VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

NGUYEN QUOC KHANH

PROSODY OF MODERN SIX-EIGHT METRE
(VIA TYPICAL CASE STUDIES)

Major: Vietnamese Literature
Major code: 9.22.01.21

ABSTRACT OF
DOCTORAL THESIS IN LITERATURE

Hanoi, 2023


The thesis is completed at:
VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

SUPERVISORS:
Associ.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Van Dan
Associ.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Thi Bich Thu

Reviewer 1: Associ.Prof.Dr. Ngo Van Gia
Reviewer 2: Associ.Prof.Dr. Le Thi Duc Tu
Reviewer 3: Associ.Prof.Dr. Pham Thanh Hung

The dissertation is defended at the Graduate Academy-Level Council
of Thesis Assessment at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, no.

477 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi.
At ………… Dated ………. month …… …year 2023

The thesis can be found at:
- Vietnam National Library;
- Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Library


INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the thesis
The modern six-eight metre inherits from the quintessence of
national culture, from treasures of folk songs and folk tunes. Poets who
have been very successful with six-eight metre are Tan Da, To Huu,
Nguyen Binh, Huy Can, To Huu, Bui Giang, Nguyen Duy, Dong Duc Bon,
Pham Cong Tru… From the very poetic perspective, it can be seen that
modern six-eight metre is divided into two tendencies, a folk one (Nguyen
Binh, Nguyen Duy, Dong Duc Bon...) and a classic or scholarly one (Huy
Can and partly expressed by Bui Giang…). At both of these tendencies, the
modern six-eight metre has its own successes and distinctive imprints. It
shall be learned thereof from poetic perspectives such as genre, structure
and language; thereby tendencies in composition during the movement and
development of this genre are indicated.
2. Objectives and tasks of study in the thesis
2.1. Objective of study
The prosody of modern six-eight metre will be studied in different
aspects: genre, language, structure, and imprints of folk and classic
tendencies in the compositions of representative poets of the modern sixeight metre. Features in the process of the six-eight metre from folk to
modern are also pointed out. The movement of the genre from folk songs to
modern poetry, the process of changing the structure of six-eight metre, the
language of six-eight metre from traditional to modern are studied as well.

2.2. Tasks of study
The topic aims at understanding the process of formation and
development of the genre of six-eight metre, generalizing its development
stages; learning the structure of the modern six-eight metre; the language of
modern six-eight metre via typical case studies and pointing out two
tendencies of composition in the process of movement and development of
the six-eight metre.
3. Objects and scope of study
3.1. Objects of study


Objects of the thesis are firstly modern six-eight metre of typical
poets (Nguyen Binh, Huy Can, Bui Giang, Nguyen Duy) from a poetic
perspective. In an effort of learning about the modern six-eight metre, it is
based on theories of poetics, finding out the most basic poetic features of
the modern six-eight metre from aspects such as genre, structure and
language in the movement and development of the six-eight metre style.
3.2. Scope of study
To perform this study, collections of outstanding poems such as Lỡ
bước sang ngang (Nguyen Binh, 1940), Tâm hồn tôi (Nguyen Binh, 1940),
Lửa thiêng (Huy Can, 1940); Mưa nguồn (Bui Giang, 1962); Lá hoa cồn
(Bui Giáng, 1963); Cát trắng (Nguyen Duy, 1973); Ánh trăng (Nguyễn
Duy, 1984); Đường xa (Nguyễn Duy, 1989), and some works composed by
Tan Da, To Huu, Pham Cong Tru, Dong Duc Bon, etc. are surveyed
thereof. In addition, some six-eight metre poetic works in medieval Nom
folk songs and poetic stories are also selected.
4. Methodology and study method of thesis
- Such theories of poetics as genre method, statistical method,
comparative method and structure method are applied.
5. New scientific findings of the thesis

It contributes to understanding the prosody of modern six-eight
metre, clarifying the movement process of the genre, composing trends in
the movement and development of the six-eight metre. Imprints of these
two composing trends are indicated in the works of typical six-eight metre
poets. The transformation of the six-eight metre is from the poetic
perspective to composing, from traditional to modern. Thence it is possible
to decode the eternal vitality of the six-eight metre.
6. Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis
- Theoretically, basing on definitions, concepts on prosody, poetic
prosody, concepts on the prosody of six-eight metre are suggested, which
act as basis for deploying matters of study.
- Practically, from the results of studies on prosody, poetics, and
poetic prosody in the world and in Vietnam, we study the prosody of
modern six-eight metre in aspects of genre, structure, language to realize

