Chapter 6. Parallelism in the Ballad-Style Poetry of Yu Kuang-chung
Section 1. Ballad-Style Modern Poetry
Among Taiwan's modern poets, the one who most frequently employed the ballad style in poetic composition was Teng Yu-ping 1, who has gradually faded from public memory. He was followed by Yu Kuang-chung, Xi Murong 2, and Chen Kehua.
I. Ballad Style and Metrical Verse
The principal difference between ballad-style poetry and ordinary modern poetry lies in their external formal design. Ballad-style poetry possesses its own distinctive form, and these specific formal characteristics constitute its defining features. They also serve as the key criterion distinguishing ballad-style poetry from metrical poetry.
Xu Zhimo's Taking Leave of Cambridge Again is a poem written in metrical form. Because it was later set to music, many readers mistakenly identified it as a folk song. Metrical poetry emphasizes the musical beauty of rhyme, rhythm, and meter. It values symmetrical sentence patterns, elegant diction, resonant sounds, and formal harmony. Its aesthetic principles stress the balanced structure of poetic lines and the orderly arrangement of stanzas. Consequently, it has often been described as block poetry or tofu-block poetry because of its neat visual appearance.
By contrast, Yu Kuang-chung's Nostalgia and Four Rhymes of Nostalgia are ballad-style poems, whose formal structures conform to the compositional requirements of modern songs.
From this analysis, it becomes clear that ballad-style poetry belongs to the broader family of metrical poetry. However, the formal restrictions governing ballad-style poetry are considerably more rigorous than those imposed upon ordinary metrical verse. Consequently, composing ballad-style poetry is far more demanding than writing either free-verse poetry or conventional metrical poetry. It requires far greater ingenuity and painstaking craftsmanship.
When the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the American folk singer Bob Dylan, many people regarded the decision as an astonishing upset. The present author has written dozens of song lyrics in both Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien, more than forty of which have been set to music and publicly released. Having experienced the creative process firsthand, the author fully understands its difficulties. Indeed, writing lyrics and composing songs is genuinely far more difficult than writing free-verse poetry. That is a judgment that only an experienced practitioner can truly appreciate.
II. Types of Ballad Style
From the standpoint of formal structure, modern ballad-style songs may be classified into two principal types.
1. Repetition of the Verse Melody
Works such as Nostalgia and Four Rhymes of Nostalgia employ a four-stanza verse structure. This type contains no chorus.
2. Verse Plus Chorus
This form may follow either of the following patterns:
A (Verse 1) + A (Verse 2) + B + B
or
A (Verse 1) + B + A (Verse 2) + B.
In other words, the lyrics of the chorus (B) are generally repeated, while the verse (A) may undergo slight variation, producing Verse 1 and Verse 2. Nevertheless, the two verses must strictly satisfy the following conditions:
- The number of lines and the number of words in corresponding stanzas must be balanced and orderly.
- Each corresponding line must contain the same number of syllables or rhythmic units.
- The end rhyme of each corresponding line must be identical or closely similar.
- The grammatical structures must correspond.
- The tone of expression must remain consistent.
- Whether the semantic relationship between the stanzas is parallel, sequential, or progressive, the content must remain meaningfully connected.
The chorus adopts a repetitive form and generally occupies the emotional climax of a song, making it easy for listeners to remember because of its summarizing nature. In melody, rhythm, and emotional intensity, the chorus contrasts with the verse, thereby providing musical variation. In fact, after hearing a song for the first time, most listeners remember the chorus before any other part. Likewise, when people casually hum a song, they almost always hum its chorus.
Section 2. Parallelism in Ballad Style
I. A Formal Analysis of Parallelism
Parallelism is defined as a rhetorical device in which three or more structurally identical or similar phrases, sentences, or paragraphs, sharing a consistent tone, are arranged consecutively to express similar or related ideas. 3
Another definition states:
"Parallelism consists of arranging three or more phrases, sentences, or paragraphs with similar structures, consistent tone, and related meanings in sequence, thereby strengthening rhetorical force and intensifying emotional expression." 4
Because similar sentence patterns repeatedly appear, parallelism produces a sense of abundance, liveliness, and gradual progression. It not only strengthens logical exposition but also highlights the intended message with greater force. Parallelism therefore represents a highly elegant means of conveying ideas and emotions.
