Modern Poetry: Emotion and Form

Author: Lan Dizhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-08-01
Features: In Greek mythology, the owl is the archetype of the goddess Athena; in Hegel's dictionary, it is the synonym for philosophical thought; and in the life world of Lu Xun, it is even a symbol of personal will. Lu Xun spent his entire life searching for the owl of China. Although he was not skilled in painting, he had depicted an owl's pattern. We have selected one of his depictions as the logo for the series. We yearn for wisdom and we pray for new voices. This is the origin of the "Owl Academic Series." This book interprets the outstanding achievements and traditions of modern and contemporary Chinese poetry, represented by poets such as Dai Wangshu, Bian Zhilin, Feng Zhi, Ji Xian, Ai Qing, Mu Dan, Shu Ting, Liu Shahe, and his predecessor Guo Moruo, on three levels. First, it offers brief interpretations of the texts, explores their deeper meanings, and attempts the method of "comprehensive explanation." Second, it grasps the entire creative context of the poets, emphasizing a comprehensive understanding based on textual interpretation, striving to identify the core of their creativity and some form of unity. Third, it accurately and convincingly summarizes the commonalities of poetic schools based on the individual characteristics of the poets, argues for the features of these schools, their relationship to the eras in which they emerged, and reveals the underlying ideological reasons behind them—why they represent certain trends of thought in their time. The book has a strong theoretical awareness, but it is difficult for readers to detect it, as it has been seamlessly integrated into the arguments. A professor once used this book as a graduate textbook and believed it was a work with the same line of thinking and writing style as the great Western critic William Empson.