Final Poem Analyses

Poems can often have deeper meanings to it. The poem, Silence of Love, contains layers of metaphors and symbolism. Being a student who has lots to learn, at first glance I thought the poem is about the speaker of the poem missing his lover who broke up with him. However, as I researched and learned about the poem, I started to see the deeper meaning of the poem. I found out that the lover the poet is referring to can be Korean Independence Movement, Buddha, or just a lover.

The poem is written during Japanese Colonial Era. During the era, many Korean writers used symbolism to cover their nationalism so they won't get executed by the Japanese. I believe the poem is also written to bring Korean nationalism. The lines "As we dread parting when we meet, so,/ we promise to meet again we part./ Though my love is gone, I am not parted from love" (Han 21-23) proves the claim; the lines are referring to Korea which has been invaded by the Japanese is gone but the poet still misses it and believes he will bring independence. Also lines "The separation came so suddenly/ it broke my heart and with renewed sorrow./ Yet, I know parting can only destroy our love if/ it causes futile tears to fall./ I would rather transfer the surge of this sorrow onto summits of hopefulness" (Han 15-20) tells that the poet still has hope for the country.

The poet, Yong un Han, is a Buddhist monk. Thus the poem is deeply related to Buddhism. One of the core teachings of Buddhism is that if one comes, then one goes out. It's like a zero-sum game, in which one's loss is later balanced with gains. Following this rule, the speaker addresses that he knew they are going to part when they met from lines "Since it is human to love, I, alert, dreaded a/ parting to come when we met" (Han 13-14). The lines talk about the rule that when there is birth, then there is death and when there is love, there's also going to be sorrow.

Lastly, the one the speaker is referring to can simply be his lover. Throughout the poem, descriptions of the lover and the speaker are mentioned. "Love is gone, gone is my love/ Tearing himself away from me he has gone" (Han 1-2) says that the lover is leaving the speaker. Also "I remember his poignant first kiss and its memory/ had wrought a complete change in my destiny,/ the withdrawn into oblivion" (Han 9-11). The speaker flashbacks his memory with the lover.

The poem is not only important and famous because of its symbolism, but it's also beautifully written. It uses descriptions of the nature and colors to express love. Lines "on a little path that stretches in the splendor of/ a green hill into the autumn-tinted forest/ Our last oath, shinning and enduring/ like a gold-mosaicked flower/ has turned to cold ashes blown away/ in the breath of wind" (Han 3-8). The poet uses warm colors, like gold and autumn-tinted, to express the warn love and cold colors, like ash gray, to express the parting.

Therefore this beautifully written poem can have multiple meanings, which is what makes the poem so special and unique. Although most obviously it can just be a poem about a break up but it can also be a poem about  the poet's eagerness to achieve independence or his devotion of Buddha.

Poem Interview

As I walked downstairs to interview my dad, I saw him working on his laptop and my dog lying beside him. I used to see him working in the same spot everyday. As I pulled and sat down on the chair next to him he closed his laptop and looked at me waiting for me to interview him. I handed him a printed copy of my poem in both original text and in translated text. While he is reading the poem, I glanced at my notes to remind myself what questions to ask. He handed me back the paper and I saw my dog yawn; the interview started.

I interviewed my dad because he has a very different background than my background although we're families. My dad, born in a countryside of Korea had lived all his life in Korea until I was born. Although I speak Korean, the native language of the poem, and understand Korean culture, I only lived half of my life there so I thought my dad would understand the poem in a different perspective; and yes he had a very different view from what I had. First since he was grown in a Buddhist family, he had more Buddhist knowledge than I had. During the interview, I asked what lines reflect Buddhist believes and he said "Since it is human to love, I, alert, dreaded a/ parting to come when we met" (Han 13-14), is full of Buddhist ideas. My dad explained "coming together and parting is one of the core teachings of Buddhism." I knew the poem is somehow about Buddhist ideas from the research, but I had no idea what beliefs they're talking about. My dad help me find those specific examples.

