Classics of Poetry

Does poetry have any obligation beyond making the reader feel something?  That answer can go either way in a myriad of circumstances,  but when it comes the Classics of Poetry the answer is a resounding “yes”.  The anthology, the compilation of which is often accredited to Confucius, contains 305 poems and is considered is the basis of the Chinese literary cannon (Norton 756).  These poems expressed Confucius’s belief that “political order depended on the individuals in society to cultivate their moral virtue and thus contribute to social order” (Norton 756).  These poems highlight a respect for ancestors and the state that Chinese society at the time held in deep respect.  There is a great deal of nature imagery, speaking to the agrarian nature of the economy, and many poems deal with the whims and machinations of a capricious river (Zhen and Wei) or a ravenous rodent (Huge Rat) (Norton 764).  The poems preach a steadfastness and acceptance in the face of theses hardships.  In a poem about the birth of the first people, She Bore the Folk Jiang is granted the honor of bearing the first people because she “knew the rite and sacrifice” (764).  There is a focus on ritual and tradition in these poems that can be both quaint and a little disturbing.  I’d personally like to see a little more emphasis on innovation and self-determination.  There seems to be an emphasis on honoring the past that I don’t think really leaves much room for changing the future.

There are some beautiful love poems, and I can’t really argue with familial devotion.  Boat of Cypress is an especially heartbreaking poem.  The unnamed narrator drifts along in a boat drinking heavily, abandoned by family, and unwilling to do some service.  It is unclear if the narrator laments a personal loss, or something more political, but the imagery is gorgeous: “this heart of mine is no stone; you cannot turn it where you will” (761).  It could be a woman forced into an unhappy marriage, or a bureaucrat forced to work for a worrisome ruler.  The narrator laments the situation, but remains in the boat, drifting with the current, unable to “spread wings to fly away” (762).   This is a moving piece, beautifully written, the repeating structure of the similes creating a kind of rocking motion to mirror the boat.  But there is an acceptance of fate that comes across as lazy to me.  It’s tragic certainly, but mostly I want to tell the narrator to get out of the boat and walk in the other direction. 

Works Cited

               Pucher, Martin, eds.  The Norton Anthology of World Literature: New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013.  Print.