Chapter 5. Irony and Black Humor in the Poetry of Ya Hsien
Section 1. Ya Hsiens Black Absurdist Drama
Among Taiwans modern poets, Ya Hsien stands out as an exceptionally prominent practitioner of irony. Not only does he employ it with remarkable frequency, but the density of its use—that is, the proportion of irony among the various rhetorical devices and expressive techniques in his poetry—is also extraordinarily high. To this day, few, if any, have surpassed him in this regard. Ya Hsien once remarked:
"In terms of subject matter, I enjoy portraying the suffering of ordinary people, self-mockery, and employing dramatic perspectives together with the techniques of the short story. In the series Side View, almost all of the poems depict fragments of the lives of real people." 1
Most of Ya Hsiens poems possess a narrative structure, staging plots that resemble an absurdist drama. They are filled with dramatic comic effects and paradoxical tension, while their protagonists often embody a tragicomic character caught in circumstances beyond their control. Because Ya Hsien excels in the use of irony, and because his language is rich in wit and verbal dexterity, his works consistently display the abruptness and comic incongruity characteristic of dark humor.
Ya Hsiens character poems, such as "The Colonel," "The Madwoman," "The Abandoned Wife," and "Khrushchev," all employ irony as their primary rhetorical device in order to reveal the personalities of their subjects. Among them, "Khrushchev" carries particularly profound implications, functioning almost as a sketched replica of the then-political strongman Chiang Kai-shek. Compared with Lo Fu, who embraced Surrealism and excelled in hyperbole, synesthesia, and the juxtaposition of disparate imagery, and Shang Chin, who became known for his symbolic techniques and prose-poem form, Ya Hsien—though equally a member of the Genesis Poetry Society—possessed a playful and mischievous poetic style that more readily captured readers attention, tickled their sense of humor, stimulated their laughter, and won their recognition and emotional resonance. Consequently, irony became both his principal artistic technique and the defining hallmark of his poetic style.
Among the poets of the Genesis Poetry Society, who generally employed Surrealist techniques to achieve an expressive, impressionistic style, Ya Hsien stood almost alone as a rational poet endowed with a humanitarian spirit and a realist consciousness. He excelled at using irony to expose and satirize the events of everyday life while simultaneously embedding moral criticism and rational condemnation within his works. Perhaps it was precisely this concern for reality and compassion for society that made him seem somewhat out of place within the predominantly impressionistic atmosphere of the Genesis group. He resembled a solitary buckwheat plant mistakenly transplanted into a flower garden overflowing with brilliant blossoms; his loneliness and isolation were almost inevitable. The present author speculates that this may well have been one of the principal reasons why Ya Hsien laid down his poetic pen upon reaching middle age and ceased publishing poetry thereafter.
Section 2. Types of Irony
Irony, also known as reversal, refers on the semantic level to what may be called the opposition between utterance and intention. The apparent meaning expressed on the surface is the exact opposite of the speakers true intention. In other words, the surface meaning and the deep meaning stand in paradoxical opposition, embodying conflicting positive and negative values.
Reversal encompasses both verbal inversion and ironic speech. It refers to situations in which "the apparent meaning of the authors words is the opposite of the authors true intention." 2 As another scholar observes:
"In order to express their thoughts more profoundly, more forcefully, and more interestingly, people often say things that are opposite to what they truly mean, or write words that contradict their real intentions." 3
As one of the oldest rhetorical techniques in the history of oratory, the original rhetorical significance of irony lies precisely in this opposition between what is said and what is meant. That is, the language employed by the writer conveys a meaning contrary to the writers underlying intention. In literary creation, irony functions as a means of communicating an inner or deeper meaning that differs sharply—indeed, is usually the exact opposite—from the literal surface meaning of the words.
I. Verbal Inversion
(1) Affirmation Through Reversed Expression
Verbal inversion involves expressing an affirmative meaning through apparently opposite words. Because direct speech is often impossible under particular circumstances, opposite expressions are employed to convey ones genuine intentions and emotions. Verbal inversion generally contains relatively little satirical force; instead, it often conveys praise. Although it may contain playful teasing, its overall tone tends to be humorous and lighthearted.
In his character poems, Ya Hsien is primarily concerned with the overlooked ordinary people who occupy the lower strata of society and the hardships they endure in everyday life. Only secondarily does he turn his attention to controversial great figures, such as political rulers, whose absurd words and actions become the focus of his satire.
"The Madwoman"
My brows are furrowed for antiquity.
Furrowed with perfect seriousness...
Who told you to tear apart your lotus-colored blouse,
And divide your nakedness
Among the men you loved and those you did not.
Men wearing narrow flannel trousers.
Men who play tennis, men who kiss and then forget.
Faithless men. Only, Maria, you do not know
That I truly worry about whom I should give my soul to.
This poem leaves the reader with the feeling of laughing through tears, producing an intricate mixture of emotions. The poet deliberately adopts the first-person voice in order to perform the role of the madwoman. Since her mental condition fluctuates unpredictably, her speech must at times be intentionally incoherent and confused, while at other moments it becomes perfectly serious. Although her nonsensical remarks provoke laughter, even when she solemnly declares,
"My brows are furrowed for antiquity;
Furrowed with perfect seriousness."
or
"I truly worry about whom I should give my soul to,"
no reader is likely to take her words literally. The overall atmosphere of the poem is humorous. The plot unfolds gradually through the madwomans fragmented monologue. Yet beneath the story lies the poets humanitarian compassion. The poet recognizes that society has never treated women such as the madwoman or the abandoned wife with fairness or dignity. They remain humble and vulnerable members of society. Through laughter, the poet invites readers to reflect upon how society ought to care for and support these marginalized individuals.
