Ode to the West Wind is remarkable for its imagery. In lyrical intensity combined with lyrical breadth the Ode is unsurpassed in English song. But the emotions are inter-related and have been fused into an artistic whole. Oliver Elton says, “the greatest of all those lyrics of Shelley which do not, in brief compass, convey a single and simple emotion.” The first three stanzas follow the West Wind in its course the fourth calls upon it to bear the poet away from the heavy weight of hour and the last prays for the complete absorption of the poet in the West Wind, so that he may rekindle his dead song and scatter it among the hearts of men. Oh! I thank God that He doth bring such daily joy to me,įor even I can welcome spring, like happy girls who see.“If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” Shy violets tell me, as I pass, their buds are at my feet,Īnd through the lengthening meadow-grass run murmurs soft and sweet. The plum trees will forget not to blossom, and they will be joined by many other flowers and trees over the coming weeks. Spring has arrived – in the northern hemisphere at least. The story of Michzane and his favorite plum tree spawned legends and traditions that continue to this day. The sentiment, that no matter what happens the plum tree mustn’t forget what is most important, reminded me of the story behind the forget-me-not flower. “Forget not to blossom always when the springtime comes” is a beautiful line. I find myself partial to the first of the three above translations that I re-printed. While I cannot attest to the technical merits of each translation, they all convey the same ideas. Do not forget to bloom just because your master is not there. The humanities department at the University of California-Irvine provided a romantization of the original Japanese poem next to a different translation along with some helpful context that I used to inform my above analysis of the poem:Ī site called Kansai Odyssey provided a different translation of the same poem: When the easy wind blow, carry the fragrance along the wind, dear my plum tree.
Michizane was leaving for the East, so his request that his tree “send out thy perfume when the east wind blows” referenced his hope that its scent would reach him. He was said to have composed and recited the poem before he left his favorite plum tree to go into exile. The “master” who Michizane referred to was himself. Bowe reprinted a translation of one of Sugawara Michizane’s plum poems: Do thou, dear plum tree, send out thy perfume when the east wind blows Īnd, though thy master be no longer here,įorget not to blossom always when the springtime comes. He explained that the 9th and 10th century scholar and poet, Sugawara no Michizane, was particularly fond of the plum and its role as a harbinger of spring. BoweĪfter describing the plum in traditional Japanese art, Bowe turned to literature. For the calyx (5) the Chinese character for clove (cho) is invoked. The stamens (4) and pistils are reproductions of the Chinese character sho, meaning small. This is repeated five times for the five petals of the blossom (3). The blossom (2) is painted on the principle of in yo, the upper portion of the petal line being the positive or yo and the lower being the negative or in side.
He noted that “he tree branches with their interlacings reproduce the spirit of the Chinese character for woman” – evinced by the following plate included in the book.īowe described the above painting as follows: For these and other reasons Rennasei assigned to the plum its place as a paragon centuries and centuries ago. With no other flower or tree are associated more beautiful and pathetic folk-lore and historical facts. In old age the tree takes on the shape of a sleeping dragon. Though the trunk of the tree grows old it renews its youth and beauty every spring with vigorous fresh branches crowded with buds and blossoms. The plum is the first tree of the year to bloom. Specifically, we will examine his section on the first tree to flower in the spring, the Japanese plum tree.įorget not to blossom always when the springtime comes. Bowe’s 1911 study On the Laws of Japanese Painting, available on Project Gutenberg. For this year’s spring-of-spring content, I turn to Henry P. I thought that it would be altogether fitting and proper to welcome spring in 2022 much like I welcomed spring in 2021.
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