Brady Bryan
Ame ni mo Makezu (Be Not Defeated by the Rain)
By Kenji Miyazawa
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| This image connects to Kenji Miyazawa's poem as "Be Not Defeated by the Rain" as the poem is heavily nature-based, constantly referring to the weather, vegetation, and climate and connecting them to one's feelings and aspirations. |
Kenji Miyazawa was born in the Iwate Prefecture of Japan. He was also a farmer. He studied geology and taught agricultural science, as well as wrote short stories and children's stories. After he quit being a teacher, he continued to write and help out other farmers in Iwate Prefecture until he died of pneumonia at the age of 37.
Poem:
Poem:
not losing to the rain
not losing to the wind
not losing to the snow nor to summer's heat
with a strong body
not fettered by desire
by no means offending anyone
always quietly smiling
every day four bowls of brown rice
miso and some vegetables to eat
in everything
count yourself last and put others before you
watching and listening, and understanding
and never forgetting
in the shade of the woods of the pines of the fields
being in a little thatched hut
if there is a sick child to the east
going and nursing over them
if there is a tired mother to the west
going and shouldering her sheaf of rice
if there is someone near death to the south
going and saying there's no need to be afraid
if there is a quarrel or a lawsuit to the north
telling them to leave off with such waste
when there's drought, shedding tears of sympathy
when the summer's cold, wandering upset
called a nobody by everyone
without being praised
without being blamed
such a person
I want to become
not losing to the wind
not losing to the snow nor to summer's heat
with a strong body
not fettered by desire
by no means offending anyone
always quietly smiling
every day four bowls of brown rice
miso and some vegetables to eat
in everything
count yourself last and put others before you
watching and listening, and understanding
and never forgetting
in the shade of the woods of the pines of the fields
being in a little thatched hut
if there is a sick child to the east
going and nursing over them
if there is a tired mother to the west
going and shouldering her sheaf of rice
if there is someone near death to the south
going and saying there's no need to be afraid
if there is a quarrel or a lawsuit to the north
telling them to leave off with such waste
when there's drought, shedding tears of sympathy
when the summer's cold, wandering upset
called a nobody by everyone
without being praised
without being blamed
such a person
I want to become
Paraphrase:
I refuse to yield to my desires. In addition, I strive to become a dependable person.
Speaker:
The speaker very well could be Miyazawa. Both him and the speaker seek to help others without being hindered, which is what Miyazawa did by lending a hand to those affected by earthquake in Iwate Prefecture.
Figurative Language:
The speaker talks about not losing to the harsh elements of nature such as "summer's heat." He also talks about having introspective outlooks on others by "count[ing] yourself last and put[ing] others before you. He mentions different cardinal directions and traveling anywhere to assist "tired mother[s] in the west" and "sick child[ren] in the east." There is a consistent use of humbling language such living in a small hut and having a simple diet.
Form:
Miyazawa uses enjambment throughout the poem to convey a sense of unity through similar ideas that all lead to a larger, central idea of humbleness.
Tone:
The tone of the poem is soft, lax, and (clearly) humble. There are no harsh or violence words used to assert the speaker's stance, nor are there any sad, dejected words being used. The message is straightforward and sincere in an assuring way.
Theme:
The theme of the poem is that selflessness is the true key to living a blissful life.
I love your theme statement I wasn't really aiming towards that but re-reading it kinda gave me an idea to where you were headed. I agree with your tone unlike my poem this is actually soothing doesn't have any sadness or anger. I also agree with your figurative language when you talk about how the tired mother and sick children and how the poet uses humbling language consisting of the small hut and simple diet lifestyle. Going back to the tone of you poem It seems like he is being straight forward but kinda mixing other things to try making the message a little more faint. Overall you analysis is good and was something I agree on.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to how you interpreted the poem, I depicted the theme of the poem to be along the lines of "selflessness is the true key to life," and the best way to live your life is to be hospitable towards others, while having a humble, "show but don't tell" attitude. In addition, I portrayed the tone as being complementary to the theme, by which I mean both are centered around having a "go with the flow" mentality and doing good deeds, though not becoming boastful about those actions. Unlike your illustration of the use and meaning of the figurative language, I viewed parts like "not losing to the rain, not losing to the wind..." as a way of the speaker expressing how they were physically and emotionally resilient. I also noticed some of the form Miyazawa used, especially how the lines become shorter towards the very end of the poem, and I thought that was used to symbolize conclusion as well as simplicity in the speaker's mindset (in other words, It's not very complex to gain an "enlightened" state of mind). All in all, I believed your analysis was great, and that you did an amazing job at "translating" a somewhat cryptic and symbolic poem into a well thought out interpretation that easy to understand.
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