When parallel structures are employed systematically in narration, description, or lyrical expression, they enable scenes and ideas to unfold gradually—from shallow to profound, from near to distant, from narrow to broad, and from small to large. Such progression creates both hierarchical beauty and rhythmic effects resembling repetition and gradation. At the same time, it enriches the content and expresses the central theme more thoroughly and completely.
According to formal structure, parallelism may be classified as:
- phrase parallelism,
- simple-sentence parallelism,
- compound-sentence parallelism,
- paragraph parallelism.
Semantically, it may be classified as:
- coordinate parallelism,
- sequential parallelism,
- progressive parallelism.
From scholars' definitions of parallelism, the following formal requirements may be summarized:
- Three or more phrases or sentences.
- Similar sentence structures.
- Consistent tone.
- Approximately equal length.
- Expression of imagery belonging to the same category or nature.
These five conditions may further be organized into six analytical aspects:
- Number of sentences.
- Sentence pattern.
- Tone.
- Sentence length.
- Word choice.
- Meaning.
The first five concern formal appearance, whereas the last concerns content.
II. Characteristics and Functions of Parallelism
The characteristics of parallelism are as follows.
- It consists of a sequential arrangement of phrases or sentences rather than repetition or paired antithesis.
- Formally, it must contain three or more phrases, short expressions, or sentences.
- These sequential elements must possess identical or highly similar structures.
- Their tone must remain consistent throughout.
As one form of structural design in modern free-verse poetry, parallelism serves the following functions.
- It creates balanced and symmetrical sentence structures.
- It presents emotions and explanations in a clear and orderly manner.
- It produces harmonious rhythm and musicality.
- It can strengthen rhetorical momentum while broadening expressive meaning. 5
III. The Use of Parallelism in Ballad Style
Ballad-style poetry widely employs parallelism in order to satisfy the musical requirement of repeated melodic patterns. Most commonly, the verse section adopts paragraph parallelism, allowing the lyrics to vary in wording while preserving melodic repetition.
Naturally, modern song lyrics also make use of other formal devices, including repetition and stanzaic antithesis. Nevertheless, among these techniques, parallelism remains the most important.
Section 3. Yu Kuang-chung's Ballad Style and Parallelism
Formally, Yu Kuang-chung's ballad-style poetry includes both of the structures discussed above.
(1) Repetition of the verse melody, as exemplified by Nostalgia and Four Rhymes of Nostalgia.
(2) The verse-plus-chorus structure, as exemplified by Passing Fangliao by Train.
Semantically, his works encompass all three major types of parallelism:
- coordinate parallelism,
- sequential parallelism,
- progressive parallelism.
I. Coordinate Parallelism
In coordinate parallelism, each parallel element stands alongside the others with equal semantic status.
As one scholar explains,
"Coordinate parallelism is a rhetorical technique in which phenomena belonging to the same category or scope are expressed individually through sentences of similar structure." 6
Another scholar writes,
"In coordinate parallelism, each element belongs to the same category or type of object. Their relationships are generally established through associations based on similarity or contrast." 7
In other words, the coordinate relationship itself is fundamentally free and non-hierarchical.
Passing Fangliao by Train
Rain falls upon the sugarcane fields of Pingtung.
Sweet sugarcane, sweet rain.
Plump sugarcane, fertile fields.
Rain falls upon the fertile fields of Pingtung.
From here to the foothills,
A vast plain rises,
Bearing so much sugarcane,
Bearing so many sweet hopes.
The coach speeds across the verdant plain,
Inspecting Pan's green ceremonial guard.
Thinking of Pan,
Hairy and bearded,
Napping beneath some stalk of sugarcane.
Rain falls upon the watermelon fields of Pingtung.
Sweet watermelons, sweet rain.
Plump watermelons, fertile fields.
Rain falls upon the fertile fields of Pingtung.
From here to the coast,
A broad riverbed hatches
So many watermelons,
So many perfectly rounded hopes.
The coach speeds across the laden riverbed,
Inspecting Pan's overflowing treasure house.
Thinking of Pan,
Full-blooded and prolific,
Exactly which watermelon is he sitting upon?
Rain falls upon the banana fields of Pingtung.
Sweet bananas, sweet rain.
Plump bananas, fertile fields.
