Far+Corners+of+Earth


 * The Poem**

//Chiang-han mountains looming, impassable, A cloud drifts over this far corner of earth. Year after year, nothing familiar, nothing Anywhere but one further end of the road. Here, Wang Ts'an found loss and confusion, And Ch'u Yuan cold grief. My heart already Broken in quiet times-and look at me, Each day wandering a new waste of highway.

speaks of very general terms of exile as opposed to other instances in these poems that are very specific in terms.
 * How does this poem find a universal meaning for exile? Explain.**//


 * Analysis**

1 & 2. This poem takes the form of an elegy about exile once again. In this short poem the narrator or author is the one speaking but the person whom he is speaking of is Want Ts'an and Ch'u Yuan. By focusing on more than one person in this poem the author broadens the sense and meaning of exile to all who have been exile not focusing on a particular instance.

3, 4, 5, & 6. The subject of this poem is the very broad topic of exile. Because of the short length of the poem no particular instance is covered but rather the feeling of exile is put forth as the real burden in the poem. The structure, two four line paragraphs create first a sense of setting and then a sense of feeling. The sense of feeling within the characters play directly off the imagery that the setting is portraying. The setting speaks of gray clouds and no particular time but rather the passing of time, further more the imagery used is found within words such as "cold grief" and "heart already broken in quiet times." This is the most important part of the poem because of its length, leaving the reader to see what the characters are going through as they can't read through all of it because of the limitations due to length.

8 & 9. The sullen sound and use of language are pivotal in correctly involving the reader within the poem, without this the meaning would be lost within translation.

11, 12, 13. This poem is very closely related to each of its readers in a very profound way. Even though exile is non-existant in terms of from a specific country this poem really hits home. Because it has turned the subject of exile into very broad terms, the poem directly relates to factors that could be thesible in today's day in age. The feelings and qualities it evokes are directly relevant to the way a friend might feel if he is excluded or the feeling of depression as experienced by a person of any age. In making this a broad poem and relating to any reader, the poem becomes just as powerful if not more powerful than any of the longer poems. [|Analysis Questions]