What are the 03 best sample analysis essays on classical and modern beauty in the poem "Chiều tối"? CWhat literary knowledge does the 11th-grade Literature curriculum in Vietnam cover?

What are the 03 best sample analysis essays on classical and modern beauty in the poem "Chiều tối"?

Students may refer to the following 03 best sample analysis essays on classical and modern beauty in the poem "Chiều tối":

03 best sample analysis essays on classical and modern beauty in the poem "Chiều tối"

Sample 1:

Although literature was not the main pursuit of his life, with a rich poetic legacy left for his contemporaries and future generations, President Ho Chi Minh was a great poet, a significant cultural figure not only of Vietnam but of all humanity. Many poems were crafted in the form of Tang poetry, harmoniously merging classical and modern hues, which contribute to their special allure. This is clearly expressed in many of his poems, notably "Mộ" - "Chiều tối" extracted from the collection "Nhật ký trong tù" (Prison Diary), composed during his imprisonment by the Kuomintang government from autumn 1942 to autumn 1943.

When speaking of classical colors in poetry, we refer to elements of content and style with distinct influences from Eastern poetry, especially Chinese Tang poetry, regarded as exemplary in theme, genre, and rhetoric. Why does Ho Chi Minh's poetry exude classical quality? Ho Chi Minh came from a Confucian literati family. His maternal grandfather and father were renowned Confucian scholars of the time, so the family's exemplary heir implanted and crystallized the traditional beauty of Eastern ancient culture. With a rich soul, a wise intellect, proficiency in Chinese, and deep understanding of Tang poetry, Ho Chi Minh’s poetry is thus rich in classical quality. This is manifested in: a wealth of inspiration drawn from nature, brush strokes capturing the essence of creation, concise language, and meanings beyond words. Additionally, having lived, worked, and interacted with Western civilization, his poetic soul is creative and modern, reflected in: the democratic nature of themes, poetic images vigorously moving towards light and the future, and the lyrical subject harmonizing with nature yet not as a hermit but as a warrior. Notably, the classical and modern qualities are always harmonious in Ho Chi Minh's poetry, with the poem "Chiều tối" being a representative composition.

In the poem, each poetic image moves and seamlessly combines classical and modern techniques. The images, though bearing the guise of classic poetic materials, the poetic ideas, inspirations, and lyrical characters are entirely oriented towards light, nature, and human life. The first two lines unfold the space of the mountain forest at dusk:

Quyện điểu qui lâm tầm túc thụ

Cô vân mạn mạn độ thiên không

(Weary birds seeking the forest for a perch

Lonely clouds slowly drift mid-sky)

The scene is evoked through familiar conventional brushstrokes of classical poetry yet speaks rightly of Ho Chi Minh's circumstances and carries new features. Readers can envision the prisoner looking up at the sky, observing the scenery, recognizing the bird in flight and the clouds passing by. The scene carries a hint of despondent solitude. The first half of this quartet allows readers to admire a landscape painting of nature with lines of a bird in search of its nest and the leisurely drifting clouds. These images appear naturally, both alongside and contrasting. No word explicitly marks time, yet readers immediately feel the time as late afternoon. With just a few brush strokes, little description prompts much suggestion, the author captures the soul of the scenery: A tired bird flying towards the forest in search of rest and a solitary cloud drifting slowly midway in the sky. The art of antithesis, a feature of classical poetry, further highlights the small bird against the vast universe at sunset. The bird seems to carry the encroaching darkness over the scenery. The verse is steeped in classic poetic flavor. For when describing the evening, ancient poets often used bird images.

Nguyen Du, the illustrious star in Vietnam's medieval poetry sky, in the masterpiece "Truyen Kieu" wrote: "The evening bird flutters back to the forest." And Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, a renowned female scholar of the nation living in the 19th century, in the poem "Chieu hom nho nha" also wrote: "The wind sweeps the night bird weary in flight." These ancient poetic pieces used the bird to depict the desolate, lonely evening. Li Bai, the Immortal Poet of the Tang Dynasty in China, when describing the space in the poem "Doc toa Kinh Dinh son" wrote: "All birds fly high away – Single cloud gently drifts" meaning: All birds scurry to heights / The lone cloud languidly meanders. Li Bai's former bird seems to fly into space, dissolving into eternity. Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh's poetry, the bird does not entirely fly away; it merely transitions from flight to rest, continuing the cycle of life. The gently drifting cloud image, as translated in Nam Tran's poetry, maintains flexibility but fails to capture the original "co van" - lone cloud and does not fully convey the iterative "man man" in the original work, indicating Ho Chi Minh's language is incredibly concise.

