Hi, Jessica,
The theme of purification is recurrent throughout the poetic travelogue as if Basho wanted to get rid of the burden of a life, albeit filled with material rewards that somehow corrupted is inner integrity. Indeed, the convulsive life of the outer world makes it arduous to find the way to enlightenment, to feel the connection with nature and its spirit. Also, the mountains refer to purification, a sort of rebirth, and a metaphoric journey through the challenges of the material world until one reaches a state of unity, as melted with the sacredness of nature. Not surprisingly Basho reaches his spiritual high point on the sacred
The theme of purification is recurrent throughout the poetic travelogue as if Basho wanted to get rid of the burden of a life, albeit filled with material rewards that somehow corrupted is inner integrity. Indeed, the convulsive life of the outer world makes it arduous to find the way to enlightenment, to feel the connection with nature and its spirit. Also, the mountains refer to purification, a sort of rebirth, and a metaphoric journey through the challenges of the material world until one reaches a state of unity, as melted with the sacredness of nature. Not surprisingly Basho reaches his spiritual high point on the sacred