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Modern poetry texts, when classified according to stanzaic structure, commonly fall into the following types: unsectioned (integrative form), two-stanza form, three-stanza form, four-stanza form, and multi-stanza form.
(1) Integrative Form (Unsectioned Structure)
This form proceeds in a single, uninterrupted flow without stanza division. It is frequently used in micro-poems and short poems, forming a complete and self-contained organic whole.
“Black Eyes” / Gu Cheng
The dark night gave me black eyes,
yet I use them to search for light.
“A Stream” / Chen Qufei
A chance encounter with scattered rocks—
this fellow immediately becomes even more loquacious.
(2) Two-Stanza Form
This form includes cause–effect structures and affirmative–negative contrast structures.
- In the cause–effect structure, the first stanza presents the cause, while the second reveals the result; together they form a coherent progression.
- In the affirmative–negative contrast structure, the first stanza presents an affirmative argument, while the second offers a counterargument. The juxtaposition of affirmation and negation generates contrast through opposition and complementarity.
① Cause–Effect Structure
“Water and Moon” / Xiang Yang
Nature—you always approach me
with the serene cherry-red of lips,
mooring at my trembling eyelashes,
entering the darkened moods of night,
drifting within a mirror misted with smiling tears,
shimmering, indifferent to the damp late-summer clouds,
asking only that I remember, with the favorable wind,
the candid lines of your face.
Yet I dare only secretly comb
your disordered hair,
letting the trees with their sneering eyes look on in disdain.
Bottomless is the dream in which I love you
yet fear to draw you into my arms.
Only when you leave and close your eyes
do I suddenly startle awake—
the heat of my cold gaze,
the chill of your fervent kiss.
In the first stanza, the poem depicts the woman’s主动 approach—this constitutes the cause. The second stanza articulates the speaker’s hesitation and timidity—this is the effect.
The final line, “the heat of my cold gaze, the chill of your fervent kiss,” is a vivid example of paradoxical contrast. The speaker watches calmly, yet his emotions burn with intensity—this is one paradox. She actively seeks a kiss, yet the kiss feels cold—this is another paradox. Juxtaposed, these two images form a striking visual and emotional contrast.
② Affirmative–Negative Contrast Structure
“Inflation” / Fei Ma
A wad of banknotes
once could buy
a smile.
A wad of banknotes
now can buy
more than
one smile.
Through the contrast between “the past” and “the present,” this poem conveys the helplessness of people living in turbulent times, confronted with rapid inflation and currency devaluation. Faced with such realities, all that remains is a bitter, self-adjusting smile.
(3) Three-Stanza Form
The three-stanza form consists of:
- Introduction (posing or discovering the problem),
- Body (analyzing and discussing the problem),
- Conclusion (seeking resolution).
The introduction explains the background and causes of the issue; the body forms the core of the poem, providing substantive analysis and depiction; the conclusion gestures toward resolution or insight.
“Youth” / Xi Murong
All endings have already been written,
all tears have already set out on their journey,
yet suddenly I forget
what kind of beginning it once was,
on that ancient summer that will never return.
No matter how I pursue and search,
the young you passes by like a drifting cloud-shadow;
your smiling face, so faint and so pale,
gradually disappears among the hills after sunset.
Thus I open the yellowed title page—
fate has bound it with clumsy stitching.
Holding back tears, I read it again and again,
yet must finally admit:
youth is a book written far too hastily.
This poem exemplifies the three-part structure: the opening raises the question of lost beginnings, the middle reflects on the irretrievability of youth, and the conclusion crystallizes the insight through a powerful metaphor—youth as a hastily written book—bringing emotional and philosophical closure.
(4) Four-Stanza Form
This form follows the classical structural sequence of “introduction, continuation, turn, and conclusion” (qi–cheng–zhuan–he). Respectively, these correspond to the opening gesture, development, shift or reversal, and closure; together, they form a coherent progression.
“You Say” / Bei Dao
I knock on the door with a secret code.
You say: come in, it’s spring.
I slowly take off my hat,
my temples dusted with frost and snow.
When I lift you into my arms,
you say: don’t panic, fool.
A frightened little deer
is running through your pupils.
On your birthday,
you say: no, don’t bring gifts.
Yet my Cassiopeia
has long been glittering above your head.
At the crossroads,
you say: don’t separate, forever.
Blazing lines of headlights
pass straight between us.
Each stanza assumes a distinct structural role: the opening establishes the situation, the second develops emotional intimacy, the third introduces symbolic elevation, and the final stanza executes a sharp turn, concluding with separation rendered through visual imagery.
(5) Multi-Stanza Form
Forms exceeding four stanzas generally adopt a narrative structure, commonly proceeding as:
“prologue → development → turning point → conflict → climax → resolution.”
“A Flowering Tree” / Xi Murong
How can I make it so you meet me
at my most beautiful moment?
For this,
I have prayed before the Buddha for five hundred years,
begging him to let us form a bond in the mortal world.
