Understanding the individual in Doan Nguyen Tuan's poetry

For him, the past is where the soul is most relaxed, peaceful, and has the least worries, but those are just fleeting moments, suddenly remembered, that time is quickly pushed back, giving way to reality. Time in the future is also mentioned quite little by Doan Nguyen Tuan, he almost never mentions his own future.

Regarding the time of day, the evening is the time that Doan Nguyen Tuan uses the most to express his feelings. From ancient times to the present, the time when the afternoon sky always makes people feel wistful and sad, Doan Nguyen Tuan is no exception. When writing poems about his personal feelings, he often lets his soul loose in the evening:

“A stick of incense in the heart, late afternoon on the river, Distantly drifting through the clouds, the sound of a flute echoes back.”

( Three poems about the scenery of Thuong Ngo)

Especially for those living far away from home, emotions are more intense than ever before this period of time - the time when people can forget all their worries, immerse themselves in the most peaceful and quiet moments so that their lonely souls can return to their homeland:

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"The sun sets on the double-sided bed, the fragrance is fourfold, the painting is placed on the table, and wine is added."

(The afternoon shadow shines through the boat's windows, the countryside's heart is heavy. After drawing the chessboard, the wine is already a bit heavy.)

( Romance Cycle – Random writing about boating)

And if spring often appears in Doan Nguyen Tuan's poems when talking about the beautiful scenery of the homeland, then autumn is the time

Time evokes many emotions in the poet's heart. The poet has a special collection of poems about autumn, expressing the feelings of an envoy missing his homeland. Autumn is beautiful but sad, now seen through the author's lens, it becomes even sadder. In the lonely autumn night, the sound of a zither echoes from afar:

“The moon sets on the sand, the jade sinks. The desolation flows together across the wind and forest. The high mountains and flowing waters sing for a thousand years. The seas and the shores, my heart five nights.”

(The moon sets in the silk curtains, the jade drops sink low. The sound of the copper strings faintly wafts through the maple forest. The melody of a thousand years: the song of high mountains and flowing water, The heart aches for five watches from the corner of the sea to the horizon.)

( Autumn zither – Autumn zither)

The sound of the zither coming from somewhere made the night scene even more desolate, tinged with sadness. The autumn scene was as depressing as the poet's extremely sad mood: "The heart aches for five watches, the corner of the sea and the horizon." The scene made people sad or the sad person breathed sadness into the scene, it was hard to separate, only knowing that the heart and the scene had merged into a mournful melody.

In the middle of an autumn night in a remote area, the poet listens to the sound of crickets and cicadas:

"The autumn is so clear, the night is so long, The pond is so sad that it is cold!"

The bacteria also help people conquer the four Liao, making them nostalgic for their homeland.

(In the clear autumn sky of a distant place, the copper drops linger… By the pond, the sad sound of crickets mixes with the cold sound of cicadas, The tiny insects also understand the heart of the one who is far away,

Evoking nostalgia, I return to my hometown. ( Autumn Crickets )

When he was far away, the feeling of missing his homeland never faded in Doan Nguyen Tuan's heart. Hearing the sound of cicadas and crickets by the pond, he felt that the sound of crickets was more "sad", the sound of cicadas was more "colder", only a sensitive person, carrying many feelings within himself, could have such deep feelings.

Not only hearing specific sounds, the poet also feels the "sound of autumn":

“The desolate and desolate entered the first bed, Heaven and Earth silently arose and hid. The song led to a myriad of sorrows, How could one understand the white hair that had appeared?”

(Deep and sad, through the thin curtain, Heaven and earth have no sound but sometimes high, sometimes low.

Sometimes it calms down, sometimes it stirs up a thousand sorrows, Every morning a few more gray hairs appear.)

( Recording – Recording)

What is that sound of autumn? Is it the sound of autumn rain, the sound of autumn wind? Why does it sound so high, low, “calm” and “sad”? Or is it the sound of time passing by, imprinted on human hair? Autumn is the transition from life to decay, perhaps that is why autumn is often used to measure time (when referring to a long time, people often use the word “thousand autumns”). Doan Nguyen Tuan is a person who is sensitive to time, to the vicissitudes of life, so it is understandable that autumn appears frequently in his poems.

3.3.2. Art space

Along with artistic time, artistic space also bears the author's personal mark: "Artistic space is the creative product of the artist."

"The poet aims to express human beings and express certain views on life" [14, 108-109]. In Doan Nguyen Tuan's poetry, a vast and isolated space emerges. The larger the space, the smaller, lonelier, and sadder people feel.

On his diplomatic journey, the poet had the opportunity to observe many majestic natural scenes in foreign lands. High mountains with many dangers, deep rivers with many rapids… are common images in his poems. But it does not bring an open poetic soul, a desire to master, to dissolve into the universe. On the contrary, with a soul that is inherently sad and sentimental, Doan Nguyen Tuan turns to nature as if to convey many personal feelings.

From ancient times to the present, when standing before majestic mountains, people often feel small and limited. Ancient people often used this space as a place to express their "heroic spirit" or to satisfy their desire to travel in their lifetime. They always longed to "climb high" to look far away and admire the land and sky.

On his journey, Doan Nguyen Tuan also had many opportunities to "climb high", and there were times when the poet found a refreshing feeling, connecting with nature and the sky, wanting to embrace the sky and the earth to enjoy everything:

"I want to be with the moonlit lantern, and pay homage to the great mass of evil in the morning."