Here, the tired bird and lonely cloud seem to carry the author's sentiments, a prisoner enduring "transfers hither and thither" across thirteen counties in Guangxi Province, in an alien land - sometimes 53 kilometers in a day - with another prison ahead. Yet, the author doesn't burden the scenery with his sorrowful circumstances. On the contrary, he forgets himself to share, empathize, harmonize with nature around him. Behind that landscape painting is the calm demeanor of one longing for freedom, though deprived of liberty he still masters himself and his situation in every scenario. This also reveals the modern beauty of Ho Chi Minh’s poetry that is embedded and harmonized within poetic materials rich with classical characteristics.

The latter part of the poem naturally extends the poetic flow from above, depicting the everyday labor and activities of the villagers in a mountain hamlet.

Sơn thôn thiếu nữ ma bao túc

Bao túc ma hoàn lô dĩ hồng

(The mountain village maiden grinds corn till dusk

Corn is fully ground, the furnace glowing red)

If the natural scene in the first part of the poem seems bleak and lonely, the final part contrasts completely: The mountain girl grinding corn by the fire radiates a robust, youthful, and warm beauty. Interestingly, the author uses the art of rendering clouds to enhance the moon, using the furnace's light to speak of the mountain region's nightfall. Without darkness, how could "lo di hong" be seen? The poetic image is simple yet creative, showing a new, modern aspect of the poem. Furthermore, in the poem, the poetic image is not static like often found in classical poetry but moves toward light and the future. The poem is rich with motion: the movement of the bird, the cloud, the industrious human. Even time moves naturally from late afternoon to full night. The lyrical subject's state also moves from tired, lonely, cold to joyously warm with the scene and people. The author's depiction and observation shift from external to internal, from high to low, from far to near. In the work, the word "hong" is the pivotal word, the poem's bright spot with great expansiveness. "Lo di hong" narrates the natural temporal shift of the setting. The red tone of the distended furnace dispels the forest's chill and darkness at dusk, radiating warmth, enhancing joy, optimism, reinforcing, and sharpening the revolutionary fighter's resolve in harsh imprisonment far from home. The art in the final two lines holds another significant noteworthy feature: the phrases between the third and fourth lines are repeated in reverse: "ma bao tuc" and "bao tuc ma hoan." This forms a circular structure between the two lines, evoking the steady revolving of the corn grinder and from that motion evokes the orderly temporal cycle.

Before the scenery and life of the mountain hamlet people, within the author's heart, emotions surge. Thus, readers see Ho Chi Minh's soul: ardently loving nature, life, and people. The final couplets are deeply moving, capturing familiar, simple family scenes in a mountain hamlet. It demonstrates that in his revolutionary activities, wholeheartedly committed to the cause of liberating the nation and its people, but in Ho Chi Minh's heart there's still a space for family affection. About his love for life, Hoai Thanh remarked: “A beautiful image of life’s deprivation and hardship yet still cozy, precious, and endearing. Such images are not scarce around us but often pass unnoticed. Without a profound love of life, it’s impossible to record them."

With only four seven-word verses, "Chiều tối" portrays an immensely noble soul and literary talent of Ho Chi Minh. The harmonious blend of classical and modern techniques has endowed the poem with both traditional and novel beauty. This is one of the distinctive art factors of Ho Chi Minh's Tang-style poetry — a man of the future who always turns to nature, life, and people with empathy and respect, “Cherishing all but forgetting himself.”

Sample 2:

What is classical? The term "classical" here is understood in two senses: firstly as words referring to literary works that have stood the test of time, recognized as exemplary, classical refers to elements/artistic works that have achieved high aesthetic perfection. Secondly, classical is an adjective referring to a writing style, a mode of expression that has become a literary tradition. Thus, the category of classical illuminates stability, sustainability, familiarity, helping us understand the convergence of empathetic souls and the erudition of a cultural personality.

