- Firstly, modern epic poems are usually not a narrative work recounting the birth of heaven, earth, and nation; but a combination of narrative and lyricism. There are many epic poems expressing strong lyrical emotions such as: The Road of Desire , Those Who Go to the Sea , The Road to the City , Sediment ,...
- Second, modern epic poems are historical in nature but do not explain the formation of the country and the nation ; but mainly reflect the nation's struggle against foreign invasion. In peacetime, modern epic poems also tend to be philosophical, contemplating social phenomena, social relationships... that the writer has felt and experienced...
- A clear difference between classical epic and modern epic is that modern epic has a deep popular character , is written about the people, reflects the reality of life and struggle of the people. Classical epic simply praises the heroic leader and through the form of storytelling and singing conveys the content of that praise to the people...
- Another characteristic that also shows the difference is that modern epic poems have absolutely no divine shadow , no relationship between the mortal world and the divine world. Because, the main character in modern epic poems does not need to rely on supernatural forces, divine forces to support.
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If we say that epic has become a widespread social and aesthetic phenomenon, then it is clear that this phenomenon has been and is being adjusted to be more and more suitable for the perception and explanation of the world and people in the anti-American period and in peacetime. We know that the reflection of reality in literature always adheres to the principle of reproducing life truthfully. The " description of events and incidents with a historical sense is one of the poetic characteristics of Vietnamese poetry since the revolution " [84, p.66] and that is also a poetic characteristic of the epic genre.
According to Do Van Khang, the time of birth of the epic can be a wider range but can be distinguished by an " intermediate period, in which
a nation freed from its state of ignorance ”. This law is so obvious that Hegel said: when developing, every nation wants to have its own “ epic scripture ” [38, pp.80-81].
The substance that makes the epic poem characteristic is the historical generalization, the epic poetry. During the anti-American period, our nation was clearly aware of the loss and survival of the Fatherland, of the value of glory and shame of an enslaved nation. Therefore, the majority of literature, especially epic poems, focused on this central theme. The reality of the anti-American period showed the conflict of the state of war, so it had the meaning of an epic conflict . Those were conflicts of war against imperialism, the historical mission of oppressed nations around the world, giving our nation the pioneering role. That is also the difference in the nature of the war compared to the classical epic poem. It can be said that the anti-American war aimed at changing the historical destiny of the nation was described quite deeply in the epic poem, achieving the status of an epic . Epic inspiration has been strongly imprinted in most epic poems written about the anti-American period and is often closely combined with lyrical elements , especially in epic poems that do not lean towards a narrative plot. However, in recent epic poems, the epic element is gradually decreasing and the worldly element is increasingly being enhanced .
2.3.2 The connection between epic and lyrical nature
Before analyzing the combination of epic and lyrical qualities in the epic poem about the anti-American war, let's review some opinions about lyricism.
Every talented poet can be considered a talent in the field of culture and art - a passionate guest with a loving heart who can leave behind for the world excellent poems rich in humanity. Berdiaeff once said: "All talents are passionate guests". Gorky also said : " Genius is love " . Literary works such as Chinh Phu Ngam by Dang Tran Con, Cung Oan Ngam Khuc by Nguyen Gia Thieu, Truyen Kieu by Nguyen Du... all express the Vietnamese people's feelings to the peak and are all extremely lyrical works.
Poets with famous epic poems are no exception when they carry the hearts of amorous people: love for the homeland, love for people...
Since the August Revolution , modern Vietnamese literature has gradually become imbued with epic qualities and has contributed to creating distinct, unique achievements. Literature from 1960 onwards has the distinctive features of civic lyricism, political lyricism and is clearly expressed in epic poems about the anti-American period. It is a type of historical lyricism , affirming the epic nature because our national history is the object of perception and perception of epic poems in both breadth and depth . That is the lyrical nature of the revolutionary epic genre that previous literary genres did not have . Re-evaluating this, Lai Nguyen An wrote: "It is on this historical approach that in successful epic poems, we find the most silent lyrical emotions, the most profound thoughts..." [3, p.10].
In the myriad of events, in the chaos of actions, in the layers of portraits, there is a trustworthy ego, the poet himself , the representative of the nation and history. Lyrical works mostly do not directly describe social personalities but mainly present the poet's social awareness . The lyrical subjectivity of the poet often contains a great intensity of specific emotions and depends on the level of historical thinking. The lyrical character is a form of expression of the poet's ego . Therefore, readers will see in the epic the author's ego, as well as the shadow of the lyrical character in social life. That is the lyrical feature of the "I" mood, the soul tone of the "I" of the era; showing the combination of lyrical and epic qualities in the epic about the anti-American period.
