The Poetry of Mu Dan
Date
2016
Authors
Wang, Xu
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Abstract
This dissertation aims to delineate the main characteristics and
development of Mu Dan’s poetry in the context of the
modernization of Chinese literature, and from the perspective of
the self-completion of an individual poet. My four chapters cover
Mu Dan’s creative life, emphasizing the “problem areas”
that cut deep into his writing: his choice of subject matter, his
use of form, and the profound biographical, aesthetic, moral and
socio-political implications of his poems. The overall assessment
of Mu Dan’s achievement will be supplemented by detailed
discussions of an array of “isolated elements” of his
poetics: genre and rhetoric, wit and emotion, the use of irony
and satire, symbolism and realism. These elements together forged
Mu Dan’s idiosyncratic style and his formally coherent method
of expressions.
My research will also explore the intriguing subject of influence
and continuity in Chinese poetry, which I believe is one of the
key problems for the study of Mu Dan, and how it was that Mu Dan
achieved the highest order of “self-understanding” through
the creation of an authentic poetic language.
This study will start with revaluations of the critical and
popular reception of Mu Dan, the so-called “Mu Dan
Phenomenon,” against the background of our pragmatic, consumer
society where lyric poetry has become increasingly marginalized.
How are we to respond to the hostilities brought forth by
today’s hedonistic culture? This is the challenge confronting
the conscience and creativity of all contemporary poets. Any
study of Mu Dan must be concerned to pass on his legacy, for the
sake of the uncertain future of lyric poetry in today’s world.
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Keywords
Mu Dan, Chinese Poetry, poetics, modernism
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Thesis (PhD)
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