Poetry: a literary genre with a certain rhythm and rhythm, expressing the author's rich feelings with highly concise language and images, and focusing on social life.
It has the following four characteristics: (1) The content of poetry is the most concentrated reflection of social life. (2) Poetry is full of emotion and imagination. (3) The poetic language is characterized by conciseness, image, harmonious tone and distinct rhythm. (4) In form, poetry is not based on sentences, but on behavior, and its branches are mainly based on rhythm, not meaning.
brief introduction
Poetry is a lyrical literary genre. Mao's Preface to Poetry says: "Poets have their own aspirations. Have ambition in your heart and speak like a poem. " Yan Yu's Poems on Canglang in the Southern Song Dynasty said that "poets chant temperament". There is only one art expressed in words: poetry.
In ancient China, unhappy people were called poems and happy people were called songs. In modern times, they are generally called poems. It expresses social life and people's spiritual world according to certain syllables and rhythms. The origin of poetry can be traced back to ancient times. There are related documents in Yu Shun period. The Book of Songs is China's first collection of poems, which is said to have been compiled by Confucius. There is still debate on this issue in academic circles. China's ancient poetry experienced the development of Yuefu, Tang Poetry, Song Poetry and Yuan Qu in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. "History of rites and music": "If you have an indissoluble bond with your relatives, you will come from poetry and Zhong Shi will sing the strings." Yue's Diary of Han Ji Hui is a poem. Han Yu's Preface to Poems in Yunzhou Xitang in the Tang Dynasty: "Although the works of the four ponds are said to have words but no poems, they connect the people of the country with Tao and do not attract public morality." Wang Ming Chang's Zhen Ze Chang Yu Official System: "The Hanlin in Tang and Song Dynasties is a very deep and strict place with many poets." Lu Xun's Letter to Dou: "Although there are two kinds of poems, the latter is better." "Suixian Literature and History Materials Yuan's Land Garden": "Yuan's land garden is in Mingfengmen ... On good days, scholars and celebrities from the state gather here. The poem recited later became a picture album called "Penglai Jisheng". "
origin
In ancient times, when information technology was underdeveloped, it was very inconvenient for people to transmit information from one area to another, so they compiled the written poems into songs and the poems came from people's mouths. Poetry originated from ancient social life, which is a rhythmic and emotional language form due to labor production, sex and primitive religion. "Shangshu Yu Shu" records: "Poetry expresses ambition, song expresses Tao, sound is eternal, law and harmony." "Book of Rites and Music" records: "Poetry expresses ambition; Song, chanting its voice; Dance, move its capacity; The three are based on the heart, and then the instrument follows it. " In the early days, poetry, song, music and dance were integrated. Poetry is the lyrics. In actual performances, it is always sung with music and dance. Later, poetry, song, music and dance developed independently and became independent adults. Distinguish songs from poems by entering music or not. Music is a song, but poetry is not. Poetry is a kind of language art, which is differentiated from songs, and songs are a kind of music literature with a long history. The Book of Songs is sung with music. Technically, it is a song. Because of this, The Book of Songs is regarded by scholars as a symbol of the maturity of China's music literature.
Poetry is the oldest and most literary style, which comes from ancient labor songs (later developed into folk songs) and sacrificial eulogy. Poetry used to be a general term for poetry and songs, and poetry combined with music and dance was called poetry. China's poems have a long history and rich heritage, such as The Book of Songs, Songs of the South, Han Yuefu and the works of countless poets. European poetry originated from Homer and Sappho in ancient Greece, Virgil and Horace in ancient Rome.
develop
The Book of Songs → Chu Ci → Han Fu → Han Yuefu Poems → Folk Songs in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (represented by Jian 'an Seven Sons) → Tang Poetry → Song Poetry → Song Yuan → Ming and Qing Poetry → Modern Poetry and New Poetry.
trait
Poetry is full of the author's thoughts, feelings and rich imagination. The language is concise and vivid, with distinct rhythm, harmonious phonology and rich musical beauty. Sentences are generally in rows, paying attention to the beauty of structure and form.
He Qifang, a modern poet and literary critic in China, once said: "Poetry is the literary style that most strongly reflects social life. It is full of rich imagination and feelings, and it is often expressed in a direct lyrical way. Moreover, in the degree of exquisiteness and harmony, especially in the distinct rhythm, its language and prose are different. " This definition summarizes several basic characteristics of poetry: first, it reflects life in a highly concentrated and general way; The second is lyrical expression, full of rich thoughts and feelings; Third, rich imagination, association and fantasy; Fourth, language has musical beauty.
