Guan Ju
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關雎
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Analysis
This poem is one of the earliest poems in history, written nearly in 1000 B.C. The main theme of this poem is to express the speaker's admiration for the girl and his pursuit for her. The first line of this poem starts with 'Guan-guan'. In ancient Chinese times, this is the mating sound of a kind of bird - ospreys. It is said that mated ospreys cannot be separated, if one dies, the other would die too. The speaker uses the sounds of the ospreys to describe his seeking wish for the girl. The second line is telling the reader that the girl he is seeking is beautiful and virtuous and he himself is gentle and noble. Therefore they are a perfect match.
In the second stanza, the duckweed is introduced with two different meanings. One is that the girl is moving around like duckweed, meaning her personality is hard to grasp. The other one is that she picks the duckweed, showing that she is also picking her lover very carefully, which also represents her virtuous character. Therefore, it would be more difficult for the speaker to chase after her.
The poet spends the whole third stanza to describe the speaker's painful situation after his seeking proves to be fruitless. The most important word in this poem is 'sought' which makes the reader feel the hardship as well as the endurance on the part of the speaker. The process of pursuit is the key element of this poem which starts with the speaker's encounter with the girl, then observing her nearby, and here becoming more restless and distressed.
However, the speaker doesn't blame his love. In the fourth stanza, he imagines his future life with her. Through line 2 in the fourth stanza, the speaker imagines that he is gathering duckweed with his love, and then later, cooking it. This picture is merrily presented in the poem, and has a fantasy-like feeling, which speaks out the speaker's ideal image of happy life.
The words in the last stanza 'With bells and drums' are supposed to be the entertainment parts of a wedding. The wedding is, in the speaker's mind, the perfect ending for male-female relationship. So the poem ends with the most admired way of love pursuit - marriage, although all in the speaker's imagination.
The tone of this poem is very solemn. Because this poem is arranged as the first poem in the Book of Songs, it must be used as a model for other poems. Judging from the last line, the reader might think that this poem ends happily. Quite the contrary, this life is the ideal goal to be admired and aspired. The speaker's sorrow can only be surpassed by his imagination of future happiness.
One of the poetic device used in this poem is repetition. The second, fourth and fifth stanza are nearly the same, except for some differences in the last sentence. The repetition emphasises the speaker's admiration towards his love and his enduring pursuit. Another poetic device is symbolism. The ospreys symbolise the speaker and his lover. The duckweed symbolises his lover's personality. There are no rhyming schemes in this poem.
In the second stanza, the duckweed is introduced with two different meanings. One is that the girl is moving around like duckweed, meaning her personality is hard to grasp. The other one is that she picks the duckweed, showing that she is also picking her lover very carefully, which also represents her virtuous character. Therefore, it would be more difficult for the speaker to chase after her.
The poet spends the whole third stanza to describe the speaker's painful situation after his seeking proves to be fruitless. The most important word in this poem is 'sought' which makes the reader feel the hardship as well as the endurance on the part of the speaker. The process of pursuit is the key element of this poem which starts with the speaker's encounter with the girl, then observing her nearby, and here becoming more restless and distressed.
However, the speaker doesn't blame his love. In the fourth stanza, he imagines his future life with her. Through line 2 in the fourth stanza, the speaker imagines that he is gathering duckweed with his love, and then later, cooking it. This picture is merrily presented in the poem, and has a fantasy-like feeling, which speaks out the speaker's ideal image of happy life.
The words in the last stanza 'With bells and drums' are supposed to be the entertainment parts of a wedding. The wedding is, in the speaker's mind, the perfect ending for male-female relationship. So the poem ends with the most admired way of love pursuit - marriage, although all in the speaker's imagination.
The tone of this poem is very solemn. Because this poem is arranged as the first poem in the Book of Songs, it must be used as a model for other poems. Judging from the last line, the reader might think that this poem ends happily. Quite the contrary, this life is the ideal goal to be admired and aspired. The speaker's sorrow can only be surpassed by his imagination of future happiness.
One of the poetic device used in this poem is repetition. The second, fourth and fifth stanza are nearly the same, except for some differences in the last sentence. The repetition emphasises the speaker's admiration towards his love and his enduring pursuit. Another poetic device is symbolism. The ospreys symbolise the speaker and his lover. The duckweed symbolises his lover's personality. There are no rhyming schemes in this poem.