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the movement of the two tendencies of folk and classic compositions in the
six-eight metre of some typical authors.
7. Structure of the thesis
In addition to the introduction and conclusion, it is comprised of
four chapters:
Chapter 1: Literature review
Chapter 2: Establishment and development of the genre of six-eight metre
Chapter 3: Structure of modern six-eight metre
Chapter 4: Language of modern six-eight metre

Chapter 1
LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1. Concepts about prosody, poetics, poetic prosody
1.1.1. Concepts about prosody, poetics, poetic prosody
Prosody is the study of aspects of form with content. In fact, the tasks of
prosody are to study a closed artistic world of texts and to supplement the
extra-textual approaches such as sociology, culturology, biographical
method.
Poetics is one of the scientific disciplines with a long history in human
history. In the West, the popular term "poetics" today is derived from the
Greek word "Poetika". This term is a shortened word of the phrase "Poetika
tekhne", it means the method, the art of poetic writing, expressed clearly in
the work Peri Poetikes of Aristotle (384-322 BC). In Vietnam, the term was
originally translated as "talking about the art of poetry" or "the art of
poetry". According to Tran Dinh Su, if Aristotle's work is translated "the art
of poetry", it is no longer appropriate... The term "poetry" is no longer
consistent with today's concept, so the phrase "the art of poetry" should be
transformed into prosody, and the study of the prosody is called “poetics".
If in the West, Aristotle with his work The Art of Poetry laid the first
bricks in the study of poetics, in the East, Luu Hiep was also evaluated in
the same way with Văn tâm điêu long. It can be said that Văn tâm điêu long
is the first complete literary theory work of Chinese literary theory. It seems
to deal with all issues of literature: from content and form to genre, style,

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development history... in addition, Luu Hiep also devoted efforts to
discussing creativity in literature. His viewpoints have contributed
significantly to the study of poetics.
1.1.2. Concepts on the poetic prosody
In this thesis, it is tending to use the connotation of the concept of

poetics in the first way of understanding, which is poetics in the literal
meaning. Thus, the concept of poetic prosody is close to the one of poetry
and poetics (in the narrow meaining), i.e. the study of poetic form, such as
structure, rhyme, rhetoric, etc. of poetry, refers to the study of all the formal
aspects of literature.
1.2. Foreign studies of poetic prosody
The Art of Poetry by Aristotle is the first work of poetic prosody. It was
written aiming at providing a standard framework on which writers or poets
relied to compose a tragedy, an epic, like the Rhétorique, which proposes
golden rules for writing a lecture; Prosody also plays another role to
investigate the origins of art and to present the basic foundations for
examining poetic structure. Firstly, Aristotle determined that arts came from
imitation. If it was understood that "poetry" included "literature" in the
West, it was vice versa “poetry” included "literature" in the East. In ancient
times, the concept of Literature or Poetics was understood as education,
cultural knowledge.
Nevertheless, the concept that “literature” include “poetry”, because of
very wide concept of literature, when talking about literature as an art,
“Literature” was not used but “Poetics” instead by Chinese researchers. If
understood in Chinese language, "Poetics" is the first method of poem
writing. This understanding is not too far from the spirit of Aristotle
because he also discussed the art of poetry. Therefore, regardless in the East
or the West, Aristotle's Poetics continues to thrive. The poetic dialogue
books in China have made many profound discoveries about the art of using
words, composition, images, metre, cadence... about poetry.
Researchers of the Russian formal school had many important works in
the study of poetry and poetic prosody later. These are also important
suggestions for domestic researchers to produce works on poetic prosody.

