Week 5 Analysis: Basho's Traveling

Close Reading on Basho (616-628)
Throughout the story, Basho is traveling the world and each place he comes across to, he writes a detailed poetic poem about his experience. His poems are like diary entries and there's one specific poem he wrote that stood out to me. The lines are:
"for them, each day a journey, travel their home.
Many, too, are the ancients who perished on the road.
Some years ago, seized by wanderlust, I wandered among the shores
of the sea" (617).
Each day traveling is a new journey. Each journey he takes is home to him. He's constantly on the move and doesn't have a permanent residence to reside at. The act of traveling fulfills Basho's inner peace and makes home wherever he finds shelter along his journey. But to argue this statement, it sounded like Basho was sometimes complaining about his journey. For example, he did get very ill and sick due to the harsh weather conditions he went through when climbing mountains. Basho had his ups and downs while traveling but that's all apart of the package deal when traveling and Basho was just writing down his observations along the way. He also complained at some of the places he stayed at. On page 623, he says, "For three days , the wind and rain were severe, forcing us to stay in the  middle of a boring mountain." He then writes the poem:

"Fleas, lice-
a horse passes water
by my pillow"
Basho seemed a bit contradicting because he seemed to complain about traveling, but he still continued his long journey, so did it make him happy? Did he do it because it made him feel at peace? At the end of the passage, he gets up and goes on another adventure and gets on another boat even though he wasn't fully healed from his last adventure. He seemed to always be on the go regardless what the outcome was going to be from it. I guess the whole point of Basho's observations and experiences is to show the real beauty and harsh conditions that come with traveling. He reveals the good and the bad.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 1, 2018 at 9:39 AM

    Hi Alissa,
    I did a close reading on this passage as well, specifically the first poem you cited. We had a lot of the same thoughts! The line that quickly caught my eye was the one that read, “each day a journey, travel their home” (617). Specifically, the wording “travel their home.” I have always been a big fan of traveling and make it a goal to travel much much more, so I think this is why this line stood out to me. I also noted that Basho seemed contradicting in his writing, somewhat excited to travel but also complaining. Great overall post!

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  2. UnknownMarch 4, 2018 at 10:59 PM

    Hey Alissa,
    I believe I did a close reading on the same story as you and I used the first piece of text that you used in your post because it was really interesting to me. I wondered if he wrote it at the exact beginning of his journey or just at a random point when the thought came into his head. Anyway I appreciate your organization in the close reading it is really easy to follow and you chose great quotes.

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  3. UnknownMarch 19, 2018 at 11:08 AM

    Hey Alissa. I agreed with your analysis of the first poem you quoted. "Seized by wanderlust" makes it clear that his desire to travel led him to explore as opposed to having an actual need to go somewhere else. As for the fleas and lice, I think he learned to accept that not all of his travels are ideal and some might be unpleasant compared to others but he still finds enjoyment in all of his travels either way.

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