An Old Silent Pond a Frog Jumps Into the Pond Slash Silence Again

Matsuo Bashō, the poet of this haiku, was a famous poet of the Edo period in Nihon. He is recognized every bit the greatest main of haiku or hokku. In 'The Old Swimming', besides known equally 'The Aboriginal Swimming' , Bashō plays with the sound of the frog leaping in the old pond and imagery of that aboriginal identify. In traditional Japanese, the haiku reads:

Furu ike ya

kawazu tobikomu

mizu no oto

With the Japanese characters being:

古池や　蛙飛び込む　水の音

The literal translation of the words of this haiku poem, by Robert Hass, is:

Quondam pond…

a frog jumps in

water's sound

However, there is naught specific most the context or the development of poetic thoughts. One has to accept resort to the imagination for getting into the core of this poem.

Summary of The Onetime Pond

'The Erstwhile Swimming' is a haiku poem that deals with an ancient swimming and the sound made by a frog that jumps into it.

In this haiku verse form, there are only three images. I is a static paradigm of an erstwhile swimming. The second one is a dynamic paradigm of a frog jumping into the swimming. Lastly, there is an auditory image that presents the sound that is generated from a frog jumping into the pond-h2o. While reading the haiku, ane has to exist imaginative to get to the core of the poem. To begin with, the pond in the poem is an old water body. It seems people have either abandoned the pond or it is in that location for a long time. Thereafter, the frog that jumps into the swimming presents 2 things, the season and the reason for its jumping. Lastly, the h2o's sound creates a resonance in a reader's listen. This sound has some deeper meaning that is discussed in the latter part of the analysis.

Meaning

This haiku contains manifold significant inside its brevity and compactness. To begin with, the literal pregnant of the Japanese text is of cracking importance. As information technology gives the key to the inner significant of the text. In the offset phrase, "Furu" means onetime, and "ike" means swimming. Here, "ya" is a "kireji" or "cut word". Thereafter, in the second phrase, "kawazu" ways frog, and "tobikomu" means "jumping into". In the last phrase, "mizu" means h2o, and "oto" stands for sound. Here, "no" is a phoneme or an "On". In Japanese, "On" stands for "sound". In this way, the literal meaning of the text, in Standard English language, is "Sometime pond—frog jumping into—water's sound."

Construction

'The Former Pond' consists of a total of 17 syllables. In the showtime phrase, in that location are 5 syllables and in the second phrase, at that place are 7 syllables. The last phrase has 5 syllables. Structurally, a haiku poem has a "kireji" or cutting word. Here, the cutting give-and-take is in the kickoff phrase. It is "ya" that marks a shift in the verse form. Some other of import element of a haiku is "kigo". "Kigo" means a word or phrase associated with a particular season, used in traditional forms of Japanese poesy. In this haiku, the "kigo" is the "frog". Generally, in Asia, the frog is associated with the Monsoon season. Simply, here, as Bashō portrays the scene, there are no sounds except that of the water. So, the kigo in this poem refers to the Bound season.

Literary Devices

There are some important literary devices in this haiku verse form. Firstly, the "pond" is a metaphor for the subconscious mind. It can also be a metaphorical reference to the soul. Whereas, the "onetime swimming" seems to be an example of personification. Here, Bashō personifies the swimming. Thereafter, in the 2nd phrase, the frog acts as a metaphor. Here, it embodies any external stimulus that incites the human listen to remember. Lastly, the "water'southward sound" contains an onomatopoeia. The poet uses the audio to portray an image. Moreover, there is too metonymy in this phrase. Here, the poet presents the outcome to refer to the crusade.

Assay of The Old Pond

Line 1

The old pond-

The haiku, using Fumiko Saisho'south translation, begins with the prototype of the former swimming. It can be somewhere in a forest or far from human habitation. Bashō associates no other sound with this image. So, the pond is probably at a distance, in tranquillity and silence. Moreover, it is old. Beingness an ancient creature, it has survived the ravages of time. Burdened with the experience of the long years, the pond exists as a sage. The poet somehow connects himself with this pond. At that place is a closeness in their nature. Both are silent and at peace.

The old pond seems to be a symbol of the subconscious mind. It is at that place inside everyone. Similar the old pond, it exists in silence. Moreover, the poet refers to the subconscious heed of an erstwhile person. Here, the old human being is undoubtedly the poet himself.

Line 2

a frog jumps in,

Of a sudden a frog breaks the quiet of the pond. Information technology doesn't commencement to croak in its usual pattern. The frog simply jumps into the pond. Why does the frog jump into the pond? One has to ask this question first earlier moving to the climax of this haiku. The frog might have jumped into the pond, not for breeding or laying eggs as it'southward not the season of monsoon. And then, i affair is articulate that the frog does it for its biological instinct. It seems every bit if the h2o of the swimming rejuvenates the frog. And then, it jumps into the pond naturally without any biological urge or chemical upsurge inside its trunk. Like the frog, a person likewise needs solace to requite time to his mind and soul. Thus, the frog jumping into the water can be a symbolic reference to meditation.

Line iii

audio of the water.

In the terminal line of the haiku, the sound becomes an interesting part of the imagery. The sound is not artificial. An external stimulus is responsible for the creation of sound. When the frog jumps into the water, it generates a short-staying audio. It isn't shrill. Yet information technology's not deep. The texture of the water's sound lies somewhere in the middle. The poet'south mind gets alert after hearing the song but it doesn't suspension his concentration. Rather it heightens his trance and takes him to a next level. One can think virtually it differently.

While cooking a very special dish, one has to use every material in a specific corporeality. If anything goes across its certain concentration, the dish doesn't taste good. The opposite is likewise true. Here, in this haiku, the sound of the water is that special ingredient that must be used in a sound corporeality. Thus, it can heighten the level of the poet'south mediation.

Similar Poetry

Like Bashō's 'The Sometime Pond' , here is a listing of poems in which the poets explore more by maxim less.

• Fame is a bee past Emily Dickinson – It's i of the best Emily Dickinson poems . This verse form discusses the nature of fame.
• Fourth dimension Is by Henry van Dyke – This verse form presents the definition of time that varies from person to person.
• Their Sex Life by A. R. Ammons – This poem contains only ii lines merely it is wide in its poetic range.
• Pomegranates by Sin Hum – This poem is written in sijo, a Korean poetic grade that originated in the Goryeo catamenia. It seems to have been written in haiku.

You tin read about 10 of the Best Haikus to Read hither .

flannagananert1992.blogspot.com

Source: https://poemanalysis.com/haiku/the-old-pond/

Share this post