흙속에 묻힌 진주,시인 현기玄錡의 방랑과 자학적 시

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze poems by Hyeon Ki(玄錡, 1809~1860). Born of middle class under the social hierarchial system in the late Joseon period, he passed the state examination to be an official interpreter according to his family tradition, but chose himself to be a poet. Specifically, the paper investigated Hyeon Ki’s peoms to find out why he couldn’t help writing depressive poems that tortured and scorned himself, despite he was very excellent in making poems and even called as the ‘poetic god’ by people who were astonished to see him compose as many as 30 poems about falling blossoms while a candlewick was being cut and despite he was a great poet, so he was called a pearl hidden in the earth. Earlier, Jang Ji-yeon commented in 『IlsaYusa(逸士遺事)』 that Hyeon Ki’s poems is best referred to by ‘Kicho Nongyeom(奇峭穠艶)’, which was later literally quoted in 『Joseon’s History of Common Literature in』 by professor Ku Ja-gyun. But this paper criticized the comment by Jang Ji-yeon just narrowly focused on Hyeon Ki’s poems regarding falling blossoms. Instead, the paper took words, ‘Soswae Nongwool(瀟灑膿鬱)’ as best representing his 64 poems that are included in 『Heeam Siryak(希菴詩略)』. The words suggest a dominant sentiment of all his poets in which the loneliness of a ruined poet sweeps throughout the lines like dry autumn winds and his depression flows down like a festering pus. This sentiment may be attributed to the facts that Hyeon Ki was relatively poor in social status as a man of middle class, he was difficult to adapt himself to his times as he was so clever to find out absurdities of the period and that the poet’s pride couldn’t comply with the times.