Each tanka contains a few examples of simple assonance. In “I waited and I” by Princess Nukada, the long “I” sound is repeated several times. “I waited and I/… My blind” (Nukada 1-3). In the phrase “But… Of the summer mountain” (Mitsune 1-3) in “The End of My Journey” by Oshikochi Mitsune, the words “but,” “summer,” and “of” repeat the “uh” sound. “Now, I cannot tell” by Ki Tsurayuki has examples of both assonance and alliteration. The words “But” and “plum” (Tsurayuki 3) share the same sound, as do the words “place” and “fragrance” (Tsurayuki 4-5). The line “But the petals of the plum/In this place” (Tsurayuki 3-4) is alive with alliteration. In the poem “How Helpless My Heart!” by Ono Komachi, assonance appears in the words “stream” and “reed” (Komachi 2-3) and “helpless” and “tempt” (Komachi 1-2). The first line is also an excellent example of alliteration -- “How helpless my heart!” (Komachi 1), with the “h” sound at the beginning of every word. Finally, the last tanka by Priest Saigyo has the same sound throughout, in the phrase “single thing” (Saigyo 1), as well as the words “changing” (Saigyo 2), “in” (Saigyo 3), and “shining” (Saigyo 5). Assonance is important in these poems because it draws everything in together -- because of the necessary brevity, tankas are at risk of sounding pieced-together and awkward. Inner rhyme also helps the flow of the poem, and strengthens the themes by putting the emphasis on words that sound the same.
Every poem has inner themes of nature, but each deals with a unique issue as well. “I Waited and I” by Princess Nukada is about the ties between two lovers, and how sadness from being separated can break one’s heart. “The End of My Journey” by Oshikochi Mitsune is about a man, who, tired from a long journey, rests briefly in a beautiful spot in nature. This talks about how it is beneficial to sometimes take a break from busy life and reflect. The theme of “Now, I Cannot Tell” by Ki Tsurayuki is more complex -- friends move on in life, but the memories of time spent together still remain. “How Helpless My Heart!” by Ono Komachi is about how the speaker has had his or her heart broken and now feel lost and separated from the rest of the world. The final tanka by Priest Saigyo (“Every Single Thing”) is about how though our lives seem to move fast and sometimes out of control, we can always find something steady to hold on to.
2 comments:
Well-written entry, supported with textual evidence and explanation.
I like your point about tankas being "at risk of sounding pieced-together and awkward" and the benefits of inner rhyme and assonance to maintaining fluidity and connectedness.
Sorry, but you can only be talking about the English translations, as all the poets were writing in Japanese. Princess Nukata and Tsurayuki did not use the assonance you are talking about---the translator did. To discuss assonance, alliteration, etc., you would have to be talking about the original poem in the original language. Otherwise, what you point out, though very interesting, has no validity, except in the translated version.
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