Rain falls upon the fertile fields of Pingtung.
The rain is a damp pastoral song.
The road is a slender shepherd's flute,
Blowing across winding country paths for miles upon miles.
Rain falls upon the banana fields of Pingtung.
Chubby bananas, abundant rain.
The coach cannot drive beyond Pan's domain.
The road is a long shepherd's flute.
Just as it says that Pingtung is the sweetest county,
Pingtung is a city built of sugar cubes,
Suddenly making a sharp right turn—
The saltiest,
The very saltiest,
Rushes straight toward us—
The sea.
This ballad-style poem exhibits paragraph coordinate parallelism between its first and second stanzas. Formally, it follows the pattern A (Verse 1) + A (Verse 2). The vocabulary employed in both stanzas is highly similar and belongs to the same semantic category, as both describe agricultural crops. The third section functions as the chorus (B). Particularly striking is the unexpected ending:
"Suddenly making a sharp right turn—
The saltiest, the very saltiest,
Rushes straight toward us—
The sea."
This abrupt conclusion immediately captures the reader's attention and leaves a vivid, unforgettable impression.
II. Sequential Parallelism
In sequential parallelism, each parallel element is semantically connected to the next in a logical sequence. The ideas unfold in an orderly progression, producing a layered effect like successive waves advancing one after another. The connections among them are generally based on associative contiguity, that is, associations arising from things that are adjacent in time or space.
"Nostalgia"
When I was a child,
Nostalgia was a tiny postage stamp.
I was here,
Mother was there.
After I grew up,
Nostalgia was a narrow ferry ticket.
I was here,
My bride was there.
Later on,
Nostalgia was a small, low grave.
I was outside,
Mother, alas, was inside.
And now,
Nostalgia is a shallow strait.
I am here,
The mainland is there.
Formally, this poem employs paragraph parallelism, while semantically it represents a classic example of sequential parallelism. Three principal narrative threads are interwoven throughout the poem.
First, the temporal progression: the sequence moves from "When I was a child" to "After I grew up," then "Later on," and finally "And now."
Second, the spatial progression: it advances from studying away from home, to living as a sojourner far from one's hometown, to the separation between the living and the dead, and finally to gazing across the Taiwan Strait.
Third, the progression of familial affection: the relationship between the poet and his mother evolves from exchanging family letters, to returning home by boat to visit, to eternal separation through death, and finally to being divided by the Iron Curtain and the free land on opposite sides of the Strait.
Through sequential parallelism, the poem unfolds successively along the dimensions of time, space, and family affection. As a result, its imagery is vivid and emotionally tangible. Moreover, the uniform sentence patterns give every stanza the characteristic features of ballad-style poetry, namely recurring melodic cycles and balanced rhythmic symmetry.
III. Progressive Parallelism
Progressive parallelism employs sentences that share identical or highly similar grammatical structures while expressing meanings connected by cause-and-effect relationships. The semantic progression links each statement closely to the next, producing a pattern of premise (cause) followed by conclusion (effect).
"What Is the Rain Saying?"
What has the rain been saying all night?
The upstairs lamp asks the tree outside the window.
The tree outside the window asks the car at the end of the alley.
What has the rain been saying all night?
The car at the end of the alley asks the distant road.
The distant road asks the bridge upstream.
What has the rain been saying all night?
The bridge upstream asks the umbrella of childhood.
The umbrella of childhood asks the rain-soaked shoes.
What has the rain been saying all night?
The rain-soaked shoes ask the croaking frogs.
The croaking frogs ask the surrounding mist.
What is it saying—
The rain that has fallen all night?
The surrounding mist asks the upstairs lamp.
The upstairs lamp asks the person beneath the lamp.
The person beneath the lamp raises his head and says,
Why hasn't it stopped yet?
From legend it has fallen into the present.
From gentle drizzle into pounding rain.
From dripping eaves into rivers and seas.
Tell me,
You foolish simpleton.
What has the rain been saying all night?
Semantically, this poem exemplifies progressive parallelism.
The first and second stanzas constitute paragraph parallelism, following the structural pattern A (Verse 1) + A (Verse 2) + B. Each stanza contains two sub-sections, and each sub-section contains two lines.
