김소월 시 <왕십리>의 의미구조

Abstract

This paper aims at revealing the meaning of ‘Wangshimni,’ one of Kim Sowol’s famous poems. Explication of this poem, ‘Wangshimni’ has been a controversial issue because of its ambiguity and unintelligibility. The most unintelligible part of the poem is line one through three of the second stanza. Only when this indirect narrative part is explicated correctly, we can make our way through the ambiguity and unintelligibility of the poem. Among the existing points of view are a position which describes those lines as a short period of time seeing a sweetheart(‘Nim’), a position as a rainy season, a view as the wax and wane of the moon, and a view as a relation between the ebb and flow of the tide. The present writer thinks the last opinion is most adequate. By the way to my judgement, the subject going and coming means not only “the rain” but also “a person”. Only if then explained, this poem can be understood properly. If so, the subject of “going and going” also covers both ‘na(I)’ and ‘nim(the sweetheart)’. ‘Cheonan Samgori(three forked road)’ which appears abruptly at the third stanza should be reinterpreted. It is understood as extended space of Wangshimni or as the realm of the fatherland in colonial situation. But it should be pointed out that Wangshimni at that time also as well as Cheonan Samgori was a place of great importance for traffic, leading to three southern provinces. Thus spatial meaning of Wangshimni in this work refers to a mental space where separation from the sweetheart are grieved at. In conclusion, Wangshimni is understood as lamenting the separation from the sweetheart on the one hand and at the same time as entreating falling rain earnestly to prevent the sweetheart from leaving on the other.