Thus the Buddha turned me into a tree,
growing by the road you must pass.
In the sunlight,
I bloom with utmost care—
every flower
a hope from my previous life.
When you draw near,
please listen closely:
the trembling leaves
are my passion of waiting.
And when you finally pass by without a glance,
scattered all over the ground behind you—
my friend,
those are not petals;
they are my withering heart.
Xi Murong’s modern poetry has been immensely popular in Taiwan for over forty years, spanning two generations. Among today’s middle-aged poetry readers—especially mature women and housewives—a high proportion were once her devoted fans. The image of the “eternal maiden” in Xi Murong’s poetry is deeply imprinted in their minds: a figure who harbors beautiful longings for love, pure in spirit and refined in sensibility.
The opening of “A Flowering Tree” immediately establishes the time and circumstance of love: “you meet me / at my most beautiful moment,” thereby drawing open the prologue of the story. What follows is the development of events intended to fulfill this beautiful wish. On the one hand, the poem points to prior causes—“I have prayed before the Buddha for five hundred years / begging him to let us form a bond in the mortal world”—emphasizing the speaker’s painstaking devotion. Moved by such sincerity, the divine responds: “Thus the Buddha turned me into a tree / growing by the road you must pass,” marking a turning point in the narrative.
As this affectionate, devoted tree, the speaker blooms with great care—“in the sunlight / I bloom with utmost care / every flower a hope from my previous life.” When the beloved approaches—“please listen closely / the trembling leaves / are my passion of waiting”—the speaker pours her entire being into the act of blossoming, yearning to attract attention and affection. However, conflict emerges: “and when you finally pass by without a glance.” The failure of expectation becomes the source of inner conflict.
The climax follows: “scattered all over the ground behind you … those are not petals / they are my withering heart.” What falls is not merely a carpet of petals, but also the speaker’s shattered hopes. “My withering heart” serves as the story’s conclusion—a clearly tragic ending. It is precisely this tragic quality that renders the poem especially moving to female readers.
The narrative of “A Flowering Tree” unfolds through a sequence of visual scenes, each stanza assume / fulfill a specific structural function. Advancing step by step from prologue → development → turning point → conflict → climax → resolution, the poem ultimately forms a deeply emotional and poignantly beautiful tale of unrequited love.
IV. What Kind of Organizational Structure Is Adopted?
1. The Definition of Structure in Literature
In literary texts, structure refers to the organized, orderly, and interrelated ways in which systems or elements are arranged. From a fundamental perspective, structure can be understood as the layout and relationships among various components within a system, and it typically expresses how the whole constructs specific meanings or functions through the combination of its elements.
In linguistics, structure manifests the internal rules and relational patterns of language, such as phonemes, morphemes, words, and syntactic structures. The structuralist linguist Ferdinand de Saussure pointed out that language is a system of signs, and that the meaning of linguistic units is generated through their oppositions to other units. In literature, structure involves aspects such as plot arrangement, character relationships, narrative perspective, and thematic development. These components work together to produce specific reading effects. For example, the structure of a novel may express particular themes or ideas through the protagonist’s psychological growth, the placement of plot turning points, and the design of the ending.
2. Structure in Modern Poetry
In modern poetry, based on the internal relationships among the various components of the text, structures may be classified into several types: vertical (or linear) structure, interwoven vertical-and-horizontal structure, parallel structure, progressive structure, combined parallel–progressive structure, contrastive structure, causal structure, and stream-of-consciousness structure. Through the following explanations, both poets and readers may gain a preliminary understanding of the internal structures of modern poetry.
(1) Vertical Structure
This type of structure unfolds along a vertical axis of emotion or time (a linear temporal axis) and possesses a strong sense of logical continuity, gradually leading toward a climax. Examples include Yu Guangzhong’s Nostalgia and Yang Ze’s Smoke, both of which express emotions toward the homeland through temporal awareness and narrative progression.
Such structures typically arrange imagery according to the temporal development of events or causal relationships. They are characterized by clear beginnings and endings, distinct layers, sequential continuity, and internal resonance. This structural logic corresponds to rhetorical devices such as anadiplosis and linked parallelism.
1. Nostalgia / Yu Guangzhong
When I was young,
nostalgia was a tiny postage stamp;
I was on this side,
my mother on the other.
When I grew up,
nostalgia was a narrow ferry ticket;
I was on this side,
my bride on the other.
Later on,
nostalgia was a low, small grave;
I was outside,
my mother inside.
And now,
nostalgia is a shallow strait;
I am on this side,
the mainland on the other.
Formally, this poem employs parallel stanzas; semantically, it exemplifies linked parallelism. Three main threads intertwine throughout the poem:
(1) Temporal progression — from “when I was young,” to “when I grew up,” to “later on,” and finally “now”;
(2) Spatial transformation — from studying away from home, to living as a guest in a foreign land, to separation by life and death, and ultimately to gazing across a strait;
(3) Familial relationships — between the poet and his mother, evolving from exchanging letters, to returning home by boat, to eternal separation, and finally to political division between two lands.
