Learning the art of Han Mac Tu's poetry

those sounds by using phonetic words, onomatopoeia, repetition, and alliteration.

When Xuan Dieu wrote:

Afternoon dreamy poetry on the branch of fate, Tamarind tree chirping birds flying.

The jade green sky pours through the leaves, Autumn comes, everywhere the sound of the zither moves.

(Love poem)

The sound of the scenery here is echoed by the chirping of birds hopping from branch to branch. Along with the sound of birdsong, the sound of the earth, of life rises together like a stringed instrument (a stringed instrument). The sound of the stringed instrument is the sound of the scenery but at the same time it is also the sound rising in the heart of a young man who is excited about life.

The sound and rhythm of poetry are also created by alternating the rules of even and odd tones, of low and high tones. According to Mr. Nguyen Phan Canh in the book Poetic Language, published by the University and Professional Education Publishing House in 1987, there are two ways to exploit the musicality of poetry as follows:

- First way: According to him, musical and poetic techniques are mainly provided by vowels and consonants.

Vietnamese vowels are in two opposite meanings: high, low and closed, open.

Scholarship		Deep
Close	i	u	Uh
	hallo	oh/â	Umbrella
Open	e	a/a	o

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Consonants in Vietnamese are distributed in an important contrast; that is the contrast of resonance and occlusion between the priming consonant and the voiceless, occluding consonant.

Echoing

m	n	nh	ng
Blockage	p	t	ch	c

The following verses are so musical because the author has concentrated heavily on open vowels and resonant consonants:

The sound of gravel echoed with hatred.

(Xuan Dieu - Nguyet Cam)

The birch road is white with dew and sunshine.

(To Huu - My Dear Poland)

Second way: According to him, musical and poetic techniques are created by tones. Vietnamese tones fall into two basic opposing positions: High - low and even - odd.

Equal

Test

High

Horizontal

∅

Fall of Color

~ /

Short

Huyen

Heavy Question

? .

The following poem by Bich Khe is full of music because he has concentrated the tones in the densest way:

Oh! sadness lingers on the parasol tree, Falling gold, falling gold, immense autumn.

( Bich Khe - Pipa )

From the general understanding of sound and melody above, we apply it to the examination of sound and melody in Han Mac Tu's poetry, to see the richness, diversity, and uniqueness of sound and the full musical quality of his poetry.

First of all, let's talk about sound. The sound in Han Mac Tu's poetry is created by the sound of life, of nature and the sound of the poet's heart. The world of sound in his poetry is extremely rich. In that world, there are laughter, crying, screaming, yelling, howling, groaning, and groaning of people, and there are also singing, singing, flute, music, firecrackers, musical instruments, etc. We can count 17 single words and compound words that create sounds that Han Mac Tu used in his poetry (Crying, laughing, talking, chanting, cheering, howling, screaming, calling, screaming, hiccupping, hissing, screaming, singing, moaning, groaning, crying, screaming...) and many onomatopoeias, words indicating the level of sound used by the poet (sob, whispering, rustling, rustling, whispering, bustling, bustling, rustling, panting, shouting, ha ha, vi vu, lao xao, lanh lanh, rao rao, vang vang...). Han Mac Tu also directly describes the echo of sound. sound (sound of a string, sound of a song, sound of an echo, sound of a fall, sound of a pop, sound of sadness, sound of gold, sound of music,

sound of firecrackers, sound of flute...)

In the first collections of poems such as Le Thanh Thi Tap and Gai Que, the first sounds we hear are the sounds of nature. We can hear the sound of "spring leaves rustling in the sunlight" or "sunlight rustling on bamboo tops". We also hear here sounds that are not clearly defined as what kind of sound it is, but it is very affectionate to people and it has a lot of meaning to the poet:

That night there was no moon but there were stars, A distant sound fell down the stream, Whispering in the wind of the thousand casuarinas.

(Talking about country girls)

The sound of a falling star, or a whisper from a distant realm. No matter where that echo comes from, to Han Mac Tu it is very precious because only he can hear and enjoy those sounds.

Also in these poems we encounter the "clear" sound through the singing of the village girls, "clear singing in the tamarind garden", "singing from inside out". The way Han Mac Tu describes singing is very unique. That clear singing is described by the reduplicated word with onomatopoeic meaning (clear). Listening to that singing, people seem to suddenly forget all their worries, because it is so carefree, innocent and pure. The singing here not only has sound but also image, the singing also knows how to jostle. We not only hear but also capture the image of the singing.

In the wonderful scenery of nature, the sound of life always calls the poet. In his poems, we can also hear his heart, the heart of the poet is the heart "bustling with love", "roaring like waves". The heart of the poet is the call of love, the call of dreams, the call to harmonize with life. The poet is opening his heart to wait for love and to wait for a bright future.