technique of expression
There are many ways to express poetry. The traditional way of expression that was first popular in China and is still often used today is "Fu, Bi and Xing". "Preface to Mao Poetry" said: "Therefore, poetry has six meanings: one is wind, the other is fu, the third is comparison, the fourth is pride, the fifth is elegance and the sixth is fu." In the meantime, there is a quatrain called: "Three lights, the sun, the moon and the stars, and four poems are elegant." In the six meanings, "style, elegance and praise" refers to the types of poems in the Book of Songs, and "Fu, Bi and Xing" are the expressions in poems. Fu: It is a way to express things directly. Zhu, a scholar in the Song Dynasty, said in the Notes on Poems: "The giver must tell the truth." For example, Ge Tan and Slug in The Book of Songs used this technique. Bobby: It's a figurative way to describe things and express thoughts and feelings. Liu Xie said in "Wen Xin Diao Long Bi Xing": "And what is Bi Ye? Cover things with attachments and threaten to cut them off. " Zhu said, "If you compare, you can compare this thing with another." For example, books in The Book of Songs, such as Cats and Storytelling, are written in this way. Xing: It's a way to make things interesting, that is, to use the beginning of things to describe things and express thoughts and feelings. In the Tang Dynasty, Confucius said in "Mao Shi Zheng Yi": "Those who get the Tao are happy. Take the metaphor as an example. Those who quote plants, birds and beasts in poetry and prose are happy. " Zhu pointed out more clearly: "If you are interested, you should say something else first to arouse the words you are reciting." For example, Guan Ju [3] and Yao Tao in The Book of Songs are the manifestations of "Xing". These three methods of expression have been handed down all the time, and they are often used comprehensively and complement each other, which has a great influence on poetry creation in past dynasties. There are many forms of expression of poetry, which are constantly developing and creating since ancient times, and their application is also flexible, exaggerated, repetitive, overlapping, jumping and so on. It's hard to describe. However, all methods are inseparable from imagination. Rich imagination is not only a major feature of poetry, but also the most important form of expression of poetry. In poetry, there is also an important technique of expression, which is symbol. Symbol simply means "symbolic meaning", but in modern poetry, symbol is the direct image of the soul and should be paid attention to. From a modern point of view, there are three main ways to create images in poetry:
similar
Liu Xie said in the book Wen Xin Diao Long: Metaphor is "either a sound metaphor, a figurative metaphor, a mental metaphor or a metaphor." There are many examples in the poems we listed before. There is also a more commonly used technique, that is, "personification": personification with things or personification with people. The former is like Xu Zhimo's Farewell to Cambridge: I left gently/just as I came gently; /I waved gently,/saying goodbye to the clouds in the western sky. /the golden willow by the river,/the bride in the sunset; /Beautiful shadows in the waves,/rippling in my heart. Treat "clouds" and "golden willows" as people. People imitate things, for example, Love's Because of the Wind: ... My heart/as bright as the candlelight in your window/slightly ambiguous/inevitable/because of the wind/... with the love of my life/light a lamp/I am a fire/may go out at any time/because of the wind. Compare "my heart" to candlelight, and compare me to a lamp. Of course, in the final analysis, the essence is "personification".
exaggerate
It is to enlarge the things to be described, just like the "capitalization" and "close-up" shots in the movie, to attract readers' attention and association. Li Bai's Peach Blossom Pond is deeper than thousands of feet, so it is not as good as Wang Lun (for Wang Lun), "Flying down three thousands of feet, suspecting that the Milky Way will fall for nine days" (Looking at Lushan Waterfall), in which "deep thousands of feet" and "three thousands of feet" are mentioned, although it is not true, the image he created vividly shows the characteristics of things and expresses the poet's passion, which is not only acceptable to readers. However, this exaggeration must be artistic and aesthetic, not too absurd, not too real, and not too vulgar. Limerick is a special form of street literature. For example, there is a jingle describing the bumper harvest of cotton: "A cotton bag/truck head stuck/stuck, three feet high/like an anti-aircraft gun." After reading it, people feel unreal and can't feel good.
Metonymy and other rhetorical devices
Is to replace that thing with this thing. Similar to analogy, but different. The difference lies in: analogy is generally compared, and comparison is concrete and visible; Metonymy is concrete on the one hand and abstract on the other, which bridges the gap between concrete and abstract, makes the image of poetry more vivid and prominent, and arouses readers' association. This is what Ai Qing said, "Put wings on your thoughts, put clothes on your feelings, color your voice, and let the dead solidify." To shape the image of poetry, we should not only use the materials taken from perspective to describe the picture, but also use the materials obtained from the senses such as hearing and touch to reflect the image in many ways, so as to be vivid and novel. Jia Dao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, rode on a donkey and sang "Birds by the pool stay in the trees, and monks push the door down on the moon", but he also thought that "monks knock on the door down on the moon" could be used. He couldn't decide whether to "push" or "knock", so he made a consultation with his hand. Unexpectedly, the donkey blocked a big official's way. This man is Han Yu, a great writer. Jia Dao told him the truth when the guards led him to the horse. Han Yu pondered for a long time and said that he would knock. Because there is a "knock" sound, there are one or two knocks on the door on the moonlit night in the mountains, which makes the scene "live" and makes the environment more silent. The above-mentioned "five bodies" and "bell" in a night berth near Fengqiao are also the crowning touch of this poem. There is also the music description in Bai Juyi's "Pipa Story", which is even more vivid and wonderful. Modern, such as Huang Helang's "Morning Song": "There is also a stubborn listening/wind, rain, waves/faint/dawn/morning bell of Lingquan Temple/like a gushing spring/distant response/faint knocking down/a few sparse stars/cock crowing/as if crossing the ocean/cock crowing/like the tide. This poem is also well written. Therefore, if we master the skills of creating images with sound, it will open up a broader field for poetry creation. Whether metaphor, exaggeration or metonymy depends on the poet's keen observation of objective things, his own feelings, bold imagination and even fantasy. It can be said that neither romance nor reality is a poet without imagination (fantasy). For example, Li Bai, who is famous for his boldness, has rich imagination and magnificent poetic style, while Du Fu, who is famous for his realism, also wrote, "When did you suddenly see this house in front of you?" ("The hut was blown by the autumn wind") and "She is fragrant and foggy, and her jade shoulders are cold. When can we lie on the screen again and look at the bright light and stop crying? . "(Moonlit Night) and so on.