‘시의 현대성’에 대한 임화의 사유: 후기 평문을 중심으로

Abstract

This paper attempts to reveal the specific contents of ‘creative criticism’ focusing on Im-Hwa’ later criticisms of poem. He analyzed the freshness of the works of the new generation in the late 1930’s Korean poetry. In this process, he practiced the symptomatical reading of ‘holy surplus’, which their poems were inherent in. Oh Jang-hwan, Seo Jung-Ju, and the rest were called new generation at that time. Thinking that some emotions to inhere in their poems were fully modern, Im-Wha paid attention to them and regarded their texts as literary representations of modernity. He intensively explained what modern characteristics of their emotions were, because they were considered as the matter of concern to overcome the limitations of old generation in literature. Im-Wha thought that the biggest questions lying before Korean poetry of the time were mannerism’s fanciness and proletarian poetry’s simplicity. So, he attached importance to the concentration on and expression of feeling in poetry. Im-Wha paid special attention to Oh Jang-hwan and Seo Jung-Ju. He explained that Oh Jang-hwan’s sorrow exemplified the sadness of his generation and misery of modern civilization. According to his accounts, Oh Jang-hwan’s poetry represented the destiny of modern poetry, which meant a thoroughly disagrees with modern times. In this context, his attention had focused on Seo Jung-Ju’s decadence. To Im-Wha, the modern decadence signified ‘a noble spirit’, which was not avoiding self-destruction to disagree with modern times. Im-Wha thought that the noble spirit was the essence of Seo Jung-Ju’s decadence. Regarding Seo’s poetic spirit expressed the contradiction and paradox of modern life, Im-Wha rated Seo Jung-Ju’s poetry highly.