Throughout the poem of Li Bo, I tried to find out if there was any lesson or point that he might want to deliver to us. And, the very last paragraph on page 1029, looked interesting with two particular words in it, power and prestige, something I considered as a hint of a lesson of this poem probably. I thought of the power and prestige as what Li Bo previously wanted as the rebel he joined tried to establish an independent regime. Li Bo, remarks in the last paragraph, “How can I pucker my brows and break my waist serving power and prestige?- it makes me incapable of relaxing heart or face” (lines 64-67, page 1029). I think he meant that responsibilities or things he has to do being in a society with other people, are inevitable and hardly give him time to rest. Also, this passage possibly means he wants to stick to the nature (mountains, rivers and such) rather than people.
The part, “Drinking Alone with the Moon”, can support my idea that he loves to be in the nature. Of course, it can’t do what people can do, however, in this part of the story, Li Bo seems satisfied by the surrounding/nature even though there is no one to drink with. He remarks, “Let’s pledge-beyond human ties-to be friends,” (line 13, page 1026). Before he says that, he uses the immediate surrounding that he has in order to find drink mates. The moon and his shadow become his friends. It seems he is fine with his new friends who are not people, but the nature, and thankfully they don’t give him any pressure or things to do in order to keep their relationship or anything.
Then what I end up with was my assumption that the lesson of this poem could be that the nature is somewhat precious existence for Li Bo because it can well substitute people and it is even better because it can still enables him to rest and relax.
It is just my opinion anyway, and if you think there’s any message that Li Bo wants to deliver, what would that be?
Hello
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your interpretation with us. Drinking Alone with the Moon in my opinion is very thought provoking. In the beginning of this poem, shows that the character DOES NOT want to drink alone. Which shows that the character is inviting the Moon to join in, “I drink alone, no friend with me// I raise my cup to invite the moon Lines 3-4. These shows both loneliness and invitation to ones loneliness. With the Chinese culture drinking a social activity not something that is done alone. Even thought the character is physically alone, he is creating his own social circle within himself. For example, “the moon does not know how to drink; my shadow mimes my capering// but I’ll make merry with them both lines 5-8. These lines show the character creative mindset by creative his own social circle.
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and interpretation with us. It seems almost not normal in the social norms of society for one to drink alone. Drinking alone would symbolize depression or loneliness since drinking in most cultures is something you’d do with other people. “I drink alone, no friend with me// I raise my cup to invite the moon Lines 3-4. Although with the way Li Bo transmitted his message through the lines demonstrated above, with him inviting the “moon” to drink with him might symbolize something more than just loneliness, rather him being alone to relieve and relax his mind of all responsibilities and worldly affairs in which nature seems to be so serene compared to society which gives him responsibilities. Being alone with the friend circle of nature created by Li Bo’s own mind seem to be more satisfying than with actual people. One must be able to enjoy ones own company being alone, before going out and enjoying the company of others.
Best,
Yasir Walli
Hey Y.Lee,
Your blog post led me to think regarding the poet, Li Bo, more deeply. I agree with your idea that he loves to be in the nature. However, I think that his only friends are nature because he had no one to be close with. On page 1022, Li Bo is described as a person who has drinking habits and unusual personality. This description of Li Bo depicts that he would have no human-friends because people usually do not want to be close to the person who thinks or behave unusually. Therefore, I believe that he tries to overcome his lonesomeness by filling up the emptiness with the nature. As you mentioned, the nature does not give him any pressure or burden, so he seems like he is satisfied with having the nature-friends even though he has no human-friends.
Hello Y.Lee,
Thanks for your input on this topic. Initially, I thought that the character was lonely and deep down, just wanted some form of company. As previously mentioned on one of the comments here, the character is shown to not want to drink alone. When he invites the moon in to join him, it gave me the impression that he just wanted to feel like he wasn’t on his own, even if it meant that he would have to perceive something inanimate, like the Moon, as a companion. Your input on how he perceives nature as something precious gave me a new way of thinking about this. It made me think how the character does not need human companionship, since he values the nature surrounding him as something so important to him that he considers that as a companion of its own.
-Danny