What are the 05+ sample essays analyzing and evaluating a poem for 11th-grade students in Vietnam? Are students taking more than 45 half-day offs in the second semester in Vietnam eligible for grade advancement?

Winter in poetry is not just a bleak landscape but also a symbol of human solitude and melancholy. "Winter Road" by Aleksandr Pushkin, one of Russia's greatest poets, vividly depicts the icy winter landscape, the endless road, and the nostalgic, yearning emotion of the lyrical character. The poem harmoniously combines nature and human emotion, creating a poetic piece full of lyrical and profound philosophy.

From the very first lines, Pushkin introduces a distinctly Russian winter with cold, desolate scenes:

"Through the rippling mist

The moon emerges,

Gloomy moon cast its light

Upon a melancholy field."

The natural picture carries a vague, silent atmosphere. The gloomy moon, the melancholic field, and the rippling mist create a sense of coldness, solitude. Pushkin not only describes the scene but also uses it to convey emotions: the winter sky is as vague as the expansive spirit of the lyrical character.

The space continues to expand with the image of the dreary winter road, where the troika speeds away:

"On the dreary winter road

The troika swiftly dashes by,

Bell tones monotonous

Wearily ring out."

The rhythm of the poem increases with the motion of the troika, but it's not a hurried, joyful speed rather a monotonous, aimless journey. The weary ringing of bell tones echoes a repetitive melody, further emphasizing the dullness and solitude of the trip.

The lyrical character searches for something to hold onto amidst the long, cold path. When hearing the coachman's singing, he feels a hint of warmth:

"Something familiar rings out

In the coachman's singing:

Sometimes joyful,

Other times melancholic…"

Though the song varies in spirit, it doesn't seem enough to dispel the fatigue and monotony. Between the deep forest and the white snow, only the milestones appear, reminding of the solitary journey:

"Not a single light, nor a hut.

Deep forest and snow... Against my direction

Only the milestones

Run towards..."

Everything around is silent, lifeless, making the journey seem endless, with no destination in sight. This is not just the winter path but also an allegory for life's journey—a long journey with lonely, dreary paths.

Amidst the cold space, a ray of hope appears in the image of Nhina, the girl the lyrical character loves:

"Tired, bored… Tomorrow, Nhina

Tomorrow, returning to my dear

I will quietly sit by the fireplace,

Watch you without tiring."

The name Nhina emerges like a bright spot in the winter night. If the winter road is the cold present, the image of the beloved is the warm future. The lyrical character desires nothing more than to be by the fireplace, quietly watching the one he loves—a simple action but one that holds immense happiness.

However, this joy doesn't last, as time continues to pass:

"The clock ticks and tocks

Rotating evenly its round,

And dismisses the dull crowd,

At midnight, no separation between us."

Time does not pause, like the clock hands turning steadily, coldly, and indifferent. The lyrical character worries that happiness will be swept away by time, that the dull life will continue to stretch on, whether there is love or not.

The poem's final lines further emphasize the sadness and emptiness:

"So sad, Nhina: my road tedium so follows,

The coachman silently dozing,

The monotonous bell rings,

The moon is enshrouded in mist."

The melancholy, emptiness return. The path remains tedious, the coachman dozes off, the bell still rings monotonously, and the moon is still veiled in mist, offering no warmth. Thus, even with the hope of reuniting with Nhina, the solitude of the lyrical character never fully dissipates.

The poem "Winter Road" is not only a scenic depiction but also a mood painting, where nature and human emotions interlace. Through images of the icy winter, the solitary road, Pushkin articulates the solitude of humans amidst life's flow.

Content-wise: It expresses loneliness and emptiness on life's journey while also portraying longing and hope in love as a form of salvation.

Artistically: Pushkin uses symbolic images, repetitive, monotonous rhythm to evoke the journey's prolonged weariness. The poem's structure contrasts the lone present with the warm future, yet it ends with a lingering melancholic undertone.

"Winter Road" is a poem embodying a lonely beauty but rich in poetry. It is not only a journey on the icy road but also a journey in the human soul, with indeterminate, expectant, and nameless sorrows. The poem allows readers to deeply perceive human loneliness yet reminds us that in life's cold, love remains a fire warming the soul.

