Basho's Famous Poem example essay topic

Basho 1. Where and when does Basho start his travels? Basho's journey starts from a 17th Century Japanese city called Edo (present-day Tokyo). He had a cottage in a quiet, rural part of the city. He left Edo in the Spring season", It was the Twenty-seventh Day, almost the end of the Third Month". (p. 2112) 2. Why does Basho start his travels?

Like many of us do, Basho was beginning to question the purpose of his existence. In comparison to what Dante was going through during the time he wrote the Inferno, Basho is having somewhat of a mid-life crisis". I myself fell prey to wanderlust some years ago, desiring nothing better than to be a vagrant cloud scudding before the wind... But the year ended before I knew it... Bewitched by the god of restlessness, I lost my peace of mind; summoned by the spirits of the road, I felt unable to settle down to anything". Also, consider the political context surrounding Basho.

He lives in an Imperialist society where material benefits are held on high and there is a huge gap between the social elite and the poor. At this point, Basho feels the world is out of balance. He sought an austere existence, lived in solitude and consecrated his life to poetry. The purpose of his travels was a "poetic devotion to nature". Also, for Basho, this pilgrimage through nature was a search for inspiration from places made famous by literature and history. This is an interesting parallel to Montaigne... but Basho actually visited the places he read about in books.

At the beginning, he makes his point clearly "travel is life". 3. What is the role of the haiku poems in the text? Basho takes these small little poems and places them throughout the text to tell the story of his travels. Each haiku tells the reader where Basho is, what he is doing and what is going on around him.

Each poem expresses emotional / visual content of carefully chosen events. Also, the structure of the haiku is entirely simplistic - this reflects Basho's and Sora's humble way of life. In only 17 syllables the poets capture present moments. As Elizabeth mentioned in lecture, each haiku is a "toast" to the present moment and all its elements. She also described the poems as "gifts" to the reader.

In comparison to Montaigne, Basho is not only quoting poets and scholars, he is finding poems to suit the moments he experiences. Basho is making an attempt to take the reader on a journey into his own personal paradigm where nature is king. Further, remember Basho's famous poem that Elizabeth pointed out in class: "Furuike ya" POEM TRANSLATION MEANINGfuruike ya a pond nature, frog jumps in springtime, no o to sound of water ripples and splash... onomatopoeia She referred to this as the Japanese "to be or not to be" 4. Pick a single haiku and explain its concerns and affects on the story. p. 2112 Departing springtime: birds lament and fishes too have tears in their eyes. web (left) web (Right) On the left is a picture of Basho's departure on the Sumi da River, and to the right is a picture of friends waving goodbye to Basho. The haiku that I picked was written during this departure time. o "Departing springtime" tells us that he is leaving in the Spring...

Spring is supposed to be a fresh, happy and joyous time with the flowers blooming and birds singing... there is a juxtaposition between the cheerful season and Basho's uncertainty and concern of the long journey ahead "birds lament and fishes too" Again, a juxtaposition to the season... because of Basho's state of mind at the time, everything around him appears somber and grave. o "have tears in their eyes" Basho's friends are sad to see him go... he is going to be missed... Basho himself sheds tears "when [he] came to the parting of the ways, overwhelmed by the prospect of the long journey ahead". Everything looks sad and earnest... Basho finds it hard to stride out in solemnly. What lies ahead is unpredictable. 5.

Why is Basho so affected by the evening he overhears the prostitutes in Ech igo and what do you think of his poem at the bottom of page 2129? " How wretched the karma that had doomed them to such and existence!" Basho has deep pity for these women who live a life "exchanging fleeting vows with every passerby". He says that they had "fallen low indeed" Here he is, living a live of celibacy and solitude, sharing a hotel with these "ladies of pleasure" I would imagine that at this moment he realizes how alone he is on this quest. These two pairs of people are on entirely different levels... Basho feels like he is fulfilling his purpose in life, while these young women have in a sense betrayed the dharma of their existence. For this reason he does not want to see them on the road...

POEM MEANING Ladies of pleasure Harsh interpretation of these prostitutes sleeping in the same hostel: paper walls... sound penetrates easily, as mentioned above, they are in the same location as Basho... this disturbs him bush clover and moon contrast between two elements of nature, bush clover represents the women - changing with the seasons. Basho is comparing himself to the moon -the moon that comes and goes everyday, unaffected, unchanging. 6. What is the point f the last famous location visited, Kehi Shrine, and the fact that, although the moon is full, the night is rainy? The Kehi Shrine is the place where Basho makes his way to find enlightenment. At this time in his travels, he prepares to leave To sai in hope of seeing the full moon at Tsuruga Harbor, where the shrine is.

According to Basho, Kehi Shrine had an "atmosphere of holiness pervading the surroundings". (p. 2133 context: the 'Pilgrim's Carrying of the Sand' ceremony takes place here... very sacred) For Basho, seeing the moon from the perfect location would be an absolute moment of connection between planet and universe. The rain disrupts what is supposed to be pure tranquility of Basho's moment with the moon. The moon, unchanging is full despite the rain... Basho is affected by the rain... there is NO enlightenment, Basho is not the moon... NO insight here. Basho is not a saint... he will always exist as a human on earth and the rain will fall on his head just like everyone else.

The sadness is hard to register... at this moment, he is denied insight... Night of the full moon: emphasis on the moon no predicting the weather in the northern lands. no control over the powers that be 7. Why is Basho so lonely on the last page at Ironahama Beach? The rain at Kehi Shrine shook him up a little bit. He is at the end of his long, hard journey empty handed. He lacks the fulfillment of achievement.

It seems that he pushed onward because he knew there was going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Somehow, things didn't exactly pan out the way he planned and here his at the end of the road, contemplating on the emptiness of the world... I don't know if you " ve ever heard this, something like Sunday evening blues... people go through this kind of feeling... you know just laying around all day, doing NOTHING... and then 6 PM rolls around and you feel like a loser because you wasted the whole entire day... something like that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Basho is experiencing this inner hunger, a deep need for personal fulfillment... He describes the scene around him, but somehow it doesn't have that "spark" to it... he is faced with the challenge of accepting his life as a regular human being... like Elizabeth said, he is not the moon.