Hey class,

While reading Li Bo’s poetry, I found the style of his writing to be intriguing. The mood of his poetry caught me off guard at first, however, the way he transitioned these moods to spark new emotions was quite fascinating to me. The way Li Bo transitions the mood In the poem South of the Walls We Fought was quite significant in my opinion. Li Bo introduces us to a mysterious and sort of gloomy setting, “…They died in fighting on the steppes, their vanquished horses neigh, mourning to the sky. Kites and ravens peck men’s guts, fly with them dangling from their beaks and hang them high on boughs of barren trees…Now I truly see that weapons are evil’s tools: the sage will use them only wen he cannot do otherwise.” After reading these lines, I anticipated a further analysis of the impact of what seemed to be a brutal battle with many casualties. However, to my surprise, the very next stanza had transitioned into a tranquil environment “Look there! The waters of the Yellow River, coming down from Heaven, rush in their flow to the sea, never turn back again…For satisfaction in this life taste pleasure to the limit, And never let a goblet of gold face the bright moon empty. Heaven bred in me talents, and they must be put to use…And when you sit yourself to drink, always down three hundred cups.” This new mood was a little confusing at first, as I wondered what had happened to this horrible battleground. Besides that slight confusion, I enjoyed the sudden transition and found it interesting how Li Bo was able to transition his moods in the matter of just a few lines.

My question for the class is: Were you guys just as taken back as I was when reading the poem South of the Walls We Fought? Were you surprised at such a drastic change of the mood in the poem?