By employing linked parallelism across the dimensions of time, space, and kinship, the poem produces vivid and palpable imagery. The uniform sentence patterns also lend each stanza a ballad-like quality, marked by cyclical melodic repetition and balanced, unified rhythm.
2. Smoke / Yang Ze
Please read me—please read me carefully.
I am a palm without palm lines,
a face without features,
a clock without markings or hands.
Please read me—please read me, read me hard.
I am a slab without inscription or date,
a fallen stele.
Please read me—please read me carefully.
Neither palm nor face nor clock nor stele,
I am a lowercase, skinny i,
a miniature eight-hundred-billionfold reduction.
Please read me—please read me, read me hard.
I am life, I am love, I am the immortal
soul—a solitary plume of smoke
rising fiercely from the crematorium.
In Smoke, Yang Ze employs parallel imagery structured through negation to gradually reveal a sense of existence devoid of concrete features. Through a series of negative statements and metaphors, the poem conveys an inquiry into the essence of life and the ambiguity of existence, while simultaneously expressing a powerful consciousness of life emerging from the intangible.
The Structure and Inner Meaning of Parallel Imagery
1. Construction of Parallel Imagery
The poem opens with the repeated plea, “Please read me—please read me carefully,” which functions as a voice yearning to be understood. What follows is a layered accumulation of negated images: “a palm without palm lines,” “a face without features,” “a clock without markings or hands,” and “a stele without inscription or date.” These negated images suggest a rejection of human markers and concrete forms, as though the self seeks to shed worldly identifiers.
In the latter half of the poem, the phrase “neither palm nor face nor clock nor stele” further intensifies this negation, revealing instead a “lowercase, skinny i,” a symbol of infinitesimal existence that metaphorically represents the self’s inner fragility and minuteness.
2. Progressive Structural Depth
The sequence of images—palm, face, clock, stele—constitutes symbols closely associated with identity, forming a deep structure that moves from the body, to time, to history. Their negation implies an invisible existence: a soul stripped of all recognizable worldly labels.
The poem’s concluding image—“a plume of smoke rising fiercely from the crematorium”—assigns the ultimate destination of these parallel images to smoke. As a turning point, smoke shifts the poem from the concrete to the intangible, completing the essence of formlessness and expressing the permanence and indestructibility of the soul.
3. Internal Structure and Thematic Expression
The poem’s internal structure progressively unveils the self’s existence, ultimately presenting a presence that cannot be concretized. This layered progression forms the poem’s central theme: an inquiry into the soul and existence itself.
The repeated plea, “Please read me—please read me carefully,” reflects both a desire to be understood and the difficulty of understanding. The repeated negations challenge the reader’s perception of physical existence, rendering meaning elusive and intangible. Through smoke as the final symbol, the poem emphasizes its core idea—the immortal soul—and conveys a profound meditation on life and being.
Through these parallel constructions, Yang Ze successfully shapes a paradoxical and ambiguous sense of existence, transforming smoke into a symbol of the soul and expressing the poet’s philosophical reflection on life.
(2) Horizontal Structure
A horizontal structure is a method of organization that slices phenomena laterally, presenting different cross-sections of an object or experience. Through this arrangement, the poet sequentially displays details or images from multiple facets. By means of juxtaposition, this structure reveals both the diversity and the deeper configuration of the subject matter. In the absence of explicit temporal or logical connections, readers are invited to freely combine and imagine these cross-sections, thereby gaining a more coherent apprehension of the essence of the subject.
The horizontal structure is particularly suitable for the free arrangement of poetic materials, producing a collage-like effect. A comparable rhetorical device is cataloguing (列錦), in which multiple images are arranged side by side to create visual or semantic contrasts and resonances. Similar to postmodern techniques of imagistic collage, this mode of arrangement places dispersed images in juxtaposition, forming a layered and irregular structure. As readers move through the poem, they capture poetic meaning from the interaction among these images.
1. Station Messages / Chen Kehua
A-mei, A-cao,
I’m taking the 11:37 southbound train—I don’t hate you.
If the typhoon arrives tomorrow,
call: (00)7127ㄓ998.
Left by father. Children, remember me.
We’ll talk later.
The money—don’t wait for me.
My home is not in Taipei. Echo: ECHO.
What I owe you.
I’ve found a job.
Long, long afterward, essence
and appearance clash fiercely.
Wish you a quick return home.
The three hens and the cabbage
are all fine.
Your most sincere love borrows this moment
to repay you.
Chen Kehua’s Station Messages adopts a horizontal structure in which each line resembles fragments of messages pasted on a station bulletin board. The horizontally arranged sentences present the inner emotions, life fragments, and interpersonal connections of different individuals. This structure lacks continuous temporality or linear logic; instead, through juxtaposition, it allows readers to glimpse intersecting fragments of multiple lives. Each fragment conveys a distinct emotion or story, evoking fleeting encounters among countless strangers passing through a station.