In the first part of the poem collection Pain, those sounds still resound. The poet still opens his heart to listen to the mysterious voice of creation. The poet has found the common voice of creation. The love of creation gives the poet magical ears, the echoes of the sounds of creation reverberate into the poet's open heart, creating a harmony. The poet has listened and expressed many different levels of sound. He has heard the sound of "falling from the upper atmosphere", "the sound of falling stars", "the sound of popping in the silence". Among the mysterious sounds of creation, we can also hear the sound of the flute.

The lingering longing and sobbing of a human being. The sounds of both the dream world and the real world created a symphony with a melody that was both tragic and heroic.

Still using that melody in the poem "Chau Cuoi", Han Mac Tu used the repetition of four times a stanza, along with the same use of reduplicated words to evoke sounds such as: rao rao, xon xao, ha ha, making the poem filled with sounds with strong intensity and far-reaching power. Those sounds have far-reaching power when they are broadcast on a high hill. The scene seems very mysterious, the echo of the chain of laughter lingers forever in the reader's heart. In the midst of that atmosphere, suddenly we hear the sorrowful song of the Champa girl crying for the Cham soldier. The past echoes in our hearts, the laughter seems to stop, but then the laughter continues to resound forever.

Continuing to examine the next part of the poem collection Sorrow, in addition to the sounds of creation, the rustling sounds of the human heart... We also hear the cries, the screams, the howls... sounds coming from the poet's own painful life. Different from the first part, the sounds in this part are somewhat more intense and tragic. The sounds of nature and creation are no longer "whispering" or "whispering..." but now nature also groans. Autumn also hiccups into dry sounds, the cool wind also groans, on the upper floors we hear the wind whistling. Now nature is also suffering with the pain of humans.

Here we still hear laughter, but laughter that comes from pain. The laughter of debauchery is so strong that its intensity is very strong, its echo is very far. The author's description of laughter is very specific and unique: "Laughing like crazy, the smell of the moon is suffocating", "laughing so loudly that the clouds are shaken", "laughing like the sound of broken crystal". Deep in the resonance of laughter is the endless pain of human beings. Laughter now is laughter with tears, laughing like crying. The sound of laughter has actively contributed to describing the poet's pain.

Besides laughter, his poems also have crying. Crying is also described in many different shapes, many different angles. Sometimes it is a silent cry "crying alone, surely no one will know". Sometimes it is a sob bursting from the depths of a painful soul "crying from the bottom of the heart", "in the lungs, in the heart, in the soul". Crying is not only described with depth but also described with its width. Crying flies into the clouds and wind, spreading in space:

From now on, in the wind and in the clouds, the words of sorrow resound throughout the dream.

( Soul )

Sometimes the author combines descriptions of different sounds in the same verse to express the most painful state of the human heart "crying and laughing sobbing at the tip of the mouth", "I cry, groan, beg, cry, and beg her to stop". This combined description is intended to express the poet's state of pain to the point of delirium.

Besides the sound of crying and laughter, we also hear in Han Mac Tu's poetry the sound of screaming, yelling, and groaning. Leading the soul to wander in the universe, flying with the soul to a very high planet, at the top of that height the poet let out a scream:

To scream out loud.

Heaven, earth and hell.

(Who is the soul)

The screams that resounded from that towering peak penetrated both heaven and hell. Reading these verses, we suddenly remembered the poem Ngon Hoai by Zen master Khong Lo of the Ly dynasty. Zen master Khong Lo once longed to climb to the top of a very high mountain and let out a loud scream that would chill the sky. With that scream, the monk expressed his desire for freedom, for a free life between heaven and earth. The verses of Han Mac Tu resonated even further and deeper than the screams of Zen master Khong Lo, because his screams came from the depths of his aching soul. With that scream, Han Mac Tu wanted to explode heaven, hell and earth to relieve mental inhibitions and physical pain. The resounding sound of that scream did not make us feel disgusted or hateful, but on the contrary, it brought us sympathy and love for the talented but unfortunate man. In the midst of delirium and madness, the poet's scream startled the constellation, frightened it, and made it fall to the bottom of the well. The vast universe, the stars, the sky, the clouds, the wind, do they understand the poet's situation, a poet who is going crazy, going crazy because of tormenting pain.

In the most terrifying moments of panic, we can still hear his screams in his poems. A scream often shows a high level of panic. When people are terrified of something, they often let out a scream. In the middle of a lonely moonlit night, the poet let out a scream:

I sat under the wharf waiting for Miss Mo, The howling of the night broke the shadow. The howling of my soul broke the waves.

Vibrating air layer microfiber canvas.

(Lonely)

The destructive power of the howl is extremely great. It can crack the darkness. It can shatter the waves, shake the atmosphere, and blow away the villa. The way of describing by exaggeration makes the reader see more clearly the poet's pain and loneliness.

