Haney Punishment 7/30/13

           Haney’s “Punishment” describes a women drowned for adultery. It explores the primitive nature of the Iron Age’s justice system and compares them to the conflicts in modern Northern Ireland (Puchner 1645-1646). The poem uses allusion to discuss her unfair fate and how it reverberates even today through the barbaric means of punishment and persecution.

            Haney places himself within the poem right in the beginning. Although the mood created is “melancholy” and “meditative” we are able to view the atrocities Haney envisions almost as if they were a distant memory being recollected (Puchner 1646). Haney writes that he “feel[s] the tug” and “can see her drowned / body in the bog” (1, 9-10). He immediately identifies with the drowned woman as a victim and not as a perpetrator. In line 28 he calls her his “poor scapegoat.”

            The poem discusses how even those who would have been the woman’s friend, sister, or family have turned against her for the act of punishment and out of “tribal, intimate revenge” (Haney 44). Haney also describes himself as a mere spectator in her punishment as he has “stood dumb” in the wake of her punishment.

            Each of these actions (or inactions) describes the atrocities that can and have occurred in fascist governments or when terror based organizations are given power to promote their propaganda. The woman’s unconventional relationship is rejected and punished just as Northern Ireland sought to do against Catholics for simply practicing a different brand of Christianity. While this is silently condemned by the reticent narrator, his understanding of the perpetrators’ actions is made clear in the final lines that he “understand[s] the exact / and tribal, intimate revenge” (43-44).-And operating as voyeur and by not stepping in he has made himself as complicit as the aforementioned perpetrators.

Works Cited

Haney, Seamus. “Punishment.” 1650 To the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1647-1649. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Puchner, Martin. “Seamus Haney.” 1650 To the Present. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1645-1646. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Celan Death

            The horrors of the Holocaust still resonate in society today. While many of the survivors are no longer alive, the events continue to echo throughout society through the works that came from the horror and anguish caused by Nazi Germany. Paul Celan’s poems, such as “Deathfugue” and “Aspen Tree,” explore the fear and loss he suffered during his time in a forced labor camp.

            In “Deathhfugue,” Celan writes about “an SS commander [who] forced prisoners to play” dance music “during marches and executions” (Puchner 1468). As the prisoners are forced to dig the commander whistles and leers over them as the demonic form of death:

                        He shots play death more sweetly this Death is a master from Deutschland

                        he shouts scrape your strings darker you’ll rise up as smoke to the sky

you’ll then have a grave in the clouds where you won’t lie too cramped (Celan 22-24)

He continues his description of Death’s power in line 26: “we drink you at midday Death is a master aus Deutschland,” signifying the finality and cruelty that comes from not just Death but from Germany. The actions of the Nazis are as infinite and irrevocable as death itself.

            “Aspen Tree” also investigates the finality of death albeit in a different tone; the poem “laments the death of the poet’s mother,” but instead of simply stating she has died, Celan compares her to “inanimate objects” and notes what his mother misses in death. He compares his mother’s hair, which “never turned white,” to the leaves of the Aspen tree that “glance white into the dark” (Celan 2, 1). He ends the poem simply with the statement “My gently mother cannot return” (10). The ringing constant of the poem centers on his mother’s absence caused by a brief act of violence.

            Both poems focus on the permanence of death. Not only is death itself a permanent state but the effects it has on those left behind. The deaths discussed in Celan’s poems were senseless and violent and would continue to echo long after the war.

Works Cited

Celan, Paul. “Deathfugue.” Trans. John Felstiner. 1650 To the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1469-1470. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

---. “Aspen Tree.” Trans. John Felstiner. 1650 To the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1470. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Puchner, Martin. “Paul Celan.” 1650 To the Present. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1467-1469. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Neruda

             In Pablo Neruda’s time Chile underwent vast political changes, which impacted him personally, politically, and creatively. He viewed many of the political changes as detrimental to the future of Chile and “was forced to flee the country” and live in Europe for several years (Puchner 1421). His poem “Walking Around” reveals how deeply the fascist politics have permeated life in the cities and how it has changed his view on even the smallest facets of city life.

            “Walking Around” opens with the line: “It happens that I am tired of being a man” (Neruda 1). As the poet makes his way through the city streets he sees further evidence of what the fascist state has done to urban staples, such as “the tailor’s shops and the movies,” which are now “all shriveled up, impenetrable” (2, 3).

