This poem is told from a first person point
of view, where the persona, reminisces her feeling of guilt, missing the
beautiful melody of the bamboo flute played by her beloved long ago. She later
questions and wonders if the flute is still being played now, as the village is
now under populated and the paddy field is in a deplorable state. She mentions
that, nowadays, relaxing and savoring the beauty of nature is a rare
luxury. In the final stanza, she questions for the third time, whether her
beloved is still playing the flute. This
time around, she admits that she couldn’t help but on the contrary, she feels guilty
to be thinking of their love at their difficult times. The hardships portrayed
here are unemployed young men, people disunited by politics and a ‘dying’ world.
Setting
The poem is set in a rural
Malay village, which is undergoing a change. It is a quiet and deserted village.
The paddy fields looked barren. Nevertheless, the ‘luxuries’, such as watching
the rain, gazing at the evening rays, collecting dew drops and enjoying the
fragrance of the flower, still exist in the rural.
Themes
·
Adapting to changes. This is inevitable. We need to adapt
to all kinds of social, economic and political changes. In this poem, the
flutist is aloof to changes happening around him.
·
Love and appreciate the arts.
·
Love and appreciate the arts.
Moral Values
·
Aware of your family
commitment.
Everyone
needs to take responsibility to the
changes that take place in life and act accordingly. The flutist does not
succumb to the changes around him. He clings on to his roots. He is not aware
of his family commitments. The persona, his former lover has progressed in life
while he still leads his conventional lifestyle.
·
Get your priorities
right.
Eg: Village nowadays is left quiet and deserted. Rice fields are
left barren, but the flutist continues to play his flute. He needs to realize there is time to
play and time to work. Hence, one must get his priorities right.
Literary Devices
·
Point of View
Written
in first person point of view
·
Structure
3
Stanzas (1st stanza- 9 lines; 2nd stanza – 8 lines; 3rd
stanza – 8 lines)
·
Rhyme Scheme
Free
Verse
Repetition
·
In this poem the question “Are you still playing your
flute?” is repeated three times.
Each time, the question is asked in a
different tone.
·
The word ‘my’ repeated in stanza 3, line 5-7. This
emphasises how the persona care for people who are close to her.
Personification: Portrays human suffering
·
‘the sick rice field’
·
‘this world is too old and bleeding’
Metaphor: sick rice field (stanza 2, line 3)
·
The word ‘sick’ is used to describe the rice field. This
gives us an idea that the rice field is barren.
Symbol
·
Flute is a symbol of solace or comfort.
Tone
·
First stanza, the persona is longing to hear her beloved
playing his flute.
·
Second stanza, nostalgic, when the persona recalls how
she used to enjoy the luxury of nature.
·
Third stanza, the persona sounds worried as she addresses
the violence that is taking place around her.
Diction is used to illustrate the persona’s
idea.
·
Stanza 1, line 1-9 explains how the music from the flute
by the flutist mesmerized the persona.
·
Stanza 2, line 2-8, the beauty of nature is emphasized.
Alliteration of the sound /f/
·
….fragrance of flowers
Language
and style
- Rhetorical question
- Descriptive and questioning
- Simple style and no rhyme
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