Thick Grow The Rush Leaves Analysis

Have you ever marveled at the powerful stories a poem can tell with just words? I will be analyzing the similarities and differences in figurative language and the elements of Chinese poetry in the Chinese poems “I Beg of You, Chung Tzu” and “Thick Grow the Rush Leaves.”

“I Beg of You, Chung Tzu” and “Thick Grow the Rush Leaves” share many similarities. For example, both poems include refrains, a typical element of Chinese poetry in which word phrases are repeated at regular intervals. The refrain, “Chung Tzu I dearly love,” from “I Beg of You, Chung Tzu” and the refrain, “He whom I love,” from “Thick Grow the Rush Leaves” both emphasize the emotions each speaker feel for her beloved. In addition, the poems share the Chinese poetic

form of being a song as both poems were originally set to music and have strong, regular rhythms.
On the other hand, the two poems contain many differences. For instance, each poem’s tone, or the speaker’s attitude toward her subject, varies greatly.”I Beg of You, Chung Tzu” has a tentative tone that expresses fear as is revealed in the line, “Indeed I am afraid.” “Thick Grow the Rush Leaves” has a tone of romantic yearning that ultimately turns into a celebratory tone. This can be understood from the line, “Down stream I followed him, and away in mid-water there on the shoals is he!”
Additionally, only one poem, “Thick Grow the Rush Leaves,” uses imagery which is figurative language that uses words or phrases to appeal to the senses. “Thick Grow the Rush Leaves” uses phrases such as, “Very fresh are the rush leaves; The white dew still falls,” to appeal to the reader’s sense of sight. “I Beg of You, Chung Tzu” does not use imagery.
In conclusion, the poems “I Beg of You, Chung Tzu” and “Thick Grow the Rush Leaves” share many similarities and differences as well as having some differences. Regardless, each poem’s simple words will continue to tell the same powerful stories for years to come