(1) The Use of Horizontal Structure
In this poem, the horizontal structure treats each short line as a cross-section. These cross-sections are independent, yet subtly interconnected. For example:
- “I’m taking the 11:37 southbound train—I don’t hate you” conveys a decisive farewell tempered by a calm absence of resentment.
- “If the typhoon arrives tomorrow” introduces uncertainty and impending disruption, complicating the emotional atmosphere.
- “Left by father. Children, remember me” and “The money—don’t wait for me” present distinct voices: a father’s admonition and a gesture of relinquishment tied to debt, suggesting both attachment and severance in human relationships.
Together, these horizontally juxtaposed fragments construct a complex, fluid cross-section of life—like fragments of different lives converging at a station, intersecting yet remaining separate—thus shaping the poem’s overall structure and emotional tone.
(2) The Use of Imagistic Collage
The collage of images in the poem assembles fragments of everyday life and interpersonal relationships, allowing readers to sense suspense, departure, contradiction, and helplessness embedded in ordinary existence. The poem deliberately selects images rich in symbolism and polysemy, such as:
- “The 11:37 southbound train”—not merely a concrete departure time, but a moment suggestive of separation and an uncertain future.
- “Typhoon”—symbolizing potential upheaval and change, foreshadowing the instability and external forces affecting the characters’ lives.
- “Three hens and cabbage”—images of domestic calm that nonetheless imply loneliness or nostalgia for an ordinary life.
Though these images are not directly connected, within the horizontal structure they form a collage effect that collectively depicts the chaotic array of people, events, and objects at a single moment in a station. The meanings generated by this collage are deliberately ambiguous, stimulating reflection and imagination. As readers move among these images, they traverse shifting situations, experiencing the poem’s fragmentation, its texture of lived reality, and the fluctuations of emotion.
(3) Interwoven Vertical-and-Horizontal Structure
This structure typically uses the progression of events and time as the warp, while various plot elements and imagistic scenes function as the weft. The interweaving of warp and weft preserves temporal continuity and clarifies the origin and development of events, while simultaneously accommodating the horizontal juxtaposition of space and materials. Through appropriate lateral insertions, narrative monotony is avoided, and the layers of meaning become clear and well ordered.
2. Please Give Me a Better Rival in Love / Xia Yu (Li Gedi)
This is not the first time I’ve heard her name.
You are the rogue we both fell in love with.
In truth, I don’t really mind
sharing you with someone else.
I don’t truly care
that your kisses
bear another’s imprint.
If this is a destiny you cannot escape,
then please give me a better rival in love—
at least let me enjoy the pleasure of competition,
at least let me believe
that abandonment
has its reasons.
This is not the first time I’ve heard her story.
You are the theme we both fell in love with.
In truth, I’m not really sad
to share everything with others.
I’m not truly afraid
that your love
looks both left and right, full of entanglements.
If this is an ending I cannot avoid,
I ask only for a better rival in love—
at least let me possess perfect jealousy,
at least let me feel
that there is another
worthy of matching my loneliness.
Xia Yu’s poem Please Give Me a Better Rival in Love exemplifies an interwoven vertical-and-horizontal structure, intertwining emotional shifts with narrative development to create temporal continuity and multiple emotional layers. This structure prevents emotional movement from becoming singular or flat, enabling readers to experience the depth and complexity of the poem’s theme across varying contexts.
(1) Vertical Development of Time
The poem repeatedly begins with phrases such as “This is not the first time I’ve heard her name” and “This is not the first time I’ve heard her story,” which clearly indicate temporal continuity. These repetitions convey the accumulation of emotional experience and emphasize the speaker’s familiarity with—and resignation toward—the rival in love.
This configuration allows readers to sense a cyclical passage of time, in which emotional accumulation fails to bring release, instead reinforcing a sense of fate.
(2) Horizontal Interweaving of Plot
Through repeated lines such as “You are the rogue/theme we both fell in love with,” the poem reveals the complexity of the triangular relationship. The speaker’s feelings toward the rival are not merely hatred or jealousy, but include understanding and acceptance of love itself.
The recurring structure “at least let me…” in each stanza demonstrates the speaker’s shifting mindset when confronting romantic competition—both yearning and helpless—allowing readers to perceive her inner contradictions and strategies of self-adjustment.
(3) Emotional Depth and Parallel Juxtaposition
The poem repeatedly employs phrases such as “I don’t really…” to mask the speaker’s true emotions. Beneath these seemingly casual denials lies profound emotional conflict, expressing the speaker’s inner struggle and resignation.
Through the interweaving of emotions such as jealousy, loneliness, and fate, the poem achieves a multidimensional emotional flow that renders interpersonal relationships vividly complex.
