t e t ra s y l l a biC Sh i P oe t ry : The B o ok of P oeT ry 19nunciation) of the rhymes in lines 1–5 and 7. It is as if the singer is so focused on
explaining her motives to hold off her lover that she forgets to vary the rhyme. If
we could imagine a performance of this poem, there would be the potential for
the singer to elongate the final syllables in lines 1 (a vowel-ending participle), 6,
and 8 (both -er rhymes followed by vowel-ending participles). The contrast of these
lengthy final syllables to the preceding staccato, consonant-rhymed lines suggest
Zhong Zi’s halting (on the syllables ending in stops), then gliding to gain increas-
ing proximity toward his beloved in the held-vowel endings. This effect might be
enhanced by the singer’s perspective: her eyes look out over the entire hamlet in
lines 1–3, then seem to turn to glance toward her family in lines 5–8. The per-
former might even choreograph her movements to suggest this change in point
of view, first facing the audience, then slowly half turning her back on them in the
final lines of the stanza.
Yet this is all very cerebral. The singer does not tell us what she sees, and we
readers (or original listeners) can put the scene together only indirectly from her
admonitions to Zhong Zi: in the distance, the hamlet wall and willows; closer, the
wall around her family compound and the mulberries; and, finally, in the fore-
ground, the hardwood trees on the border of the family garden.
The second stanza begins, as noted, with Zhong Zi now at the wall surrounding
her home. Traditional commentators make much of the significance of the three
trees the reader encounters, but the images’ intended effect may be simply to sug-
gest Zhong Zi’s ardor, since the trees that are closer to the persona are larger and
more of a barrier: from supple willow to denser mulberry to hardwood. As the dis-
tance between Zhong Zi and the singer is narrowed, the effect of his visit widens,
going beyond the parents (of the first stanza) to include all the singer’s brothers in
the second stanza. The rhyme incidence (or frequency) is still heavy, restricting the
action and thereby maintaining the suspense: Will Zhong Zi reach the singer or
not? By moving from the monotonous rhyme scheme (aaaxbxb) in the first stanza
to a slightly more lively one in the second (xccxcbxb), the intended effect may be to
suggest an end to the singer’s repetitive reverie.
The third stanza brings Zhong Zi yet closer to the persona (and the reader).
Perhaps since we can see him only through his lover’s eyes, there is no physical
description of Zhong Zi. Of more importance is his increasing proximity, not his
appearance. Rather than a marriage partner, as in “Tao yao,” here we have an ag-
gressive suitor whose sexuality is the main concern. Now he is perhaps only a few
feet away from the singer. In this scenario, she speaks no more of family (father,
mother, or brothers), who might want to protect her from such a liaison, but of the
neighbors, who will want to gossip about her. Through this change of emphasis
from family to outsiders, she suggests that the “embraceable” Zhong Zi is sure to
live up to his epithet. They will become the couple Mengzi (Mengzi, 3B.3) decries
who “climb walls to be with each other” and thus will be despised by their parents
and the people of their state. Their lovemaking seems inevitable. The trees are not
luxuriant and colorful, as in “Tao yao,” but in danger of being damaged, as is the
persona.