The epic and lyrical nature of the epic poem is revealed through the role of details. The objects described are very diverse, so it can be said that in modern epic poems, details play a huge role , considered as a basic structural part of the aesthetic whole that it needs to build. All the details, events, and incidents are linked together and serve each other thanks to the poet's talent in organizing chapters and medleys. Epic poems contain a fairly large amount of verses, and
often oriented towards the central event, the events that create the development of the epic character; therefore, events , incidents ... can be presented in many ways; depending on the poet's ability to compose, epic inspiration to build a general picture of the historical appearance of the nation.
During the years when the country was engulfed in the smoke and fire of bombs and bullets, poets were inspired to praise the heroic country and people, so they created epic poems because they themselves were a blend of the epic ego and the citizen ego. The way of choosing epic poetry to put into the epic is a testament to the poet's concept of the country and people; it is the expression of their souls before the chaotic realities of the anti-American war. However, because of following such a stereotyped creative line, today, modern epic poems have not yet created a breakthrough in lyrical characters - still soldiers writing about themselves and their comrades. The personality of lyrical characters is often monotonous , often the image of soldiers, people who directly witnessed the war. The main thoughts and tones in modern epic poems are mostly inclined towards praising, expressing optimism and confidence in a victorious tomorrow.
Ha Minh Duc commented: " People often consider epic poems and narrative poems to be in the form of narrative expression, the content as well as the way the work is structured are also largely influenced by narrative elements..." [22, p.165], which has its own logic. Indeed, epic poems and narrative poems contain a large number of narrative elements, especially classical epic poems and Nom narrative poems. We can cite a few typical works with strong narrative elements such as: Nguyen Van Troi - Le Anh Xuan, Dong Thap Hero - Giang Nam, Ho Chi Minh Cliff - Thu Bon, Telling the story of eating green rice in the yard - Nguyen Khac Phuc...
The epic nature of literature will lie in the depth of its structure and creative techniques to build up typical characters that appeared in a society with many great events. Space and time in daily life
It seems to be in the blood and flesh of every Vietnamese person, described by Nguyen Khoa Diem with great emotion and epic quality: " In the four thousand years of the country / Every year and month, there are people in layers / Boys and girls the same age as us / Working hard / When there is an enemy, the boys go to war / The girls return to raise their children / When the enemy comes home, the women also fight".
The epic poem " The Road of Aspiration" by Nguyen Khoa Diem has a very successful chapter V. The poet has shown a rich intellectual capital to deeply define the country, the origin of the nation. The understanding of national history has moved the author's soul, pushing emotions to surge into poetry. Each fairy tale, the historical moments of the struggles to build and defend the country make the reader feel like entering the ancient space and time. That creates the epic poem of Nguyen Khoa Diem with a deep epic sound, sweet emotions. The epic nature has combined with the lyrical nature, the epic inspiration has been associated with the romantic inspiration, making the work successful.
Long poems of the anti-American period before 1975 often contained many narrative elements. The Road of Aspiration created a solid position thanks to its strange voice: lyrical political philosophy. The epic nature mixed with the lyrical nature is abundant in many long poems, typically in To Huu's "Nguoi Son Ngan Dau ". Returning to the South after the signing of the Paris Agreement, on the arduous Truong Son road, the author expressed his feelings in the long poem. The epic nature mixed with the profound lyrical nature makes the tone of the poem even more nostalgic and passionate:
Ben Hai River is a river with one side eroding and the other depositing.
Hien Luong Bridge, one side missing the other, separated by eighteen years, when will the road in and out be connected?
History is recreated not simply by describing events, but mixed in those historical events is the deep and sweet love; either intense, solemn, or proud praise, or joy, sadness... of the poet's ego.
but in essence it is the generational self, the historical self of a time. The epic nature of the epic poem about the anti-American period is closely linked to the principle of lyrical realism to reflect the reality of war and of course, the lyrical nature has made the epic poems sweeter and more intimate.
