The Poetics of Repetition in English and Chinese Lyric Poetry

For more than half a century, Chinese-Western comparative literature has been recognized as a formal academic discipline, but critics and scholars in the field have done little to develop a viable, common basis for comparison between these disparate literatures. In this pioneering book, Cecile Chu-chin Sun establishes repetition as the ideal perspective from which to compare the poetry and poetics from these two traditions. Sun contends that repetition is at the heart of all that defines the lyric as a unique art form and, by closely examining its use in Chinese and Western poetry, she demonstrates how one can identify important points of convergence and divergence. Through a representative sampling of poems from both traditions, she illustrates how the irreducible generic nature of the lyric transcends linguistic and cultural barriers but also reveals the fundamental distinctions between the traditions. Most crucially, she dissects the two radically different conceptualizations of reality—mimesis and xing —that serve as underlying principles for the poetic practices of each tradition. Skillfully integrating theory and practice, The Poetics of Repetition in English and Chinese Lyric Poetry provides a much-needed model for future study of Chinese and English poetry as well as lucid, succinct interpretations of individual poems.

For more than half a century, Chinese-Western comparative literature has been recognized as a formal academic discipline, but critics and scholars in the field have done little to develop a viable, common basis for comparison between these disparate literatures. In this pioneering book, Cecile Chu-chin Sun establishes repetition as the ideal perspective from which to compare the poetry and poetics from these two traditions.

Sun contends that repetition is at the heart of all that defines the lyric as a unique art form and, by closely examining its use in Chinese and Western poetry, she demonstrates how one can identify important points of convergence and divergence. Through a representative sampling of poems from both traditions, she illustrates how the irreducible generic nature of the lyric transcends linguistic and cultural barriers but also reveals the fundamental distinctions between the traditions. Most crucially, she dissects the two radically different conceptualizations of reality—mimesis and xing—that serve as underlying principles for the poetic practices of each tradition.

Skillfully integrating theory and practice, The Poetics of Repetition in English and Chinese Lyric Poetry provides a much-needed model for future study of Chinese and English poetry as well as lucid, succinct interpretations of individual poems.

For more than half a century, Chinese-Western comparative literature has been recognized as a formal academic discipline, but critics and scholars in the field have done little to develop a viable, common basis for comparison between these disparate literatures. In this pioneering book, Cecile Chu-chin Sun establishes repetition as the ideal perspective from which to compare the poetry and poetics from these two traditions.Sun contends that repetition is at the heart of all that defines the lyric as a unique art form and, by closely examining its use in Chinese and Western poetry, she demonstrates howone can identify important points of convergence and divergence. Through a representative sampling of poems from both traditions, she illustrates how the irreducible generic nature of the lyric transcends linguistic and cultural barriers but also reveals the fundamental distinctions between the traditions. Most crucially, she dissects the two radically different conceptualizations of reality—mimesis and __xing__—that serve as underlying principles for the poetic practices of each tradition.Skillfully integrating theory and practice, __The Poetics of Repetition in English and Chinese Lyric Poetry__provides a much-needed model for future study of Chinese and English poetry as well as lucid, succinct interpretations of individual poems. Sun contends that repetition is at the heart of all that defines the lyric as a unique art form. By closely examining each tradition on its own terms and comparing them objectively- on an equal basis, she demonstrates how the perspective of repetition can identify not only important areas of divergence, but also where the two traditions converge in the shared generic nature of the lyric that transcends linguistic and cultural barriers. Most crucially, she analyzes mimesis and xing as two radically different conceptualizations of reality that underlie the poetic practices of each tradition. In doing so, the author accomplishes the challenging task of making xing comprehensible to Western readers through apposite juxtapositions with mimesis. --Book Jacket Prologue : setting repetition in its larger cultural context -- Repetition as the common basis for comparison -- The overt mode of repetition: sound -- The covert mode of repetition : sense -- Mimesis and xing -- Epilogue : the telos of poetic repetition -- Appendix : original texts of Chinese poems and critical passages