He Had Such Quiet Eyesby Bibsy Soenharjo

The poet

The poem

About the poet….

• Bibsy, reciting one of her poems.

• Born in Jakarta on 22 December 1928.• Father : Haji Agus Salim• Mother: Zainatun Nahar Nee

Almatsier• Stayed in Japan for 4 years.• Began writing in 1957• Her poems were translated into

English, Japanese and Dutch.

Poet’s Trivia

He Had Such Quiet EyesBibsy SoenharjoHe had such quiet eyesShe did not realizeThey were two pools of liesLayered with thinnest iceTo her, those quiet eyesWere breathing desolate sighsImploring her to be niceAnd to render him paradiseIf only she'd been wiseAnd had listened to the adviceNever to compromiseWith pleasure-seeking guysShe'd be free from "the hows and whys"Now here's a bit of adviceBe sure that nice really means niceThen you'll never be losing at dice Though you may lose your heart once or twice1968

Stanza 1• She was hypnotized by the emptiness

look in his eyes, because of that she feels obligated to be nice to him, exactly the effect that he intended. In being nice to him, obviously, she’ll do anything that he asked, in order to make him happy.This poem brings out the concept of the power of the eyes and how, since ages and ages ago (this poem is written in 1968) up till today, Casanovas all around the world are still using the same old trick and women, all over the world still fall for it.

• “Two pools of lies layered with the thinnest ice” means that the man eyes is very deceiving, deep, calm but dangerous, just like a pool in winter. It may look inviting and peaceful to see a still lake, but when you try to walk on the thin ice, it will break and you will drown in the icy cold water.

• Another connection was the term “Eyes are windows to the soul” thus here, the icy eyes shows that the man have a cold, ruthless heart, ready to gobble up gullible woman. The eyes also quiet (stealthy/underlying intention/udang sebalik mee) and imploring (domineering/controlling/powerful)

Second Stanza• Young woman are too gullible, naïve and easily

influenced especially concerning with love and emotions.

• Thus, the advice was NEVER to compromise with the wrong guys who have a powerful art of seduction that will entangle the woman in its webs for a long time. And the man with this knowledge will not only suck the woman dry emotionally, but also physically, financially and then toss her aside, useless, broken and valueless…

Last Stanza• “Nice mean nice” means the man should

have no hidden intention. Only truthful and honest.

• “Then you'll never be losing at dice” means if the woman is smart, she will not hurt herself in this love game.

• “Though you may lose your heart once or twice” means that having a broken heart is something you might face in a relationship. But it is better to have a broken heart than loose a girl’s most precious belonging- her dignity….

Rhyme Scheme• Let's look at the RHYMING SCHEME:

a,a,a,a... Yes, the rhyming scheme is uniformed throughout the whole poem. It is verbally beautiful. The uniformed rhymes gives life to the poem. Just by reading aloud, even without instruction, the poem would still sound interesting.

Literary Elements• Okay, let's settle the LITERARY ELEMENTS. Let's

do it in a checklist form: metaphor :

"two pools of lies" is the metaphor for the eyes symbolism :

"thinnest ice". I personally view it as a symbolism of a heartless man or a cold blooded "hunter", who would harbor no feelings at all towards his victims.

simile : none

personification :

( Note: Personification is giving human quality to inanimate object.)

a) quiet eyes: the eyes are given the quality 'quiet‘.b) breathing desolate sighs: the eyes are portrayed

here as 'breathing'

assonance : none

alliteration : none