Song of Everlasting Sorrow Protagonist Analysis | Generated by AI
Question: Who is the main figure whose emotions are primarily depicted in the poem “Song of Everlasting Sorrow” (《长恨歌》)?
A. Yang Guifei (杨贵妃)
B. Li Bai (李白)
C. Du Fu (杜甫)
D. Bai Juyi (白居易)
Answer:
The correct answer is A. 杨贵妃 (Yang Guifei / Yang Yuhuan).
《长恨歌》 is a famous long narrative poem written by Bai Juyi (白居易) during the Tang Dynasty. Although Bai Juyi is the author (ruling out D), the poem mainly describes the deep and tragic love between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (唐玄宗) and Yang Guifei (杨贵妃), and especially focuses on the emperor’s everlasting regret and sorrow (“长恨”) after Yang Guifei’s death during the An Lushan Rebellion.
The central emotional thread of the poem is the emperor’s longing and grief for Yang Guifei, but because Yang Guifei is the female protagonist and the direct cause/object of this “everlasting regret,” the poem is widely understood to primarily depict her story and the emotions surrounding her — especially her beauty, her tragic fate, and the emperor’s undying love and pain after losing her.
- Li Bai (B) and Du Fu (C) are both great Tang poets, but they have no direct connection to this poem’s content.
- Bai Juyi (D) is the poet who wrote it, not the subject of its emotions.
So while the emperor’s “long regret” is the title’s literal meaning, the figure most centrally portrayed and whose life & fate drive the emotion of the poem is Yang Guifei.
Correct answer: A. 杨贵妃
References:
- https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/长恨歌
- Standard Chinese high-school literature curriculum (《长恨歌》教学内容)