浅析唐诗与莎士比亚十四行诗的韵律规则

浅析唐诗与莎士比亚十四行诗的韵律规则

作者：李在鑫

来源：《速读·下旬》2019年第05期

1 Introduction

To uncover the mystery of different aesthetic perception in poetry from different cultures，a comparison of several similar rhyming rules has been made between Tang poetry and Sh akespeare ’s Sonnets since both of them represent the crowning achievement in their history of poetry.Tang poetry is often seen as the Golden Age of Chinese poetry and has had an ongoing influence on world literature and modern poetry.Shakespeare ’s sonnet s are regarded as a huge hit that swept through the Renaissance，pushing the rhyme scheme，the 14 lines，and the meter to a booming

season.Therefore，they are representative enough to showcase the difference in an apparent and direct way.Meanwhile，the thesis also aims to provide a new angle for readers to appreciate poetry from different cultures and encourage them to explore the deeper connotation beneath the linguistic forms of poetry.

2 Metre in Chinese and English Poetry

Types And Significance of Metre in Chinese and English Poetry.

Metre in Chinese and English poetry is largely distinct because of their classification standards.

Chinese is an isolating language with plentiful monosyllables，which especially stands out in the from of ancient Chinese：one syllable usually corresponds with one word.Thus，metre in classical Chinese poetry can be roughly divided into three aspects.The first is level and oblique tones （consisting of Flat or High Level Tone，Rising or High-Rising Tone，Falling-Rising or Low Tone and Falling or High-Falling Tone）.The second is antithesis（a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas，words，clauses，or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure），regarded as an extremely strict regulation，especially in metrical poetry.The last one is rhyme，which means a repetition of similar sounds （or the same sound） in two or more words，most often in the final syllables of lines in poems and songs.Meanwhile，all of them are partly determined by

two peculiar characters of Chinese phonetics.One is the ascendant monosyllabic morphemes in Chinese language，the other is pitches of voice in Chinese Phonetic Alphabet.

Dissimilarly，English is a typical kind of inflectional language.Therefore，the metre of English poetry is distinguished by the number of syllables and the positions of stressed syllables.There are six forms：iambic（ a short syllable followed by a long syllable ），trochee（ a metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one），anapaest（ consisting of two short syllables followed by a long one），dactyl（a long syllable followed by two short syllables，as determined by syllable weight），amphibrach（consisting of a long syllable between two short syllables），and spondee（consisting of two long syllables）.Moreover，the rhythmic unit of foot is also regularly used in English poetry.

Metre in both Chinese and English poetry is as important as their brilliant functions in modifying the content.Just as Guo Moruo，a Chinese litterateur，said：“The life of poetry all depends on its graceful bearing which is elusory.” ，we can get closer to the real charm of poetry.Similarly，the metre ’s functions in English and Chinense poetry are quite abundant like developing the musicality or unfolding the poems ’ original meanings.

3 Features of Metre in Tang Poetry and Shakespeare ’s Sonnets

3.1 Features of Metre in Tang Poetry

Typically，poetry in Tang Dynasty features the five syllable poem and the seven syllable poem.Both of them are characterized by strict rhyming rules.Firstly，the syllables sit in even position always alternate the level and oblique tones.Secondly，“Dui” and “Nian” should also appear alternatively.Here，“Dui” refers to a contrary of the second and fourth syllab les between the former and the latter sentence in a couplet.While “nian” refers to a coherence of the second and fourth syllables between the former and the latter sentence connecting two couplets.

Here is a sample to showcase the principles and regulations of metre in the five syllable poem.In the form，“×” means Flat or High Level Tone and Rising or High-Rising Tone;“√” means Falling-Rising or Low Tone and Falling or High-Falling Tone; “ the circle ” means that the level and oblique tones can chang e freely;“the square” means that the level and oblique tones cannot change freely.If one of them changes，other syllables may vary as well.

過故人庄

【唐】孟浩然

故人具鸡黍，邀我至田家。

绿树村边合，青山郭外斜。