The pieces are written in a difficult and obscure style. It is not possible to focus on one interpretation to the exclusion of the alternative readings. "Secret Fragrance" is the more lucid of the two pieces. The blossom, which is explicitly mentioned in the third line, is not used as a metaphor for the woman but as an object that brings back memories of her to the speaker. Throughout the whole piece, the experiencing subject (the lyric speaker) and the experienced object (the blossom) remain distant, and the former is the agent that ties everything together. The strong personal tone of "Secret Fragrance" disappears in "Dappled Shadows." The lyric speaker has given way to the plum blossom in becoming the integrative force in this work. There is a multilayered symbolic framework centered on the material object in "Dappled Shadows." If "Secret Fragrance" is concerned with reminiscing of a woman from the perspective of the lyric speaker, "Dappled Shadows" is focused on the experience of seclusion and loneliness that find a symbolic embodiment in the plum blossom.

They are written in a difficult and obscure style. It is not possible to focus on one interpretation to the exclusion of the alternative readings. “Secret fragrance” is the more lucid of the two pieces. The blossom, which is explicitly mentioned in the third line, is not used as a metaphor for the woman but as an object that brings back memories of her to the speakers [should it be speaker---singular?]. Throughout the whole piece, the experiencing subject (the lyrics speaker) and the experienced object (the blossom) remain distant, and the former is the agent that ties everything together. The strong personal tone of “Secret Fragrance” disappears in “Dappled Shadows.” The lyric speaker [just "the speaker" or perhaps "the speaker of the song/poem"] has given way to the plum blossom in becoming the integrative force in this work. There is a multilayered symbolic framework centered on the material object here. If “Secret Fragrance” is concerned with the reminiscence of a woman from the perspective of the speaker, “Dappled Shadows” is focused on the experience of seclusion and loneliness that find a symbolic embodiment in the plum blossom.