On the "Four Essentials" in the Creation of Metric Poetry

On the "Four Essentials" in the Creation of Metric Poetry

On the "Four Essentials" in the Creation of Metric Poetry

It is often said that writing metrical poems is like carving a beautiful work. If you want beautiful and moving works, you must work hard to refine meaning, structure, sentences and words.

First, refine your mind.

First of all, talk about exquisiteness.

Generally speaking, to conceive a poem, you should know what you want to write and then make up your mind. Intention is to establish the theme meaning of poetry. After establishing the meaning of the theme, you can create around the theme.

Refinement is the modification and refinement after poetry creation. The purpose is to extract the new artistic conception of the works with the same theme and genre, avoid the similarity with previous works, and thus impress readers. That is, innovation in concept.

Looking at the current poetry works, most authors ignore the essence of the works, and as a result, the works written echo each other's thoughts, regain the saliva of the ancients, or stay in the superficial sense of things, which is as tasteless as chewing wax.

If a poem has no novel idea and profound implication, there will be no touching words, nor will it impress readers. Touching words are always combined with novel ideas and profound meanings. Therefore, after the completion of a work, we must first work hard to refine the meaning.

Now, let's take a look at "How to Train the Heart" in Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night written by the poet Du Fu.

The Five Laws of Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night

Don? Du Fu

Good rain knows the season, when spring comes.

Sneak into the night with the wind, moisten things silently.

The wild path is dark, and the river is bright.

Look at the red and wet place, the flowers in Jinguancheng are heavy.

This poem is conceived with the theme of "Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night". The first part is about the season of spring rain, which inherits the characteristics of spring rain. The second part is about the night scene of spring rain, and the last part is what the writer saw in Chengdu (Jinguancheng), Sichuan on the morning after the spring rain. It can be said that the connection between Lian and Lian is the perfect combination of pearls, closely following the theme of spring rain and spring night, and every sentence is in place.

But in the process of circulation, people deleted the last two couplets of this poem and changed the title to Spring Rain:

Five unique spring rains

Don? Du Fu

Good rain knows the season, when spring comes.

Sneak into the night with the wind, moisten things silently.

This change focuses on the word "spring rain", which is more concise. Children are easy to remember, almost household names, and they are successful, so most people only know these four sentences and become famous sentences that have been passed down through the ages.

Now this poem has been compiled into the primary school Chinese textbook, and the last four sentences are still finished with the title of Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night. If you use the title "Spring Rain", that's it:

Five laws of spring rain

Don? Du Fu

Good rain knows the season, when spring comes.

Sneak into the night with the wind, moisten things silently.

The wild path is dark, and the river is bright.

Look at the red and wet place, the flowers in Jinguancheng are heavy.

As long as the last four sentences are added to this topic, the result is irrelevant, turning the poet saint Du Fu into a person who doesn't understand the structure of poetry. Because the last four sentences have nothing to do with Spring Rain? It's purely rhyming and beside the point. The whole idea of the poem is to use Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night. This shows the importance of a poem's conception, and the title is often the theme.

Double-link structure

"Structure" is the overall idea, that is, the layout of the article. "Refining structure" is to refine the poetic structure framework which is most in line with the logic of language thinking in the process of creation.

The ancients summed up a set of basic methods in the creation of metrical poems. Four quatrains should be written according to the law of "inheritance", and four metrical poems should be laid out according to the law of "inheritance". Lyrics should be conceived according to the beat of words. The above is the basic law of metrical poetry creation, and it is also the basic law that beginners should understand and learn.

Therefore, when creating laws and regulations, we should try our best to lay out every link, sentence and word of the article. Fill in the lyrics according to the idea, and weave the words of each beat and sentence. Every small link should obey the overall conception and planning, and be arranged according to the logic of language thinking. This is the "refined structure".