By employing an interwoven vertical-and-horizontal structure, Xia Yu successfully integrates temporal progression with layered emotional dimensions, enabling readers to understand the speaker’s inner world through a multifaceted emotional landscape. This structure not only enriches the poem’s content but also deepens its thematic resonance. Each repetition and intersection forms a dynamic emotional network, prompting reflection on the inescapable competition and loneliness inherent in love.
(4) Paratactic Structure
This structure narrates or describes various aspects of a subject in parallel, without distinguishing primary from secondary elements, fully revealing its multiple facets. In rhetorical terms, this includes devices such as “antithesis,” “paratactic parallelism,” and “enumeration.”
Excerpt from “Slovenly Autobiography” by Guan Guan:
Small class for one year, middle class for one year, senior class for one year
Three years of junior high, three years of senior high, four years of university, two years of master’s, two years of PhD
Luckily, I never finished any of them
Five romances, two lovers, one wife, three children
A few enemies, two or three confidants, several relatives
Several years in the military, several years on pay, but no combat
On the battlefield of life, I won a few small victories, and even hung some “exemption cards”
One long gown, several suits, and a few pairs of jeans
One bag of tobacco, two cups of tea, three bowls of rice, one wooden bed, vegetarian by birth
No gambling, no chess, a few worn-out books lie by my pillow to feign ignorance
A few scares, a few mishaps, several minor illnesses endured
Sitting in the sunset, hugging my knees, pondering
In Guan Guan’s Slovenly Autobiography, the use of paratactic structure effectively presents the protagonist’s life and emotions. This structure organizes sentences in parallel to reveal the multifaceted nature of his experiences. Below is an analysis of the paratactic structure in this poem, with examples:
- Parallel Sentences:
The poem opens by listing the protagonist’s educational progression from small class to PhD, followed by the ironic statement, “Luckily, I never finished any of them,” which contrasts and critiques formal education, enhancing the sentence’s tension.
Subsequently, parallelism continues in phrases like “Five romances, two lovers, one wife, three children,” presenting experiences in love and family in a straightforward parallel form, allowing readers to immediately grasp the complexity of the poet’s emotional life. - Diverse Facets of Life:
The poem enumerates aspects of life such as “A few enemies, two or three confidants, several relatives,” enabling readers to sense the poet’s rich and varied interpersonal relationships and life experiences.
Similarly, references to “One long gown, several suits, and a few pairs of jeans” reflect his casual attitude toward clothing and hint at a subtle rebellion against societal norms. - Life’s Resignation and Reflection:
The concluding line, “Sitting in the sunset, hugging my knees, pondering,” emphasizes the passage of time and reflection on life. Here, the poet expresses contemplation on past experiences, conveying a sense of solitude and resignation.
Guan Guan’s Slovenly Autobiography employs paratactic structure to portray a rich, multifaceted life, creating strong contrasts and reflection through parallel arrangement. Compared to other modern poems, this technique is common in contemporary poetry, effectively conveying emotion and theme.
(5) Progressive (Climactic) Structure
This structure advances material step by step, unfolding it from small to large, surface to depth, or shallow to profound, thereby exploring thoughts and events in layers. In rhetorical terms, this includes devices such as “climax” and “anadiplosis.”
Excerpt from “Lotus” by Guan Guan:
“There used to be lakes and lakes of mud there”
“Are you referring to the patches of lotus?”
“Now there are marshes, one after another”
“Do you mean these ponds of buildings?”
“Ponds of buildings?”
“No, they are patches of lotus, one house after another.”
In Guan Guan’s Lotus, the progressive structure gradually deepens the meaning and emotion of each line, forming a layered process of thought. The analysis is as follows:
- From Concrete to Abstract:
The poem begins with “There used to be lakes and lakes of mud,” describing a concrete natural scene. The mud symbolizes life’s origin and vitality.
As the lines progress to “Are you referring to the patches of lotus?” the focus shifts from mud to lotus flowers, emphasizing life’s continuity and transformation. - Layered Scene Transitions:
The lines “Now there are marshes, one after another” and “Do you mean these ponds of buildings?” contrast natural and urban landscapes. The marsh represents undeveloped nature, while buildings symbolize urbanization, suggesting human intervention in nature.
This stepwise, dialogic progression allows readers to experience environmental changes and human impact. - Deepening Emotion:
The final line, “No, they are patches of lotus, one house after another,” carries a heavier tone, implying that lotus still exists amidst the city, though in a transformed form. This line invites reflection on the current state of nature and human development.
The deliberate play with measure words and successive imagery creates a sense of whimsy and highlights the indeterminacy behind objects—revealing the poem’s underlying philosophical depth.
Guan Guan’s use of progressive structure in Lotus successfully illustrates the relationship between nature, urbanization, and humanity, gradually deepening the poem’s meaning and enhancing reader resonance.
