Poems from the Tale of Genji

Poems from The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu This romantic novel, set in eleventh-century Japan, tells about the career and loves of Prince Genji. It contains many love poems which are full of metaphors. These were a customary way for lovers to exchange messages to describe their feelings figuratively.

At the sound of the wind, bringing dew, I think of the tender clover upon the moor.

In the sky, as birds that share a wing, On earth, as trees that share a branch.

Because of one chance meeting by the wayside, The flower now opens in the evening dew.

My mountain door of pine has opened briefly To see a radiant flower not seen before.


Sad are the insect songs among the reeds. More sadly yet falls the dew from the clouds.

Weak as the spider’s thread upon the reeds, The dew-drenched reeds of autumn, I blow with the winds.

Are you hidden like the grasses at full tide, That so often I sigh for you, so seldom see you?

Till the autumn tempests come to scatter the flowers – So brief your thoughts of her.

We shall not forget how deep is the sea When the waves have washed away old tracks.

My interest in The Tale of Genji stems from its poetic language, not its adult story. In literary history, The Tale of Genji is noted as the first Japanese novel. The story line follows the amorous career of the fictional Prince Genji, son of a concubine in the imperial court. It was written by Murasaki Shikibu (ca. 973-1025), a lady of the Heian Court. Her father was a well known scholar and provincial governor in the Fujiwara family. Murasaki was married for a short time and had one daughter. Both the death of her husband and her great talent brought her to court. At this time she kept a diary which described court life, and wrote The Tale of Genji.

My 7th grade sometimes reads Of Nightingales That Weep by Katherine Paterson. Like The Tale of Genji, this novel is set in the luxurious imperial court, at a similar although slightly later time, the Gempei War of 1180-1185. I like to extend the metaphorical love poems in Nightingales with those of Murasaki.

OBJECTIVE:
Use of metaphors to describe emotions

MATERIALS:
Of Nightingales That Weep by Katherine Paterson.
Poems from The Tale of Genji
Video (such as "Earthdance" by Bob Talbot Productions, Palos Verdes, CA) showing scenes from nature, musical background, no speech.

PROCEDURE:
Interpret metaphors in the poems (e.g. “tender clover” = sensitive girl).
Brainstorm other natural images (e.g. sun = joy, fire = anger, etc.).
On projector, brainstorm to extend a metaphor into a couplet or haiku.
Play video for inspiration while students compose metaphorical poems.