Generally speaking, the change of poetic meaning lies in the pulse of this transition and the ingenious combination of objects and images that meet the logical requirements. The combination of poetic images is an important element of poetic artistic conception. Therefore, in the process of writing, we should choose the objects that conform to the poetic thought, and pay attention to the logical relationship and reasonable collocation between these objects. For example, when did Hongyan appear, what artistic conception was expressed by misty rain, and what literary symbolic significance did cicada, partridge and cuckoo have in metrical poems? Similar images are numerous in classical metrical poems, which is the essence of classical metrical poetic images. Authors must understand them in order to use them correctly. Therefore, the process of "refining structure" is the process of selecting objects according to ideas.

Let's analyze an online poem. Through appreciation, we can further improve the cognitive ability of logical thinking.

Seven laws. the Netherlands

Winged dragonflies stand in powder makeup, and the dish is full of horizontal pools.

Lingbo dance is as green as a thousand stems, and a pulse of incense comes from the other side.

No matter how beautiful the jade is, the heart is fragile, and the lonely dream is still young.

Since ancient times, romance has always been casual, and it doesn't matter how long idiots hold grudges.

Generally speaking, this poem "Ode to the Seven Laws of Lotus" seems to be well structured. But after careful analysis, there are many places that do not conform to the logic of theme poetry.

First of all, analyze Lian Kai:

Winged dragonflies stand in powder makeup, and the dish is full of horizontal pools.

Read the sentences first. When we read this sentence, we will probably think of the poem "Little Pond" written by Song Shiyang and Wan Li, in which "Xiao He just showed his sharp corner and a dragonfly stood on it a long time ago". The author borrowed it skillfully here. However, after careful analysis, will the dragonfly flap its wings when standing on the lotus? Of course not. Dragonflies can only fly by flapping their wings, so it is illogical to say that "flapping dragonflies to make up powder" If the word "Li" is refined and replaced by "beg" or "play", there will be no contextual logic problem.

Look at the sentence again. The sentence "the dish is full of horizontal ponds" is also inconsistent with contextual logic. The word "rub" is relatively uncommon, and it is a verb, meaning: scoop or fill, and the plate refers to the lotus leaf, which means that the round lotus leaf is like a plate full of dew, all over the horizontal pond. After careful analysis, it is not beautiful to compare the lotus leaf to a disk, and it is not as natural as the original meaning of the lotus leaf. If the lotus leaf is really regarded as a dish filled with dew, it does not conform to the actual situation of "lotus leaf stained with dew" and loses its aesthetic feeling.

Look at it as a company.

Lingbo dance is as green as a thousand stems, and a pulse of incense comes from the other side.

This connection is not in line with the natural environment of lotus growth, and it belongs to imagination and is divorced from reality. What kind of dance is "Lingbo Dance"? Swallows can be described as skimming the waves, dragonflies can be described as skimming the water, but the movements of lotus flowers cannot be described. Lotus is a kind of plant that can only sway with the wind and can't "Lingbo dance", that is to say, lotus can only dance "swing dance" and can't dance "break dance". A word "Ling" actually uprooted the lotus. The word "Lingbo Dance" is beautiful in itself, but if it goes against the logic of the object described, it will make a joke.

It is also illogical to say that "a pulse of incense comes from the other side". The word "the other side" generally refers to the river or the other side of the river, and the background described here is the lotus pond. Which bank is it opposite? You see, this "one-pulse fragrance" is also exquisite and does not conform to reality. If it is a pond full of lotus flowers, it is fragrant, full of fragrance, and fragrant everywhere. "One pulse" is equivalent to a faint fragrance, which is illogical for the scenery described. From this point of view, the construction of poetic context is closely related to the author's careful and accurate observation of the objects described, and it is impossible to write poetry out of thin air and behind closed doors.

Again, look at the link.

No matter how beautiful the jade is, the heart is fragile, and the lonely dream is still young.

On the whole, it's good. "My heart is weak" and "My dream is young" convey the author's feelings and compare themselves with lotus flowers. The tail connection is natural and reasonable, so I won't go into details.

