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The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry: Translation and Form

In The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry, Scott Mehl analyzes the complex response of Meiji-era Japanese poets and readers to the challenge introduced by European verse and the resulting crisis in Japanese poetry. Amidst fierce competition for literary prestige on the national and international stage, poets and critics at the time recognized that the character of Japanese poetic culture was undergoing a fundamental transformation, and the stakes were high: the future of modern Japanese verse.

Mehl documents the creation of new Japanese poetic forms, tracing the first invention of Japanese free verse and its subsequent disappearance. He examines the impact of the acclaimed and reviled shintaishi, a new poetic form invented for translating European-language verse and eventually supplanted by the reintroduction of free verse as a Western import. The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry draws on materials written in German, Spanish, English, and French, recreating the global poetry culture within which the most ambitious Meiji-era Japanese poets vied for position.

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The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry: Translation and Form

In The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry, Scott Mehl analyzes the complex response of Meiji-era Japanese poets and readers to the challenge introduced by European verse and the resulting crisis in Japanese poetry. Amidst fierce competition for literary prestige on the national and international stage, poets and critics at the time recognized that the character of Japanese poetic culture was undergoing a fundamental transformation, and the stakes were high: the future of modern Japanese verse.

Mehl documents the creation of new Japanese poetic forms, tracing the first invention of Japanese free verse and its subsequent disappearance. He examines the impact of the acclaimed and reviled shintaishi, a new poetic form invented for translating European-language verse and eventually supplanted by the reintroduction of free verse as a Western import. The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry draws on materials written in German, Spanish, English, and French, recreating the global poetry culture within which the most ambitious Meiji-era Japanese poets vied for position.

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The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry: Translation and Form

The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry: Translation and Form

by Scott Mehl
The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry: Translation and Form
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The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry: Translation and Form

The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry: Translation and Form

by Scott Mehl

Overview

In The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry, Scott Mehl analyzes the complex response of Meiji-era Japanese poets and readers to the challenge introduced by European verse and the resulting crisis in Japanese poetry. Amidst fierce competition for literary prestige on the national and international stage, poets and critics at the time recognized that the character of Japanese poetic culture was undergoing a fundamental transformation, and the stakes were high: the future of modern Japanese verse.

Mehl documents the creation of new Japanese poetic forms, tracing the first invention of Japanese free verse and its subsequent disappearance. He examines the impact of the acclaimed and reviled shintaishi, a new poetic form invented for translating European-language verse and eventually supplanted by the reintroduction of free verse as a Western import. The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry draws on materials written in German, Spanish, English, and French, recreating the global poetry culture within which the most ambitious Meiji-era Japanese poets vied for position.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781501761188
Publisher: Cornell East Asia Series
Publication date: 01/15/2022
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 258
Sales rank: 229,877
File size: 4 MB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Scott Mehl is Assistant Professor of Japanese at Colgate University.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Making Forms New, Making New Forms
1. New Styles of Criticism for a New Style of Poetry
2. "This Dead Form, Begone": The Shi of Kitamura Tkoku and the Debate over Meter
3. A Disaster Averted: Masaoka Shiki and the Value of Brevity
4. Difficulty in Poetry: Kanbara Ariake and the Experimenters in Prosody
5. Kawaji Rykoand the New Poetry
Epilogue: A Form to Express Anything Whatsoever

What People are Saying About This

Haun Saussy

Erudite and engaging, The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry is free from jargon and obfuscation, without shying away from complex and technical questions. Beyond that, Scott Mehl perceptively addresses a universal problem in literary history: How is innovation recognized and when does it become a permanent part of the cultural landscape?

Jeffrey Angles

The Ends of Meter in Modern Japanese Poetry is a fresh, much-needed look at the development of modern Japanese poetry. Mehl explores the interplay of practice and theory, of experimentation and tradition, and of East and West in the pursuit of poetic newness, providing an accessible path through an extraordinarily complex subject.

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Related Subjects

Poetry
Asian Poetry
Japanese Poetry
Poetry
Asian Poetry
Japanese Poetry

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