So, where is the classical beauty of the poem "Chiều tối"? More broadly, what is the classical beauty of "Nhật ký trong tù"?

The poem "Chiều tối" is composed in the form of a seven-word quatrain in Tang poetry. This poetic form excels in eliciting emotion, often implying meaning beyond words, building symbolic allusion images, and conveying themes in a few pivotal words. French writer Roger Denux noted: “His poetry speaks little but suggests much, a style of poetry with a subdued tone, not elaborate yet strives to condense within lines for the reader to savor. One must read his poetry alone in silence. At times one has to pause to think to feel the full echoes and hear those echoes resonate.” All those features are clearly expressed in “Chiều tối”.

First, it must be affirmed that the sentiment of the poem lies right in the title: “Chiều tối”. The method of unfolding this poetic sentiment by the author creates a feeling of time in transition: the afternoon moving into night, the mountain village maiden finishes grinding corn and the stove glows red. According to the poetic flow, the word "hong" plays an important role. This word evokes a cozy, cheerful, peaceful atmosphere, teeming with vitality and brightening the poetic space. Ho Chi Minh's humanitarian thoughts and sensitive, optimistic perception is concentrated in this term. Therefore, one could regard "hong" as a pivotal word.

“Chiều tối” coincides with classical poetry in the artistic structure of verses. Each couplet is harmoniously symmetrical. It’s the contrast between weary birds and slowly drifting clouds, between the finite space (nest) and the infinite space (sky), and contrast between darkness and light, between two lines depicting desolate scenery and two lines depicting vigorous labor.

“Chiều tối” is a Chinese poetry. Sino-Vietnamese language inherently creates classical beauty, solemn, rich in meaning, and evocative. The poetic scene in “Chiều tối” captures the essence of nature, where the lyrical character is profoundly connected with nature, harmonizing the soul with universe nature. Ho Chi Minh doesn’t let his suffering circumstance bind his emotions; his poetic soul still resonates with the beautiful mountain nature. Perhaps that’s why we find empathy between the prisoner-poet's circumstances and the bird's condition, flying home yet the cloud is lonely in its undefined journey, all akin to the poetic emotions expressed in the poetry of Nguyen Trai, Nguyen Binh Khiem… Overall, the inspiration from nature and poetic language contribute to the classical color of this poem.

The classical color of the poem is expressed in the poetic materials. Readers have encountered in folk poetry and medieval poetry the image of a cloud drifting across the sky, the evening bird fluttering in flight. Wandering through poetic realms, we become accustomed to scenes of some eternal sky, suddenly emerging a lone bird. Forever it suggests one's own lonely plight and from that subtly capture the far reach, wandering nature of life. Ancient poets often placed bird images in relation to skies, clouds, winds. In relation to the sky to fully appreciate the long, vast space, in relation to clouds to evoke separation, and must be placed in relation to the wind to fully realize the difficulty, hardship of the bird struggling in flight (Poetry of Wang Bo, Li Bai, Nguyen Du, Ba Huyen Thanh Quan…).

In the technique of Tang quatrains, the initial line usually has to clearly state the theme. The theme of the poem is “twilight”. The opening line of the poem indeed specifically introduces this special moment of day transition. Twilight is both a physical and emotional time. The image of the bird flying to its nest here cannot belong to any time other than day’s end. The subsequent line continues to highlight the late afternoon ambiance in the village. In reality, clouds are ever-present, but it’s the distinct lonely, singular slow cloud that matches the evening atmosphere. The classical beauty of the poem is also created by its theme.

