최승호 시의 사유구조와 상생적 의미

Abstract

This study investigates Choi Seung-Ho’s early lyricism and other dimensions of his poetry. The argument has placed emphasis upon surface description, critical negation, and self-discipline as well as affirmation. Beyond dichotomy of subject versus other and negation versus affirmation, absolute affirmation is recognized. It is a sort of oriental thoughts that are closely related to Zen of inactive nature or the imagination of Buddhism. Discussing in detail Choi’s poetry is divided into two periods of earlierand later time by his fifth collection of poems titled “Night of Gangrene”. The division of time is set in chronological order by the year of the publication of his collections of poems. During the earlier period a major theme is the negative criticism about corruption which comes from the material civilization resulted in man’s desire. The negation expands into death. It represents the process of fossilization of human life itself. In the later poems, the inner world is absorbed in thought. A painful procedure of self-negation stands for the oriental ‘world of emptiness’ and ‘world of nihility.’ Such prayerful speculation is not only critical against civilization or sociobiological but also imaginatively Buddhistic. In the context of ecology birth and death are based upon monistic and cyclic view of world. It ranges over ontological coexistence. In such realm of theory poetry is free from object and language. The general meaning is oneness consisting of poets, objects, languages, and images. The identity is metacosmic. And the function of imagination is omnipotent with perfect freedom.