Blending of Perceptual and Rational Forms——On the Formal Beauty of Wen Yiduo’s “Stagnant Water”

Wen Yiduo, who enjoyed a lofty status in the history of n ew modern poetry in China, wrote his poems by carrying on the highlight of Chine se classical poetry and introducing the modernity of Western poetry, thus making significant contribution to the development of new poetry from romanticism to s ymbolism and modernism. As the first Chinese poet to advocate the formal beauty of poetry, Wen did a great deal to explore the perceptual forms of poems: rhythm , prosody, intonation, repetition, antethesis, etc. Besides, he sought persisten tly poetic organization: smooth logic, use of association, shape of imagery and emotion and use of allusion. “Stagnant Water”, Wen’s collection of poems, can represent his achievements made in exploring the formal beauty of poetry.