A Course in Literary Theory (Chapter 12 Lyrical Works)

Lyric discourse: Lyric discourse is a kind of expressive discourse, which has the function of symbolic expression of emotion, and embodies the process of unspeakable subjective feelings through the organization of sound similar to music and the organization of pictures with meaning.

Second, short answer questions

1. The relationship between lyricism and reality

① Lyricism, as a kind of subjective manifestation, is not detached from reality but is a reflection of the real life and evaluation. Feelings from the feelings of reality, no real life feelings, there is no real value of lyricism. The depth of the feeling of reality, and often depends on the depth of the degree of understanding of reality. Therefore, the lyric always contains a reflection of reality.

② Lyricism is a special way of reflection. Its particularity lies in: first of all, the lyrical reflection of the object is mainly the spiritual aspects of social life. Real life is not just material life, it also includes the reality of spiritual life. Literary lyricism mainly reflects the specific social psychology, mental state and the spirit of the times from one side. Secondly, the emotion reflects the specific relationship between the subject and the object, so the lyric reflection of the objective world is subjective. Again, lyric reflection is evaluative. Emotion is a kind of subjective attitude, and the emotional experience of joy, anger, sadness and happiness contains the subjective evaluation of things. Lyric expression of praise, praise, yearning, sympathy, hate, boredom and other emotional tendencies are different degrees of value judgment of reality.

③ Lyricism is a reflection, but also a kind of consciousness of reality in the transformation: "the scene for the sentiment". Through creative imagination, the subject of lyricism transforms the reality into an image infused with subjective feelings, making the external world an aesthetic world harmonized with the inner world. "Turning the real into the imaginary" is due to the imaginary function of creative imagination, which can break the original physical structure of the objective world and create a psychological space that can fully embody and symbolize emotions. Therefore, on the one hand, literary lyricism is subject to the constraints of specific real life and social concepts, but on the other hand, it has a high degree of freedom of mind. Compared with narrative, lyric is less constrained by the objectivity of the object, and the mind is freer.

2. The relationship between self and society in lyric

① The two have a dialectical relationship. In literary activities, lyricism is always the emotional expression of the lyrical subject. Compared with the narrative, which favors objective reproduction, the lyric is richer in the self-color of subjectivity, and the lyric can be said to be a kind of self-expression. In this sense, there is no lyrical subject rich in personalized emotional outpouring, no lyrical subject free and easy inner monologue, there can be no creative literary lyricism. The full expression of one's own unique experience and thought becomes the conscious creative principle of the lyrical subject, and the distinctive emotional expression becomes one of the important yardsticks for evaluating lyrical works. However, human beings are social beings, and the formation of individuality is conditioned by specific social relations and cultural traditions. All kinds of social relations have an impact on the individuality self. Therefore, the self is not diametrically opposed to society, but is both closely related and has its own specificity. It is a dialectical relationship. The lyrical self, as a unique personality, is constituted in a unique way by a wealth of life experiences and spiritual qualities. It fully absorbs the same spiritual wealth of mankind ****, and makes it integrated with the personality temperament, thus forming a unique artistic way of feeling the world, recognizing the world and expressing inner emotions. Therefore, literary lyricism as a kind of self-expression, but also contains a universal social connotation, can cause universal social **** song.

② The creative process is a combination of self and society. The social properties of self-expression can also be seen in the creative process of lyrical literature. Literary creation is a social production, and the creation of lyrical works is no exception. Lyricism is a kind of social communication in which the author expresses his or her own feelings and at the same time implies a spiritual conversation with the implied reader. Literary lyricism is not a completely self-isolated literary event, but is intrinsically connected with certain members of society (readers). On the one hand, the self-expression of the lyrical subject will have a unique impact on other members of society; on the other hand, some of the concepts and consciousness of the members of society, acceptance habits, comprehension, etc. will be more or less, either explicitly or implicitly, transformed into the lyrical works of the organic factors, the works of the social branding.

