Buzz
The Post-August Revolution era of Vietnamese literature witnessed a predominant inclination towards epic narratives.
1. Introduction
- A brief overview of Vietnamese literature between 1945-1975.
- Aesthetic tendencies in literature - characterized by an inclination towards epic storytelling and romantic inspiration.
2. The Essence of Poetry
a. The Essence Orientation:
* Understanding the concept of poetry (self-exploration).
* The notion of poetic inclination:
- Inclination towards major issues, reflecting the national essence, addressing the country's survival challenges, issues that unite the entire nation. The main characters embody the contemporary beauty ideals, serving as the collective ideal model of the nation.
* Expression of epic inclination in the literary landscape during the period of 1945-1975:
- Themes:
+ Homeland: The Nation of Nguyễn Khoa Điềm/ Nguyễn Đình Thi
+ Homeland Defense War: Comrade, Viet Bac, Westward March,...
+ Nation-building, socialism construction: The Song of the Ship, Season of Joy, Silence in Sa Pa,...
- Artistic representations: Characters rich in epic inclination, embodying lofty ideals, resilient fighting spirit, representing the community (Tnú, Việt, soldiers of the Westward March,...)
=> Provide 3-5 examples for each analysis point to clarify.
b. Romantic Inspiration:
* Concept:
- Revolutionary romantic inspiration, rich in personal sentiment towards profound emotions, towards the Homeland, towards the people, where individual identities coexist and reinforce grand emotions with added strength.
* Manifestation:
- Romanticizing the harsh realities of life's struggles: Highlighting romantic elements in the works of this period, for example: Viet Bac, Westward March, Poem about the motorcycle squad, Truong Son East, Truong Son West,...
- Idealizing the nation's form during the socialist construction years: The Nation of Nguyễn Đình Thi,...
3. Conclusion
- Express reflections.
II. Sample Essay: Vietnamese Literature after the August 1945 Revolution is primarily characterized by an epic inclination...
It can be said that Vietnamese literature during the period from 1945 to 1975 was a flourishing era of many highly valuable literary works that contributed significantly to the national literary history, accompanied by the maturation of many generations of authors, especially those who wrote about resistance and national themes during the intense wartime years. The emergence of such prominent works was primarily due to the unity of the nation's culture after the successful August Revolution, as well as based on the special historical circumstances of the country. Amidst the fervent struggle of the era, during the two resistance wars against the French and the Americans, intellectuals and artists, particularly those who emerged from the battlefield, found new creative inspirations, generating resonances and bolstering the resilient spirit of the nation. If we were to pinpoint the outstanding characteristics leading to the success of a series of works and authors of this period, it would be in the aesthetic inclination of literature - a literary trend characterized by epic and romantic inspirations.
Firstly, discussing the epic inclination in literature during the 1945-1954 period. Epic poetry has appeared in the national literature for a long time, when people had not yet paid attention to recording, and epic was merely oral tradition as a form of folk culture. It is a communal work, reflecting the life and cultural customs of an entire nation. It always addresses the most common aspects, portraying the history of prosperity and decline of a nation, the lofty ideals that the community collectively dreams of and strives for. The main character is the great hero representing the strength and beauty of the entire nation. In Vietnam, one can mention some famous epic works of ethnic minorities such as Dam San, Khinh Du, Xinh Nha. From the concept of epic, we can infer that the epic inclination tends towards major issues, reflecting the national essence, addressing the country's survival challenges, issues that the entire nation is striving for. The main character must embody the contemporary beauty ideals, serving as the collective ideal model of the nation, especially this character plays a role and fate closely associated with the revolution, the nation, and the country, exerting a significant influence on the thoughts of the people.
Let's examine how Vietnamese literature during this period was influenced by the epic inclination. First, discussing the theme of Homeland, a major destination for many artists, requiring the artist to have understanding, a panoramic view of an era, and also grasp the depth of national history to write accurately and attractively, creating a profound positive impact on the people. Taking the example of The Nation by Nguyễn Khoa Điềm, we can see that the epic inclination first appeared clearly through its title - 'The Nation' - a theme of general interest, the concern of the entire nation. Subsequently, in the content, the author tactfully used analytical pens combined with literary materials, folk culture to present a new concept of The Nation, a Nation with a deep historical and cultural dimension manifested in its formation, growth, and existence. At the same time, Nguyễn Khoa Điềm was also astute in introducing revolutionary perspectives in poetry with the assertion that The Nation belongs to the people. Moreover, the epic nature in the poetry of Nguyễn Khoa Điềm is also evident in the heroic, heroic spirit in the struggle against foreign invaders, unifying the country. Similarly, The Nation by Nguyễn Đình Thi also carries a strong epic inclination in building a heroic national monument, magnificent in the struggle for national liberation. Another prominent theme that occupies almost half of the literary landscape from 1945 to 1975 is the theme of Homeland defense war. This theme has made the reputation of a series of authors such as Chính Hữu with Comrade, Quang Dũng with Westward March, Phạm Tiến Duật with Poem about the motorcycle squad, Tố Hữu with Viet Bac, Nguyễn Trung Thành with Rừng xà nu, Nguyễn Thi with Children in the family,... These works express the epic inclination in revealing the great pain and loss of the people in war, while also depicting the heroic spirit, the sacrificial responsibility of each Vietnamese in the fight against foreign invaders, these can be said to be issues that are both historical and common to the entire community during that period. The epic inclination not only stops at the two mentioned themes but also lies in the theme of nation-building, socialist construction after the successful August Revolution. Examples include works like Mùa lạc by Nguyễn Khải, Đoàn thuyền đánh cá by Huy Cận, Tiếng hát con tàu by Chế Lan Viên, Silence in Sa Pa by Nguyễn Thành Long, all praising the nation-building efforts of the people, exalting the beauty of the country's golden forests and silver seas, with a vibrant and heroic atmosphere in labor.