There are also times when the poet suddenly becomes sober in the midst of pain and we hear in his poems the sound of singing, the sound of the moon and the sound of the wind. But perhaps the sounds that the collection Pain leaves in the reader's heart the most, the clearest, the sounds that create the strangeness of Han Mac Tu's poetic soul are the sounds of crying, laughing, screaming, howling, and screaming.

Coming to the collections Xuan Nhu Y, Thuong Thanh Khi, Cam Chau Duyen, we still hear the sound of sadness resounding far and wide in typical poems such as: Phan Thiet! Phan Thiet, Buon o day, Tieu sau, Noi buon vo duyen... But the density and intensity of the sounds are no longer as strong as in the collection Dau thuong. In these collections of poems, we hear more sadness than pain:

I hugged, the sound of sadness,

Whispering sadly in the deep night.

(Sorrow Relief)

The poet found solace in religion and in dreams, so listening to the sounds of these poems includes a cry:

My pen is as shrunken as a pearl in the king's palace. My mind absorbs so many flavors.

Poetry is as pure as a block of ice, Always ringing in the soul and in the veins of the roof.

(The Virgin Mary)

Also in these poetry collections we often encounter music. The melodious, gentle music seems to cover the entire sky of Spring As You Wish, spreading to the sky of Shang Qing Qi:

The whole sky suddenly filled with a thousand melodies,

Very respectful, very fragrant, melancholy.

(Birth)

Finding comfort again, the soul seems to have peaceful moments, the poet is immersed in the music of the earth and of people. His heart is filled with a passionate love for life. We hear the chirping of birds in the pure spring of the earth and of sky. We hear the sound of firecrackers, the steady sound of prayers and we hear the crisp laughter "the matchmaker laughs like corn in bloom". And here is the passionate cry of a heart thirsting for love "I'm so impatient to call you".

Through the poetry collections of Han Mac Tu, we see that the sound world in his poetry is extremely rich. The sound itself is rich, combined with the description with the measures: repetition, repetition, comparison, exaggeration, etc., makes the sound even richer. We can immerse ourselves in the song of nature, the song of people. Our hearts ache when we hear the screams, the gut-wrenching, liver-tearing screams of the poet. We find a separate Han Mac Tu through his sound world.

Melody:

In the Preface of the collection of Crazy Poetry, Han Mac Tu wrote: "When I write poetry, it means I strike a chord, press a thread, and vibrate a ray of light. You will see the melody of the zither swaying with the breath of my soul and sinking with the hot waves pouring down from my five graceful fingertips. You will tremble with the humming of the copper strings, and will let the melody moan and lament endlessly" (1) 33F 1).

Through that we see that Han Mac Tu's poetry is first of all the melody of the soul. The music in his poetry is the voice of his heart. He compared writing poetry to playing a tune, so his poetry is full of music.

In the collection "Country Girl", we clearly see the melodious, gentle melody of a relaxed, peaceful soul. The melody following this sound is clearly expressed through the two poems "Missing" and "Country Love".

The poem "Missing" is written in five-word verse, structured in four stanzas, and each stanza is repeated with the phrase "from then on I left". That repetition of sentences, along with the alternation of flat and odd tones at the end of each verse, creates the musical quality of the poem. The steady rhythm of the poem contributes to describing the endless longing of the person staying behind for the person leaving:

From then on he left,

Outside the window there is no breeze. The peach blossoms have no scent.

1) Phan Cu De, cited book. Page 136

My heart is indifferent to spring. Since then you have left,

The golden moon shines on the sand. The lonely swallow's wings are alone,

Soaring under the blue sky...

With the poem Tinh Que, the author still uses the five-word verse style and the regular alternation of even and odd tones along with the regular 2/5 rhythm, in addition to the rhyme scheme in the first stanza with the high vowels "ê" until the last stanza, the repetition of the words " Dầu ai ". All of these elements together with the images of the poem have created a smooth, gentle and subtle harmony.

In front of the yard he was absent-mindedly looking at the swallows returning, The afternoon clouds were still drifting, Wandering on the countryside hills, The afternoon wind forgot to stop, The water kept flowing... The thousands of reeds were speechless, His heart seemed to be in ecstasy.

Even if no one expects, Even if no one listens,

Sad sound in the mist, Louder sound in the bamboo grove...

The sincere, deep and passionate love for the countryside has been deepened and expanded by the gentle melody of the poem.

Once again, coming to the poem Spring Nine, we can enjoy the wonderful melodies of that poem. The sound of the wind, of the singing... itself has created the melody for the poem. Combined with those sounds and the use of resonant consonants with dense open vowels, makes the music of the poem resonate endlessly in the hearts of readers and listeners:

She is still carrying rice this year,

Along the river bank, the sun is shining brightly?

Learning the art of Han Mac Tu's poetry - 13

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