But perhaps the use of conventional artistic techniques in ancient poetry provides the most vivid evidence of the classical beauty in "Chiều tối". The delicate brushstroke technique creates multi-tiered poetic lines, opening up various forms of imagination in the reader’s mind, along with the realistic, naturally rich brushstroke style evokes vividly expressive scenes:

"Quyện điểu quy lâm tầm túc thụ

Cô vân mạn mạn độ thiên không

Sơn thôn thiếu nữ ma bao túc

Bao túc ma hoàn lô dĩ hồng"

The original text lacks the word "tối". The translation adds "tối" making the poetic thought a bit revealed. The author's intent was merely for the reader to feel the setting was dark, not to state the time and space of darkness directly. Using light to describe darkness, not explicitly saying it's dark yet making it felt dark, is a manifestation of the "painting clouds to reveal the moon" technique typical in Tang poetry. Tang poetry resonances in “Chiều tối” further manifest when the poet builds relationships for the reader to explore the unity between the lyrical subject and nature through their imagination.

“Chiều tối” also uses the suggestive technique of imbued emotions in the scenery. Natural scenes resonate with human emotions, harmonizing with the human soul. The initial line hints at the tired birds after a day of foraging now returning to the forest to rest. Such an image reminds us of the prisoner fettered, shuffled along all day intensely craving a peaceful rest. Additionally, the lonely cloud hovering in solitary space aligns with the lyrical subject's uncertain, wandering state, unsure of the destination. The birds and cloudly are both empathy objects and outward expressions of the prisoner’s inner sorrow on his journey. The latter two lines shift poetic inspiration in a different direction: the melancholic nature yields to bright, vibrant daily life. The poet’s mood, view also changes accordingly, from sorrow to joy. If nature in the opening lines expressed Ho Chi Minh's state after a tiring day, then the concluding landscape wraps the yearning for freedom. Overall, the external scene internalized becomes an emotional landscape. Nguyen Du once said, "When people are sad, the scenery cannot be happy" — in this context, indeed true.

In ancient poetry, evening time often encompasses an image of a wayfaring stranger (Across the Ngang Pass, Homesick at Sunset, Yellow Crane Tower…). The lyrical character in “Chiều tối” is a person like that: lonely, weary, always yearning for home, homeland, comrades (line 1). The author doesn’t describe in excess yet evokes many reader emotions. Ho Chi Minh's “Chiều tối” discreetly manifests a yearning for freedom, reunion, return to homeland of the prisoner in an alien land. Hence, the poem's thematic structure also carries a classical hue.

“Chiều tối” not only bears classical hues but also embodies modern spirit.

What is modern? The modernity of a literary work is richly expressed, primarily and most clearly through innovative newness, creating uniqueness, not repeated. A literary work embodying the spirit of the era, reflecting artistic viewpoints, value systems, and ideological consciousness of people in the society it emerges from, even transcending the era... these are modern works. The category of modernity helps distinguish this artistic world from another, identifying the creative individuality in literature across different eras, phases.

The most distinct expression of modernity in the poem lies in the last two lines. The Tang quatrain poetry surprises readers with the changing line. This line is unexpected yet naturally rational. Ho Chi Minh's “Chiều tối” achieves this classical quality. The unexpected swap is shown in the poetic flow's movement towards the ground, life, and light, reflecting revolutionary optimism. That’s why modernity expressed right in its classical beauty is so.

If in ancient poetry people often conceal within nature, nature is the subject, then in Ho Chi Minh’s poetry, people, life come forth as primary in the landscape painting. The working person, depicted through Ho Chi Minh’s optimistic gaze, possesses simple, lively beauty, becoming the main character in the painting. Readers notice: In every circumstance, the lyrical subject maintains a calm demeanor, a free-spirited soul, seemingly forgetting their plight to empathize with the laborer’s hardships, their small joys of ordinary life. The mountain village girl and the glowing furnace radiate warmth, light, symbolizing joyous, enthusiastic state. The small furnace glow not only warms Ho Chi Minh during his exile but also sparks enduring faith in life in the reader's hearts. This reflects noble humanitarianism and uniquely embodies steel quality.

The artistic perspective of the poem represents Ho Chi Minh’s modern poetic style. In ancient poetry, expansive spaces were predominant. But in "Chiều tối," observations of the earth gradually replace upward looks to the sky. His poetry often focuses on human life’s joys and sorrows, incorporating concrete social content into eternal nature landscapes of ancient poetry.

“Chiều tối” follows the seven-word quatrain form but fundamentally doesn’t adhere to classical figurations. Here, the author guides readers toward the future and present reality, focusing on labor masses.