Tang Dynasty Poem ‘ 赠汪伦 To Wang Lun’ analysis

xiangmo · Joined: 15 Aug 2006 Posts: 16 Location: London

lǐ bái chéng zhōu jiāng yù xíng，
李白乘舟将欲行，

hū wén àn shàng tà gē shēng 。
忽闻岸上踏歌声。

táo huā tán shuǐ shēn qiān chǐ，
桃花潭水深千尺，

bù jí wāng lún sòng wǒ qíng 。
不及汪伦送我情。

To Wang Lun

Li Bai(Tang)
As soon as I get on the boat, ready to depart,
I hear from the shore loud song and dancing feet
The pond of Peach Blossoms, although a thousand feet
Is not so deep as Wang Lun's feeling when we part.

Comment

The four-line poem adpots two abrupt turns in tone
At first the poet says as ever that he is going to take a
boatready to depart when "suddenly" he hears the loud
song from the bankWe can well imagine him first
startling and then getting excited at spotting his friend-
the singer-who stands by the serenebeautiful Peach
Blossom PondThe second turning point is the use of
"not so deep as " in the comparison that the pond is not so
deep as the friendship between him and his friend-Wang
LunMoreover, the poet addresses his friend directly by
his name to enchance their intimacyThe insertion of
his friend's name contributes to the openness, sincerity
and independence of his character