Fable of Fables
Nazim Hikmet was a poet, playwright novelist, and also the first modern poet from Turkey. Hikmet distinguished himself from the "syllabic poets" in concept and is considered one of the greatest international poets of the twentieth century. His poetry has been translated into more than fifty languages. In one of Hikmet’s famous poems, “Fable of Fables”, he uses many poetic devices throughout this poem. It tells a story of the narrator standing at a river looking at his or her reflection in the water. Towards the end of the poem, the reflections in the water start to disappear. The last image to disappear was the sun, indicating the world ending. Hikmet uses many poetic devices in the “Fable of Fables,” specifically, imagery, patterns, repetition, and allegory.
In “Fable of Fables,” Nazim Hikmet introduces the water imagery of the poem. Imagery is defined as “the use of vivid language to generate ideas and/or evoke mental images, not only of the visual sense, but of sensation and emotion as well” (“Poetic Devices”). He describes the beginning scene of the poem standing “at the source…” beside a river (1-2). He describes the river as the “source” which gives the reader a sense that water is the main element in this poem. The poem uses this quote throughout the poem to exemplify the importance of “the plane tree and I” (2). When he is at this water source he describes the sight of the water as “The water dazzle” (5). “The water-dazzle” gives the reader a good picture of what he is looking at. The water doesn’t just give off a sight of the sun, it also reflects multiple images. For example, “The water-dazzle/lights up the plane tree, me, the cat, the sun, and our lives” (24). As the poem ends Hikmet starts to see some of the images disappear, saying, “its image in the water will dissolve” (27). The images dissolve from descending order of least important to most important in our lives. He starts by saying “The cat will be the first to go…” (26) After the cat goes he “will go… then the plane tree… Then the river, the sun alone remaining, and then it, too, will go” (24-30). The image this creates for the reader is a symbol of the world coming to an end. As a cycle of life, animals will die before humans, humans will die before trees, trees will be gone before the rivers, and once the sun is gone, anything living on the earth will not survive.
Nazim Hikmet uses repetition throughout the poem. Repetition is defined as “the purposeful re-use of words and phrases for an effect” (“Poetic Devices”). Every stanza starts with “We stand at the source” (1). Hikmet uses a repetition to give us a consistent picture of what is happening in the poem. “Fable of Fables” uses repetition almost comparable to a diamond. For example, the repetition in the first four stanzas builds up to create the fifth and final stanza. The final line of the fourth stanza, “lights up the plane tree, me, the cat, and the sun, and our lives” (24) after Hikmet says this line the last stanza starts to repeat the words “go” (26) and “dissolve” (27). The buildup to the poem ends with everything dissolving in the water. Each of the five stanzas starts off with “we stand at the source” (1-21). The first four stanzas use repetition by adding a different word each time. In the middle of the first four stanzas Hikmet uses repetition by saying “our images reflect off the river. (3-5,9-11,15-17,21-23). Repetition in the poem is similar to the patterns used in the poem because both repetition and patterns build the poem to create the same image in the readers mind. Using repetition in the poem gives the reader the idea that nothing is changing in the scene of the poem; just different elements are being added to the picture.
This poem has hidden meanings of life. “Fable of Fables” builds up the story of Hikmet standing at a river looking at his reflection off the river. He uses allegories in his poem to illustrate the meaning of life. Allegories are a “representation of an abstract or spiritual place” (“Poetic Devices”). Hikmet uses the “river” (3) as the main symbol of the poem. The river is pictured in every stanza, showing the importance of it. “The water dazzles” (5) gives the reader
an image of how the river is reflecting their images. In the fourth stanza Hikmet adds all of the images building up throughout the poem. When “the water dazzles” (23) it “lights up the plane tree, me, the cat, the sun, and our lives” (24). All of these images give a spiritual meaning of life. Hikmet uses plants, humans, animals, the sun, and water to represent elements of life on this earth. As the poem ends Hikmet starts to use “dissolve” (26) and images start to dissolve from the poem. Each of the images dissolves from the “cat” (25) being first, to the “sun” (29). Hikmet gives the reader an awareness of how things die off as the world coming to an end.
Nazim Hikmet’s, “Fable of Fables” is a poem that exemplifies the circle of life. Through its imagery and meaningful words, Hikmet tells us how things in life come and go. The poem makes the reader imagine a situation where not all things last in life. “Fable of Fables” is a short moral story and is considered one of Hikmet best poems. Hikmet’s is considered one of the greatest international poets of his time. His poems have been translated in more than fifty languages. The most important element in this poem is the sun. Though it is only mentioned at the end of the poem, the sun is what is causing the reflection to dazzle of the water. The moral of the story is that life comes and goes, but as you are living right now you should enjoy the things around you.
Work Cited
Hikmet, Nazim. “Fable of Fables.” The Water and Culture Reader. Schubnell, Stampfl, Pryor, Perez, Clark, Swofford, Eds. South Lake: Fountainhead Press, 2010. 605-606. Print.
“All Poetry.” Fable of Fables 1999: 1. Web. 8 March. 1999.
Fable of Fables
We stand at the source,
the plane tree and I.
Our images reflect
off the river.
The water-dazzle
lights up the plane tree and me.
We stand at the source,
the plane tree, me, and the cat.
Our images reflect
off the river.
The water-dazzle
lights up the plane tree, me, and the cat.
We stand at the source,
the plane tree, me, the cat, and the sun.
Our images reflect
off the river.
The water-dazzle
lights up the plane tree, me, the cat, and the sun.
We stand at the source,
the plane tree, me, the cat, the sun, and our lives.
Our images reflect
off the river.
The water-dazzle
lights up the plane tree, me, the cat, the sun, and our lives.
We stand at the source.
The cat will be the first to go,
its image in the water will dissolve.
Then I will go,
my image in the water will dissolve.
Then the plane tree will go,
its image in the water will dissolve.
Then the river will go,
the sun alone remaining,
and then it, too, will go.
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