We had different ideas on the poem too. I thought since the original poem, in Korean, doesn't identify neither the poet's nor the lover's gender and the translated poem does, maybe some meanings are behind on it. However my dad thought it's just what the translator chose. Also we had different views probably because the fact that he's more than twenty years older than me. He said his favorite line of the poem is "I remember his poignant first kiss and its memory/ has wrought a complete change in my destiny,/ the withdrawn into oblivion" (Han 9-11). He said he likes it because like the first kiss from the quote, there are moments that change one's life completely. Although I get what he's referring to,  I haven't experienced that life changing event yet, I didn't fully understand the lines as deeply as he did.

From the interview with my dad, I was able to see the poem in a deeper perspective. Unlike me, who analyzed the poem line by line and word by word, my dad saw the poem in a whole picture. I found out that I was too focused on little details that I missed the whole feeling of the poem. The interview was very unique and helpful.

Poem Research

Vocabulary:
1)정수박이: 정수리의 사투리 (forehead)
2)gold-mosaicked: type of rock
3)poignant: evoking a keen or sense of sadness or regret.
4)oblivion: state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening.
5)futile: incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.


Author:
The poet Han Yong-un (Yong-un Han in American name) is born in South Korea, 1879. His pen name, Manhae, is a Buddhist name he got during his childhood. Han was married in age of 14 but leaves his family to become a Buddhist monk. As a Buddhist monk, Han insisted Korean Buddhism should stand on the forefront to rebel against Japan. Han was also one of the 33 people to declared Korea's independence; Han was jailed for 3 years by Japanese officers because of it. While in prison, Han wrote books such as The book of Korean Independence (조선독립의 서) and  published his most well-known poem, The Silence of Love, in 1926. Han died in 1944 at the age of 65.

(an image of Han Yong-un)

Poem:
The poem, The Silence of Love(님의 침묵) also known as My Lord's Silence, is a poem published in 1926. The poem was written in Japanese Colonial Era thus most scholars claim that the "one" (님) the poet is referring to is the Korean Independence. Others say since the poet is a devoted Buddhist and the poem has ideas of reincarnation in it, one is referring to the Buddha. The poem is very important to Korean culture because it contributes in Korean independence and brings Korean nationalism. Also it's one of the earliest modernist Korean poems. The poem is currently translated into French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Czech, and English.


bibliography:

"Manhae Han Yong-un." Web log post. The Manhae Grand Prize. The Society for the Promotion and             Practice for Manhae's Thoughts, n.d. Web.

"Writers Database - Korea Literature Translation Institute." Korea Literature Translation Institute. Korea      Literature Translation Institute, n.d. Web. 09 May 2014.

Poem

Original Text

님의 침묵
            -한용준

"님은 갔습니다. 아아 사랑하는 나의 님은 갔습니다.
푸른 산빛을 깨치고 단풍나무 숲을 향하여 난 적은 길을 걸어서 차마 떨치고 갔습니다.
황금의 꽃같이 굳고 빛나던 옛 맹세는 차디찬 티끝이 되어서 한숨의 미풍에 날아갔습니다.
날카로운 첫 키스의 추억은 나의 운명의 지침을 돌려 놓고 뒷걸음쳐서 사라졌습니다.
나는 향기로운 님의 말소리에 귀먹고 꽃다운 님의 얼굴에  눈멀었습니다.
사랑도 사람의 일이라 만날 때에 미리 떠날 것을 염려하고 경계하지 아니한 것은 아니지만
이별은 뜻밖의 일이 되고 놀란 가슴은 새로운 슬픔에 터집니다.
그러나 이별을 쓸데없는 눈물의 원천을 만들고 마는 것은 스스로 사랑을 깨치는 것인 줄 아는 까닭에 겉잡을 수 없는 슬픔의 힘을 옮겨서 새 희망에 정수박이에 들이부었습니다.
우리는 만날 때에 떠날 것을 염려하는 것과 같이 떠날 때에 다시 만날 것을 믿습니다.
아아, 님은 갔지마는 나는 님을 보내지 아니하였습니다.
제 곡조를 못 이기는 사랑의 노래는 님의 침묵을 휩싸고 돕니다."

