Chinese Literature Assignment

Jake Wythers
Ms. Peifer
English 10 IB Hour Five
4/19/09

Chinese Poetry Commentary #1


In “Suffering from Heat” Wang Wei’s purpose is to glorify heaven and enlightenment. Wang Wei achieves this by using images of draught in comparison to a life unawoken. To contrast, he uses images of refreshing moisture in comparison to heaven.
In the first stanza of “Suffering from Heat”, Wang Wei focuses on the barrenness and monotony that is life without heaven. “Grasses and trees are all parched and shriveled; Rivers and swamps, all utterly dried” (Wang Wei 3-4). Though the audience doesn’t yet know that Wang Wei is writing theologically, these drought images provide a strong picture of suffering and hopelessness. Another way Wang Wei stresses the dreariness of life unenlightened is with repetition. “My clothes of linen are washed again and again” (8). The repetition of “again” makes the audience think of the tedious and monotonous existence the author is describing.
In the second stanza of “Suffering from Heat” Wang Wei expresses his desire to cross the threshold to paradise and be relieved of the heat and drought. He uses images of moisture, the opposite of drought, to glorify enlightenment. A perfect example of this imagery is, “Rivers and seas would cleanse me of troubles and dirt” (12). The audience discovers that Wang Wei has been writing about heaven in the poem with the final two lines. “I would suddenly enter the Gate of Pleasant Dew/And be at ease in the clear, cool joy”(15-16). “The Gate of Pleasant Dew” is an obvious metaphor for the gate of heaven. Wang Wei emphasizes the comfort and fulfillment of paradise with the phrase “And be at ease in the clear, cool joy”.
“Suffering from Heat” by Wang Wei is a poem about the perfection and comfort of heaven and enlightenment. Wang Wei’s purpose is to glorify this place for the audience. He achieves his purpose by describing life without enlightenment as dry and monotonous, and contrasts it with images of moisture and contentment in paradise.