Poems included in the Classic of Poetry use rhetorical devices such as enumeration, evocative images, and comparisons to convey images from daily life of an ancient, farming society. Puchner indicates that “centuries of commentary and interpretation have accrued around it, adding to its meaning and significance and endowing the simple scenes in the poems with moral or political purpose” (756). Endorsement by Confucius led to the anthology becoming foundational to a comprehensive education. Analysis of “Fishhawk,” one of the 305 poems included in the anthology, offers insight into the effectiveness of Classic of Poetry for teaching rhetoric, morals, and virtues.
“Fishhawk” tells a story of a man’s desire for a maiden. The first
stanza establishes the idea of courtship through the song of the birds, and the
image of the maiden, “fit pair for a prince” (4). Social status is introduced
with the prince, but the status of the maiden is unclear. The second stanza suggests
she is from a lower social class, and gathers watercress along the river. Repetition
of the third line of each stanza: “Gentle maiden, pure and fair” reinforces the
growing desire of the man who thinks of her day and night. Music, a symbol of
courtship, begins the poem, and ends the last lines of the last two
stanzas: “with harps we bring her company / …with bells and drums do her
delight” (16, 20). Owen suggests “watercress picking should be a parallel to
the nobleman picking his mate: reach down and pick it up, as easily as birds
find their mates” (42). However, it is not that easy for the man. “There is a
deferment of desire and attainment, out of which comes a tossing back and forth
that echoes the gathering on either side” (Owen 43). “Fishhawk” uses comparison
of the birds to humans, and of the elite to the common. The simplicity of birds
choosing a mate and of people harvesting watercress are in direct contrast to
the difficulty in human courtship. Morality and virtue can be seen through the
purity of the maiden, repeated throughout the poem.
Puchner indicates the Mao Commentary imbued this and other poems in the anthology with “specific moral and historical significance” (758). The Commentary established “Fishhawk” as praising the king’s consort for not being jealous when he took a new consort. Puchner suggests this “counterintuitive reading of the poem established “Fishhawk” as a model of exemplary female behavior for all times and embedded it in the history of the early Zhou kings” (758). Thus, the poem became a tale of history, as well as an example of virtuous female behavior.
Even without the historical view offered by the Mao Commentary, poems like “Fishhawk” are effective tools for teaching rhetoric with multiple rhetorical devices operating within a given poem. Themes of morality and virtue are evident through images of nature juxtaposed with images of humans, suggesting opportunities for comparison.
Works Cited
“Fishhawk.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Edited by Martin Puchner,
Shorter 3rd ed., vol. 1, W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. pp. 759-760.
Owen, Stephen. “The Lessons of
the Feng.” cccp.uchicago.edu/archive/2009BookOfOdesSymposium/2009_BookOfOdesSymposium_StephenOwen.pdf.
Puchner, Martin. “Classic of
Poetry: ca. 1000-600 B.C.E.” The Norton
Anthology of World Literature. Edited by Martin Puchner, Shorter 3rd
ed., vol. 1, W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. pp. 756-759.
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