The poem was written in 1933 making Neruda 28 or 29 years of age as he recounts the images and the emotions they bring about in him. As a young man in his prime he recognized immediately that Chile, as a fascist state, does not offer him the hope and opportunity he craves. In lines 22-25 he proclaims:

                        I do not want to be the inheritor of so many misfortunes.

                        I do not want to continue as a root and as a tomb,

                        as a solitary tunnel, as a cellar full of corpses,

                        stiff with cold, dying with pain.

The lines essentially ask the audience what is the point of it all if the city has become “a solitary tunnel, as a cellar full of corpses.”

            Neruda’s view of the city as discussed in the poem reveals a shell of what the city once was and now is. The overall tone is one of despair and does not reveal even a glimmer of hope that it will become full of life again. It is no longer an urban area with a mix of different peoples interacting and thriving together but is instead a cluttered and eclectic mess of discarded items: “umbrellas all over the place, and poisons, and navels” (Neruda 39). Neruda writes that even the “underpants, towels and shirts…weep / slow dirty tears” over what fascism has done to urban life (44, 45).

Works Cited

Neruda, Pablo. “Walking Around.” Trans. W.S. Merwin. 1650 To the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1423-1424. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Puchner, Martin. “Pablo Neruda.” 1650 To the Present. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1421-1422. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Gender

Machado's "Rod of Justice" explores power and how freely it is given and taken away. The main character Damiao holds little to no power over his own life. He believes his only way out of a life in the seminary is to make a plea to another in a position of power. Sinha Rita has a unique hold over the male and female characters discussed in the story. Not only does she hold power over her (inferred) lover and Damiao's godfather, Joao Carneiro, but she holds power over the slave girls working for her.

Damiao turns to Sinha Rita because he knows she holds a certain kind of favor with is godfather and, with that favor, a certain amount of power and authority over Joao: "Sinha Rita was a widow, the sweetheart of Joao Carneiro. Damiao had certain vague ideas about this situation and decided to turn it to his advantage" (de Assis 912). Damiao knows that their relationship is such that any request she makes of Joao will be honored; however, whether it is out of love or sexual favor is not fully explored in the text. Later in the story we do see that her power over Joao is strong enough that he decides a physical altercation with Damiao's father is less frightening than incurring Sinha Rita's wrath:

Joao Carneiro was in no hurry to leave, and he could not remain. He was caught between two opposing forces. It really made no difference to him whether his godson ended up a priest, a doctor, a lawyer, or what--even if he turned out to be a good-for-nothing bum and loafer. But, the worst of it was, he was being pushed into a terrible struggle against the most intimate feelings of his friend the boy's father, with no certainty as to the result. If the result proved negative, he would have another fight on his hands with Sinha Rita, whose final words were, “I tell you he is not going back.” There was bound to be a row....Why couldn’t she ask something else of him? (917)

Ultimately he decides to do what Sinha Rita requests and leaves to confront Damiao’s father.

            While it could be assumed Sinha Rita is a sympathetic character who stands up for the weak, she is not. Instead she is just as frightening and unforgiving as Damiao’s father if not more. Perhaps because she is a woman in the late nineteenth century she must wield a sharper sword. When dealing with the young, eleven year old slave girl Lucretia we find Sinha Rita to be quite harsh. The young girl is threatened for laughing at Damiao’s joke and later suffers the rod for not finishing her work before dark. Sinha Rita’s presence is so dominating that when Sinha Rita is set to punish Lucretia, Damiao loses all courage and fetches the rod for her: “Damiao was pricked by an uneasy sense of guilt, but he wanted so much to get out of the seminary! He reached the settee, picked up the rod, and handed it to Sinha Rita” (de Assis 916).

            Sinha Rita operates as less a mediator than an enforcer in the story. She operates as the single force driving the slave girls to finish before dark and as Damiao’s only hope in escaping seminary life. As “his best chance of help” she is only too “eager to show her power over both her lover and her slaves” (Puchner 911). In fact she chooses to help Damiao not because she believes it is the right thing to do or because she pities young Damiao but simply because it is another show of her dominance over those within her circle.

Works Cited

De Assis, Joaquim Maria Machado. “The Rod of Justice.” Trans. Helen Caldwell. 1650 To the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 911-916. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Puchner, Martin. “Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis.” 1650 To the Present. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 910-911. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Marti & Dario

          Walt Whitman’s work served to cast the poet as more than just an artist but “as a fighter and a leader” (Puchner 646). His work changed the way poetry could be written and Latin American poets such as Jose Marti and Ruben Dario soon followed suit in style and purpose with their poetry. Employing imagery from their surroundings and political elements these poets spoke on a more basic and rudimentary level that their audiences could follow.