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1.3. Studies of the six-eight metre and its prosody
1.3.1. Studies of the six-eight metre
By receiving theories of prosody in general and poetic prosody in
particular, studies in Vietnam have obtained significant achievements in
this field. Phan Ngoc in the work of Nguyen Du style in The Tale of Kieu
took choice as basic specific principle for study, who actually bring new
findings in the art structure of The Tale of Kieu and Tang poetry. Phan
Ngoc’s success pertains to his finding method. The Poetic language by
Nguyen Phan Canh is a work that is both theoretical and universal,
addressing many issues of poetry that are remarkable by readers. This is the
first work in Vietnam written on poetic features of poetic language from the
viewpoint of structuralism of a linguist. An in-depth study of the genre that
is firstly to mention is the Six-eight metre and double seven six-eight metre
(1998) by Phan Diem Phuong. In this study, common matters in the genre
of poetry such as the birth and development of these two metres have been
solved relatively thoroughly from the viewpoint of the prosody structure of
the genre. It is a remarkable step forward in defining the orthodox form of
the traditional metre. This work also follows the trend of Ha Minh Duc's
treatise “Poetry and problems in modern Vietnamese poetry” (1974).
However, author Phan Diem Phuong has given and solved this problem in a
more focused and comprehensive way. To Huu poetic prosody by Tran
Dinh Su is a work meaningful for poetic prosody studies in Vietnam. He
analyzed and assessed the issues thoroughly in different levels in both
content and form. The tone of lyric poetry (via typical poets of the New
Poetry movement) by Nguyen Dang Diep is the first work studying the
most complex problems of modern poetics – Artistic tone. Nguyen Dang
Diep has studied tone in many aspects: expression aspect; expression mode;
tone levels; tone styles. Nguyen Xuan Kinh absorbed the concept of poetics

from Russian scholars. He understood that the study of poetics was to point
out the artistic essence of the work, to show the reason for the existence of
the form. He studied the poetic elements in folk songs from language,
genre, texture, time and art space, symbols and images. His Prosody of Folk
songs is one of the typical works on Vietnamese folklore prosody, including
studies of folk songs from the perspective of genre prosody. In addition,

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there are a number of research works on six-eight metre which have
contributed generally to the formation of features and characteristics of sixeight metre and verse in literary history.
1.3.2. Studies of prosody of six-eight metre by some typical authors
In the Nguyen Binh – a poet of countryside by Ha Minh Duc, it is
assessed that one of the greatest contributions of Nguyen Binh is to bring us
to return to folk songs and to the rustic songs of countryside. The loneliness
in him is the loneliness of the times, showing a clear change in the subject
of composition in modern six-eight metre. The work The three culminations
of New poetry by Chu Van Son mentioned Nguyen Binh on various
aspects, of which he indicates features that create Nguyen Binh poetry are
the uncomplete ego, the tone of the countryside, the offspring of the sixeight verse up and down in the countryside. It is seen that Nguyen Binh’s
composing in folk tendencies is a natural thing because his soul is always
directed to the village, so in his composition subjects, images, space,
language... are all associated with countryside; and folk tendencies are the
very cradle nurturing Nguyen Binh's six-eight metre. Huy Can Poetic
Prosody, treatise by Tran Khanh Thanh, published in 2001 by Literature
Publishing House continues studying in poetics through cases of a single
author. The main issues addressed are the concept of art, art time and space,
and expression methods. This is the very basic approach of poetics. In the
work Bui Giang’s poetic language style, Nguyen Duc Chinh finds out

typical matters in his six-eight metre such as structure of six-eight metre,
musical characteristics in the language of Bui Giang's poetry
(characteristics of tone and melody combination in the language of Bui
Giang's poetry); the art of pacing in Bui Giang's poetry, the author said that
Bui Giang's six-eight metre has 4 additional structures including 4
cadences: 1/1/2/4, 1/2/3/2, 1/3/2/ 2, 3/1/1/1 and 4 structures with 5
cadences: 1/1/1/1/2, 1/1/1/1/4, 2/1/1/1/1, 2/2 1/1/1/1. In regards of rhyme,
the author also affirmed that Bui Giang's six-eight metre has many
repetitions in rhyme harmony, this is also one of the special features of Bui
Giang's six-eight metre in comparison with other ones. Regarding linguistic
means in Bui Giang's poetry, the author listed some of the following
characteristics: oral language, proverbs, reduplicative words, Kieu verses...

