Question

Which features of tanka appear in "The clustering clouds..." and "When I went to visit..."?

Answer 1

Answer:

Both poems capture a sad image in a natural setting.

Explanation:

A tanka is a poetry form that has five lines with unrhymed words. It is a traditional Japanese poetry form with the structure of five/seven/five/seven/seven syllables in the poem.

The poems "The clustering clouds..." by Minamoto no Toshiyori and Ki no Tsurayuki's "When I went to visit..." both have the qualities of a tanka. Both poems capture a sad image in a natural setting.

And a tanka is a traditional form, their English-translated version may differ in the number of lines or syllables. Therefore the focus should be on the imagery and emotion of the poem rather than the structure.