"The Circus Clown"
Beneath a purely sorrowful straw hat,
The ladies laugh,
Shaking the Chinese pagodas
Painted upon their folding fans.
The ladies laugh,
Laughing at whatever it is
Mixed within me
Between the giraffes and the antelopes.
Yet she still swings upon the swing,
Beneath a rope suffering from appendicitis,
Looking at me like a gloomy nail,
Still kissing
The tightrope walkers,
Still falling,
Still refusing me
Even the tiniest fragment of spring.
This is another compassionate character poem. Unlike "The Madwoman," however, Ya Hsien suppresses his mocking and satirical tone. Instead, the circus clown—who always wears a red necktie throughout the story—quietly recounts his own life and experiences. Having left home at an early age, he follows the circus from place to place around the world, earning a living wherever it travels. Even when illness strikes, he is given no opportunity to rest, for he must continue performing amid the audiences laughter.
The lines,
"Laughing at whatever it is
Mixed within me
Between the giraffes and the antelopes,"
create a sharp contrast between the ladies laughter and the clowns inner melancholy. Yet he must continue suppressing his emotions in order to fulfill his role:
"Still kissing
The tightrope walkers."
He does so merely to win another burst of laughter from the audience. Within this environment of outward warmth but inward coldness, the clown can relieve his emotional burden only by making himself the object of his own jokes, forcing himself to smile as he continues entertaining others.
II. Ironic Speech
Ironic speech means expressing the truth through words that say the opposite. It deliberately conceals feelings of dissatisfaction and contempt, using seemingly serious words of praise on the surface to convey inner mockery and satire indirectly.
"Khrushchev"
A good man—yes, Khrushchev.
He suffered from a severe hearing disorder.
Therefore, he had no choice but to rely upon the secret police.
He loved to govern the people with barbed wire.
He loved to cleanse the nation with blood.
Other than demanding obedience,
He never concerned himself with the affairs of ordinary people.
He truly was a good man.
Nikita Khrushchev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, remained in power for eleven years (1953–1964). A well-known anecdote about him circulated widely among the public.
It is said that Khrushchev produced several propaganda films promoting government policies and forced the people to watch them. Curious to know how the public reacted, he disguised himself and went out among the people. He entered a movie theater in Moscow. When the film ended, the entire audience rose to their feet and applauded enthusiastically. Khrushchev was extremely pleased by what he saw. At that moment, the man standing beside him quietly nudged his shoulder and whispered,
"Hey! Have you got a death wish? Why arent you standing up and applauding? There are secret police everywhere around here!"
In this character poem, the opening line of the second, third, and fourth stanzas all praise Khrushchev as a good man. Yet the contents of every stanza clearly portray his negative character and conduct. Consequently, the opening line of each stanza sounds even more grating than a lie. The poet is certainly not deliberately telling an obvious falsehood or contradicting himself. Rather, he first presents an insincere statement as the major premise, then supplies numerous negative descriptions as minor premises, thereby negating and ultimately overturning the original assertion. As for the final conclusion, he deliberately leaves it for the reader to ponder.
"The Colonel"
It was simply another kind of rose,
Born from the flames.
In the buckwheat fields they encountered the greatest battle.
And one of his legs bade farewell in 1943.
He had once heard history—and laughter.
What is immortality?
Cough medicine, a razor, last months rent, and so on.
Amid the scattered battles fought by his wifes sewing machine,
He felt that the only thing
That could ever capture him
Was the sun.
Having come from a military background, the poet Ya Hsien experienced the baptism of war firsthand. His profound understanding of war found expression through poetry that exposes its cruel nature. Employing an ironic tone, he ridicules both an era obsessed with war and the absurd militaristic mentality of the celebrated leaders of that age.
Because Ya Hsien personally lived through a time of warfare, readers readily accept his ridicule of war and even his subversion of the entire value system of that turbulent era. His black humor, delivered with the restraint of a deadpan comedian, is therefore both convincing and compelling.
"The Colonel" sketches the life of a colonel who was wounded on the battlefield and forced into retirement. In his younger years he galloped across the battlefields, only to lose a leg in combat. His disability compelled him to retire early from military service. Yet the nation failed to fulfill its responsibility to care adequately for wounded veterans, leaving him to struggle under the hardships of everyday life after retirement.
According to existing law, a retired officer holding the rank of colonel should be entitled to a lifetime pension. Nevertheless, although this retired colonel receives such a pension, he continues to live in poverty. One can easily imagine how much more difficult life must have been for retired non-commissioned officers and enlisted soldiers of lower rank.
The line,
"He had once heard history—and laughter,"
is positioned between the first half of the poem, which portrays his eventful military career, and the second half, which depicts his postwar life. It functions as a transitional statement imbued with self-reflection. At the same time, it serves as a vivid ligament linking the poems two sections and marks the single decisive turning point in the colonels life.
The juxtaposition of "history" and "laughter" symbolizes the contradiction between past struggle and present fate. It represents the complete negation of former sacrifice by present reality. The resulting dramatic paradox and conflict constitute the central focus of the poem, and it is precisely at this point that the poem achieves its greatest tension.
Notes
(1) Quoted from Hsiao Hsiaos essay "On Ya Hsiens The Abyss". Available at:
http://www.worldone.com.tw/bookmark/sky/09/09_02.htm
(2) Huang Ching-hsuan, Rhetoric, Taipei: San Min Book Co., 2002, p. 455.
(3) Cheng Wei-jun, Tang Chung-yang, and Xiang Hong-ye, eds., Comprehensive Guide to Rhetoric, Beijing: China Youth Press, 1991, pp. 690–691.