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these are quite distinctive features of Bui Giang’s poetry. In the treatise of
Nguyen Duy – a Vietnamese Modern Poet, La Nguyen surveyed his poetry
from three levels: worldview language, body language, and lyrical tone.
The first level is the language of operating artistic thinking; the second one
is the language of organizing lyrical emotions; The third one is the language
of organizing poetry. These three language levels exist in an
interdependent, mutually influencing relationship, forming the unique
semantic structure of each genre of poetry.
Subconclusion of Chapeter 1
Studies on six-eight metre is rather diversified and plentiful. In the aspect of
poetics, few works studying about the movement of the prosody of six-eight
metre by two main tendencies: folk and classic ones. Some works delve into
the study of six-eight metre from the poetic perspective of genre, language,
time, and space... However, there is not any work scrutinizing the matters of

six-eight metre through the aspects of folk and classic styles. Studies on the
modern six-eight metre should focus on studying the movement of the genre;
structure; language through typical authors. Thence the eternal vitality of sixeight metre is deciphered as a traditional poetic form. Folk and classic styles
make that eternal vitality. But the spirit of the times makes the six-eight metre
modern. Those are the issues that will be clarified in the next chapters.

Chapter 2
ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF
THE GENRE OF SIX-EIGHT METRE
2.1. Establishment of the genre of six-eight metre
The genre of six-eight metre has existed for a long time, and has been
developing through the words and voices of ancestors passed on to their
descendants, through proverbs, folk songs and folk tunes.
2.1.1. Establishment of Vietnamese tones
According to A. Haudricourt, until the early Christian Era, the languages
of the Mon-Khmer lineage were non-tonal. From the 6th - 12th centuries,

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Vietnamese language underwent a process of splitting from 3 tones into 6
tones:
Common even accent - grave accent line: voiceless sounds > voiceless
sounds = even accent
voiced sounds > voiceless sounds = grave accent
Common accute accent-dot below accent line: voiceless sounds >
voiceless sounds = accute accent
voiced sounds > voiceless sounds = dot below accent
Common question accent-tilde accent line: voiceless sounds > voiceless
sounds = question accent

voiced sounds > voiceless sounds = tilde accent
Accordingly, as long to 12th century (after six centuries of establishment
and completion), the Vietnamese tone system was completed. Opinions that
the six-eight metre was born before the 6th century lack a scientific basis,
because if the tonal system had not been born, the genre of six-eight metre
would not have been existed before.
2.1.2. Thinking of the six-eight metre
Artistic thinking is different from scientific one in that, thought and
emotion are not only the energy of thinking but also the perceived object of
thinking. Thus, it can be said that the linguistic means (tonal system) is the
first factor to be taken into account when learning the origin of the six-eight
metre. However, the genre of six-eight metre needs not only rhyme and the
number of syllables in each line, but also a strict rule of rhythm and tonal
coordination in order to have overall harmony.
Up to 67% of Vietnamese proverbs are rhyming ones. The phenomenon
of rhyming in proverbs clearly shows the thinking way on rhyming by
Vietnamese people:
Bút sa gà chết (Material damage incurred if making a wrong decision by
signing)
Của một đồng công một nén (small economic value, but great effort to
do it)
Ếch tháng ba gà tháng bảy (frog is delicious in Spring, chicken in
Summer)

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Accordingly, it can be affirmed that the characteristics of the six-eight
metre in folk songs have embryonically appeared in proverbs, which are the
way of saying symmetry, tone, meaning, and rhyme... since then the

thinking of six-eight metre was first formed, because harmony is one of the
basic characteristics of the six-eight metre.
2.1.3. Demand of expression governing structure and genre
From the means of expression firstly formed, in combination with the
need to reflect on people's lives and express their feelings and emotions, it
has initially shaped the basic characteristics of the genre. For expressive
purposes such as lullabies, dialogues, and story-telling, the structures of the
six-eight metre are also expressed in fairly basic features.
2.1.3.1. Structure of lullabies
Lullabies in daily life show the parents’ love and hope for children to
bring up and get mature. Lullabies are simple soothing songs that help
babies sleep. Most of the verses in lullabies are taken from folk songs,
nursery rhymes, or excerpts from poems or folk songs that are passed down
orally from grandmother to mother, from generation to next generation.
People often use lullabies (usually lullabies for children) to convey their
feelings and wishes or discreetly reflect the daily life in which they live,
sometimes the lullabies are just for educating their children with the good,
while integrating their philosophies and life experiences.
2.1.3.2. Dualistic structure
Sometimes it is the conversation between a male and a female.
Sometimes it is a question from one side and an answer of the other. Also
when one side gives a quiz to the other side to answer... Most of these folk
songs often have witty and humorous content. Generally, regardless of the
form of dialogue, the content of these folk verses is also delicate and cute,
making listeners feel free and comfortable.
2.1.3.3. Tone of lament
In the past, people often looked to folk songs as a relief when they coped
with misfortune and stalemate. Unfortunate fates, small and insignificant
individuals needed a happy life, were free to love, but their rights were
trampled on, pushing them into adversity, especially the position of women

