Chapter Three: The Structure of Modern Poetry (Part 4)

(5) Subversive Structure
In a subversive structure, the continuity between stanzas not only presents a twist but also negates or overturns the topics, facts, or emotions of the preceding stanza, leading to a conclusion completely opposite to what was initially expected.

《Mistake》 / Zheng Chouyu
I traveled through Jiangnan
Faces waiting in the seasons bloom and fade like lotus flowers

The east wind does not come, willow catkins in March do not fly
Your heart is like a tiny lonely city
Just like the cobblestone street at dusk
No sound of footsteps, the spring drapery of March remains closed
Your heart is a little window tightly shut

The clattering of my horse’s hooves is a beautiful mistake
I am not the one returning; I am a passerby…

At the end of this poem, the author delivers an unexpected revelation: “I am not the one returning; I am a passerby.” This overturns the previous narrative, plainly stating that the speaker is not the lover awaited in the small cobblestone town, though the recipient mistakenly assumes that the sound of hooves signals the arrival of the awaited lover.

VI. How to Conclude? Creating Echoes Between Beginning and End and Leaving Space for Imagination

There are generally three types of endings in modern poetry: conclusive, echoing (circular), and lingering (suspenseful), each with distinctive features.

(1) Conclusive Ending
A conclusive ending is one in which the poet gives a clear emotional or thematic resolution at the end of the work, forming a complete conceptual closure. Key characteristics include:

1. Clear Theme: The conclusion directly reveals the core idea or emotional stance of the poem, giving the reader a definitive emotional direction.
2. Structural Integrity: From beginning to end, the poem’s emotional or causal development is presented, and the conclusion consolidates the content, providing logical or emotional completeness.
3. Imagery Deepening: The concluding language often carries symbolism or metaphor, integrating and intensifying the poem’s imagery, allowing the reader to experience a deeper aesthetic resonance.

In practice, poets often use everyday details, spatial sense, or character actions to convey emotion, elevating these elements in the conclusion into reflections on life, love, or existence. Such endings leave no suspense, offering readers a sense of closure and satisfaction.

Example and Analysis

《Mistress》 / Zheng Chouyu
In a small cobblestone town lives my mistress
And I leave her nothing
Only a patch of golden thread chrysanthemum, and a tall window
Perhaps letting a touch of loneliness from the sky in
Perhaps… and the chrysanthemum waits patiently
I think, solitude and waiting are good for her

So I go, always wearing a blue shirt
I want her to feel that it is the season, or
The arrival of migratory birds
For I am not the type to return home often

The poem uses the “small-town mistress” as its narrative backbone, entering through everyday details—cobblestone town, golden thread chrysanthemum, tall window—to portray a delicate, solitary domestic scene. The ending—“So I go, always wearing a blue shirt / I want her to feel that it is the season, or the arrival of migratory birds / For I am not the type to return home often”—provides a clear thematic resolution: the poet’s attitude toward love, his life choices, and the flow and limits of emotion.

Analysis:

• Clear Emotion: The ending directly conveys the poet’s actions and emotional stance, consolidating the narrative and emotional threads into a philosophy of love that is detached yet not indifferent.
• Imagery Echo: Symbols like the cobblestone town, chrysanthemum, migratory birds, and blue shirt echo throughout the poem, concentrating their emotional significance and transforming “solitude,” “waiting,” and “departure” into the poem’s conclusive sentiment.
• Structural Completeness: The poem unfolds from fragments of daily life to a concluding statement, forming a complete narrative and emotional arc, allowing readers to clearly perceive the poet’s theme and aesthetic intent.

A conclusive ending in modern poetry not only serves as formal closure but also elevates emotion and imagery. Through concrete details, symbolic objects, and character actions, the ending integrates scattered fragments into a coherent emotional structure, leaving readers with clarity of thought and emotional depth.

Such endings are particularly suited to emotionally intense and thematically clear poems, enabling imagery and emotion to develop fully and resonate, demonstrating the artistic unity and aesthetic power of modern poetry.

(2) Echoing (Circular) Structure
In an echoing or circular structure, the ending of a modern poem typically resonates with the imagery or language of the opening, creating a sense of cyclical completeness. This structure not only encourages readers to reflect back on the beginning, enhancing the unity of the poem, but also establishes semantic and emotional mirroring through repeated or revolving imagery, thereby deepening the thematic resonance.

When employing an echoing structure, poets often use the following strategies:

1. Imagery Resonance: Images, symbols, or objects introduced at the beginning are revisited or extended in the ending, allowing emotions or philosophical reflections to reverberate.
2. Linguistic Mirror: Words or phrases at the conclusion echo the syntax or tone of the opening, producing symmetrical or repetitive rhythms that enhance both recitability and memorability.
3. Emotional Closure: Echoing at the beginning and end is not merely formal; it also provides psychological or emotional closure, letting readers sense the continuous flow of thought rather than a sudden halt.

