Poem

2. Riches and Honor
   By Cheng-Ao (Cheng Yun-Son) 
   
   
   A fair lady makes her toilet;
   Her whole head is streaked with jewels,
   How can she guess that two cloud-like tresses
   Carry the tribute from many villages?

ü Twenty Questions in the Study of Literature

                                     I.      Reader-Response

1.       How do you feel about this work? For example, what feelings did it evoke when you read it? Pity, fear, suspense, surprise, joy or humor?

Ø    Joy, because what the poem is telling about the girl who realizes that in order to make herself beautiful, feels in luxury and feels comfortable she must experience sufferings to enjoy the good results.

2.       Does your attitude toward or understanding of the work change as you read it? What brings about conditions that change? How many different ways can the work are read?

Ø  Yes, because at first we can say that the girl was just playing but then as we read and analyze the poem, we can conclude that it is not about playing but we can say that it was just the mirror of one who is motivated to have a good life.

3.       By manipulating such literary devices as tone and point of view, authors try to establish a relationship between their work and their readers does this work (or author) assume? What elements of the work help establish this relationship?

Ø  Symbols, because through this, the reader can visualize of what the author wants to imply.

                                   II.      Formal

4.       Make an inventory of the key words, symbols, and images in the work by listing those that seem most insignificant to you. What meanings seem to be attached to these words, symbols, and images?

o  Toilet      -    comforts

o  Jewels    -    luxury

o  Tribute   -    eager

5.       How do these words, symbols, and images help to provide unity or define the overall pattern or structure of the work?

Ø  By using symbols, the author covers the meaning or the things she wants to say to the readers which become deep words.

6.       Under what genre the work should be classified? What generic conventions are readily apparent? If it is fiction or drama, what does each of the five structural elements – plot, characters, setting, theme, and mood – contribute to the work? If it is poetry, how do meter, rhyme, and figurative language contribute to your experience of the poem?

o    Meter: The first two lines have 8 syllables while the other two   lines have 10 syllables.

o    Rhyme: the second line to fourth lines are rhyming, and the first line is not

o    Figurative Language: None.

Ø  With these, we can finally say that the structures have different contents, and it doesn’t have any figurative language. These elements helps the reader to analyze the poem

                                III.      Traditional

7.       How does the work reflect the biographical or historical background of the author or the time during which it was written?

Ø  It reflect by using a lady as character in the poem which could be possibly her and what her works could be based to her surrounding that she might want the reader wants to know.

8.         What are the principal themes of the work?

Ø  Eagerness makes everything successful

9.         What moral statements, if any, does the work make? What philosophical views of life or world does the work present?

Ø  Without effort, nothing can achieve. If you want a life with full of enjoyment, you must have initiative in order for you to fulfill your dreams.

                                IV.      Psychological

10.    What are the principal characteristics or defining traits of the protagonists or main characters in the work?

Ø  The girl is striving so hard to accomplish her goal.

11.      What psychological relationship exists between and among the characters? Try to determine which characters are stronger and which are the weaker? What is the source of their strength or weakness?

Ø  The source is her dreams to have luxurious life even it is not directly written in the poem.

12.    Are these unconscious conflicts within or between characters? How are these conflicts portrayed in the in the work?  Is the Freudian concept of the id-ego-superego applicable?

Ø  None, it has no conflict at all.

13.    Is sexuality or sexuality imagery employed in the work? Are there implications of Oedipus complex, pleasure principle, or wish fulfillment

Ø  None, there is no implications of that.

14.    How do the principal characters view the world around them and other characters in the work? Is that view accurate or distorted?

Ø  Through the use of symbols to make an image by the reader about the poem

                                  V.      Mythical-Archetypal

15.    Does the work contain mythic elements in plot, theme, or characters? Are there recognizable mythic patterns such as rebirth/fertility/quest/journey, or struggle/ return of the hero?

Ø  None, there is no recognizable mythic patterns.

16.    Are there archetypal characters, images, or symbols, such as the great mother, the wise old man, the sea, and the seasons?

Ø  None, there are no archetypal characters.

17.    Do you find Jungian archetypes, such as shadows, persona, or anima, growth, and individuation?

Ø  No, there is no Jungian archetypes

                               VI.      Sociological

18.    What is the relationship between the work and the society it presents or grew out of? Does it address particular social issues either directly or indirectly – such as race, sex, class, religion, or politics?

Ø  We can say that the author dedicates this work to human races for us to understand that without sufferings, we can’t achieve goals and if we don’t put ourselves into a situation that needs motivation we will never feel comfort after all 

19.    Does the sexual identity of the main character affect the relationships and ultimately the events in the story?

Ø  No it doesn’t

20.    Finally, does the story, poem, or play lend itself to one of the various interpretative techniques more than the others?

Ø  Yes it does have techniques, such as words that sounds funny but if you think deeper, you can get what the author means, also the poet uses symbols such as jewelry and tribute which means of luxury life after sufferings or sacrifices.