in feudal society. Folk songs and folk verses are a mirror reflecting the

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enriched spiritual life of working people. It not only indicates the passionate
attachment to the homeland, the nation... but also a lament about
unfortunate fate and miserable circumstances.
2.1.4. Folk songs contributing to the formation of the six-eight metre
It can be affirmed that the completing tones of Vietnamese language,
together with the initial way of poetic thinking formed through rhyming, in
combination with the need to express the state and emotions of people in life
are the conditions to form the basic characteristics of the six-eight metre. The
folk songs are the beginning of the six-eight metre, and in the process of
development, the folk songs have initially shaped the early patterns of the
genre.
2.2. Development phases of the genre of six-eight metre
2.2.1. The genre of six-eight metre in folklore
Before The Tale of Kieu, the genre of six-eight metre appeared in
Vietnamese proverbs and folk songs (this assumption has been mentioned
above) successfully expressed in both art content and form, contributing to
the diversity of folklore with verses imbued with the thoughts and feelings
of the common people. The shaping of an existing pattern in folk songs is
the rhyming, harmonization of rhythm and tones, which is also the basis for
the development of the six-eight metre later. Basically, the genre of six-eight
metre in folk songs has formed a relatively complete pattern.
Line
1
6 syllable
line

8 syllable
line

2
even

even

3

Position of sound
4
5
6
Uneven
even
(syllable)
uneven

7

8

even
even
(syllable)
(syllable)
Công cha/ như núi/ Thái Sơn (The father is like Thai Son mountain)
Nghĩa mẹ/ như nước/ trong nguồn/ chảy ra (The mother is like water
flowing from the source)

(Folk songs)

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2.2.2. The genre of six-eight metre in medieval poetry
We have specified that the need of expressing emotional states governs
the genre of six-eight metre as mentioned above. When thinking about the
six-eight metre it has made great steps ahead, along with the need for
expression on a greater scale and in a larger space, it is no longer around the
banks of ponds, bamboo ramps, fields, and wharfs… Then, the genre of sixeight metre is used as means of reflecting a larger world and a more
multidimensional life. By studying the works of Đào nguyên hành (Phung
Khac Khoan), Tư Dung vãn (Dao Duy Tu), Thiên Nam ngữ lục, Cổ Châu
Phật bản hạnh... it can be seen that, at this stage, the genre of six-eight metre
was still in free, loose state. From folk songs, the six-eight metre takes new
advances: there is a change in the way of breaking syllables and rhyming,
which is most clearly shown in the works of The Tale of Kieu by the great poet
Nguyen Du and Lục Vân Tiên by Nguyen Dinh Chieu. The Tale of Kieu by
Nguyen Du is a brilliant culmination of the type of Nom poetric stories, and at
the same time a brilliant peaks of Vietnamese literature. The genre of six-eight
metre in The Tale of Kieu is also more standardized and perfected. As
compared with the six-eight metre in folklore, the genre of six-eight metre in
the Tale of Kieu has no longer variations. It can be seen that the genre of sixeight metre in The Tale of Kieu is a pure type of six-eight metre that inherits the
six-eight metre verses of the eighteenth century.
2.2.3. The genre of six-eight metre in modern poetry
Following the flow of six-eight metre from folk songs, many successful
authors with this form of poetry were recognized in the medieval and
modern literature. In medieval poetry, the narrative function of the six-eight
metre was promoted when the main mission of this literary paradigm was to
carry morality. However, in the modern poetry, the six-eight metre has

returned to its inherent lyrical function. Poetic stories seem to have ended
its historical mission with the culmination of The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen
Du. Folk songs are often comprised of 2 six-eight metre verses, while
poetic stories are done of hundreds or thousands of consecutive hexagons,
the modern six-eight metre tends to short poems of the six-eight metre,
which can be divided into stanzas or undivided. The six-eight metre then
shows changes in form. The eternal vitality of six-eight metre has been