③ The social ideology of the lyrical self. The connection between the lyrical self and society is most prominently reflected in the connection with a certain social ideology. Lyric has an ideological nature, in the aestheticization of emotional reflection and evaluation, the lyrical self is always either to maintain and strengthen or to resist and weaken the particular economic base and superstructure, but subordinate to a certain social ideology. Of course, lyricism is not didactic, and in specific lyrical works, the ideological content does not appear in the form of a complete conceptual system and concepts, but is embodied in a certain pattern of feelings, evaluation, beliefs, and expressions. Behind these patterns, however, a certain conceptual system and value norms are latent.

In short, in the history of literature, the great lyric poets always have deep concern for the development of society, people, and history, and have in-depth perception and comprehension of certain ****same problems faced by mankind, always unify themselves with progressive or healthy social ideology, and make their personal destiny and pursuit integrated with the destiny and pursuit of the masses of the people. Their lyricism is not only a very unique self-expression, but also a cry for the times and the people; it is a natural outpouring of individuality and emotion, and at the same time expresses the essence of human emotion.

3. The Rhetoric of Lyric Discourse

① Metaphor and Symbol

Metaphor is a rhetorical method of expressing something (metaphor) by means of another (metaphorical) thing. Symbolism (in the narrow sense) is the indirect expression of thoughts and feelings in concrete things (images). Lyric poetry mostly uses sounds and images to express emotions, so symbolization is the most common rhetorical method in lyrical discourse. Symbolic images gradually take on a relatively stable symbolic meaning due to repeated use. The use of metaphors and symbols to express emotion will result in a subtle style of lyric poetry, which can convey the subtle inner activities of the twists and turns, leaving the reader with more room for imagination, chewing, and aftertaste. Therefore, the "poetry of subtlety" has become an important artistic criterion for classical Chinese and foreign lyric poetry.

② Inversion and ambiguity

Inversion is a grammatical misplacement of the verse, often reflected in the reversal of the usual word order. In metrical poetry, some inverted sentences are to accommodate the meter; some are to emphasize a certain image, strengthen the tone, syllables, and highlight the expressive power of words. It is ideal to take care of the meter and enhance the lyrical effect at the same time. As the word order is disrupted, the natural flow of the sentence is suddenly cut apart so that certain words gain relative independence. These independent words present what are often sensoryized images, so inversion can often greatly intensify the sensory effect of a verse. When two or more grammatical structures coexist in a single verse, that verse has the potential to be interpreted in different ways by the reader, resulting in different meanings. This kind of situation where one verse contains multiple meanings is ambiguity. Since the syntactic relations in Chinese are inherently loose, and since lyric poets often intentionally transgress grammatical norms in order to create expressive discourse, ambiguity has become a common phenomenon in ancient Chinese poetry (especially metrical poetry). Ambiguity creates semantic ambiguity and complexity, and enriches the emotional connotation of lyrical discourse, which is one of the important sources of the "aftertaste" of lyric poetry.

③ Exaggeration and contrast

Exaggeration is the use of imagination and deformation, exaggerating certain features of things, writing unusual words. Contrast is one of the basic combinations of lyrical discourse. It is the combination of words and phrases that are opposite to each other in terms of sensory characteristics or symbolism, forming a contrast that strengthens the expressive power of lyrical discourse. The use of contrast can make the poet's subjective attitude expressed in a more tactful way, thus forming a subtle style and ironic meaning.

④ Borrowing and using allusions.

Borrowing is the replacement of things that are related to each other, or the use of one thing to refer to another. Skillful use of the technique of borrowing, you can write a new and unique sentence. The use of allusion is also called "using things", that is, borrowing stories in poems to make sentences to express meanings. Allusions can be divided into three categories: mythological allusions, historical allusions and literary allusions. The capacity of allusion is relatively large, so the use of allusion will make the lyrical words concise and economical, and rich in content. Allusions are also mostly related to history, so the use of allusions can make the cultural connotation of poems more profound. In addition, the use of allusion is also an alternative way of expression, which can make the words more subtle.