            Poem 24 of “Song of Myself” serves as a definition of Whitman and his connection to all men. Whitman writes: “Whoever degrades another degrades me, / And whatever is done or said returns at last to me” (7-8). This bold statement serves as a declaration that all men are men and are thus connected. Marti makes a similar declaration in “I Am an Honest Man” when he proclaims, “I come from everywhere / And I am going toward everywhere” (5-6). Casting himself as an element of nature he connects himself to the natural in a spiritual way.

            In his poem “To Roosevelt” Dario makes a personal connection to Whitman and urges President (Theodore) Roosevelt to take cues from the American poet: “The voice that would reach you, Hunter, must speak / in Biblical tones, or in the poetry of Walt Whitman” (1-2). The poem continues to compare Roosevelt to the likes of conquerors and despots throughout history and casts the president in a light that contradicts with Whitman’s view that democracy should serve as a great equalizer:

                        Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan, the son

                        Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding,

                        No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or apart from them,

                        No more modest than immodest. (1-4)

            The prose style poetry of the Whitman, Marti, and Dario link all men together with not only other men but nature as well. In a return to the basic and rudimentary elements that make us all human, spiritual beings they cast aside what they government had become. Their poetry offer up pleas to what their worlds should be, an interconnection with all men based on spirituality and nature.

Works Cited

Dario, Ruben. “To Roosevelt.” Trans. Lysander Kemp. 1650 To the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 693-694. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Marti, Jose. “I Am an Honest Man.” Trans. Aviva Chomsky. 1650 To the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 681-682. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Puchner, Martin. “Walt Whitman.” 1650 To the Present. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 646-648. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Whitman, Walt. “Song of Myself.” 1650 To the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 648-653. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Essay On Man

            When God created man the potential for both good and evil were created. While the constant question we ask ourselves is “What is the meaning of life?”—Alexander Pope sought to answer “What is the purpose of man?” in his Essay on Man. In a world of divine order and chaos what is our role? Instead of taking Milton’s approach by starting and ending the poem with the fall of man and warring heavens, he seeks to answer the question of where humanity falls with God’s plan and why what we perceive to be chaos is actually something more divine and above what we are able to comprehend as mortal beings.

            Much like the parent child relationship present in humanity questions are constantly asked of God or other higher beings about humanity’s relationship to the world. In response to the questions relating to our purpose Pope “ambitiously sets out to consider humanity in relation to the universe, to itself, to society, and to happiness” (Puchner 89). Although we are unable to see the whole truth of the matter Pope asserts that the “universe works according to a design that is good” and we should submit to this larger plan (89).

            So who or what does Pope assert we are in his Essay? He writes that we are part of the bigger picture: “The general ORDER, since the whole began, / Is kept in Nature, and is kept in Man” (171-172).  Pope asserts here that there is balance in the universe and man is the bearer. The cyclical nature of The Essay on Man shows that all pieces of the cosmic puzzle created by God do in fact fit; however, as we are mortal and mere vessels of his order we are unable to look beyond ourselves and see the whole of his plan.

            Pope’s focus on this order shows that although we are only privy to bits and pieces of it we must trust in God, much the same way a child must trust their parent, that there is a bigger picture. Although it may seem the path laid before us as strange we must have faith:

                        The great directing MIND of ALL ordains.

                        All are but parts of one stupendous whole,

                        Whose body Nature is, and God the soul;

                        ………………………………………….

To him no high, no low, no great, no small;

He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all.

……………………………………………

All partial Evil, universal Good:

And spite of Pride, in erring Reason’s spite,

One truth is clear, WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT. (266-268, 279-280, 

292-294)

            For Pope, we are but small limbs that are meant to comply with what our brain (God) wants? We were created out of God’s will and divine nature. It is our job to stay the course and not question what we believe to be chaos and evil as it all fits into God’s final plan.

Works Cited

Pope, Alexander. An Essay on Man. 1650 To the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 90-97. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Puchner, Martin. “Alexander Pope.” 1650 To the Present. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 86-89. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

de Navarre

            Marguerite de Navarre sought to protect those not born of nobility from persecution and to provide them a sort of safe haven. Although she remained a Catholic she appeared as a protestant sympathizer and to have “hoped for internal reform” (Puchner 1638). Focusing her life’s work “on intellectual and literary pursuits and on religious meditation and debate” de Navarre herself became suspected of “Protestant ‘heresy’” (1638). In de Navarre’s The Heptameron she captures the importance of truth in relating any story or history and makes sure her characters take an oath of truthfulness to unveil “how social factors influence their view of the world” (1639). Not only is honesty in facts and opinions important but it is important that all viewpoints are known and acknowledged.