Huy Can is one of the prominent poets of the New Poetry movement (1932-1945), known for poems filled with melancholy, loneliness, and deep nostalgia. "Tràng giang," written in 1939, is one of his exemplary works. The poem not only depicts the majestic, vast beauty of nature but also conveys a lingering sadness, loneliness, and a subtle patriotic feeling of the poet.

From the very first line, the poem opens up a vast but melancholy, desolate riverscape:

"Waves ripple on the river, a forlorn sadness,

The boat flows in parallel with the water."

The phrase "forlorn sadness" evokes an endless, persistent sadness that does not cease. "Waves ripple on the river" refers not to strong waves but only ripples, like the quiet yet persistent emotion of the poet. The image of "the boat flowing in parallel with the water" suggests separation, distance, as the boat and water, though close, never unite, eternally parallel, never meeting.

This sadness is accentuated in the following line:

"The boat returns to the water, a hundredfold sadness;

A dry branch floats adrift."

The boat and the stream are like separated beings, drifting towards different paths, evoking the sorrow of separation and loss. Particularly, the image of "a dry branch floating" is one of the loneliest in the poem. The small, aimless dry branch drifts in the vast water, unsure of its shore. Perhaps, this is an allegory for the small, solitary human in the endless flow of life?

The second stanza continues to expand the natural space with lonely, deserted images:

"Small mounds sparsely, the wind is desolate,

Where are the distant village's evening market sounds."

The words "sparsely" and "desolate" highlight the emptiness and silence of the scenery. Small patches of land on the extensive river, with no signs of life except the weary wind blowing. The poet listens to the distant sounds of a market that has closed, a faint, distant sound that only heightens the poet's solitude.

"The sun goes down, the sky rises deep and high;

Long river, vast sky, lonely quay."

"The sun goes down, the sky rises" creates a sense of vastness in height and length, further emphasizing the grandeur and infinity of nature. But amidst such vastness, humanity seems lost and lone, like the desolate, lonely quay.

The third stanza reflects the emptiness within the poet's soul, as everything around seems disconnected, separated:

"Where do the drifting hyacinths wander, rows upon rows;

Vast, no ferry crossing."

The drifting hyacinths evoke waywardness and aimlessness, like humans adrift in life. Though in rows, there is no bonding, each hyacinth branch drifts aimlessly along the water. Especially, the poet emphasizes the absence of ferries—symbols of connection and interaction among people. No ferry, no bridge, nature seems to isolate humans in a vast but desolate world.

"No bridge evokes some closeness,

The quiet green bank follows the yellow sand."

The image of "green bank follows yellow sand" suggests the monotony and unending expanse of nature. Banks lining up but without interaction or sign of humanity, furthering the sense of solitude and isolation.

The final stanza is a blend of majestic nature and the poet's longing for home:

"Layer upon layer of cloud heap up silver mountains,

The bird tilts its small wing: The evening shadow falls."

The scenery suddenly becomes more magnificent, with layers of clouds like silver mountains. Yet amid such vastness, the image of "the bird tilts its small wing" renders the landscape solitary and fragile. A lone bird amid the descending evening shadows—an allegory for the poet's solitary, lost spirit.

Then, the poet's homesickness fills his heart:

"The feeling of homeland arises with the waves,

Without the evening smoke, I still remember home."

The phrase "arises" not only depicts the waves on the river but also the waves of emotion in the poet's heart. The vast water evokes an intense longing for home, a longing that does not require familiar signs like "evening smoke" but remains restless and persisting.

"Tràng giang" is not just a scenic depiction but a poetic expression of mood, where scenery and human emotion are intertwined.

Content-wise, the poem depicts the vast beauty of nature’s rivers and waters that are serene yet desolate. It expresses the poet's loneliness, isolation, and deep nostalgia for his homeland.

Artistically: the poem employs powerful imagery (long river, dry branch, small bird...). The slow, gentle rhythm evokes a quiet, melancholy feeling. The language is elegant, classical, bearing the influence of Tang poetry but with a modern breath.

"Tràng giang" is a beautiful, melancholic yet profound poem, reflecting Huy Can's solitary, sensitive soul before nature and life. The poem leaves an impression not only through the majestic images of nature but also by the profound humanitarian sentiment—a longing for home, the solitude amidst the endless flow of life.

Perhaps everyone in life has, at some point, been the "dry branch adrift"—drifting, solitary amid life's vastness, and the poem "Tràng giang" is the resonance for such souls.