The Bamboo Grove: An Introduction to SijoRichard Rutt The sijo is the most popular and most Korean of all traditional Korean poetic forms, originating with the old songs of the Hyangka of the Sylla Empire (668-936) and the prose songs of the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392). Sometimes likened to haiku for its brevity, a typical sijo poem follows a three-line pattern, with each line containing approximately fifteen syllables. The first two lines mimic one another both in form and content, but the last line often introduces a twist or countertheme, not only bringing the poem to a close, but sharpening the theme developed in the first two lines. The popularity of the sijo in Korea--writers range from royalty to common citizens--is always a challenge for the translator, who must often inhabit widely differing backgrounds to completely understand a poem's subtle nuances. Richard Rutt's translations, considered to be some of the best available in English, remain true to the unique structure of the original Korean lyric. The Bamboo Grove will interest not only poets and students of poetry, but scholars of Korean culture curious to view history through this important and significant form of verse. The white snow has left the valleys where the clouds are lowering, Is it true that somewhere the plum trees have happily blossomed? I stand here alone in the dusk and do not know where to go. YI SAEK (1328-1396) Richard Rutt is also the editor and translator of the book Virtuous Women: Three Classic Korean Novels and, most recently, The Zhou Yi: A New Translation with Commentary of the Book of Changes. David R. McCann is Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Literature and Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. |
Contents
THE SONGS | 2 |
Historical Songs 112 | 25 |
Political Songs 1320 | 31 |
Moral Songs 3155 | 40 |
Songs of Loyalty 5664 | 51 |
Songs of Solitude 94101 | 69 |
Songs of Mortality 105117 | 75 |
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Common terms and phrases
18th century ANONYMOUS autumn Bamboo Grove bloom blue boat fast Ch'oe Namson Ch'ol Ch'onggu yongon chigukch'ong China CHONG CH'ŎL chonghae CHONGJIN climb collection Confucian culture exile famous Fasten the boat fish fisherman's flowers gently gently green heart hills Hoist the anchor HWANG CHINI inkstone jade Kaesong Kagok Kagok wollyu king kisaeng Korean language Koryo dynasty Kosan Kyongsang last line leaves literary loyalty lute Manchu mandarin ducks meaning middle line Minyong modern moon shines moonlight night old sijo Ŏshwa paulownia Peach Blossom phrase pine plum blossom poetry Pull the boat rain Raise the sail rocks rustic sasol sasol sijo seagulls Seoul sijo sijo form Sijo munhak sijo songs singing snow sound spring stream sung syllable count Tanjong texts traditional translation tree twist verse vowels white clouds willows wind wine word writing Yi Hou Yi Hwang Yi Sunsin Yulgok
References to this book
An Introduction to Classical Korean Literature: From Hyangga to P'ansori Kichung Kim Limited preview - 1996 |
Learning to Think Korean: A Guide to Living and Working in Korea L. Robert Kohls No preview available - 2001 |