Not only in content with epic elements, but the works in this period also build characters with strong epic inclinations to highlight the content of the work. For example, the image of soldiers in the poem Westward March by Quang Dũng, the image of young men from the capital, leaving behind their blue ink-stained white shirts to go to battle with a majestic, magnificent spirit, their feet have crossed countless harsh mountains and forests of the Northwest, leaving behind many drops of sweat, blood and bones on that heroic land. 'The battlefield goes without regret for the green life/ Battle scarves replace the warmth of home/ The Ma River roars in solitary strides', the soldiers of the Westward March see death lightly like pink feathers, in their hearts there is only one ideal, one belief in fighting and sacrificing for the Homeland. It can be said that the image of the soldiers of the Westward March has become a monument, a symbol of the strength, the strong fighting spirit of our nation during the most intense resistance years on the Northern border battlefield. Another clear example of heroic characters with an epic inclination must mention the character Tnú in the work Rừng xà nu by Nguyễn Trung Thành, about the Tay Nguyen people in the process of fighting against the US to save the country. In Tnú, we see all the characteristics of an ideal hero, representing the entire nation, from patriotism, love of homeland, profound love for compatriots, courageous, strong, resilient spirit in battle, to the major events in life that the character must go through (losing wife and children, having ten fingers burnt by the enemy) to reinforce and clarify the character's ideals, as well as those of the community. Or similarly other characters such as Việt in Children in the family, or the image of soldiers in the resistance against the French in Comrade all demonstrate the common beauty of the nation, which is the unceasing spirit of struggle, the strength to overcome all hardships, the determination to fight the invaders.
Those are the main features of the epic tendency of Vietnamese literature after the revolution until the successful resistance against the US. We will now discuss a prominent aesthetic tendency of literature during this period, which is the revolutionary romantic inspiration, the rich personal sentiment of love directed towards great emotions, towards the Homeland, towards the people. To put it simply, within the collective self always exists individual selves that accompany and reinforce the great emotions more firmly. In contrast to the view that personal feelings cause a decline in the spirit of struggle, reducing determination and willpower in people's struggles, the reality is that romantic inspiration becomes a stepping stone to support the spirit of people, reinforcing belief in the bright future of the country, helping people overcome the arduous, bloody, and sacrificial paths. In literary works from 1945 to 1975, romance is expressed through several aspects, firstly through romanticizing the harsh realities of life in the fierce struggle. We can take the example of Viet Bac by To Huu, we always know that the battlefield in the Northwest is one of the harshest battlefields, but in a poem it seems that that harshness has been somewhat reduced by the romantic beauty of nature.
'Green forests, bright red bananas
High passes, suns, swords tightening belts.
Spring days dreamily blossom in the white forest
Remember the person weaving hats, every river dyed thread
The cicadas sing, the forest rustles with golden leaves
Remember the younger sister picking bamboo shoots alone
In autumn forests, moonlight shines in peace
Remember someone singing songs of enduring affection'
Or in the Poem about the No-Wind Glasses Team by Pham Tien Duat, there is a passage:
'Without glasses, oh well, there is dust
Looking at each other, faces muddy, laughing ha ha'
Then Pham Tien Duat also wrote in Truong Son Dong, Truong Son Tay, saying 'The road to the battlefield this season is very beautiful'. Thus, the fierceness of the Truong Son trail was accompanied by the confident, relaxed, and carefree laughter of the truck drivers, the battlefield scenery making it blur, thereby encouraging, encouraging the spirits of those involved in the fight. Or in Tay Tien, there are also poetic lines imbued with romantic inspiration, both expressing the beauty in the souls of soldiers and romanticizing the harshness of the Northwest battlefield such as: 'Eyes sending dreams across the border/Night dreaming of Hanoi's graceful figure' or 'The campsite bursts into a fireworks party/There she is, in a tunic since when/Playing the flute, she shyly sings/Music about Vien Chan builds poetic souls'. Tay Tien by Quang Dung is a dense combination of the epic tendency and romantic inspiration. Not only that, romantic inspiration is also expressed through idealizing the image of the country in the years of building socialism, for example in Country by Nguyen Dinh Thi, with a very long poem: 'Refreshing like the morning of the past (...) The red rivers laden with heavy alluvium'.
To sum up, the epic tendency and romantic inspiration in Vietnamese literature during the period from 1945-1975 have brought many highlights and deep impressions to readers, becoming the main aesthetic tendency, arousing and promoting optimism, love for the country, love for the people, and strong fighting spirit of the people. At the same time, it makes the literature of resistance both flexible and appealing to readers because of its autobiographical and sincere elements, but also does not lose its heroic, magnificent aspect due to epic elements with solemn, powerful prose, poetry.
Alongside the essay on Vietnamese literature after the August Revolution of 1945 being 'A literature mainly characterized by an epic tendency...students can refer to: Why can genuine literature humanize people? In a letter discussing literature, Nguyen Van Sieu wrote: 'Literature (...) has a worthy and unworthy kind. The unworthy kind is the kind that focuses only on literature. The worthy kind is the kind that focuses on people.' Express your opinion on the above concept, Buy-phong, the famous French writer, wrote: 'Style is the person.' How do you understand the above opinion? Please express your opinion on the statement of the French writer La Bouverie: 'When a work elevates our spirit and evokes noble and courageous feelings in us, there is no need to find any principle to evaluate it anymore: it is a good book and is written by an artist' to achieve high results in the upcoming Composition Practice 5, Grade 12 Literature.