Example and Analysis

《You Are Mine, Half a Poem》 / Chen Qufei

You are mine / half a poem / half held with love
Half buried in flesh / you are mine / half a poem
No one may alter a single word
—Haizi, Half a Poem

You are mine, half a poem
The remaining half floats in my mind
Your imagery does not jump tone
It is not will-o’-the-wisp, not flickering or fleeting
Although sometimes unreasonable, throwing small tantrums
Yet unreasonableness needs no annotation
Emotions need not be deliberately translated

No one may alter a single word
Nor treat you as mere punctuation
Existing optionally, moved at will
I understand your inner thoughts
Those stubborn, assertive sparks
Lingering persistently on the dead wood of my soul
Phrases murmuring softly, mischievously flickering with restless light
I forbid you to alter even a single mark
Weakening into a subtle metaphor

Tear open the seals of your present life
I want you to step out from the shadows of emotional wounds
Embrace me, accept the omnipresent sunlight
Follow the birds happily hopping among the branches
And those musical notes, growing joyfully day by day
Becoming the half-poem
I wish to cling to for the rest of my life

The poem centers on the phrase “You are mine, half a poem” at both the beginning and the end, forming a classic echoing structure. The opening establishes the poet’s possession and emotional attachment to the “half-poem,” while the ending extends this attachment with delicate imagery: the remaining half floats in the mind, the imagery remains consistent, emotions are carried in softly murmured lines, and the completeness of feeling is thus achieved.

Analysis:

• Integration of Imagery: The “half-poem” serves as both a textual symbol and a symbol of love, memory, and emotional fragments. The repetition from beginning to end ensures continuity in the poem’s emotional thread.
• Emotional Layers: The poem’s nuanced depictions of “inner thoughts,” “stubborn sparks,” and “dead wood of the soul” render love and protection tangible, allowing readers to sense the depth and focus of the poet’s emotions.
• Aesthetic Effect of Echoing: The ending echoes the opening language, reinforcing textual unity while letting emotion flow from words to the reader’s inner experience, forming a complete and continuous emotional resonance.

In an echoing structure, the repeated use of language and imagery is a key aesthetic device. The structural closure presents the poem as an organically unified whole while preserving subtle variations and freshness. When readers look back to the opening, they can reassess the emotional peaks and imagery depth, producing dual experiences of emotional resonance and cognitive reflection.

The power of echoing lies not in mere repetition, but in generating new emotional layers and symbolic meaning: the language of the opening is the seed of emotion, and the echo at the ending is its fully bloomed flower, allowing readers to experience the complete flow and lingering resonance of the poem.

(3) Lingering (Suspenseful) Ending
A lingering or suspenseful ending is characterized by not fully stating everything or by deliberately leaving unresolved elements, creating blank spaces that allow readers room for imagination and reflection. This type of ending aligns closely with the aesthetic spirit of modern free verse: leaving gaps, extending imagery, and evoking emotional resonance. It neither rushes to closure nor imposes a definitive conclusion; instead, through lingering effects, it invites readers to enter the poem’s world autonomously, completing and extending its poetic meaning.

Through layers of imagery, sound, rhythm, and language sensation, a lingering ending can achieve the following effects:

1. Continuity of Emotion: Even after the poem ends, readers can still feel the flow of emotions, as if unfinished breaths linger in the air.
2. Regenerative Imagery: The blank spaces often become the mental canvas for the reader, allowing elements such as landscapes, animals, or celestial phenomena to unfold into new visions in the imagination.
3. Philosophical Reflection and Suspense: A lingering ending suggests that the story or emotion is not fully exhausted, leaving philosophical or existential suspense that prompts readers to reconsider life, time, love, or selfhood.

Examples and Analysis

《Finally》 / Xue Li
The boss who raises a flock of poems says
Your distant poetry collection is out of print
Finally, the birds no longer sing
The sheep no longer hide

Finally, letting go of shame
Life becomes simple
Those written words no longer hover
You pass between the threads of rain

The poem portrays imagery of distance, disappearance, and release: the out-of-print poetry collection, the birds no longer singing, the sheep no longer hiding—all intertwined to evoke emotions of loss and liberation. The final line, “You pass between the threads of rain,” creates a vivid visual space that symbolizes individual passage and flow, while also hinting at the continuously reassembled memories and emotions of life.

