Analysis of Offering by Hilary Tham
OFFERING BY HILARY THAM
I came to you sunrise,
With silvery dew on sleeping lotus
Sparkling in my gay hands;
You put my flowers in the sun.
5 I danced to you at midday,
With bright raintree blooms
Flaming in my ardent arms;
You dropped my blossoms in the pond.
I crept to you at sunset,
10 With pale lilac orchids
Trembling on my uncertain lips;
You shredded my petals in the sand.
I strode to you at midnight,
With gravel hard and cold
15 Clenched in my bitter fists;
You offered me your hybrid orchids,
And crushed them in despair.
I have chosen the poem “Offering” by Hilary Tham from the anthologies “In-Sight-Malaysian Poem” as the poem that I would like to analyze. From reading the title, I have expected the poem to be about some offerings. The title is very short and it creates many questions in my mind. I am curious to know who is offering something to someone and for which reason. After reading the poem I know that the title ‘Offering’ gives a deeper meaning to this poem. I believe that Hilary Tham has managed to convey the issue on relationship with this poem. By reading this poem I now have a new perceptive on love and relationship.
Explication of the Poem
This poem dramatizes the theme of unreturned love, particularly as this theme relates to the pessimistic sacrifices of the persona. From this poem, the persona tells about one of his/her past personal experiences. The flow of words from the first stanza until the last stanza creates an atmosphere of tense, desperation and passion of the persona, who is trying to win the heart of whom he/she loves dearly. The poem records the change of mood and offerings of the persona according to different parts of the day. It is also the recording of a passage from hope to delusion. The use of Simple Past underlines that the relation between the two persons is completely finished. The different parts of the day resemble the phases of a love story that the persona has faced. The different settings and flowers used in each
I came to you sunrise,
With silvery dew on sleeping lotus
Sparkling in my gay hands;
You put my flowers in the sun.
5 I danced to you at midday,
With bright raintree blooms
Flaming in my ardent arms;
You dropped my blossoms in the pond.
I crept to you at sunset,
10 With pale lilac orchids
Trembling on my uncertain lips;
You shredded my petals in the sand.
I strode to you at midnight,
With gravel hard and cold
15 Clenched in my bitter fists;
You offered me your hybrid orchids,
And crushed them in despair.
I have chosen the poem “Offering” by Hilary Tham from the anthologies “In-Sight-Malaysian Poem” as the poem that I would like to analyze. From reading the title, I have expected the poem to be about some offerings. The title is very short and it creates many questions in my mind. I am curious to know who is offering something to someone and for which reason. After reading the poem I know that the title ‘Offering’ gives a deeper meaning to this poem. I believe that Hilary Tham has managed to convey the issue on relationship with this poem. By reading this poem I now have a new perceptive on love and relationship.
Explication of the Poem
This poem dramatizes the theme of unreturned love, particularly as this theme relates to the pessimistic sacrifices of the persona. From this poem, the persona tells about one of his/her past personal experiences. The flow of words from the first stanza until the last stanza creates an atmosphere of tense, desperation and passion of the persona, who is trying to win the heart of whom he/she loves dearly. The poem records the change of mood and offerings of the persona according to different parts of the day. It is also the recording of a passage from hope to delusion. The use of Simple Past underlines that the relation between the two persons is completely finished. The different parts of the day resemble the phases of a love story that the persona has faced. The different settings and flowers used in each