Abstract
By examining how two important narratological concepts, fabula and sjuzhet, can be employed in the studies of classical Chinese poetry, this article attempts to unlock the potential of narrative techniques in the criticism of lyric poetry. It finds firstly that fabula in lyric poetry consists of both material elements and lyrical elements; secondly, interpretation of Chinese eulogistic poems entails not only comprehension of the events presented in the text, but also the hyper-textual background of the poet; thirdly, the understanding of space in lyric poetry requires the knowledge of story, discourse, the poet’s composing process, as well as the readers’ engagement. From a cognitive poetics perspective, the article argues that complete aesthetic appreciation of lyrical poems needs the readers’ imagination, knowledge, mental state, and the text. Finally, as demonstrated in its analysis of some Chinese classic poems, this article stresses that the readers’ cognition of the poet’s life is crucial, and can be applied as a pragmatic approach to understanding Chinese lyric poetry.
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Notes
King of Yan is a famous wise monarch in warring states period, and he enlisted a lot of superior men to help himself, and finally made his country strong gradually and defeated a powerful nation at that time: the state of Qi.
Wang Zhaojun was a charming maid who lived in Han dynasty of China, and the Han’s emperor wed her to the king of Xiongnu for the security of the border about 33 B.C.
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Shu, L. Exploring “fabula” and “sjuzhet” in classical Chinese poetry from the perspective of cognitive poetics. Neohelicon 45, 505–516 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-018-0458-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-018-0458-5