Drinking Alone in The Moonlight Bases

Review of “Drinking Alone With The Moon” by Li Bai
“Drinking Alone under the Moon” is one of Li Bai’s signature poetries which deal
with the ancient social custom of drinking. It is deemed to be a big social faux pas if one
drinks alone. In this particular poem, the egoistic poet speaker creates his own
companions: the moon and his shadow, but both seem reluctant companions and what the
poem leaves you with is a sense of despair and deep set loneliness (Columbia Education,
2014). Li Bai’s poetry generally contains landscape wherein the poet speaker converses
with his surroundings, much like the British Romantic poet Wordsworth (John Derbyshire,
2014). This poem exemplifies the essential characteristics of Chinese poetry: a
spontaneous expression of oneself which is so powerful that it takes over the poet and the
reader.
The poem
From a pot of wine among the flowers
I drank alone. There was no one with me —
Till, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon
To bring me my shadow and make us three.
Alas, the moon was unable to drink
And my shadow tagged me vacantly;
But still for a while I had these friends
To cheer me through the end of spring….
I sang. The moon encouraged me.
I danced. My shadow tumbled after.
As long as I knew, we were boon companions.
And then I was drunk, and we lost one another.
…Shall goodwill ever be secure?
I watch the long road of the River of Stars.

Insights of the Poem
The poem begins with a feeling of deep set pessimism and negativity felt by the
poet-speaker. He alliterates “From a pot of wine among the flowers I drank alone. There was
no one with me…” to portray the intensity of the negative emotions he feels. But he does not
speak solely of his own feelings but the emotions felt by mankind in general. This grief and
‘pangs’ of being alone are felt by all human beings. There is a continuous flow of sorrow
that forces him to question the divine power above the moon. He asks for relief from the
moon; he asks for companionship which he does not get as the “moon is unable to drink”
with him. When will he be relieved of all this sorrow and suffering? He searches for comfort
and compares the vacancy of him and his shadow to a happier and more cheerful world of
the olden days:“But still for a while I had these friends/ To cheer me through the end of
spring…” The sources of relief never come and the search abruptly ends. Sorrow hammers
itself into the poet and poet literally plunges into deep sadness. Loneliness, here, is
personified in the form of the poet’s own shadow that haunts him and sometimes even
leaves him. It is brief and forceful unlike the intense emotions felt by the poet. He,
unnaturally, clings on to sorrow and grief despite it truly being a fleeting phase. “My
shadow tumbled after” emphasizes the unmotivated spirit of the poet who is unable to find
happiness.
As the poem progresses, he uses metaphors to compare his sad surroundings. He

alludes to the shadows of the mind that human beings cannot comprehend but experiences
the loneliness deeply. While he drinks alone, he tries to find companionship through his
immediate surroundings. However, one hangs from these shadow companions waiting to
fall further into unhappiness. As for those who do hang from these shadows, they cannot
cling on for too long. The poet furiously clings on to the feeling and plunges deeper and
further and finally falls, metaphorically, into death.
As long as I knew, we were boon companions.

And then I was drunk, and we lost one another.
It is the greatest fall that one faces; to realize in one’s drunken stupor that one has
only oneself to be with. This is the ultimate despair and sadness. It is the final fall that man
can take and nothing intensifies the feeling of sorrow further than death. It is almost like
the cycle of life and death. But the picture of life is not a positive and happy one. It is filled
with pessimism, negativity and the intense feeling of despair. And by death the feeling is
only further intensified. Li Bai calls himself a wretch. He looks for comfort but finds none;
death and despair lay ahead. And everyday is wasted in search for this comfort. Sleep is like
death, every day ends with despair and slumber till death truly takes over at the final fall.
He questions if “…Shall goodwill ever be secure?”
Conclusion
The emotional anguish is externalized by the physical landscape of the moon. Grief
is almost a physical entity that man clings on to for dear life like shadows hanging from the
moon. The poet expresses his anguish and unnaturally clings on to it till the end. He refuses
to let go despite his search for comfort and release. The internal emotions are externalized
and it is almost chaotic and violent like the external world. Perhaps the external world is
the reason for his anguish and he vents this by comparing it to external moon landscape,
his mind holds on to the feeling till the end. He ends the poem with the image of a day
ending with watching the sky: “River of stars.”
https://www.projectguru.in/review-drinking-alone-moon-li-bai/
Li Po’s “Drinking Alone Beneath the Moon” celebrates spring, drinking wine, and achieving
spiritual awareness. Li Po himself was notorious for his consumption of wine, heralding it
as creative inspiration for all of his artistic endeavors. In the poem, Li Po takes readers
through a series of claims that favor wine, giving it divine qualities and the blessing of the
heavens and earth. Translated by David Hinton into English, this version features playful
couplets and engaging metaphors to portray wine as a miraculous drink that gives the
imbiber company and enjoyment. However, careful readers may notice where the speaker’s
joy could be portrayed as an indication of loneliness or excessive drinking. We are left
wondering whether drinking wine serves as a metaphor for living life to its fullest, beyond
the confines of rigid doctrine, or whether the poet himself was simultaneously praising and
admonishing his own habit. Ultimately, the poem takes us on a journey from the physical to
the spiritual—incorporating themes of joy, loneliness, and spiritual understanding—
leaving us to consider our own relationships with each.
https://prezi.com/xk8gkamllg4f/drinking-alone-under-the-moon/

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Review of “Drinking Alone With The Moon” by Li Bai

As the poem progresses, he uses metaphors to compare his sad surroundings. He

As long as I knew, we were boon companions.

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