Significance of travel in Basho's Narrow Road Through the Backcountry

The poet appeals to our senses of sight by using imagery such as “Particle waves of people”. The simile “As in a whash mash mochi making” is particularly effective, because it is a detailed simile which appeals to our sense of hearing by adding whash in the line.Cultural expressions can be seen throughout the poem by mentioning people are making mochi in the city. Mochi is Japanese rice cake made of mochigome. Another cultural expression can be seen in the last two lines which says “Give me land lots of land don’t Fence me in”. This means that Joy Kogawa is used to spaciousness in Canada, and when she got to Tokyo, she felt claustrophobic. Specific vocabulary used by the composer reflects the cultural identity of Tokyo as seen by the poem containing Japanese words (such as mochi) and by the comparison of Canada to Tokyo.

Matsuo Basho significantly contributed to Japans thoughts of poetry. Basho’s Bibliography stats “Matsuo was influenced by Taoism, which was a Chinese based prophecy supporting humility and spiritual devotion.” It could be suggested that this event was a catalyst for poetry. After Basho’s master Todo Yoshitada died, he started

She also described the poems as “gifts” to the reader. In comparison to Montaigne, Basho is not only quoting poets and scholars, he is finding poems to suit the moments he experiences. Basho is making an attempt to take the reader on a journey into his own personal paradigm where nature is king.

Atkinson, Clarissa W. “Mystic and pilgrim: the book and the world of Margery Kempe,” 129- 156. New York: Cornell University Press, 1985

Matsuo Basho’s journey has a significant impact on literature due to his well-written journals that reveal his lifestyle and experiences. In his first journal, The Records of a Weather-exposed Skeleton, Basho conveys his spiritual thoughts and religious life that he experiences on a new journey. Basho’s journal contains several poems as he further reveals different people, traditions, and significant places that made his journey more memorable.

After reading this short story, I am immersed in an overwhelming mood for a long time. The touching story, the beautiful landscape and the emotions of the characters are all carved into my mind, leading me into musing. Okiyo-san’s story is sad, but there seems to be something beyond the sadness. Reflected on this feeling of mine, I find it is rooted in Kyoko’s physical descriptions of the landscape and natural elements in the story. Landscape and natural elements play enormous roles in the story, not only provide insights on the authorial tone of the story and enhance and expand its theme, but also help form the structure of the story.

Bashō went to the Ryūshaku ji instead of Obanazawa because he has heard that Ryūshaku ji is a tranquil temple and many people have advised him to go. Tranquility always makes people peaceful inwardly. “I felt the purifying power of this environment pervading my whole being.” (Bashō, 122) The tranquility has purified Bashō’s internal mindset, which inspires him in writing a haiku, “A cicada’s voice alone/ Penetrates the rocks” (Bashō, 123) Bashō describes the extreme tranquility through his objective feeling. I can feel it is a tranquil place since Bashō could hear a cicada’s voice permeates through the rocks, and it would be difficult to hear a cicada’s voice if there is too much noise. From the haiku, I can see Bashō was pursuing a peaceful

Poetry is a creation of man and thus tied to the self. This creates a problem for those who wish to not only explore the idea of selflessness but share it. This problem was keenly felt by Confucian, Daoist and Buddhist poets. To escape this problem, they created tools used to convey selflessness. Poets used things like themes, language and format within poetry to convey a selflessness. They used themes like rejecting desire, becoming a recluse and living a simple life. To reinforce these themes, they used images of nature to represent selflessness. Finally, the rules provided a new way for poets to express the inexpressible through writing. These three things are evident in three poems, “Poem Without a Category” by Tao Yuanming, “Farewell to a Friend Returning South” by Wang Wei and “Feelings Awakened by a Mirror” by Bai Juyi. Each of these poems has something to do with expressing selflessness and they use common themes, language, and form to express it.

During the Middle ages, Buddhism and poetry shaped Japanese culture in several aspects and especially Japaneses plays, and literature. Basho narrates his journey to explore natural world in The Narrow Road to the Deep North mostly through poems. He uses Haiku poem which is shortest type of Japanese poems expressed in seven seventh syllables divided in three sections. Basho being the a devotee Zen Buddhist, launches to free himself of the lavish secular life. He does not find meaning of existence in material world but rather seeks to enlighten himself through endurance of nature. Zen Buddhism inspires him to pursue a simple life with limited man-made resources to attain inner peace. Also, Japaneses No Drama reached its highest peak of

Although a haiku is a form of poetry, there are many characteristics that separate haikus and standard poems. While many poems tend to have many lines, a haiku is only composed on three lines with only seventeen syllables total. The primary purpose of a haiku is to link human to nature life while distinguishing two ideas such as continuance and change. These characteristics can clearly be seen in Matsuo Basho’s haikus in, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”.

In the novel we as readers see that Basho uses satori in order to be with nature. As stated by Basho in the novel, “…Fresh spring!/ The world is only/ Nine days old-/ These fields and mountains!/ Heated spring air/ In tiny waves/ Of an inch or two….” (Basho 78) is just an example of the way the scences are protrayed by Basho explaining how to appericate life, seasons, and the surroundings around us. For Basho being part of the external world would cause peacefulness for ones own self because they are part of nature. In addition, throughout the novel the journey revealed to Basho that life is impermanent because it is influx and due to that we as humans can’t grasp life’s goals because we are constantly changing. For Basho giving respect to life the way it is and by accepting it without giving up is what he has learned as a poet. He kept moving on in life because he had nothing really to lose because he lost his family, his house, and everything so he became of the travellers whose goal was to reach satori and become a great person in which he did even though there where changes in his journey he lived in that moment appericating life and becing part of the present. Similarly, in the movie we see that the theme of religion and faith controls the life of many helping the characters receive an

Major Literary Movements: In the literature of northern Europe, the sixteenth century marks the flowering of the Renaissance. In some countries, such as England, the literary Renaissance continued well into the following century. This chapter will deal with some of the important currents and authors in French and English literature of the sixteenth century.

Their existence on the margins of British society goes back to the 16th century in a diversity of literary

Haiku poems are mystical and beautiful. The essence of a haiku poem is the sense of cutting, juxtaposing two ideas against each other with a kind of sharp verbal punctuation, and then reuniting the two thoughts in the final line. I subscribe to the concept, less is more, and so is the same with Haiku. It forces the writer to stretch their imagination and then compress it back down to size again in order to create within its limitations. Haiku is very brief in nature, and these constraints bring about new ideas which imply both power and subtlety in the same seventeen syllables. Matsuo Basho, a 17th century haiku master, had a style of writing that was simple but contained complex meanings. The meanings of his poems come from the readers personal experiences, so they can mean different things for different people.

Endless quests for valor, constant battles for glory, and a continued dedication to the king is a common theme throughout Anglo-Saxon literature, but why? Reflecting on the history of literature, leading up to today, divulges a surprisingly conspicuous undertone of all written works. Literature is often influenced by and reflects the time in which it was written. After all; writers are human, and the human instinct to adapt to one’s environment often manifests itself in written works. There are many ways the time can influence a writer and their work. However, this essay will mainly focus on the influences of religion and social values.