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indicated by Tan Da and new poets like Nguyen Binh, Huy Can, etc. and
Bui Giang, Nguyen Duy, Dong Duc Bon later. The six-eight metre
currently follows two main tendencies: the folk one (Nguyen Binh, Nguyen
Duy, Dong Duc Bon...) and the classic one (Huy Can, The Lu...). However,
a combination of these two tendencies are shown in composition for some
authors, such as Tan Da, Bui Giang.....
Subconclusion of Chapter 2
In the folklore, folk songs (somewhat proverbs) are the cradle
contributing to the formation of the six-eight metre. In folk songs, many
factors that are necessary and sufficient conditions to form this genre are
met: the formation of Vietnamese tones, the aesthetic thinking of
Vietnamese people, the people’s need to reflect the human emotions and
feelings are the factors contributing to the formation of the six-eight metre.
It is said that, through a process of selection and elimination, one of the
successes of folk songs in terms of genre is to form a relatively complete
pattern for the six-eight metre. In the period of modern literature, poetic
stories continued the source of the six-eight metre, and its culmination in
this period was the Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du who upgraded the level of
six-eight metre to the classic pattern.

Chapter 3
STRUCTURE OF MODERN SIX-EIGHT METRE
3.1. Structure of six-eight metre pattern
3.1.1. Structure of six-eight metre pattern and its variants
The forming of an existing pattern in folk songs is the very method of
rhyming, tone and cadence harmonization, which is also the basis for the
development of the genre of six-eight metre later. A pair of six-eight metre
in the folk songs brought almost sufficiently all the typical elements of the
genre. By temporarily skipping a process of sorting and selection (rhyming
uneven syllables, rhyming the sixth syllable of the six-syllable verse and the
fourth syllable of the eight-syllable verse, adding and subtracting number of
syllables in the six-syllable verse and the eight-syllable verse...), the sixeight metre in folk songs shapes the original rather completed pattern as
follows:

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Line

Position of sound
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
6-syllable
Even

Uneven
Even
verse
(syllable)
8-syllable
Even
Uneven
Even
Even
verse
(syllable)
(syllable)
3.1.2. Six-eight metre variants:
The six-eight metre varies in folk songs in many forms:
The break in genre is reflected in rhyming the 6th syllable of the sixsyllable verse with the 4th syllable of the eight-syllable verse;
- Changing the number of sounds in the six-syllable verse, keeping the
same unchanged in the eight-syllable verse;
- Changing the number of sounds in the eight-syllable verse, keeping
the same unchanged in the six-syllable verse;
- Changing the number of sounds in both the six-syllable verse and the
eight-syllable verse
In the medieval literary period, the phenomenon of six-eight metre
variation remained in some poetic stories, but if The Tale of Kieu is
considered as a pattern, the phenomenon of rhyming in the sixth syllable in
six-syllable verses with the fourth syllable in eight-syllable verses no longer
exist and 100% of the verses in The Tale of Kieu all comply with the rule of
6 syllables in six-syllable verses and eighth syllables in eight-syllable
verses. However, in the modern poetry, poets sometimes use the six-eight
metre variation to enrich the way they express their thoughts and feelings.
Several modern poets fail to attach pattern of the shaped six-eight metre but

have unique ways in variation. However, it is hardly that a work can be
successful with the six-eight metre variation, but a varied work can mainly
create new nuances to the writing style of poets of the six-eight metre.
3.2. Text structure of in the modern six-eight metre
3.2.1. Narrative structure
In folklore, the function of performance dominates the length of the folk
songs, so folk songs are usually comprised of sentences with 1 to 2 pairs of

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six-eight metre, which is perfectly suitable for the need of reflecting the
emotion and feelings of the people in daily life and work. In the medieval
period, poetic stories flourished and occupied an almost unique position in
literature. The literary function of performance then gave way to the
narrative function. This is a narrative type capable of reflecting on the
reality of society and people with a relatively wide scope. The social life as
well as author's conceptions and ideals of life are often expressed in the
content of Nom poetic stories by describing and often in detail, narrating a
relatively complete life of a character by a plot with a series of outstanding
upheavals and events. A wide range of such medieval poetic stories were
born, composed in the genre of six-eight metre as the Story of Pham Tai
and Ngoc Hoa, the Tale of Tong Tran and Cuc Hoa, Nhi Do Mai (The Plum
Tree Blossoms Twice), the Story of the flower-letter, the Tale of Kieu, the
Tale of Luc Van Tien.
In the modern literary period, the need of revealing the individual self has
become the dominant tendency; poets’ or lyric characters’ feelings and
thoughts toward the phenomena of life are expressed more directly. The
individualization of feeling and the subjectivity of expression are typical
signs of lyric poetry. Thus, the function of poetry has changed markedly. The

