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CRAFTING THOUGHTS ON POETRY (Excerpt)
Nguyen Dinh Thi
A. FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
I. AUTHOR:
1. Biography
- Nguyen Dinh Thi (1924 – 2003), poet, writer, playwright. He attended primary and secondary school in Hanoi and Haiphong. Studied Law at Hanoi Law University.
- In 1941, he joined the Viet Minh movement, participating in the national salvation organization in Hanoi. From 1942, Nguyen Dinh Thi began writing for newspapers. Engaged in the patriotic student movement against fascism and in the Cultural Salvation Association.
– In 1945, he was a delegate of the Cultural Salvation Association to attend the National Congress in Tan Trao, appointed to the Vietnamese National Liberation Committee.
- After the August Revolution in 1945, he served as Secretary-General of the Cultural Salvation Association, a member of the National Assembly, a member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Writers' Association, Secretary-General of the Vietnam Writers' Association (1958 –1988).
- In 1995, Nguyen Dinh Thi was elected Chairman of the National Committee of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations. He was awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize for literature and art in the first phase – 1996.
2. Literary Career
- Nguyen Dinh Thi was a versatile individual, writing literature, poetry, newspapers, composing music, ... in any field, his works were admired and favored by the public. He was also a talented literary leader loved by the literary and artistic community.
- Regarding poetry, Nguyen Dinh Thi had collections such as: Soldiers (1956), Black Sea Poems (1958), Rivers in the Blue (1974), Sunbeams (1983), In Sand and Dust, Waves Cheers (2001). His poetry is concise, suggestive, rich in profound philosophy, with a new style and technique.
II. WORK: CRAFTING THOUGHTS ON POETRY
1. Creative Circumstances
- In September 1949, there was a notable literary event. It was the Literary Debate Conference in Viet Bac aimed at promoting the literary creation movement in line with the Party's direction to serve the people and the resistance war against France. Alongside the plays of Long Chuong, the writings of Nguyen Tuan, the conference also discussed the poetry of Nguyen Dinh Thi and expanded on some issues related to poetic concepts.
- Nguyen Dinh Thi expressed his views on poetry in the essay 'Crafting Thoughts on Poetry' published in Literature issue 10-1949. The essay presented fresh and profound perspectives on poetry, including thoughts and proposals that could be considered bold in the context of 1949.
- Placing this essay in its historical context reveals the creativity in theoretical discourse, literary orientation of Nguyen Dinh Thi, and literary research community in general at that time.
- Certainly, at that time, the opportunities for literary exchange and criticism with foreign countries were very limited. However, many issues raised by Nguyen Dinh Thi in this essay are extremely unique, profound, and always relevant whenever someone wants to discuss poetry.
2. Literary Discourse Genre
- Literary discourse is a genre of literary criticism and theory. Writers use reasoning to explain, analyze, demonstrate, compare, comment on,... a literary issue to clarify what they want to convey.
- Similar to fiction (autobiography, poetry, and drama), literary discourse also employs all shades of inspiration such as romanticism, sarcasm, praise, criticism,... However, literary discourse is not fictional. The object of study in literary discourse is works, authors, literary phenomena...
3. Content and Artistic Values
a) - Nguyen Dinh Thi analyzed deeply the most basic characteristic of poetry: the expression of the human soul. He posed questions not in the sense of doubt but of affirmation: 'Could the essence of poetry lie within the human soul?.'
- Initiating a poem, the writer must have 'poetic resonance', then proceed to compose poetry. Poetic resonance is achieved when the soul transcends its normal state, due to an encounter with the external environment, with nature, with others, awakening new feelings, which then manifest in poetry.
b) The author analyzed other characteristic elements of poetry:
- Images must arise from emotion, illuminating poetry naturally and appearing in the poet's heart.
- Rhythm, melody in poetry, the most important is the internal rhythm, melody within the poet's soul.
- Language in poetry must have a soul, must evoke, must crystallize in the feelings, emotions of the poet.
- The path of poetry is the path straight to emotions, from the poet's heart to the reader's heart.
- Explaining the reasons for the success of poetic creation, Nguyen Dinh Thi acknowledged, perhaps not without two factors: the innate talent of a person directly creating poetry and the knowledge of poetry accumulated through the process of study, persistent research.
4. Analysis of Literary Works: Crafting Thoughts on Poetry
c) The author views poetry as synthesis, crystallization. Prose allows for imperfections, but poetry always demands perfection.
d) Regarding free verse, verse without rhyme, Nguyen Dinh Thi had some very novel views, arguably quite audacious at the time: 'there is no issue of free verse, verse with rhyme, and verse without. There is only real poetry and fake poetry, good poetry and bad poetry, poetry and non-poetry'. This was a 'breakthrough' in traditional poetry.
e) - Through a rigorous argumentation system, adept use of evidence, imagery, and skillful language, Nguyen Dinh Thi presented profound, fresh thoughts on poetry and its characteristics. He believed that 'a new era of art often creates a new form'. Most new eras of art create new forms of their own.
