ASEAN LIT_VIETNAM

Vietnam Literature Components

Oral literature passed down through generations.
Components:

-Kanji Literature

-Chu Nom Literature (Nom letters)

-Chu Quoc Ngu Literature (national language)

Chu Quoc Ngu

Became widespread nationwide from the early 20th century

New Poetry Movement

Aimed to liberate Vietnamese poetry from classical Chinese poetry rules

“Tu Luc Van Doan” Group

Influenced by the West, created modern Vietnamese novels

three main types of Vietnamese literature

TRUYEN

HAN VIET

QUOC AM

TRUYEN

traditional oral literature

HAN VIET

Chinese-Vietnamese literature

QUOC AM

modern literature, or anything written in the romanticized quoc ngu alphabet

TONE RULE

most important elements in most of Vietnamese verse forms

divided based on their falling and rising nature into two categories: Bang and Trac

BẰNG

flat
comprises two tones: ngang and huyền

TRẮC

sharp or non-flat
comprises four tones: sắc, hỏi, ngã, nặng

RHYME SCHEME RULE

two kinds of rhymes in Vietnamese poetry
VẦN GIÀU
VẦN NGHÈO

VẦN GIÀU

rich rhymes

two words have the same final sound and their tones come from the same category

VẦN NGHÈO

poor rhymes

two words have nearly similar final sound and their tones come from the same category

Tho Bon Chu

Four Word Verse

written as its name implies, measuring the number of words per line rather than syllables

elements of the Tho Bon Chu are:

-stanzaic, written in a series of couplets

-measured by the number of words in the line, each line has 4 words

Monostich

is a stanza—a whole poem—consisting of just one line.

Couplet

two-line stanza

Tercet

three-line stanza

Quatrain

four-line

Quintet

five-line

Sestet

six-line

Septet

seven-line

Octave

eight-line

Tho Sau Chu

Six-Word Verse

measured by word count and uses either alternate or envelope rhyme. It can be written in quatrains or octaves

When written in octaves it is called Six-Eight Poetry  

The elements of the Tho Sau Chu are:

-stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains. It can also be written in any number of octaves.

-measured by word count, 6 words per line.

-rhymed, either alternate, abab cdcd etc. (when written as Six-Eight abababab cdcdcdcd etc.) or envelope, abba cddc etc. (when written in octaves abbaabba cddccddc etc.)

Tho Bay Chu

Seven Word Poetry

written with seemingly more flexible tonal pattern than most Viet verse with the exception of when an end word in the first line is flat, the 3rd word must be sharp and when the end word of second line is sharp, the 4^th word in the line must be flat.

The elements of the Tho Bay Chu are:

-stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.

-measured by number of words, 7 words per line.

-rhymed

Tho Tam Chu

Eight Word Poetry

It appears to be more flexible in stanza length as well as tonal and end rhyme

The elements of the Tho Tam Chu are:

-stanzaic, written in any number of either tercets, quatrains or septets.

-measured by the number of words in the line, 8 words per line.

-Rhymed

the Cherished Daughter

(from net)

Characteristics:

-Bold and unconventional style.

-Satirical and witty.

-Sharp social commentary.

-Themes: love, desire, women's role in society.

Significance:

-Insight into Vietnamese culture and society.

-Celebrated for creativity and depth.