Analyze of Poem from Classic of Poetry (Shijing 詩經) [Owen, pp. 10-57]

2022.1.31

1. What kind of person do you imagine is speaking the poem? (ex., gender, social class, position or role in society, attitude, and other aspects of the speaker)

2. Who do you imagine the audience is for the poem? (ex., gender, social class, position or role in society, attitude, and other aspects of the listener)

3. What do you think the speaker is trying to communicate to the audience? (ex., their concerns, anxieties, desires, goals of persuasion)

I believe the author was a well-educated woman from a noble family according to the context of this poem. Her husband promised her a perfect love. After they married, however, the husband became bored of her and favoured his concubine who degraded her. she desired to return to her mother's house, but her family and custom did not support her, believing that males were allowed to like more than one woman. She was unsatisfied and depressed, and she believed her spouse betrayed her. She was unique and suffered more than other women because she was tougher, refused to agree and accept the secular ideas.

The target audience includes not only domestic women like the author, but also undervalued courtiers. Since Qu Yuan compared loyal ministers to beauties in Li Sao, this poem has also been used to describe men and women as rulers and ministers. Although the author of this poem is a woman, the implied meaning expressed is the same as the sincere heart of the under-appreciated minister to the emperor."When a loyal and righteous man is not forgiven by his king, it is difficult to say that he has to write the words of a couple of lovers in order to write his innocence." The author, who has a profound and noble sense of morality, believes she is rare. She was dissatisfied and lonely. Reading Boat of Cypress will generate a powerful connection between author and persons who have faced censure or unfair defamation in their lives. The poem is easy to sing due to rhyme and it opens with a composite image of a "boat and water," which can symbolically represent Kings and ministers also indicate love between men and women. The flow of water is like the desire of people endlessly pouring out; the water can't be quiet since the desire doesn't stop. The cypress, on the other hand, drifts upon the stream, striving to get stronger and staying true to one's heart in the dilemma.

The speaker is trying to convey three points to audiences, namely attitude toward love, loneliness and firm belief. The first one is her avant-garde ideas of love. Even though concubines were considered normal, she expected perfect love. This work can alleviate the author's concerns, reinforce her faith, and inspire her to remain faithful to herself. The second is her loneliness. Her deep loneliness stemmed from her stubborn refusal to let go of her faith in the face of the secular society and the conflict between herself and the outside world causes her sadness. The third is that even though she is lonely, she does not give in but sticks to herself. The reason why Boat of Cypress can inspire people is not only because it portrays the contrast between noble and despicable and vividly depicts the emotions of sorrow and resentment, but also because it emphasizes the flaws of justice in the opposition and makes the weak and frustrated people bravely convey the firm belief that it is not easy to hold ambition. Whether a dissatisfied courtier or a lady who refuses to compromise, they defied expectations of society, leading to a continual quest of lofty ethical character. "I witnessed in the Boat of Cypress how difficult it is for an ordinary man to uphold his will," Confucius sighed.

In the title, the authors present the metaphor of cypress to describe her noble character and integrity. The first line, "That boat of cypress drifts along, it drifts upon the stream." is a way of "xing 兴" in the Book of Poetry. The cypress wood boat is firm and stable, but it still floats and drifts on the stream, indicating the woman's lost frustrated mood and perplexity. She felt resentful and insecure since ancient women were subordinate to men –economically and ethically. It can be seen from this sentence, "Nor am I lacking wine to ease mind and let me roam," that the author is talented, well-educated and has noble sentiments. "This heart of mine is no mirror; it cannot take in all," "this heart of mine is no stone; you cannot turn it where you will," "this heart of mine is no mat; I cannot roll it up within." is the traditional method of "Bi比." The author uses these three metaphors to clarify her? mind and ambition. She did not express her feelings in positive statements but in negative ones, expresses her deterministic attitude. Mirrors, stone, and mat are used as parallelism metaphors by the protagonist to convey that she does not want to be around unethical individuals. "Yes I do have brothers, but brothers will not be my stay. I went and told them of my grief and met only with their rage, "demonstrates her state of isolation. the lady’s understanding of love was far ahead of the times. and her family couldn't comprehend it: Her family believed it was common for men to have many concubines, which was not what she expected her spouse. "I have behaved with dignity, in this no man can fault me." she says, demonstrating that she maintained proper manners and etiquette when still obstinate and unwilling to accept the norms." My heart is uneasy and restless, I am reproached by little man. Many are the woes I've met, and taken slights more than a few. " This reflects her current problems: her spouse does not love her, her family is unsupportive, and concubines bully her. The phrase "Oh the Sun! and you Moon! Why do you each grow dim in turn? " implies that as time passes, the original promise has not been fulfilled. "These troubles of the heart are like unwashed clothes." and, "I think it in the quiet, I cannot spread wings to fly away" is a metaphorical use of the word "Bi比" in the Book of Songs. "These troubles of the heart" refers to a worry-inducing inner experience, while "like unwashed clothes" refers to wearing unclean clothing. The author expresses her psychological experience through her physical experience, allow readers vividly experience the conflicted and disordered difficulties. The word "fly" gives the poem a more prosperous, deeper, and spatial meaning than "spread wings." "Fly" conveys both rising and detachment from reality. It starts rendering hidden worries from the beginning of the poem. It fosters the protagonist to adhere to the heart and not bow to the secular in unsupported circumstances to comply with one's life attitude.

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