(6) Combined Paratactic–Progressive Structure
By integrating parallel and progressive structures, this approach increases both the breadth and depth of a text, allowing for a comprehensive and profound exposition.
Excerpt from “Friction, Indescribable” by Xia Yu:
Cat today heard
You call me back to a
Baroque-like mingling
Understanding cat’s problems
Is my forgetting
Like a ghost my
Guilt like an opera my
Insomnia hiking
Wilderness problems are
Cat my spinning
If meaningless
My softness is
That regret my
Warmth is this
Wandering cat
My flicker my collision
Is its favorite fish
In Xia Yu’s Friction, Indescribable, the combined paratactic–progressive structure allows the poem to convey both breadth and depth simultaneously. Analysis:
- Paratactic Expression:
The poem frequently uses paratactic structures, e.g., “cat,” “my forgetting,” “my guilt,” arranged in a parallel manner. This independence and interplay among images enhance the multiplicity and expansiveness of the poem.
For instance, the opening lines “Cat today heard” and “You call me back to a” create a sense of intimate interaction between poet and cat, prompting reflection on understanding. - Progressive Emotional Depth:
On this parallel foundation, the poem advances emotionally. Phrases like “my forgetting like a ghost” and “my guilt like an opera” progress from surface description to exploration of inner struggles, moving the imagery inward from external to internal. - Integrated Structure:
The combination of parallelism and progressive deepening produces a complex yet harmonious overall structure. The final line, “my flicker my collision is its favorite fish,” synthesizes preceding images, emphasizing the interaction and dependence between cat and poet, achieving emotional fulfillment and depth.
Through the combined structure, Xia Yu’s poem effectively presents multiple layers of emotion and imagery, enhancing the poem’s resonance and richness. Readers experience the poet’s internal struggle and reflection, culminating in a sense of emotional resolution, creating a dynamic, multi-layered emotional world.
(7) Contrastive Structure
This structure divides material into two opposing parts, narrating each separately to create a sharp contrast between paragraphs or poetic images. It derives from the aesthetic principle of the “unity of opposites,” placing opposing things or emotions side by side to form a positive–negative contrast, leaving a strong impression on the reader. Using this structure can produce vivid contrasts in color, imagery, or essence, fully expressing the dual nature of sentiment and achieving harmonious unity; it can also create mirrored characterizations, highlighting personalities; moreover, arguments or reasoning can be presented from two contrasting angles, clarifying right and wrong or truth and falsehood.
Excerpt from “Water Song” by Xiang Yang:
Cheers. Twenty years later
Surely all have aged, like leaves falling
Across the ground. The garden path now dim and secluded
Let us together
Stroll at night, raising lanterns
Casually. Twenty years ago
We were quite young, like flowers in full bloom
Branches abundant. Beneath the trees, morning falls with scattered petals
Hear us at the west window
Chant slowly, singing the autumn colors
Xiang Yang’s Water Song employs a contrastive structure to depict the passage of time and its effects, deepening the poem’s emotion and themes through the sharp opposition of two sections. Analysis of the contrastive structure:
- Temporal Contrast:
The opening lines “Twenty years later” and “Twenty years ago” clearly divide the poem into two time periods. This temporal contrast forms the poem’s structural backbone, allowing readers to perceive the vivid differences between past and future.
In the “twenty years later” section, the poet portrays aging—“Surely all have aged, like leaves falling across the ground”—expressing life’s impermanence and nature’s changes. In contrast, the “twenty years ago” section depicts youthful beauty and vitality—“We were quite young, like flowers in full bloom”. - Emotional Contrast:
The emotions in these two periods form a strong contrast. In “twenty years later,” there is a sense of resignation and gentle melancholy; the “falling leaves across the ground” suggest loss and nostalgia, while the relaxed mindset conveys acceptance of life’s impermanence.
By contrast, the “twenty years ago” lines are full of vitality, and imagery such as “morning falls with scattered petals” suggests hope and joyous anticipation. - Imagery Contrast:
The imagery strengthens this contrast. In depicting the future, fallen leaves and the dim path create a quiet, lonely atmosphere; in describing the past, blooming flowers and abundant branches convey youthful energy and vibrancy.
For example, “Hear us at the west window, chant slowly, singing the autumn colors” evokes harmony and tranquility, while “raising lanterns” hints at memories and lingering attachment to the past.
Through contrastive structure, Xiang Yang’s Water Song effectively conveys a profound reflection on the passage of time. The juxtaposition of “twenty years later” and “twenty years ago” sharpens both structural clarity and emotional resonance, revealing life’s impermanence and preciousness, while also demonstrating the wisdom of finding harmony amid change.
(8) Causal Structure
This structure organizes material according to cause-and-effect relationships, either progressing from causes to their effects or tracing effects back to their causes.