            The importance of honesty (and honest pursuits) is evident in the Prologue and Story 8 of The Heptameron. Perhaps as a way of creating a transparent portrait of herself de Navarre’s characters provide frequent reminders of the importance of staying true to character and the facts.  The Prologue introduces the characters and among them is the Lady Oisille. When the group members discuss how to pass the time she proposes religious study. She not only proposes it but after a short speech on how she, a pious and God loving woman, spends her days she informs the rest: “For, a person who knows God will find all things beautiful in Him, and without Him all things will seem ugly. So I say to you, if you would live in happiness, heed my advice” (de Navarre 1641). Very amiably the rest of the group agrees that the spiritual is an important part of life but they must find some form of entertainment to resist boredom and fatigue while promising they will continue religious endeavors in addition to more entertaining ones.

            Story 8 features “a man by the name of Bornet, who had married a very decent and respectable woman” (de Navarre 1643). Bornet’s character begins as the antithesis of the characters in the Prologue. The dishonest behavior of Bornet leads to a gross misunderstanding. His wife informs him that his “depraved pent-up lust” and dishonest motives caused his sense to dull and vehemently pronounces: “I did what I did in order to save you from your wicked ways, so that when you get old, we can live happily and peacefully together without anything on our consciences” (1645).

            Bornet’s wife’s proclamation that she wants them to “live happily and peacefully together” sums up what de Navarre’s intentions were. With dishonesty and grandiose assumptions comes a high price. In her time it was the death of assumed Protestants and their sympathizers. In seeing only half-truths and           not accepting the other side of the argument mistakes are made.

Works Cited

de Navarre, Marguerite. The Heptameron.” Trans. P.A. Chilton. Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1640-1647. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Puchner, Martin. “Marguerite de Navarre.” Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1637-1639. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Sunjata

           Every culture has traditions that go back so far that modern day descendants don’t quite know the how or why of why these traditions are carried through. Acting as oral historians the jeliw in Mande clans keep a tradition of storytelling alive to constantly reintroduce a history. Sunjata provides an account of many firsts in Mande tradition, such as the bride-carrying ceremony.

            Sunjata chronicles the genealogy, history, and tribulations of the great warrior and leader of the same name. Although conceived of man and woman Sunjata’s birth was supernaturally predetermined and sets him apart from all other men. However, before his conception and birth is the union of his parents, which is the root of his origin and Mande tradition.

            Once the buffalo has been killed the brothers must now fulfill their promise to Do Kamissa and “urging them to look beyond appearances” makes sure Sogolon is married (Puchner 1517). As Sogolon suffers many deformities she is unable to walk towards her bride-groom during the wedding ceremony so she is assisted and carried down the aisle:

                        When they lifted her up she had a twisted foot.

                        Her feet were twisted and she could not walk without raising dust.

When they lifted her up then,

The dust went this way,

The dust went that way.

The first song for brides in Manden was sung then. (Conde 751-756)

As the co-wives walking with Sogolon continue to sing and escort her towards her husband and change their song when they realize she is bald:

Ma Sogolon Conde’s headscarf fell off,

And her bald head was exposed

………………………………….

They sang:

“The heron-head oooh.

Our heron-head has come this year,

Heron-head.

The woman’s heron-head has come this year with her crest.” (774-775, 779-783).

Taking offense at the jibes of her new co-wives Sogolon is then presented to her new husband:

                        If you see that when a Mande bride arrives at the door,

                        The sisters will put their heads inside and then pull them back out,

                        Put their heads inside and then pull them back out,

                        The third time, they send the bride into her husband.

                        That’s how it all started. (794-798)

This final ceremony inspired by Sogolon’s marriage is the result of her using dalilu against her new husband and his thwarting of it. Resulting in the birth of the Mande hero Sunjata the events are worthy of being included as part of a traditional Mande wedding ceremony.