six-eight metre is then born with the characteristics that they have moderate
volume from a few sentences to a few dozen six-eight sentences. Thus, from
the folk songs to the six-eight sentences in the Nom poetic stories and to the
six-eight metre is a whole journey of the genre of six-eight metre. The
flexibility and diversity of modern six-eight metre has brought into play
many advantages of this genre.
3.2.2. Text structure of the modern six-eight metre
There are works of the six-eight metre massive in volume but few in
quantity. Following the line of medieval Nom poetic stories, it is possible to
mention Nguyen Binh with the Tale about zither (1548 verses) and The
Drum in Spring Night (1976 verses); Pham Thien Thu with Post-tale of
Kieu (3296 verses) and the epic Vietnamese lullabies (3320 sentences). In
the modern six-eight metre, genres with massive volume are indicated when
it has function of performance or propagating, but it is a special case of
functions of the six-eight metre. In summary, in the modern poetry, though

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there are still a few works with hundreds or thousands of six-eight verses, it
can still be affirmed that poetic stories have ended their historical mission
after the Tale of Kieu because its narrative was left in the past and gave way
to the modern poetry with its lyrical quality. In the modern six-eight metre,
poems are formed with complete structure and are divided into remarkable
levels in text structure.
3.3. Some typical structures of the modern six-eight metre
3.3.1. Dualistic structure (dualiality, parallel dualiality)
Since ancient times, although duality has appeared naturally in Chinese
poetry, it has not been recognized as a poetic measure. Generally, the
dualistic form in Vietnamese classic poetry absorbs the engineering of

Chinese poetry and literature, but due to its own linguistic characteristics,
there are certainly differences. The principle of parallelism is one of the
most important structures of poetry in general, and the six-eight metre in
particular. Moreover, it is spacious for this principle’s development and it
contributes to raising the art of contrasting poetry to a new level. The
duality in the six-eight verses of the Tale of Kieu is quite diverse compared
to other genres because odd 5-word, 7-word verses are unlikely to have
variation like 6-word, 8-word verses, especially the balance when the
number of words in the sentence is even. In addition, in the parallel
structure, reduplicative words play a particularly important role. Researcher
Thuy Khue said that reduplicative words could be considered as the
smallest parallel unit in the language, a combination of sound and semantics
between two equivalent or opposite elements, whose feature was of duality
of life, bearing the image of yin and yang, the two factors that made up the
living relationship of all species. By this structure, the expressive, symbolic,
onomatopoeic and figurative abilities of reduplicative words are interpreted,
helping readers and listeners not only recognize objects by their names, but
also visualize their looks and hear sounds and sometimes feel their
movements. Therefore, the reduplicative words have an important role in
poetry, whose basic structure is based on images, music and emotions.
3.3.2 Continuity and repetition structure
Continuity and repetition is a way of organizing words in a repetitive
way to repeat different units of a text in order to create new meanings for a

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text that cannot be obtained when separating that unit. There are the
following methods: sentence repetition, word repetition, semantic
repetition, syntactic repetition, etc. In poetry, elements of repetition and

continuity create a rhythmic repetition, this is a rhythm with repetition of an
element or a sound contour. For example, a rhythm repeats, overlaps in
syllables, pitches, accents or tones; this is a rhythmic organization basing on
repetition, it is associated with word repletion, semantic repetition,
sentence-type repetition, listing method.
3.3.3. Structure of the lyrical character's mood
Since the medieval poetry period, the structure of modern six-eight
metre has shaped according to the structure of the mood of the lyric
character. In medieval poetry, there were many paragraphs describing the
character's inner and the surrounding space was covered by the character's
mood, but these were only verses describing love scenes. However, these
are original clues to the lyrical six-eight metre later. Tan Da can be
considered as the initiator of the lyrical six-eight metre in Vietnamese
poetry. Thence after being born in the early sixteenth century, it would take
400 years for the six-eight metre to become lyrical. It is clear that the sixeight metre and the lyrical six-eight metre do not appear at the same time.
Thus, in the six-eight metre, the structure of the lyric character’s mood
dominates the problems of poetic prosody: from structure, language,
cadence, image...
Subconclusion of Chapter 3
The format of a six-eight sentence given complete has been shaped in
folk songs, this is deemed the first model of the genre of six-eight metre.
Through the development process, it is considered model with The Tale of
Kieu by Nguyen Du. Until the modern poetic period, the basic six-eight
verse format still adheres quite closely to the structure and rhyme
correspondence rules, however, there have many innovative points in the
use of tone and rhyme, even innovation in Bui Giang's six-eight metre, but
basically, the six-eight metre is not over the format that were shaped in the
previous stages. In folk songs, the function of performance dominates, so
most of the folk songs were usually short in size, until the medieval poetry
period, the narrative function played a dominant role, and most of the