Excerpt from “End of Poem” by Xiong Hong:
Love is a poem written in blood
Joyful blood and self-inflicted blood alike sincere
Scars from knives and kisses the same
Sorrow or pleasure
Forgiveness or hatred
Because in love, you must forgive
And I have already bowed my head
Fate surrounds me with cold bricks
Imprisons me in a dry well
Forces me to cry out a clear spring
And never release it
Even if my tears, thinking of you,
Flood into a river
Because it is inevitable
Because fate is absolute and tyrannical
Because in love
Scars from knives and kisses the same
You must forgive
Xiong Hong’s End of Poem uses a causal structure to explore the complexity of love, interweaving emotional experiences with their causes and consequences. Analysis:
- Development of Cause-and-Effect:
The poem begins with “Love is a poem written in blood,” defining love while setting up the ensuing emotional fluctuations. This establishes that deep emotional investment is inherent in love.
The following line, “Joyful blood and self-inflicted blood alike sincere,” indicates that whether pleasure or pain, love demands sincerity. Here, the cause is sincerity, and the effect is that both joyful and self-inflicted blood express that sincerity. - Emotional Contradictions and Interactions:
“Scars from knives and kisses the same” juxtaposes pain and sweetness, highlighting the paradox of love: suffering (knife scars) and happiness (kiss marks) coexist. The causal link lies in the complexity of emotions in love, producing this dual experience.
The line “Because in love, you must forgive” emphasizes love’s demand for tolerance. The existence of love compels acceptance of others’ flaws, a cause-and-effect progression whereby the depth of love necessitates forgiveness, enabling endurance of hurt. - Fate’s Ruthlessness and Emotional Interweaving:
“Fate surrounds me with cold bricks, imprisons me in a dry well” underscores life’s constraints and implies the forced and helpless nature of love. Here, the cause is fate’s harshness, and the effect is the poet’s sorrow and powerlessness.
The lines “forces me to cry out a clear spring, and never release it” show that fate binds emotional expression, reflecting love’s pain, making emotional outpouring inevitable. - Accumulation and Consequence of Emotion:
The poem concludes with “Even if my tears, thinking of you, flood into a river,” highlighting the overwhelming power of longing. The causal relationship is explicit: “thinking of you” leads to the effect of tears overflowing into a river, reinforcing love’s bitterness.
Finally, the reiteration of “Because it is inevitable” and “Because fate is absolute and tyrannical” elevates the causal logic to the level of destiny, resonating with the interplay of emotional pain and fate’s ruthlessness.
In End of Poem, Xiong Hong skillfully applies causal structure, revealing love’s complexity and contradictions through cause-and-effect relationships. The interweaving of emotional fluctuations and fate renders the poem deeply moving and sincere. This structure enhances emotional intensity, allowing readers to experience the coexistence of pain and joy in love, provoking reflection on its very nature.
(9) Stream-of-Consciousness Structure
This structure arranges material according to the flow of the “self” or consciousness. It transcends spatial and temporal constraints, producing a complex, ever-shifting pattern in which past, present, and future intermingle freely. All phenomena are presented through the character’s stream of consciousness, and the pen follows the flow of thought, achieving remarkable depth and creating a unique artistic effect of immediacy and aesthetic representation.
Excerpt from “Andante as Song” by Ya Xian:
The necessity of gentleness
The necessity of affirmation
The necessity of a little wine and osmanthus
The necessity of watching a woman walk properly
The necessity of knowing you from the start, not Hemingway
The necessity of World War, rain, cannons, weather, and the Red Cross
The necessity of taking a walk
The necessity of walking the dog
The necessity of peppermint tea
Every night at seven, self-evident from the other side of the Stock Exchange
The necessity of rumors drifting like grass. The necessity of revolving glass doors. The necessity of penicillin. The necessity of assassination. The necessity of the evening newspaper. The necessity of wearing flannel trousers. The necessity of horse tickets. The necessity of an aunt inheriting an estate. The necessity of balconies, the sea, smiles. The necessity of laziness.
And yet, being regarded as a river, it must continue to flow:
The world has always been like this:──
Guanyin on the distant mountain
Poppies in the poppy fields
Ya Xian’s Andante as Song employs a stream-of-consciousness structure, using continuous leaps in thought to reveal the character’s inner reflections and feelings. This structure transcends traditional limits of time and space, interweaving images of past, present, and future to create a complex yet delicate emotional experience. Analysis:
- Features of the Stream of Consciousness:
The poem centers on the word “necessity”; the repeated phrase “the necessity of” turns each fragment into a piece of the poet’s flowing consciousness, linking countless everyday details and emotional states. This structure emphasizes the necessity of daily life while revealing profound philosophical reflection in the mundane. - Temporal Interweaving and Jumps:
Images such as “the necessity of a little wine and osmanthus” and “the necessity of watching a woman walk properly” juxtapose past memories and present perceptions, shifting fluidly with the flow of thought. Time here is fluid and unfixed, drawing readers into the poet’s consciousness for a seamless experience.
