atsumori commentary

Ian Hedstrom

Ms. Peifer

10IB Hour 5

5/5/09

Atsumori Commentary

Chorus: He bids the flowers of spring

Mount the treetop that men may raise their eyes

And walk on upward paths;

He bids the moon in autumn waves be drowned

In token that he visits laggard men

And leads them out from valleys of despair

Atsumori: now the clan of Taira building wall to wall,

Spread over the earth like leafy branches of a

Great tree:

Chorus: yet their prosperity lasted but for a day;

It was like the flower of the convolvulus

There was none to tell them

That glory flashes like sparks from flint-stone,

And after-darkness

Oh wretched, the life of men:

In Atsumori by Seami Motokiyo the overall theme is friendship and forgiveness. The author’s purpose of this selection is to describe the great power of Atsumori. This is achieved by using imagery, metaphor, simile, and characterization to describe him and what he can do.

When the chorus is talking about the clan of Taira’s prosperity they say, “that glory flashes like sparks from flint-stone” (Motokiyo 606). This shows that their glory is very brief. Motokiyo uses a simile to describe their glory. He compares the glory to the sparks from a flint-stone. “yet their prosperity lasted but for a day; it was like the flower of the convolvulus” (Motokiyo 606). This also shows how short the clans prosperity lasted. It uses a simile to compare their prosperity to the flower of a convolvulus.

The chorus talks about how powerful Atsumori is. “He bids the flowers in spring” (Motokiyo 606). This shows that he brings the flowers in spring so he must have a lot of power. “He bids the moon in autumn waves be drowned” (Motokiyo 606). This shows that he controls the moon in autumn and it causes the tides to change. He has a lot of power to be able to control all of those things in nature. “ He visits laggard men and leads them out from valleys of despair” (Motokiyo 606). This shows that he is a good leader and he leads people out of sadness and darkness. It shows that people must like him because they follow him and he helps them out. The author uses characterization and descriptive detail to describe Atsumori’s power. The whole first passage shows Atsumori’s strength and gives a description of some of the things that he does.

In Atsumori’s part he talks about how the clan of Taira is growing larger. “Now the clan of Taira building wall to wall, spread over the earth like leafy branches of a great tree” (Motokiyo 606). This shows the great size of the Taira clan. It shows that the clan is increasing in size and they are building too. It uses a simile to compare the size of the clan to a great tree’s leafy branch.

The theme of the selection is Atsumori and describing his great power. Another theme is the clan of Taira and its size and prosperity. In the selection the author uses many similes and metaphors to describe these things. They also use descriptive detail and imagery.