tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786207835641480928.post5309426371955681356..comments2024-03-28T12:59:41.910-04:00Comments on NeverEnding Story: One Man's Maple Moon: Seagulls Tanka by Shuji TerayamaChen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786207835641480928.post-661178290037870092014-08-14T08:03:40.172-04:002014-08-14T08:03:40.172-04:00The upper verse sets the thematic and emotive cont...The upper verse sets the thematic and emotive context while the lower verse enhances the tone and mood of the poem, revealing the speaker's state of mind.<br /><br />And "even" adds emotional weight to the poem; it not only implies that the speaker has failed in finding many jobs before, but also indicates that he failed in getting a easy job. <br /><br /><br /><br />Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐https://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-786207835641480928.post-55959309785573167062014-08-14T07:36:20.802-04:002014-08-14T07:36:20.802-04:00Below is an excerpt from Robert D. Wilson's re...Below is an excerpt from Robert D. Wilson's review of "Kaleidoscope: Selected Tanka of Shuji Terayama," which can be accessed at http://simplyhaiku.com/SHv6n3/reviews/Terayama.html<br /><br />In some poems, Terrayama portrays the experience of a third person, even though he may use a first person pronoun:<br /><br />failing even<br />to become an actress<br />I listen to<br />the sound of seagulls<br />shot in the winter marsh<br /><br />Birds shot by a gun are a recurring theme in Terayama's tanka. Of course he was no stranger to warfare, living through a war that took the life of his father and thousands of innocent people. In his mythology, it is possible that his references to birds served as a metaphor or code, for human beings, specifically his countrymen. Prior to the end of World War II, one was not at liberty to criticize the actions of the government.<br />Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐https://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com