Sanzi

Word refining mainly involves verbs, adjectives, conjunctions, prepositions, adverbs and adjectives. The ancients called it function words. How to practice calligraphy? Is to do it, the ideographic should be accurate, the description should be vivid, the exaggeration should not be lost, and the reality should be justified. The ancients discussed a lot in this respect, among which Mr. Liu Bogong's Hundred Methods of Learning Poetry in the early years of the Republic of China was the most systematic. Excerpts are as follows:

(A) Five-character poetry extraction method

1. Five words to refine the second word (mainly referring to single word object noun+verb-object sentence)

There is rain in the three mountains of the Black Sea/there is spring in the flowers, and there are five ridges in the bamboo./There are lotus leaves and butterflies in front of the fishing boat. The otter is foggy in Yunmeng Valley/The moon is trapped in Yueyang City.

2. Five words extract the third word (mainly referring to the sentence pattern of object noun+verb-object or preposition object composed of two words)

Kenzo Yamashita/behind closed doors/singing around the rocks, Kyushu/Qingsong adjusting the sun, Jiangyuesui/Mountain Flower horseshoe, North Mountain Blue/East Water White.

3. Five words refine the fifth word (mainly referring to adjectives or verbs at the end of sentences)

Xiao Yue faces the window/Tianhe enters the house, low grass gives birth to a quiet public house/flowers fall into the court. Her clouds are fragrant and foggy/her jade-white shoulder is cold in the moon Cuiping Qianqi River/Zhang Dan Wu.

4. Five words refine the second and fifth words (mainly referring to two object nouns in five words, object noun 1+ verb or adjective+object noun 2+ verb or adjective)

The sound of the cold spring is bitter/the leaves of the mountain are dry. Until the bank at low tide widens/there is no wind to stir me. The sunset is lonely, the rivers and lakes are white/the tide is coming, the grass is withered, the eagle's eyes are sick/the snow is light.

(2) Seven-character method

1. Seven words to refine the second word (mainly referring to single object noun+verb or preposition+two words object noun+other structures)

The mountains enter the Bailou Sand Garden, and the dusk/tide is born in the wild pond. There are lonely sails/grass green on the oblique river in spring. In Wan Li, Hunan Province, the love road is alone around the cold mountain/the moon is close to the autumn water, and the geese are surprised, and the birds know the country. On the same day, they left the nest/chrysanthemums opened in the rain for Chongyang.

2. Seven words refine the fifth word (mainly referring to the three-character suffix structure of verb or preposition+object noun)

My road is full of petals-I swept it for no one else/my thatched door has been closed-but now I'll open it for you. The wind and cloud on the river surge/traffic jam are grounded, cold and tired, Mashan is worried, and it's late/the beaded embroidered column on the lonely boat river is surrounded by orioles/brocade teeth, starting from Bai Ou.

3. Seven words to extract the seventh word (mainly refers to the three-word suffix structure consisting of two words and object nouns+verbs or adjectives)

Sitting in the sky in a spring boat/the old man is like a flower in the fog. Looking at the lonely sail on the Qingfeng River/There are only a few old trees left on the edge of the white God City/and I gave my heart to two generations, Kuang Heng's Anti-Sparse Book of Fame/Liu Xiangchuan's Heart Violated.

4. Refine the second and fifth words in seven words (mainly referring to the three-character suffix structure consisting of a single object noun+verb or preposition+object and verb or preposition+object noun).

Xue Ji Shanmen Yingruiri/Yunkaishui Temple behind the fish with moon shadow moves with the clouds/birds spit flowers to send trees. I will always remember that the rivers and lakes are turning white/I want to return to heaven and earth, add water to the boat lake, and cool off the summer heat/the river sends the tide.

Four practice sentences

The ancients also had a lot of discussions on the theory of refined sentences, especially Mr. Liu Pogong's Hundred Methods of Learning Poetry in the early years of the Republic of China. Excerpts are as follows.

Words accumulate into sentences, and sentences accumulate into poems. Whether the sentence is appropriate or not, the work of poetry is clumsy. Therefore, if you want to learn to write poetry, you must first learn to make sentences. The method of making sentences is not only safe for neat and refined words, but also makes the whole sentence flow lightly and never stagnate. As for Tang poetry, each has its own merits. If you are not diligent in reciting them, you can never imitate them. Here are some examples of the grammar of five words and seven words:

(A) Five-character poetry sentence-making method

1 .5 words and one sentence and four sentences (1+ 1+3 sentence pattern, that is, single-object noun+verb or preposition+object sentence pattern. This sentence pattern was polished in the second 1 Usually a verb or adjective)

Dogs welcome guests/ducks protect their nests, cherish the peaks and mountains/oranges and pomelo come to the mountains and rivers/red flowers fall on the wall. Lord Zou misjudged your land/your home became Lu's palace.