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compositions in the genre of six-eight metre were narrative. The structure
of the work composed in the genre of six-eight metre in this period is close
to the structure of folk tales. In the modern literary period, the narrative
function has basically completed its historical mission to give way for the
lyrical function of poetry.
There are still some works of singing and storytelling with a very large
number of six-eight metre verses, but in general, the structure of modern sixeight metre has shaped distinct levels, from low to high: verse, stanza, verse
paragraph, poem. The dualistic structure is one of the most characteristic
structures of the six-eight metre, throughout the development of the genre.
This structure began to appear in folk songs, then developed into classic
patterns in in the Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du and still has changes in the
modern six-eight metre to suit the times. In poetry in general and in six-eight
metre in particular, parallel structure is an important feature when studying
the prosody of six-eight metre. Repetition in parallel structure is an element
governing the intonation and rhythm of the six-eight verse.
Chapter 4
LANGUAGE OF MODERN SIX-EIGHT METRE
Poetic language is a term that is established on many levels. In the
framework of this thesis, the main phonetic features in the language of sixeight metre are mentioned only.
4.1. Intonations
Intonations are a concept used in relation to tone and rhythm.
Accordingly, intonation can be understood as a harmonization created from
the alternate appearance of sound units (voices) with similar and different
phonetic qualities on the linear axis. Intonations are the fundamental factor
that makes a difference in the phonetic qualities of each syllable. In this
sense, it must be interested in understanding on two aspects: the sonic pitch

(high - low) and the way of movement (even- uneven) in the sonic pitch
4.1.1. Intonation in the traditional six-eight metre
There are many elements constituting intonations, for which the most

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dominant elements that make up them can be analyzed with an overview.
These factors included: distribution of intonation on the overall scale in the
even-uneven correlation; even-uneven distribution in the tonal law model
(at all positions in each verse); the degree of intonation modulation in the
tonal law (ruled positions). There is a very high consistency between the
inspiration of composition, tones and intonation created by cadences. With
increased narrative and the more diverse intonation, the more the number of
even syllables decreases and the number of uneven syllables increases. If
folk songs are considered as the starting point, it can be seen that the lyrical
nature is dense (emotions, lamentations), so the basic intonation is low and
sad, the number of even syllables is overwhelming. However, in terms of
correlation, the ratio of even syllables of folk songs is still inferior to that of
modern six-eight metre authors. This small difference is due to the fact that
many of the folk songs born from folk tunes are still of speech; the
intonation is not completely harmonious and smooth, and the tone has not
reached the typical and homogeneous level. In the comparative position, the
number of uneven syllables in the Tale of Kieu is the highest (as compared
to modern folk songs and syllabaries). It is due to the strong influence of
narratives. Poetic stories contain linguistic structures that are not purely
lyrical (such as direct questions and answers; dualistic structures...) that
have a strong impact on the choice of sound pattern (the emphasis is on the
lyrics so meaning structure dominates phonetic structure).
4.1.2. Tendencies of innovated intonation in the modern six-eight metre

In the modern six-eight metre, the model of cadences of the six-syllable
line same as folk songs: even-even-even-uneven-even-even are often seen:
Tre xanh tự bao giờ (Green bamboo, when was it green? (Tre Việt Nam–
Nguyen Duy); Trăng êm cho gió thanh tân (Calm moon for fresh wind)
(Xuân ý - Huy Can).
The second model of typical six-syllable line is even-even-unevenuneven-even-even. Its numbers in modern six-eight metre authors are rather
same. In which folk songs take the second position (18%), the Tale of Kieu

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