養心堂 趙晟의 시 세계

Abstract

This study aims to comprehend the poetic world and the historical background of the literature of Cho Seong, a literary scholar in the early Choseon Dynasty from Joongjong to Myeongjong. Before the full-fledged study, I created a framework to categorize his poems according to motive by using the motive for writing the poetry and the subject matter that was key to embodying the subject of the poetry as the reference line for the compartment. Based on this reference line, I created four categories as follows. Type A: The motive of delivery prevails, and the subject matter is about human beings. Type B: The motive of delivery prevails, and the subject matter is about material phenomena. Type C: The motive of expression prevails, and the subject matter is about human beings. Type D: The motive of expression prevails, and the subject matter is about material phenomena. All four categories involved each type, and the poet expressed his intention and emotion similarly in the poems assigned to each. In Type A, poems mainly showed the intention to encourage the recipient to be diligent and wakeful. In Type B, the sentiment of aspiring to intimacy and companionship with the recipient was the main focus. In Type C, the poet's voice was prominent in expressing his hardships and anguish. In Type D, the assurance of self-sufficiency and prudence formed the principal emotion. In his poetry, Cho Seong faithfully represented the reflective human figure living in personal suffering and unhappy times. This aspect was deeply applicable to him, as despite being afflicted with several diseases throughout his life, he devoted his life to academic exploration and student education. Besides producing typical literary works, he wrote poems that were unconventional in terms of form, content, and theme due to his extraordinary personal and historical condition. In particular, epistolary poetry was a disparate and specific style that stands out in his literature. Simply by creating this form, he made a significant contribution to Korean literature.