(an image of the poem)

Translated Text

The Silence of Love.
Han Yong-un

Love is gone, gone is my love.
Tearing himself away from me he has gone
on a little path that stretches in the splendor of
a green hill into the autumn-tinted forest.
Out last oath, shinning and enduring
like a gold-mosaicked flower,
has turned to cold ashes blown away
in the breath of wind.
I remember his poignant first kiss and its memory
has wrought a complete change in my destiny,
the withdrawn into oblivion.
 I hear not his sweet voice; I see not his fair looks.
Since it is human to love, I, alert, dreaded a
parting to come when we met.
The separation came so suddenly
it broke my heart with renewed sorrow.
Yet, I know parting can only destroy our love if
it causes futile tears to fall.
I would rather transfer the surge of this sorrow
onto the summits of hopefulness.
As we dread parting when we meet, so,
we promise to meet again when we part.
Though my love is gone, I am not parted from love;
an unpinning love-song envelops the silence of love.

Siddhartha Essay

 The novel Siddhartha describes Siddhartha's journey to Nirvana. Siddhartha starts off as the Brahmin's son and then becomes a Samana, then a rich man, and finally becomes a ferryman. One can argue that among Siddhartha's experiences some were unnecessary. For instance one may argue that Siddhartha, gambling and learning love in Kumala's pleasure garden, is completely unnecessary for Siddhartha finding Nirvana. However, throughout the novel, Siddhartha claims every experience he has are valuable and necessary.

When Siddhartha decides to be a Samana, Siddhartha's father opposes strongly. The Brahmin says "'And would you rather die than obey your father?'...Then the father realized that Siddhartha could no longer remain with him at home-that he had already left him" (Hesse 12). The father knows being a Samana is very hard and maybe he will never see his son again. Siddhartha breaks his father's heart. It proves Siddhartha's selfishness of not caring about his parents. However from this experience Siddhartha is able relate to his father. When Siddhartha meets his own son, he says "'I have often thought about it. But how will he, who is so hard-hearted, go on in this world? Will he not consider himself superior, will he not lose himself in pleasure and power, will he not repeat all his father's mistakes, will he not perhaps be quite lost in Samsara?'" (Hesse 120). By loving his son and being a parent, Siddhartha understands what his father felt when Siddhartha left. Also when the son leaves the hut and Siddhartha tries to follow him, Vasudeva says "'But let him, my friend, he is not a child any more, he knows how to look after himself. He is seeking the way to the town and he is right. Do not forget that. He is doing what you yourself have neglected to do. He is looking after himself; he is going his own way'"(Hesse 124). Vasudeva points out that Siddhartha's son is doing the same thing as Siddhartha did to his father. Although both Siddhartha and Siddhartha's father care and worry about their sons, they try to protect their offspring in their own ways which the sons might not agree with. Therefore, although breaking the Brahmin's heart isn't a great act, since it helps Siddhartha understand his father at last, the experience is necessary.

Moreover, ignorantly, Siddhartha in the beginning believes that he has no more to learn from anyone. He says to Govinda "'...that one can learn nothing. There is, so I believe, in the essence of everything, something that we cannot call learning. There is, my friend, only a knowledge-that is everywhere, that is Atman, that is in me and you and in every creature, and I am beginning to believe that this knowledge has no worse enemy that the man of knowledge, than learning'" (Hesse 19). Although Siddhartha's claim is partly true, Siddhartha blinds himself by shutting his mind from any other opinions. Siddhartha tries to learn nothing more from the Samanas and even from the Buddha. When Govinda brings Siddhartha to the Buddha, Siddhartha thinks "He [Siddhartha] was not very curious about the teachings. He did not think they would teach him anything new" (Hesse 28). Although Siddhartha never heard from Buddha before, Siddhartha ignorantly assumes that he will learn nothing new. However at the end of the novel, when Siddhartha talks to Govinda, Siddhartha says "', [I] had many teachers. A beautiful courtesan was my teacher for a long time, and a rich merchant and a dice player. On one occasion, one of the Buddha's wandering monks was my teacher...But most of all, I have learned from the river and from my predecessor, Vasudeva'" (Hesse 142). Siddhartha, who has reached the enlightenment, humbly says that he learned from so many people including Govinda who hasn't reached enlightenment yet. Siddhartha learns that the knowledge and experience he has wouldn't have been possible without the help of his teachers. Although Siddhartha's ignorance blinds him at first, since it helps him realize that who he is now is an outcome of his surroundings, the experience is valuable.