(I want to lean on a stick to climb the towering mountain,

Looking down at the sky and earth, grasping the dawn and dusk ( Autumn Mountain – Autumn Mountain)

But that was only the initial wish, when standing high up in harmony with the universe, all the sadness and silence in the bottom of the heart suddenly erupted, surging strongly and emotionally. Loneliness, homesickness, and nostalgia were the most constant feelings in Doan Nguyen Tuan when climbing to the top of the mountain:

Or:

"I want to spread the fragrance of my country, and the wind blows to send off the lonely geese."

(People passing by, want to send news back to their homeland, The whirlwind blows back, carrying the sound of a lonely swallow!)

( Du Linh Pass – Through Du Linh Mountain)

"Just sitting on the mountain top, stopping in the distant world, where the clouds are no longer, this is my home."

(Squatting on the mountain, silently looking into the distance, Where the clouds float, that is my home!)

( Dang Khao Son – Up Khao Mountain)

The white clouds are the distance that Doan Nguyen Tuan used when talking about the distance between him and his homeland. It is an extremely far, vast, and uncertain distance. And so, every time he stands on the top of a high mountain facing the South, even though he knows that place is his homeland, everything is hidden in the clouds. The white clouds float layer by layer, and the traveler's heart is also uncertain and uncertain.

Not only standing in front of high mountains but also standing in front of immense rivers, Doan Nguyen Tuan also carries many feelings and emotions. When facing a deep river and vast sea alone, people often think about themselves, about the human world and life. Doan Nguyen Tuan is the same. The river is associated with the memories of a beautiful childhood with his father:

“The ruler leans on a stone mountain, The ruler lies on a great river. In leisure, things are also clear, The mountains and waters are many and the springs are many. I am in Mao Thieu.

"The lake is full of poetry."

(Behind the court is the rocky mountain, In front of the court is the river. The official is idle, with little work,

Many times when walking around the mountains and rivers. At that time, I still left the peach,

Carrying a gourd of wine and a bag of poems, he followed me.

( Feelings when looking at the old court in Trieu Khau village)

The river is like a friend for him to confide in, to pour a cup of wine to ease the sadness in his heart:

“The first tent in Lam Phong, the first tent in Thieu Giac, the old river border…”

(Standing before the wind, feeling sad, On the banks of the old river, temporarily pouring a cup of plain water…)

( Feelings when looking at the old court in Trieu Khau village)

But the vast space of rivers and water also made Doan Nguyen Tuan realize the smallness and "petty" status of being in exile:

“The rivers and lakes are vast, but my body is like duckweed. The countryside's heart is as cold as autumn.”

( An Binh River Van Thieu in the Evening - Watching the scenery on the An Binh River in the evening)

Standing before the vast, vast space of rivers and water, people often have many thoughts and emotions in their hearts. Carrying the sadness of being far from home.

On the journey of thousands of miles, when standing before the Ngo River in China, Doan Nguyen Tuan remembered the Quynh Giang River in his hometown:

"Thousands of miles of forest and desert together,

The spirit of the same kind shines on Quynh Giang."

(Thousands of miles follow each other to the North Sand slope,

The spirit is still the same as when it was reflected on the Quynh River. ( Autumn Moon - Autumn Moon)

Whenever people are burdened with thoughts and feelings, the surrounding scenery also seems to communicate with their feelings. Therefore, the space of mood is often associated with the inner feelings and emotions of people. In front of the vast and immense space of mountains and rivers, Doan Nguyen Tuan recalls old memories and also reflects on his life as a traveler, then feels the space is even more immense, lonely, and isolated like the mood he is facing.

Thus, time and artistic space are one of the important artistic elements, where the individual in Doan Nguyen Tuan's poetry is most fully revealed.

Chapter 3 Summary

With his artistic creativity, Doan Nguyen Tuan has helped readers visualize a specific person who is “talented but also sentimental”. The construction of unique images, simple and clear poetic language, skillful use of allusions, personal pronouns and artistic time and space to express the individual, the character portrait appears impressive, leaving many emotions in the reader's heart.

CONCLUDE

By studying in depth, presenting the content and art of expressing the individual in the poetry of Doan Nguyen Tuan - Hai Ong Thi Tap , the author of the thesis has raised three manifestations to express the portrait of Doan Nguyen Tuan: a person with a heavy heart for his homeland, family, and friends; a person worried about the vicissitudes of life and a person with concerns on the path of "official career". With Hai Ong Thi Tap , Doan Nguyen Tuan has contributed a poetic voice to the patriotic literature of the Tay Son period in particular, and national literature in general. With poems written about his homeland and country, his poems are full of optimism, the spirit of victory, and deep national pride - these are the common melodies of the literature of this period. Being an envoy who had to carry out important diplomatic duties, the diplomatic trips far from home and hometown made him inevitably miss his family, friends, and homeland deeply. Along with that, the general tone of medieval literature in the 18th and 19th centuries is filled with regret and nostalgia. Recording a realistic picture of life with an optimistic view and faith in the new dynasty is truly a valuable contribution of the poet.

Besides the patriotic content with the generous emotions, Doan Nguyen Tuan's poetry appears with autobiographical poems, carrying many lyrical emotions and heavy with the poet's feelings. That is the mood of a sad and sentimental person who has gone through many ups and downs in life, witnessed many ups and downs, now living the life of a traveler in a foreign land, shouldering the responsibility of the embassy, making his poetry always full of worries and concerns. Hai Ong Thi Tap is not only a picture with beautiful and heroic colors of the homeland after many changes but also has the most authentic colors about Doan Nguyen.

Understanding the individual in Doan Nguyen Tuan's poetry - 7

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