「만전춘별사」 4연 연구

Abstract

Manjeonchunbyeolsa is a song in the Goryeo period. Manjeonchunbyeolsa is composed of 6 stanzas in total and depicts a separation from a lover. Manjeonchunbyeolsa was recorded in written form in the Joseon dynasty after the fall of the Goryeo dynasty. Manjeonchunbyeolsa was recorded in the Korean language and has stanzas that we have difficulty in grasping their contents. The representative stanza is the fourth one that this paper focuses on. The fourth stanza is composed of a question and an answer between a poetic narrator and Biori(a mandarin duck). The poetic narrator asked Biori why it flew down to a pond(沼). Biori answered, "If the pond is frozen, better than the rapids." In the case that a pond is frozen, Biori has a hard time to stay there. Therefore, it is difficult to grasp the answer, 'if the pond is frozen, better than the rapids.' This paper aims to find the meaning of the question and the answer between the poetic narrator and Biori. It is possible to regard the expression, 'if the pond is frozen', as a reflection of the habits of Biori. Biori has different habitats according to seasons, from the summer to winter. Biori lives in brooks in the summer. However, in the winter, it lives in ponds, lotus ponds, riversides, etc. The expression, 'if the pond is frozen', should not be understood as an expression that the pond has been frozen. Considering Biori's habits, it is an expression, 'when a season that a pond is frozen comes.' Namely, it should be understood as the meaning, 'when the winter comes.' The expression, 'better than the rapids' reflects the Korean grammar and expression method of the Middle ages. The expression, 'better than the rapids', should be understood as a sentence in which its subject is omitted. It is because, in the Korean grammar and expression method of the Middle ages, comparative sentences are commonly composed without their subjects. Therefore, the expression, 'better than the rapids', should be understood as an expression, 'as good as the rapids.' In this case, the omitted subject is 'the pond', Biori's habitat of the winter. Therefore, the sentence should be understood as an expression, 'the pond is as good as the rapids.' As a result of discussions, the fourth stanza is an expression, 'when the winter comes, the pond is as good as the rapids.' Furthermore, the expression means 'Now, it is the time to return, come back to me.' It is because the narrator sings a song that she resents the lover, in the third stanza, but that intends to share love with the lover if he comes back, in the fifth stanza. Namely, because the poetic narrator expressed her extreme emotions in the third and the fifth stanzas, it is necessary for some expression to counteract them in the fourth stanza. In the case of understanding the fourth stanza like this, the poetic narrator's emotional change becomes natural. Although the fourth stanza in Manjeonchunbyeolsa is recorded in the Korean language, it is difficult to understand the meaning. The fourth stanza is an expression reflecting the habitats of Biori and the Korean grammar and expression method of the Middle ages. Therefore, only if the fourth stanza is understood in this context, it is possible to grasp its meaning.