- The author's perspectives remain valuable to this day due to their contemporary significance, accurate scientific nature, close association with life, and the creative reality of poetry.
B. SELF-DISCUSSION
Analyze the argumentative values and content values in Nguyen Dinh Thi's text Crafting Thoughts on Poetry.
Suggested essay writing
1) Nguyen Dinh Thi defines: What is Poetry?
- The discussion begins with the researcher providing a definition of poetry. Nguyen Dinh Thi's definition is very special. He starts by defining: Where does poetry originate?
+ Poetry originates from the soul. A soul that resonates with beauty, goodness, usefulness... Thus, that resonance does not come from subjective consciousness within the soul but from external factors.
+ However, what is essential is that without a poetic soul, those phenomena are just lifeless: 'The drizzle in the afternoon evokes some nostalgic verses, but it is the nostalgia encountered by the afternoon drizzle that whispers the verses not yet fully formed.'
+ Poetry is the crystallization of culture at a high level. According to the above idea of Nguyen Dinh Thi, people resonate with scenery already present, but the cultural features stored within us always demand to be heard.
+ Poetry is not only the voice of an individual touched by the external world but also the heavy-hearted voice of the cultural echoes waiting for a chance to speak, the soulful rhythm of a nation..
+ That rhythm is conveyed through layers of signs. The word is the first sign of poetry or even of the poetic soul itself. Without words, in the sense of language, there would be no poetry. Those words are the language, the words conveying all the emotional states, feelings of human beings.
Nguyen Dinh Thi delved into the process of conveying emotions, words, and poetry, offering a series of definitions:
+ Writing poetry means words.
+ Writing poetry means living.
From these concepts, he emphasized the role of poetic imagery, arguing that poetic language holds value only when it evokes or constructs imagery. Poetry communicates with readers through imagery.
- This forms the basis for Nguyen Dinh Thi's argument: 'A poem consists of lines, words that bring to life a feeling, an emotion in the reader'.
Transitioning from 'writing poetry' (the act) to 'poem' (the product), Nguyen Dinh Thi elaborated further:
+ Poetry is the first voice, the primary voice of the soul when it engages with life.
+ Poetry must embody thoughts, consciousness.
+ Poetry does not speak through pure ideas.
+ Poetry is synthesis, crystallization,…
- These generalizations highlight the fundamental characteristics of poetry. While Nguyen Dinh Thi does not seek to provide a definitive definition of poetry, it's clear he deeply understands its essence. Poetry speaks through imagery, through emotions. Without emotions, there is no poetry: 'It flares up at the intersections of the soul and external objects, primarily through emotions. Emotions are the flesh and bones of spiritual life'.
2) Poetry encompasses words, emotions, thoughts, imagery...
- In life, Nguyen Dinh Thi is a versatile artist, a clever individual with a strong personality. His poetry and essays reflect this creative personality. While he vividly describes through imagery, drawing comparisons from literature and life, his language remains discreet, intriguing yet not immediately understandable.
- Nguyen Dinh Thi underscores the role of 'words' in poetic creation. Words convey emotions, thoughts, poetic imagery, rhythm, melody for poetry. Words not only express ideas about phenomena but also create 'evocative power'. Nguyen Dinh Thi likened it to the light of a candle: 'the light is not only at the top of the candle, it surrounds'.
- Recognizing the infinite reflective ability of poetic language, Nguyen Dinh Thi also discovered the power of poetry in silence: 'Even the sparkling spaces between words, the silent spaces are the discreet abode of emotions'. This noteworthy discovery underscores his rigorous reasoning.
3) The trajectory of poetry
- Nguyen Dinh Thi pays attention to reception when discussing any aspect of poetry, highlighting its greatest success.
- While many of his points may not be novel, the intertwined, unified argument about poetic characteristics, creative methods, and reception methods elevates his essay to the pinnacle of argumentation.
- For instance, when discussing 'words', Nguyen Dinh Thi points out that 'words' have their own internal life, creating a layer of meaning surrounding them, understood and discovered through the reader's reception. Similarly, self-thoughts, emotions, poetic imagery are all perceived in that manner.
- From these arguments, Nguyen Dinh Thi draws three conclusions:
+ Poetry is 'synthesis, crystallization'.
+ Poetry 'always demands perfection'.
+ 'The path of poetry is the straight path to emotions, without meandering through stages, intermediaries, milestones'.
In addition to the above content, you can explore the section Social Discourse on Aspirations and Dreams to prepare for this lesson.
Alongside Preparing an Essay: Thoughts on Poetry, you should delve into other essays in Vietnamese Literature 12 such as Preparing an Essay: Further Reading - Doxtoi-ep-xki or the section Preparing an Essay: Discourse on a Phenomenon in Daily Life to strengthen your understanding of Vietnamese Literature 12.