Analysis:

• Chained Imagery: Natural images such as “birds,” “sheep,” and “rain threads” echo one another, creating sensory rhythm and a symbolic system.
• Lingering Space: The ending does not explicitly state the poet’s psychological state, leaving interpretive freedom to the reader.
• Emotional Resonance: Through simple depictions of everyday objects, the poem conveys philosophical reflections on letting go and the simplicity of life, with the lingering effect extending the poem’s emotional impact into the reader’s inner world.

《Snow on the Distant Mountains》 / Xia Muxue
In a dream, we meet again
The sky does not turn
The earth does not rotate
Only the sunset shatters
Falling upon my shoulders
Cold, as cold as the snow on the distant mountains

I thought
I had matured many times
Hibernated, thick enough to bury your name
Wrong, in the dream, it is clearer than when awake

You are still there
In the growth rings of the dead wood
Circle by circle
On the contours of the distant mountains
Quietly spreading

This poem depicts a reunion in a dream and the suspension of time: the shattered sunset, the distant mountain snow, and the growth rings of dead wood transform inner love and the weight of memory into spatialized, visualized imagery. The ending, “Quietly spreading,” does not clarify the fate or outcome of the loved one but extends the emotional resonance across the contours of distant mountains, inviting infinite reflection.

Analysis:

• Synesthetic Expression: The shattered sunset falling on the shoulder blends visual and tactile sensation, allowing readers to “feel” the weight of time and emotion.
• Symbolic Imagery: The distant snow and dead wood rings symbolize the traces of time and the persistence of love, creating a symphony between subjective experience and objective scenery.
• Lingering and Suspense: The ending does not resolve the boundary between dream and reality; imagery spreads silently like snow, extending poetic meaning beyond the individual and evoking the sense of eternal, flowing time.

In lingering endings, poets often overlay rhythm and imagery, filling the lines with subtle psychological fluctuations and sensory layers. This form of ending not only challenges the reader’s interpretive ability but also demands precise and restrained tension in the language. The extension of poetic meaning exists not only in words but also in the blank spaces, where the reader’s emotional experience interacts with the poem’s imagery, creating resonance between subject and text.

The key to a successful lingering ending lies in the fine balance of rhythm, imagery selection, emotional development, and the interplay of blank spaces with thematic echoes. It can extend a fleeting impression into a lasting emotional reverberation, giving modern free verse a sense of aesthetic depth that is both contemporary and philosophical.

Section Three: Common Structural Pitfalls in Modern Poetry

In modern poetry texts, readers often notice certain structural problems, or feel that some passages are semantically unclear, or that certain lines contain grammatical infelicities. Based on my own experience in writing and critiquing modern poetry, I have summarized the following common situations:

1. Memorable Lines Without an Integrated Whole

Wang Guowei, in Remarks on Ci Poetry from the Human World, wrote:

“The ci poetry of the Tang and Five Dynasties has lines but no complete structure; the ci of famous Southern Song poets has structure but no striking lines. Works that have both structure and lines are found only in Li Yu’s post-conquest writings and in those of Yongshu, Zizhan, Shaoyou, Meicheng, and Jiaxuan.”

Here, “structure” refers to the integrity of meaning and organization (overall compositional design), while “lines” refers to “brilliant lines”—those most striking and memorable within a poem. Wang Guowei believed that although Tang and Five Dynasties ci poetry occasionally contains brilliant lines, these lines are often isolated and fail to resonate with or drive the overall momentum of the work; thus, such poems have lines but no cohesive whole.

Many beginners in modern poetry lack a sense of compositional design. They often have only fragmented images (visual impressions) or one or two beautiful-sounding lines in mind, without carefully organizing these images into a layered, systematic, and complete organic unity. Poems of this kind—marked by a “lack of internal structural unity”—tend to display scattered images, fragmented meanings, and a lack of hierarchy and coherence. Even if there are one or two striking lines (fine or “highlight” lines), such poems rarely become works that readers revisit repeatedly. At the same time, they expose a common problem among poets: an unwillingness to temporarily set aside a cherished line, leading them to force unrelated images and scenes together into a poem. The result is a patchwork piece—one with lines but no coherent whole, full of abrupt tonal shifts and flashy but hollow effects.

Explained through the logic of cinematography, “lines without a whole” means “images without a story”—a collage of unrelated shots. To avoid this pitfall, I suggest first conceiving a brief story, then arranging images and structuring passages according to its main thread and subplots. Let your images tell a story; hierarchy and coherence will naturally emerge. I have found that most classic, beautifully crafted poems by major poets possess a sense of “narrativity”—a narrative axis—even in short works. Examples include Ya Xian’s The Opera Actress, Shang Qin’s The Giraffe, Luo Fu’s Jinlong Chan Temple, and Zheng Chouyu’s Mistake, The Mistress, and When the West Wind Passes By, all of which reveal identifiable narrative threads.

