The Sun Rises and Sets by Li Bo is an entrancing poem. When I first read the title of the poem I got a deep sense of tranquility . Still, as the poem progresses the feeling of the poem changes. I interpreted this poem as a description of Li Bo view towards the cycle of life. A characterisation of how every thing that starts eventually ends. Li Bo gives this idea when he says, “The rise and the ending of all things/ is just the way things are.” ( Bo, 1023) At this point in the poem I got a sense of depression from the author. He refers to the end of things more than once during the poem and gives an example of the trees not caring if they lost their leaves because that is how it was suppose to be. I wonder if that is how Li Bo felt during his life? I believe, he felt he had no control over his life and that whatever happen to him was because it was the way life had to be. By the end of the poem Li Bo sounds like a soul that has given up and is going with the flow of the river of life.
4 thoughts on “T’ang Poetry – The Sun Rises and Sets”
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I agree with you. I believe this poem represents the author’s feelings toward having a set destiny for your life. By him using the line about the plants not having feelings towards their flowering, I believe it was his way of saying that these things are bound to happen and there is no way to go around them. The only option is to face the problem and deal with the consequences.
I agree with your claims, Li Bo interprets his view of life through the poem. Overall on poem, we can see Li Bo uses a lot of description on the changing in nature. In the beginning of the poem, he mentions sunrise and sunset ; At the end, he mentions the change of four seasons. He derives everything in the world are in the cycle, which from the the beginning to the end, then to another beginning.
I agree with your claim and I also feel like the title of the poem gives me an idea of comfort , calmness and happiness. But the poem threw me off. The poem was more of a different emotion. The author was sad / depressed and was just probably having the worst time ever. Also that everything at some point has to come to an end and there isn’t anything we can do .
When I read the poem, I thought that Li Bo was expressing a journey to his audience. He mentions places by comparing heaven and beneath the earth as well as time when he states “daily beginnings and endings”. He also mentions spring and autumn to further give readers a sense of imagery.