One page reflection on nature in Bashō’s journals

As preparation for class discussion, and also as preparation for your paper on Bashō, you will write a brief, one-page analysis of nature in one passage in Bashō’s journals. The focus is not Bashō’s vision of nature in general; this is to be a close analysis of a single passage. The passage can include a hokku, but it does not have to.

It is important to begin with questions to ask about the passage. For instance,

• How is nature presented in this passage?
• What images are used, and what effect do they have?
• What is the structure of the passage, and what effect does that have?
• What atmosphere or mood is evoked?
• What aesthetic and/or spiritual experience does bashō have?
• What is bashō’s relationship to nature in the passage?
• What themes involved? For instance, are the themes of journey, loneliness, joy, or death involved? If so how? If not, what others are?
• What is the sense of beauty involved?

You will not be able to ask all of these questions, and there may be other questions more appropriate for the passage. The key is to have your analysis animated by questions.

The reflection should be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins, Times New Roman 12 point, and it should show excellence in writing skills (grammar, spelling, sentence and paragraph construction, etc.).

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