translation has participated in destroying the style of the Chinese Shih poetry. Therefore,
although this piece of poetry has an interesting story between its lines, it probably does
not attract many readers due to its disorganization.
While reading this piece, the reader can notice that it has not any meters or
rhythms, which gives it a strange and disorganized style. This style will definitely create a
conflict in the readers' thoughts, as the Shih poetry is known for its organized pattern of
having similar number of words per line. Unfortunately the translation of this piece to an
English version has messed with its beautiful arrangement. For example the lines
"Autumn comes" (1) and "And, remembering Ko Hung you are ashamed" (5) would
certainly have the same number of words in Chinese, but the translation had disrupted the
amazing organization of this poem. The reader would probably think that this piece could
have been translated in a more careful to preserve its style; in order to attract more
readers.
With a simple and quick view, the reader can notice that this poem is not divided
into a particular group of lines, which are known as stanzas. This would make the poem
difficult to understand by its readers. The disappearance of the stanzas is another problem
which was caused by the translation of this poem. The importance of a stanza is
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concentrated on separating the contents of the poem. Thus a poem becomes clearer and
easier to understand.
The reader can notice that Sent to Li Po as a Gift lacks the use of sound devices.
Overall, only two sound devices existed within this poem. The first was "Autumn comes"
(1), which can be considered as an example of a consonance sound device due to the
repetition of final consonant sounds. The second and last was "You drink a great deal"
(6), which is also considered to be an assonance sound device, due to the repetition of
similar vowels. Sound devices enhance a poem's meaning by adding a musical quality.
This plays a great role in the attraction of a reader towards a poem. Therefore, it is
believed that the lack of the sound devices can be considered as a disadvantage of this
piece of poetry, which was caused due to its translation.
A poem's beauty is measured through the use of Imagery and Figurative language
that gives the best explanation of an incident or situation. Unlike meters, rhythms, stanzas
and sound devices, imagery and figurative language could not be affected by translation;
many of its elements were present in the poem. For example, a simile has been used to
compare Li Po as thistledown using the word 'as' on the line: "You still whirl about as a
thistledown in the wind" (3). A metaphor also existed when comparing Li Po's nature as a
spreading fire with out the use of the words 'like' or 'as' on the line: "Looking at "Your
nature is a spreading fire" (6). Personification was also used on the line: "Autumn comes"
(1), where Tu Fu described autumn as a person who has arrived.
Even though Sent to Li Po as a Gift is a Chinese Shih Poetry, its translation to the
English language has caused it the loss of the values and elements of the Shih poetry.
Therefore, to increase the readers attraction towards the Shih Poetry, readers would agree
that these poems need to be translated in a better way to match the original one's elements
as much and possible.