Furthermore, Siddhartha believes he cannot love anyone so passionately. When Kamala asks if he loves her, Siddhartha says "'I am like you. You cannot love either, otherwise how could you practice love as an art? Perhaps people like us cannot love. Ordinary people can-that is their secret'" (Hesse 73). In the quote, not only Siddhartha states he and Kamala can't love, Siddhartha also distinguishes him from the "Ordinary" people. Siddhartha implies that since he is better than the ordinary people, he does not do such a childish act, to love. However Siddhartha changes after he meets his son. Siddhartha quotes ", Siddhartha began to realize that no happiness and peace had come to him with his son, only sorrow and trouble. But he loved him and preferred the sorrow and trouble of his lobe rather than happiness and pleasure without the boy" (Hesse 118). Being a parent of the boy, Siddhartha experiences love so passionate that he loves not himself more than the boy. The love helps Siddhartha connect to the world. Siddhartha quotes "So childish and illogically did he now reason; so much had he become like the ordinary people. He now regarded people in a different light than he had previously: not very clever, not very proud and therefore all the more warm, curious and sympathetic" (Hesse 129). From loving his son, Siddhartha becomes emotional and illogical. Siddhartha envies families without having a clear and logical reason. However, from this experience, Siddhartha becomes sympathetic and now understands the world more deeply. Therefore, since Siddhartha's love help him connect to the world, although it seems illogical, the experience is necessary.

Siddhartha is ignorant and selfish at the beginning but even those negative experiences help him achieve Nirvana at last. Siddhartha's selfishness helps him understand his father, his mistrust of teachers and learning makes him see the influences that teachers has on him, and his underestimation of love later help Siddhartha understand the world more deeply. Therefore, every experience, even the mistakes, are necessary.

What Siddhartha has learned

Throughout the novel, Siddhartha searches for Nirvana. He becomes a Samana, hears from the Illustrious One, loves Kumala, and meets Vasudeva, the mentor. One may be very confused reading the novel since Siddhartha himself transform so much that he views the world differently in every chapter. When Siddhartha first meets Buddha, he thinks "He[Siddhartha] was not very curious about the teachings. He did not think they will teach him anything new" (Hesse 28). However at the end of the chapter, Siddhartha says "..., since that time,  had many teachers" (Hesse 141). Siddhartha realizes that although Siddhartha ignorantly thought since knowledge cannot be transmitted by teaching, all the teaching is useless, during the process Siddhartha learned something. 

(image of novel, Siddhartha)

Moreover, even with his lover, Kumala, Siddhartha says he can't love anyone. Siddhartha quotes, "I am like you. You cannot love either, otherwise how could you practice love as an art? Perhaps people like us cannot love. Ordinary people can-that is their secret" (Hesse 73). Siddhartha claims that both Siddhartha and Kumala love in a form of art. When one loves, one becomes blind and ignorant, Siddhartha thinks he is to rational to fall in love so deeply since he has so much knowledge. However his mind changes when he sees the young Siddhartha, Siddhartha's son. "Had he [Siddhartha] ever lost his heat to anybody so completely, had he ever loved anybody so much, so blindly, so painfully, so hopelessly and yet so happily" (Hesse 121). Also Siddhartha mentions by experiencing such a blind and complete love, he can relation to ordinary people and fell their joy and sorrow as well.

Siddhartha, as mentioned, seeks Nirvana, the divine state where there is no sorrow or sadness or anything. Siddhartha has been educated his childhood as the Brahmin's son, tutored by the best scholars. However Siddhartha believes that the teachings are useless because he will not get it until he experiences it himself. Siddhartha tried to see the world rational and distant so he can find the fastest way to Nirvana. Siddhartha learns that every experience is valuable and there always something to learn from others, even from the annoying  son.