Kites and Wind

Trying to make sense of yesterday's poem

Kites and Wind

As annoying as going at a slow and deliberate pace might seem, there’s a reason why I’ve chosen to do this.

It allows us to dig a lot deeper into the poetry that we’re reading.

You see — the key to Dream of the Red Chamber is not the story, though the story is pretty interesting. It’s also not the characters, even though they’re described in a vivid and realistic style that is unforgettable.

No — the real key to the novel is the poetry.

And the problem is that we tend to skip through poetry as if it means nothing. It’s not just a problem with modern readers, either. We’re seeing this problem with scholars who translated this book into English.

Anyway, let’s jump in.