2. Failure to Convey Meaning and Utter Incoherence

“Failure to convey meaning” and “utter incoherence” are common blunders frequently made by novice poets.

“Failure to convey meaning” arises from misunderstanding or misusing vocabulary, as well as unfamiliarity with expressive techniques. The accompanying symptoms include grammatical errors—so-called “linguistic defects” (such as excessive or improper shifts in word class)—and semantic contradictions or obscurities, which create barriers to understanding.

“Incoherence,” on the other hand, usually results from insufficient filtering and selection during the incubation stage of imagery related to the theme. Writers jot down whatever comes to mind, letting the pen follow impulse, without proper arrangement or organization. As a result, the writing becomes scattered and pieced together at random. Even when the poem strays off topic or loses direction, the writer remains unaware. Lines within a stanza operate independently, and the semantic flow between passages—ideally strung together like beads along the axis of the theme—falls apart. What remains is a jumble of unrelated images, like lotus leaves scattered across a pond, with broken semantic chains and meaningless (or unconscious) collage.

In Taiwan’s modern poetry scene, many young writers have been misled by “postmodernism.” When writing poetry, they habitually adopt “leapfrogging horizontal thinking,” believing that deliberately severing logical continuity and causal relationships—producing abrupt, tone-shifting imagery that leaves readers “seeing without understanding,” like dream-talk or riddles—makes their work appear modern and fashionable. In fact, such postmodern collage-style works only frustrate general readers, who, after repeatedly running into walls, lose their aesthetic expectations and enthusiasm for reading poetry. These poets, lacking self-awareness, may even congratulate themselves, believing they stand at the cutting edge of the times.

3. A Strong Start but a Weak Finish; Much Thunder, Little Rain

When a poem’s lyrical or narrative movement exhibits a “strong beginning but weak ending,” or “much thunder, little rain,” it is often due to an incomplete incubation process or insufficient development of imagery. It may also result from hasty handling of passages, a lack of patience, or an unwillingness to discard a momentarily inspired line, leading to forced patchwork composition. These problems commonly appear in beginners, whose associative training is still inadequate and who remain unfamiliar with the application of rhetorical techniques.

As a temporary remedy, one may set the poem aside and rewrite or revise it once the conception matures. As a fundamental solution, however, poets must read extensively from the works of major writers, absorb their strengths, internalize their expressive techniques, and actively study rhetoric and grammar to acquire practical tools for expression.

4. Abrupt Intrusions and Jarring Disruptions

For readers, nothing is more discouraging than encountering inexplicable “jarring disruptions” in poetic lines or passages—those sudden, unmotivated intrusions that seem to appear out of nowhere. Such abrupt lines immediately block the reader’s train of thought and create obstacles to reading. Therefore, when composing, poets should consider the reader’s perspective and avoid gratuitous obscurity. If the progression of imagery follows a causal logic, even without a clearly defined narrative axis, readers can still trace the poet’s emotional intent through the structure of passages and contextual clues, rather than stumbling blindly through a fog.

After completing a first draft, poets should reread their work from the reader’s standpoint, carefully examining whether any images clash, whether certain words fail to connect semantically, or whether there are obvious grammatical or semantic defects. Passages or lines that feel awkward, obscure, or fractured should be revised and adjusted as necessary.

5. Patchwork Writing and Blurred Focus

Writing poetry is not about depicting still life; it is about “telling a story through images.” Through this process of narration, the poet conveys ideas and emotions. First, there must be a genuine emotional response—whether triggered by external events or internal states, such as heartbreak. These feelings awaken one’s aesthetic experience and motivate the incubation of a poem.

Before writing, it is worthwhile to spend more time in the incubation stage, allowing imagination to extend in multiple directions and images to emerge in abundance. Once the thematic idea begins to take shape, select and filter the images that serve it, organize them into scenes, and then use these scenes—like storytelling or filmmaking—to articulate the theme and express emotion.

Modern poetry should not be forced or contrived. Do not compel yourself to stitch lines together merely for the sake of writing a poem; doing so turns the text into something “zombie-like,” full of tonal disjunctions, semantic glitches, and jarring disruptions, resulting in obscurity or hollow self-pity. Even more unacceptable is the direct appropriation of others’ lines—cutting and pasting them into a poem—which constitutes the unethical act of “stealing another’s beauty.” Such work is not truly original and is likely to be exposed, questioned by peers, or even lead to copyright infringement disputes and personal disgrace. Never plagiarize others’ poetry to satisfy momentary vanity. It is far better to proceed steadily, step by step, exploring and growing on your own—“better to grow your own patch than to envy another’s harvest” (a Taiwanese saying).