Last poem Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Last poem - Term Paper Example This poem displays many of the attitudes that are found in a Confucian approach to life, and it can be read on a literal level, as a lament on the trials of life for a person who is poor, or on a figurative level, as a lament on the lack of success he has had in his professional life. One of his translator’s Burton Watson simply calls Tu Fu â€Å"the eliciter of superlatives!† (p. xi) and explains that Tu Fu came from an illustrious family which included the famous Du Yu (222-284) who was a commentator on the works of Confucius, and Tu Fu’s grandfather Du Shenyan (died in 708) who was â€Å"an official in the Tang bureaucracy and one of the outstanding poets of hi time. (p. xii). It seems that being in the Tang civil service and having an interest in Confucian thought and poetry writing was a family tradition,then, because this is the same path that Tu Fu followed in his own life. Over the years Tu Fu has been recognized as one of China’s greatest poets, and Young explains that this view is â€Å"partly based on admiration for his technical brilliance, a fluent mastery of traditional forms combined with an originality that gives rise to an apparently effortless innovation† (p. 77). ... The innovation, however, is that the elements are merged with the very realistic description of actual events. In stylistic terms, critics note that he was able to use a large range of different styles and techniques, and one consistent feature is often mentioned: â€Å"One other characteristic of Du Fu’s poetry merits particular notice, since in helps to explain the perennial appeal of his work -; his realism.† (Watson, p. xix) The description of the pieces of thatch is very realistic, so that the reader can visualize how they form â€Å"whirls† (line 4) in the swirling gusts of wind, and how they get caught in the trees, (line 9) which is a strange place for thatch to be, showing how disruptive the wind is on this occasion. The thatch is caught up high, or down low in the puddles, (line 11) and this vivid description causes the reader to reflect on the damaged house and its inhabitants which are caught in the middle. Tu Fu uses the qualities of objects in the w orld to illuminate and make real the images of the poem for example the clouds are compared to ink, (line 23) and the cotton quilts, which are supposed to be soft and warm, are compared to iron (line 27). These images make the reader vividly feel the emotions and sensations that the writer feels. Tu Fu appears not to have been a very accomplished bureaucrat, and his many travels indicate that he fell out with important people and was forced to end his life in relative poverty. The poem shows that old age and poverty make the poet powerless against the forces of the wind, but also when he tries to shout at the children who take away the escaped portions of thatch, he finds he has no voice. The poem shows