(2+2+ 1 sentence pattern, that is, the object noun+verb-object or object-object structure composed of two words; Or verb+object structure. This sentence pattern was polished in the second 2. It is also a verb or adjective. )

Barbarians ask each other their surnames/blackbirds call each other by their first names. There is a high hall banquet/you can forget to be late to watch the horse washing in the evening/the cicadas humming in the forest. Under the green hills/me and my boat, along the green water.

3. Five words, three times and two sentences (that is, 3+2 sentence pattern). 3 is an object noun consisting of three words, and 2 is a noun+adjective verb. This sentence pattern is polished in 2)

Yelangxi is warm/Baidixia is cold.

4. Sentences with five words on the top and four sentences on the bottom (that is, the sentence pattern of 2+2+ 1, which should be polished when making sentences, usually adjectives or verbs).

Xiao Yue entered the house near the window/Tianhe River, and entered Luoshan/Hetang Mountain. From the human face/cloud, it was cold to the west/north court.

5. Five words, one sentence and three broken sentences (that is, the sentence structure of 2+ 1+2). The polishing of this sentence pattern focuses on the polishing of the word 1. Usually a verb or adjective)

Old friends are exhausted/sad at the end of the year/cold orange pomelo/autumn old phoenix tree

(B) Seven-character poetry sentence-making method

1. Seven-character Liu sentence (1+ 1+2+3 sentence pattern, the key to polishing this sentence pattern is the last two verbs and adjectives)

Flowers are blooming, and the dew mountain on the flag will collapse when the stars set/the willow blows away, but the rock will not collapse.

2. Seven-sentence (2+2+3 sentence pattern, modifying verbs and adjectives in the second 2 and 3)

Sometimes it rains at three or two o'clock/there are ten flowers and nine flowers, and the smoke is full of sleeves/poetry becomes pearls and jade.

3. Seven words, three times and four sentences (3+2+2 sentence pattern, sentence polishing focuses on adjectives and verbs of two words)

Meng Erting's ancient name Xie/prostitute building's new name Su fishing net set/passenger ship comes with the night.

4. Seven words, four sentences and three sentences (3+ 1+3 sentence pattern, 3+ 1 is subject-predicate structure, 3 is another subject-predicate structure, two subject-predicate structures form a sentence, and the key to sentence polishing is logical fluency)

Clouds on the Temple of the Emperor of War are parting/Every tree in Hanyang is clear, and the palm of a giant in Shan Yu is withered/Cao Fang is worried about Parrot Island.

Five times for seven words and two sentences (2+2+3 sentence pattern, the focus of sentence polishing is the adjectives, verbs or adverbs in the second 2 and 3, and attention should also be paid to the fluency of logic)

Castle Peak only grinds the present/Has the running water ever washed the non-Stark sound, beat the drum and horn, and the fifth watch/The Milky Way Sky Vein crosses the three mountains?

6. Seven words, one sentence and three broken sentences (2+2+3 sentence pattern, where the sentence is polished is the adjective adverb and verb in the second 2 and 3, and pay attention to whether the logic is smooth)

Panxiyuan has no such taste/However, in my hut, we have old wine in our cups, a lonely Junna with a green wind wall/Feng Dan was heavy in the past.

Five conclusions

The ancients emphasized the refinement of sentences and the practice of writing in metrical poems. To keep the word steady, twist a few whiskers. That's right. However, a poem is unstable in conception and chaotic in layout, and no matter how you practice words and sentences, you can't write a good work. This is why some people's works are more refined and messy. The fundamental reason is either the idea or the structure of poetry. Therefore, to create a good poem, we must first work hard on "refining meaning" and "refining structure" to forge a novel conception and perfect poetic structure. Then, we construct refined words and sentences around themes and poems.