For example, “the necessity of knowing you from the start, not Hemingway” creates a fleeting mental connection that recalls Hemingway’s literary world and the poet’s own life experiences—both a past reflection and an extension of present thought. - Multifaceted Imagery and Associations:
The poem’s images, such as “World War, rain, cannons,” “rumors drifting like grass,” and “revolving glass doors,” form a vivid, everyday tableau. These images do not exist independently but intersect within the poet’s consciousness, reflecting layered life experiences.
The leaping imagery mirrors the poet’s inner struggles and quests, exploring the “necessity” of life—emotionally, experientially, and in memory. - Emotional Flow and Conflict:
The closing line “And yet, being regarded as a river, it must continue to flow” emphasizes life’s ongoing continuity, suggesting that in this ever-shifting stream of consciousness, joy and sorrow alike are integral parts of life. The flowing imagery contrasts with the daily necessities, expressing life’s fragility and resilience.
The final juxtaposition of “Guanyin on the distant mountain” and “poppies in the poppy fields” prompts reflection on spirituality versus materiality, escape versus reality, generating profound emotional contemplation.
Summary:
In Andante as Song, Ya Xian successfully employs a stream-of-consciousness structure, breaking conventional temporal and spatial boundaries. Through flowing thoughts and imagery, the poem presents the diversity and complexity of life. It offers a deep observation of daily existence, allowing readers to experience the emotional resonance brought by the leaps and flows of consciousness. Overall, this structure enhances the poem’s aesthetic appeal while deepening its exploration of life’s essence.
V. How Are Paragraphs Connected? How Do Transitions and References Work?
Dividing a poem into paragraphs organizes the author’s ideas sequentially and hierarchically, showing each stage, turn, or pause in the thought process. This allows readers to follow the progression, understand the text fully, and have moments of pause for reflection. Paragraph continuity (cohesion) can take several forms: parallel, causal, contrastive, transitional, or subversive. Examples:
- Parallel:
Paragraphs are independent narrative or lyrical units. Separately, they read as short poems; together, they share formal commonalities. Common in “new metric” poems (Occasion) and ballad-style poems (Four Rhyme Nostalgia).
Excerpt from “Occasion” by Xu Zhimo:
I am a cloud in the sky,
Occasionally casting shadows on your waves──
You need not be surprised,
Nor joyful──
Vanishes in an instant.
We meet on the dark sea,
You have yours, I have mine, direction;
Whether you remember or not,
Better forget
The light exchanged in that moment!
Excerpt from “Four Rhyme Nostalgia” by Yu Guangzhong:
Give me a scoop of Yangtze River water, Yangtze water, that wine-like Yangtze water
The intoxicated taste is the taste of nostalgia
Give me a scoop of Yangtze River water, Yangtze water
…[similar pattern repeats with imagery of crabapple red, snow white, plum fragrance]
- Causal:
Paragraphs are linked by cause-and-effect, forming a “chain”: A→B→C→D. If the ending mirrors the beginning, a “loop” is formed.
Excerpt from “The Fleeing Sky” by Shang Qin:
The dead face is an unseen swamp
The swamp in the wasteland is the sky fleeing
The fleeing sky is overflowing roses
The overflowing roses are snow that never fell
The unfallen snow is tears in the veins
The rising tears are plucked strings
Plucked strings are a burning heart
The incinerated heart is the wasteland of the swamp
- Contrastive:
Paragraphs are opposed in imagery or thought, forming a contrast.
Excerpt from “Questions and Answers” by Xiang Yang:
In the deep mountains of midsummer, a cloud
Quietly avoids the sun’s pursuit
Hiding in high cliffs, the orchid’s pistil
Asks: Pine nut, when? Passing by
In the deep mountains of midsummer, a rain
Lifts the wind’s skirts from afar
Drifts onto the small path, over fallen leaves
Answers: Hermit, yesterday! Already asleep
- Transitional (Turn/Shift):
Paragraphs introduce a twist, changing the expected narrative or emotional trajectory, producing a new ending or emotion.
Excerpt from “Beauty Poster” by Chen Qu-fei:
Background: white sandy beach
Coconut groves shade the tropical coast
Bikini girls and tropical fish swim into the window frame
Under the sun umbrella, a fat white man in a floral shirt
Is a row of greasy hot dogs stuffed with sausages
A little girl from the East
Camera on her chest, says I look
Exactly like Popeye 50 years later
She secretly snaps the shutter; my soul
And beer-belly waist are captured in the lens
Become a human-shaped cutout
Several days later, the girl appears
Hands me the photo and agrees
To send a salon poster another day
While she gazes at the sea, I pick up the sausage fork
Poke her tender buttocks
Unexpectedly, she calms quickly
Flattens, becomes a poster
In the second paragraph, the sequence “while she stared blankly at the sea / I picked up the sausage fork / poked her tender buttocks / unexpectedly, she quickly calmed down / flattened, lying like a poster” presents a narrative leap, creating a striking twist that leads to an unforeseen outcome.
