I agree with you, Hyun Woo: this poem "works" very well without the last two lines. But I also agree with Portia. The last lines add pathos, because, as Li Bai writes in "The moon of Mountain Guan," no man returns from that front! And the woman thinks of her husband as a conquering hero!
Beautiful postcard photo and poem. Many thanks, Hyun Woo!
There are many ways a reader can interpret a work of literature, but I find the gay reading rather unconvincing with this poem. "Beating clothes" is way too strongly connected with women, and there is a tradition in pre-modern Chinese literature where male poets write in a woman's voice. I guess one could, in theory, approach this poem in terms of gender shifting.
At least it can be said it works still when you sever the tail. That leads to a thought though, how many poems do you know that can continually be cut by a line even up to leaving a single line, but the resulting 'poem' still works beautifully as a piece?
A thing to bear in mind is that the Yuefu or New Yuefu poems are meant to be sung to a general audience. The standard format is a six-line instead of a four-line of five characters. I imagine a song with four-line lyrics might be too short to be impactful. (And you can't repeat the lines like modern songwriters often resort to.)
Also, unless the audience were well-educated liberati, the subtle reference to Yu Gate would be lost, especially in social gathering settings such as banquets.
I wish I could, but it is not always possible. The poems I translate are from the 7th to the 10th century, and often we cannot pinpoint when a poem was written or published.
BS"D
I agree with you, Hyun Woo: this poem "works" very well without the last two lines. But I also agree with Portia. The last lines add pathos, because, as Li Bai writes in "The moon of Mountain Guan," no man returns from that front! And the woman thinks of her husband as a conquering hero!
Beautiful postcard photo and poem. Many thanks, Hyun Woo!
Thank you. Baruq haShem!
I actually wondered if the last two lines could be read as gay (once I realised the poet was a man).
There are many ways a reader can interpret a work of literature, but I find the gay reading rather unconvincing with this poem. "Beating clothes" is way too strongly connected with women, and there is a tradition in pre-modern Chinese literature where male poets write in a woman's voice. I guess one could, in theory, approach this poem in terms of gender shifting.
At least it can be said it works still when you sever the tail. That leads to a thought though, how many poems do you know that can continually be cut by a line even up to leaving a single line, but the resulting 'poem' still works beautifully as a piece?
I believe many of Whitman's poems can be cut into pieces.
I get your point about those last two lines, Hyun Woo, but I think they add a melancholic, sweet note to the poem.
Yes, they do. I think that could have been Li Bai's own intention, letting it become more like a common love song.
A thing to bear in mind is that the Yuefu or New Yuefu poems are meant to be sung to a general audience. The standard format is a six-line instead of a four-line of five characters. I imagine a song with four-line lyrics might be too short to be impactful. (And you can't repeat the lines like modern songwriters often resort to.)
Also, unless the audience were well-educated liberati, the subtle reference to Yu Gate would be lost, especially in social gathering settings such as banquets.
Yup, I guess it mostly has to do with the poem being a yuefu.
Love your work. Could you please include time of publication as well? Thank you
I wish I could, but it is not always possible. The poems I translate are from the 7th to the 10th century, and often we cannot pinpoint when a poem was written or published.
Ah how dumb of me. Thanks!
Congrats, Paschali! Your work is very necessary!!!!! Cheers, Rosana
I am so glad to hear that!☺️
🎄🌀🎈