            Tradition in marriage ceremonies is not a foreign concept, although the traditions employed may be. In the United States it is customary for the engaged parties to exchange rings during the ceremony and to adorn the venue in various flowers and decorations. The Mayans in certain villages preferred to use a comprehensive courting ritual (when economically available) that focused on respect and patience:

                        The preferred route to marriage entails a costly cycle of ritualized negotiation,

during which the boy’s family presents gifts to the girl’s family. After one or two years of supervised visitations in the girl’s home, the couple is married in a religious ceremony. (Forand 333)

            In Sunjata as in many other historical texts the idea is not to just tell a story but to provide a guide and history of a people’s tradition. The practice of a tradition holds little importance if the reasons and history behind the tradition are unknown. Sunjata serves as West Africa’s “central hero” and “an essential part of Mande culture” (Puchner 1514). As the hero of a region who has inspired an entire oral tradition the, of his parents’ union would serve as a template for traditional Mande marriage ceremonies.

Works Cited

Conde, Djanka Tassey. Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples.” Trans. David C. Conrad. Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1517-1576. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Forand, Nancy. “The Language Ideologies of Courtship Ritual: Maya Pentecostals and Folk Catholics.” Journal of American Folklore 115.457/458 (2002): 332-377. OhioLink. Web. June 2013.

Puchner, Martin. “Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples.” Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1514-1517. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Basho

            Raul Santiago Sebazco’s online video Matsuo Basho is a compilation of Japanese artwork, koto music, and lines from the haiku master Matsuo Basho’s poems. The mash up provides a short introduction into the serenity and simplicity that the haiku form embodies.

            The video opens with a map of “Basho’s Trail” (Sebazco). In 1689 Basho began travelling; it would be poems inspired by these travels that would result in The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Puchner, “Matsuo Basho” 324). Sebazco’s tributary montage encapsulates the seasons, landscapes, and events Basho encountered while on his journey. A little over a minute into the video we are presented with a snow covered mountain, which is surrounded by buildings and trees. Sebazco follows the image with Basho’s lines, “with the air of a century past / the fallen leaves on the garden.” The serene imagery of the mountain side, trees, and structures tells a story of the past work of those before and that they have not been forgotten as their work still stands among the living.

            Basho’s poetry shows the importance of the world we find ourselves in as “haiku is…poetry of small things and of everyday experience that preserves the sparkles of the particular in its universal appeal” (Puchner, “The World of Haiku” 323). The images used by Sebazco captures this same simplicity in the normal environment and tasks of the world. It continues with simplistic two dimensional drawings of a river, tree blossoms, and people carrying out their daily tasks.

            Sebazco concludes his video with a drawing of a road or path. The simple tan drawing is a fitting end to the video. It captures the essence of Basho’s journey on The Narrow Road to the Deep North as a simple, voyeuristic journey. The video shows how powerful the most simple of scenes can be; a feeling captured in Basho’s lines: “A wild sea-- / stretching to Sado Isle / the River of Heaven” (335).

                       

Works Cited

Basho, Mastuo. The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Trans. Haruo Shane. 1650 to the Present. Ed. Martin Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 325-336. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Puchner, Martin. “Matsuo Basho.” 1650 to the Present. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 324-325. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

---. “The World of Haiku.” 1650 to the Present. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 321-324. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Sebazco, Raul Santiago, dir. Matsuo Basho. 2010. Film. YouTube. Web. June 2013.

Classic of Poetry

            The country of China as “the oldest surviving civilization” provides us with work and a “literary tradition {that} stretches over more than three thousand years” (Puchner, “Early Chinese Literature and Thought” 747).  A product of this “literary tradition” is the Classic of Poetry. This compilation “is the oldest poetry collection of East Asia” and because Chinese literature began “with The Classic of Poetry, short verse gained …political, social, and pedagogical importance” (747). While “almost all the poems in the Classic of Poetry are anonymous” since the “compilation was attributed to Confucius and its traditional interpretations emphasized Confucian values, it was part and parcel of the education of political elites” (Puchner, “Classic of Poetry” 757, 759). Examples of the lessons that were meant to be imparted to the people include that of familial duty and of history.

            The poems in Classic of Poetry use repetition that creates a “melodic rhythm and…additional meaning” (Puchner, “Classic of Poetry” 758). The poem “Peach Tree Soft and Tender” employs this use of repetition and “melodic rhythm:”

                        Peach tree soft and tender,

                        How your blossoms glow!

                        The bride is going to her home,

                        she well befits this house. (1-4)

In the first four lines we learn of a new bride through the imagery of the tree’s “blossoms.” In the next stanza the first line is repeated but this time is followed by a marked change in time:

                        Peach tree soft and tender,

                        plump, the ripening fruit.

