Russian Linguistic Bulletin (Dec 2020)
DECLAMATORY PRACTICE IN CONTEMPORARY CHINESE POETRY: THE AUDIAL/WRITTEN DICHOTOMY
Abstract
The paper presents an attempt to figure out significant features of the contemporary tradition of poetic recital in China which is firmly based on the evolving voice dimension of Chinese poetry. Different formats of audial presentation stem from the same line of declamatory poetic practices perceived as means of conveying a hyperbolized emotion and/or as an agitation tool; they differ in the choice of the dominant performance platforms and stylistic guidelines. However, the unofficial poetry of contemporary PRC gives also examples of a new type of poetic voicing pretending to be a radically modern practice but being simultaneously an homage or rather a rethinking of the premodern practices. That is recitation with an accompaniment, which actualizes the melody of speech and highlights its prosody. It focuses on audio presentation of the texts using hybrid presentation formats, where the very structure of the versified words enhances the experience of poetry during declamatory performances.
Keywords