The concrete noun appearing at the end of one line becomes the opening element of the next through the rhetorical device of anadiplosis, thereby creating a continuous chain. The progression deepens step by step, with each image standing in a cause-and-effect relationship to the next:
the tree outside the window → the car at the end of the alley → the distant road → the bridge upstream
Here, the spatial imagery gradually expands from the near to the distant.
The imagery then shifts from the bridge upstream, a present spatial image, to spatial images associated with childhood:
the umbrella of childhood → the rain-soaked shoes → the croaking frogs → the surrounding mist
The associations linking these images are likewise based primarily upon cause-and-effect relationships.
The formal design of this poem combines parallelism with anadiplosis, producing considerable structural variation. Although the organization appears quite elaborate, its underlying progression remains remarkably clear and coherent.
What is it saying—
The rain that has fallen all night?
The surrounding mist asks the upstairs lamp.
The upstairs lamp asks the person beneath the lamp.
The person beneath the lamp raises his head and says,
Why hasn't it stopped yet?
From legend it has fallen into the present.
From gentle drizzle into pounding rain.
From dripping eaves into rivers and seas.
Tell me,
You foolish simpleton.
What has the rain been saying all night?
In the concluding stanza, the poet deliberately introduces variation. The opening line employs inverted syntax—
"What is it saying—the rain that has fallen all night?"
—to pose a question directly to the reader.
Another sequence of short parallel sentences combined with anadiplosis then follows:
the surrounding mist → the upstairs lamp → the person beneath the lamp
This sequence draws the reader's perspective from the distant landscape back toward the immediate foreground, finally focusing upon the person beneath the lamp, as though the camera were zooming into a close-up of the character's face.
The "foolish simpleton" then murmurs beneath the lamp:
"Why hasn't it stopped yet?
From legend it has fallen into the present.
From gentle drizzle into pounding rain.
From dripping eaves into rivers and seas."
The ending is even more ingenious. The poet suddenly steps into the scene himself and teasingly asks this "simpleton":
"Tell me,
You foolish simpleton—
What has the rain been saying all night?"
This sequence of narrative designs not only carries the reader through a series of unexpected twists and turns but ultimately turns the irony back upon the poem's own protagonist.
Notes
(1) "A Song for You" — Xi Murong
I love you only because the years pass swiftly,
Never lingering,
Never turning back,
And only then can they weave that magnificent face,
Revealing not the slightest trace of faded sorrow.
I love you only because you have gone far away,
No longer appearing,
No longer remembered.
Only then can the heart, layered with scar upon scar,
Be stirred
In a night without stars or moon.
Each layer is a struggle.
Each layer is a transformation.
And within the sudden pain of looking back,
Gracefully emerging
Is the glorious youth that belonged to both of us.
Although Xi Murong wrote relatively few ballad-style poems, several of them were later adapted into songs, including "Parting While Still Alive" and "Song of the Frontier."
(2) "Time and Space" — Teng Yu-ping
Whenever you are not by my side,
I cannot stop thinking of you,
Missing you,
Again and again,
Humming
The song I love most—
Your name.
Whenever we are together,
I cannot stop looking at you,
Holding you,
Again and again,
Reciting
The poem I love most—
Your eyes.
This poem is taken from Teng Yu-ping's poetry collection I Exist Because of Song, Because of Love. His famous song "Green Mountains", which has remained widely sung for more than seventy years, was written by Teng Yu-ping. Other well-known songs include "My Longing."
(3) Lu Chia-hsiang and Chi Tai-ning, eds., Illustrated Dictionary of Rhetorical Devices, Hangzhou: Zhejiang Education Press, 1990, p. 166.
(4) Cheng Wei-jun, Tang Chung-yang, and Xiang Hong-ye, eds., Comprehensive Guide to Rhetoric, Taipei: Jianhong Publishing, 1991, p. 829.
(5) Chen Gui of the Southern Song Dynasty wrote in Principles of Writing:
"When several consecutive sentences employ the same class of words, they strengthen the momentum of the writing and broaden the scope of its meaning."
(6) Tsai Tsung-yang, Applied Rhetoric, Taipei: Hongfan Book Company, 1986, p. 197.
(7) Ma Jui-chao, in Wu Chan-kun (ed.), A General Discussion of Common Rhetorical Devices, Shijiazhuang: Hebei Education Press, 1990, p. 207.
