Shi Jing [Book of Odes], ca. 600 BCE

Running Head : Large Rats

The Large Rats : Analysis of a Poem from the Book of Odes

Name

Institution

Instructor

Subject

The Large Rats : Analysis of a Poem from the Book of Odes

An infamous line dropped by Spiderman says , With great powers , comes great responsibility ' Indeed , power and authority over others is something that should not only be used wisely but should also be employed with ardent concern . Shi Jing or the Book of Odes holds numerous poems that tackle this concept . One of these is Shuo Shu

translated into The Large Rats , an ode that came from the ancient State of Wei

Going through the poem , the readers may initially think that the verses talk of farmers that air their abhorrence of the large rats continuously pestering their harvests for three years in a row . However it should be noted that most of the ancient Chinese literature functions in ways recognized as Xing ' or to inspire , Guan to reflect , Qun to communicate , and Yuan to admonish (Wang , 1996 . Therefore the lyrics ' real theme may only be understood by delving deeper into its connotation . By analyzing the poem deeper , we may come to understand that The Large Rats is a poem that strikingly protests against the rulers and their tyranny during the time it was written

The three stanzas hold a constant thought and are almost identical except in a few altered words . The first verse says

Large rat , large rat

Eat no more millet we grow

Three years you...