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Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man and On the Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man two

works of Ouyang Xiu bear a lot of similarities and differences between them. One of the main

similarities that emerge is the tone applied in the two works. The author utilizes a humorous,

playful tone in the poem. For instance, he states that his admiration of nature was inborn and was

not due to the effect of alcohol although being in the state of inebriation did boost his passion

(Owen 613). In the second stanza of his poem, Xiu makes a humorous statement by claiming that

he prefers to stay oblivious of everything when he is in a state of inebriation, hence does not

even recall his age (Owen 685). This is a hilarious statement.

The plot of the prose and the poem are also similar in that they both follow the same path

of the author as he enjoys the delights of the natural world. He mentions the winding streams, the

winds and the birds amid his drunkenness. He elucidates how he always takes his alcoholic drink

with him in the poem (Owen 685). In the prose, he explains that he enjoys sight-seeing while

drunk and sometimes even passes out as a consequence of the wine (Owen 613).

The setting of the poem and the prose are the same whereby they are set in the Chi-zhou

mountain ranges where the author interacts with birds, streams and wild vegetation. Xiu presents

the context of the mountains and the relationship they have with other features such as rivers and

the wildlife especially birds. He describes the birds in the prose by pointing out that the birds
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usually sing for him as he leaves the forest. The poem captures the manner in which winds blow

across the cliffs at the banks of the river (Owen 685).

Imagery is also another element that has been applied in both the prose and poem.

Imagery appears in the poem when Xiu describes the appearance of the falling water as though it

were trickling from the sky. In the prose, the depiction of the sun settling beyond the mountains

and the shadows of the governors progression headed home creates a vivid image in the readers

thoughts (Owen 614).

One of the major differences between the two works by Xiu appears in their point of

view. The piece of prose employs the third person whereas the persona in the poem is the first

person e.g. the second stanza reads, when drunk I leave everything behind (Owen 685). The

prose verse consistently makes use of the article he and it is only at the end of the prose verse

that Xiu reveals his identity to be that of the governor described in the work (Owen 614).

Another evident difference between the two works is the brevity in which the poem is

written as opposed to the prose verse that contains relatively more details. The poem simply

touches on several issues whereas the prose verse goes further to describe several sceneries and

their context in detail. For instance, on the one hand, the poem barely touches on the wine

besides mentioning the persona usually takes it with him to the stream (Owen 613). On the other

hand, the prose verse delves into the ingredients of making the wine by revealing it is made from

pure waters of the stream (Owen 613).

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Works Cited

Owen, Stephen. "trans. 1996. An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911."