In Vietnamese literary traditions, there is this concept of "hoa tho". It means to recast a poem by someone else to rephrase and rewrite it into a different thought, for contrast, for parallelism, for differentiation, AND FOR APPRECIATION ̣̣(and at times, because of FRUSTRATION...) The two poems, ORIGINAL AND RECAST, then go together, to explore and expand themes and emotions.
In the case below, the two versions play on the same keys, off each other, different modulations, perhaps like musicians in a counterpunctual or harmonized duet (or fugue).
https://voiceofduongnhunguyen.blogspot.com/2019/02/brains-hearts-and-souls-of-vietnamese.html
The poem by PCT is so well written and powerful, such that his "violation" of Vietnamese am van dieu for his five-work structure becomes acceptable, as he keeps the melody so wonderfully flowing and rhythmic, with the full musical and semantic effect. WND
ReplyDeleteWhen I speak analytically about Vietnamese poetic am van dieu, it might appear as though the process is structured. NO NO NO. For poets, it's easy like breathing, speaking...All intuitive and spontaneous. But real poets understand and grasp and produce, just like musicians with music -- a natural, effortless process. wnd
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