Title

Nominal “Meter” and Non-Metrical Rhythm: Reflections on the Rhythmical Theories of New Poetry

Author

Li, Zhang-bin  

Genre

Article  

Pages

301-343  

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese  

Key words

meter, rhythm, foot, repetition, non-metrical rhythm, Duoduo 多多  

Abstract

        The pioneers of New Metrical Poetry focus their attention on the metrical poetry of the West, trying to construct a rhythm system neatly consisting of “meters,” similar to western metrical poetry. Modern Chinese, however, does not have a clear distinction between stressed and unstressed syllables. In response, Wen Yiduo 聞一多 1899-1946) and Sun Dayu 孫大雨 (1905-1997) group“meters”  by means of their syntactic structures and consider this to be the base of rhythm. This kind of metrical
poetry does not have any regular phonetic patterns, nor does it differ greatly from prose. In other words, its “meter” is merely nominal and in fact has little rhythmical effect. I propose that one should return to using repetition as the base of rhythm in order to construct the rhythmical system of New Poetry, and more attention should be paid to the metrical patterns of “open forms” instead of that of regulated forms. Duoduo’s 多多 poetry stands as a great example of non-metrical rhythm, enlightening us on how to construct New Poetry in the future.