『오뇌의 무도』(1921) 전후 김억의 문예론 연구 : ‘데카당스’와 ‘신낭만주의’를 중심으로

Abstract

From the 1910s to the mid-20s, before and after the publication of Th e Dance of Agony(1921), Kim Eok wrote a number of literary theories along with active translation activities. Although an intensive study of Kim Eok’s overall literary theory has not yet been done, this study tried to understand Kim Eok’s early literary achievements more comprehensively by examining Kim Eok’s literary views and artistic consciousness targeting the literary works written during this period. In particular, this study newly revealed that decadence and neo-romanticism are at the core of literary theory. Kim Eok showed creative acceptance of decadence and neo-romanticism in his literary theory based on the learning of Western and Japanese literary knowledge. First of all, in the history of Korean literature, decadence has been a concept and tendency that has been negatively evaluated in literature, mainly being translated into corruption and decay. In particular, Lee Kwang-soo and others, who were major contemporary writers, recognized decadence as an unhealthy depravity and social disease, and evaluated it as an artistic tendency to be avoided. However, at the same time, Kim Eok published Th e Dance of Agony, a collection of prototypes of decadence-symbolism, and while writing literary theory, he conducted detailed examinations on the social and cultural situation of the Western art world where decadence was popular. He understood that European decadence was the main trend of art oriented toward aesthetic innovation, which was born in the realities of the mid to late 19th century. In addition, he raised the issue of evaluating works from an artistic point of view rather than a moral standard in the contemporary literature centered on traditional literature and enlightenment, and translated Western poetry while imagining a new modern poetic. After the publication of Th e Dance of Agony, Kim Eok developed his thoughts on the essence of poetry and art more earnestly. ‘Neo-Romanticism’ was a useful concept for him as he was thinking about the relationship between art and reality. Since neo-romanticism is a concept that has passed through naturalism from (old) romanticism, it was recognized that art guarantees reality. Based on this concept, Kim Eok argued that art itself is something that can contribute to life, and that the essence of art is an end in itself, so it cannot be a means or an accessory to anything. Th is view laid the foundation for a full-fl edged literary and artistic theory centered on autonomy during the formation of modern literature by discussing the uniqueness of art, which is diff erent from the enlightenment literature of the contemporary Lee Kwang-soo or the ideological literature of the KAPF. From the mid-1910s to the mid-20s, Kim Eok has been exploring the essence of art based on the theories of decadence, symbolism, and neo-romanticism. His quest for the uniqueness of art and his achievements are unparalleled in the history of Korean literature.