The synthesis of lyrical and epic qualities in epic poems also gradually develops as in literature in general. It does not simply take place within the scope of techniques, art, and form, but gradually changes in the poet's worldview when observing and feeling about people and the country during the fierce and arduous years of fighting against the US. At first, when epic poems about the anti-US period first appeared, they often had a more intense epic quality than lyrical qualities. But over time, the lyrical quality tends to be more strongly expressed in epic poems: Journey, Song of the Chơrao Bird, Aspirational Surface ... Then there are Those Who Go to the Sea, Road to the City, Sun in the Heart of the Earth , Fire in the Season of Drying Shirts, Piece of Lost Bird's Soul ... These epic poems have abandoned the narrative structure and have tended to focus on detailed descriptions, historical events combined with the expression of inner depth. The emotions of the lyrical subject are presented freely and boldly.
Literature in general and epic poems about the anti-American period - viewed individually, mostly have an epic tone. Epic poems are composed according to standard principles, especially the principle of expressing epic qualities. Most authors write according to the true emotions of their hearts before the realities that have been and are being exposed before their eyes. Epic qualities and lyrical qualities are intertwined as a natural thing, contributing significantly to revealing the mindset, emotions, and state of the citizen's ego in an era when life is sometimes too fragile:
We have gone without regretting our lives (but how can we not regret being 20)
But if everyone regrets their twenties, what will happen to the Fatherland?
In that era, they did not have the right to choose for themselves a life of leisure and enjoyment because their personal fate was tied to the fate of the Fatherland and the people. Their awareness had been pushed to a depth so their choice was completely conscious. They explained it in a simple, lyrical but also noble way: “ People cannot choose where to be born / But we chose the forest of that moment and year” (Those who went to the sea).
The image of Mother sitting and reminiscing in the space of the returning north wind is a heartbreakingly beautiful image. Winter with the spicy betel nut that Mother persistently chews is a very lyrical and epic detail. It is also the time of the year and month ending the long days of waiting for her child:
In the cold wind, mother's eyes gazed longingly. The betel nut was spicy and persistent throughout the winter. I will come back and run until my feet are burning.
The soldier's words to his mother after the arduous months of fighting the Americans were both epic and sweet, full of affection: "Mother, after living that farewell night for five years/ After living on April 30th of the country/ After living with so many dead friends/ I would like to start again from you/... to talk about us/ the twenty-thirty-something generation in uniform" (Those Who Went to the Sea).
Thanh Thao's poetry has a strong tragic tone. The deep lyrical nature combined with the epic nature has brought success to the long poem. The lyrical verses make people forever remember the twenties born in the years of war, forever remember the footsteps of those who returned to the great sea of the nation with the heroic tradition of the past, creating new strength and vision for the nation: " Rivers cross wounds, / Returning to the sea is not to find rest. / Reaching the river mouth is the beginning of storms, / Old trees turn bare to block the flood of alluvium". These are people who had to stand in the middle of the whirlwind of many great historical events. They contributed to making history and literary history reserved for them lyrical, emotional pages. Until thirty years ago
Even after the war, those who were involved - witnesses of history at that time - still had a source of literary inspiration to write and express the things that were still heavy in their hearts.
In Aesthetics, Hegel believed that narrative is the world of the object, lyric is the world of the subject. Narrative is the reproduction of objective life, while lyric is the reproduction of subjective life. Human life has social and historical characteristics, so the content of a literary work, whether epic or lyric, is the unity of life perceived by the writer.
In The Road to the City , Huu Thinh generalized about the nation's war against the US to save the country. The verses written about mothers describe the motherly love during the war so intimately: " If mother knew we were still together/ Flickering with longing throughout the hallway/ That drop of light would lessen the many nights/ Sharing peace on each road".
The image of the flowers swaying in the green of the mountains and forests, the image of sleep broken by the purple knocks have contributed to the unique epic lyricism. The tone of the poem becomes more sparkling and colorful. The epic nature is closely intertwined with the lyrical nature, creating a deep, passionate feeling:
Oh, spring pendulum, the forest is not sleeping because of the purple knocks
Commenting on the epic quality in The Road to the City , Ngo Van Phu wrote in the article “ The soldier’s quality and the soul of the countryside in Huu Thinh’s poetry ”: “ After many years, re-reading Huu Thinh’s “The Road to the City”, I still appreciate it because this work has left historical marks” [70]. It is true that reading the epic poem; many chapters and passages have evoked the emotions of people living during the anti-American period, determined to fight to the end to protect every inch of their homeland. The epic element is closely linked with the lyrical element. Poetry