                        The bride is going to her home,

                        she well befits this house. (5-8)

The fruit now ripe has gone through a marked change. No longer a young and innocent blossom the bride has borne fruit (like a peach tree) and has begun to fulfill her duty as wife. The final stanza of the poem delivers on the knowledge that the wife has fulfilled her duty to husband and family:

                        Peach tree soft and tender,

                        its leaves spread thick and full.

                        The bride is going to her home,

                        She well befits these folk. (9-12)

            Where “Peach Tree Soft and Tender” serves as a lesson on a wife’s obligation to husband and family other poems serve as historical markers, such as “She Bore the Folk.” This poem was written about “the miraculous birth of Lord Millet, the inventor of agriculture and he legendary ancestor of the Zhou people” (Puchner, “Classic of Poetry” 758). “She Bore the Folk” not only serves to document the birth but a limited genealogy as well: “She who first bore the folk-- / Jiang it was, First Parent” (1-2).  From here the poem details the conception, birth, and upbringing of Lord Millet. The poem lists his accomplishments and ends by honoring and giving him due for his contributions:

                        We heap the wooden trenchers full,

                        wooden trenchers, earthenware platters.

                        And as the scent first rises

                        the high god is peaceful and glad.

                        This great odor is good indeed,

                        For Lord Millet began the rite,

                        and hopefully free from failing or fault,

                        it has lasted until now. (66-73)

            Working as a poetic anthology the Classic of Poetry provided a creative and rhythmic way of imparting values and lessons upon China and her people. By focusing on different lessons and ideals it served as more than just a how to manual but as a living history.

Works Cited

Puchner, Martin. “Classic of Poetry.” Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 756-759. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

---. “Early Chinese Literature and Thought: Introduction.”  Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 747-755. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

“She Bore the Folk.” Classic of Poetry. Trans. Stephen Owen. Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 764-766. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

“Peach Tree Soft and Tender.” Classic of Poetry. Trans. Stephen Owen. Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3^rd shorter ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 760. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Somadeva

In Somadeva’s “The Red Lotus of Chastity” the story’s heroine Devasmitā employs the use of disguise in order to deceive a group of male antagonists who threaten both her virtue and her husband’s safety. These male antagonists (the sons of a merchant) ultimately fail as Devasmitā proves to be quick witted and immediately sees through them. Devasmitā also manages to not only use the art of disguise and deception to achieve her goals but she also uses it as an opportunity to unmask the merchant’s sons by branding them so that they will not be able to conceal their wicked deeds.

When the merchant’s sons seek out Devasmitā to destroy her virtue they hide behind a greedy and deceitful nun. The nun lies to our heroine and tries to persuade her of the merits of having an affair not realizing she immediately recognizes the nun for what she is: “‘What kind of moral duty is that?’ thought Devasmitā, who was clever enough. ‘This nun has some crooked scheme afoot’” (Somadeva 1277).  Playing along with the nun she enlists the help of her servant girls by having one of them masquerade as she when each of the merchant’s sons comes to her. One by one the sons fall victim to Devasmitā’s use of disguise and are branded.

Her work is not done at this point for she knows now that these men will seek revenge on her husband. As a woman Devasmitā is unable to proceed on her own so she “bravely disguises herself as a man and undertakes a perilous journey overseas to foil {the} evil plot” against her husband (Puchner 1273). She is victorious in her overseas endeavor as she had the foresight to brand her opponents, which not only adds validity to her claims but further humiliates the merchant’s sons. “The Red Lotus of Chastity” serves to “{detail} the lengths to which a husband and a wife can go in order to remain faithful” and to protect one another (1273).

Works Cited

Puchner, Martin. “Somadeva.” Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York:

            Norton, 2013. 1272-1274. Print. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World 

           Literature. 2 vols.

Somadeva. “The Red Lotus of Chastity.” Trans. J.A.B.  Van Buitenen. Beginnings to 1650. Ed. Martin Puchner. Shorter 3^rd ed. New York: Norton, 2013. 1274-1279. Vol. 1 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2 vols.

Biography

Currently a graduate student with Tiffin University I enjoy reading, working on artwork, and spending time with my husband. My plan is to graduate with a Master of Humanities (English) in Spring 2014 and to work as an educator at the collegiate level. I have a BA in Studio Art and hope to bring the worlds of Art and Literature together when I go on to teach. I can’t wait to learn more about literature from around the world to expand my non-western cultural knowledge.