推移の悲哀(下) : 古詩十九首の主題

Abstract

Group III of the Nineteen Poems consists of numbers 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. The sorrow which characterizes this group of poems derivers from the view of the passing of time as a journey toward death. In the poems of groups I and II, where the emphasis was upon the endurance of sorrow, time was pictured as dull and heavy, something which passed slowly. By contrast, time in this third group passes swiftly, and human life, which passes with it, is contrasted to such durable substances as stone or metal. The relief of sorrow is no more to be sought in sincerity and good will, as in the poems of the first two groups, but in the pursuit of passion and pleasure. The most desparate and gloomy of the Nineteen Poems are found in this group. As has been pointed out before, nos. 3 and 13 reveal from the place names mentioned that they date from the Latter Han. It should also be noted that, with the exception of no. 12, none of the poems in this group are included in the Yü-t'ai hsin-yung.