VIETNAM

LITERATURE
 Vietnam literature consists of two parts, namely folk and written literature.
Folk literature is oral literature; meanwhile, written literature includes kanji,
“chu Nom” (Nom letters) and “chu Quoc ngu” (national language)
literature.
 From early 20th century, “chu Quoc ngu” (national language) was
widespread over nationwide. With the development of printing technology,
together with the exposure of Western and Eastern literature, literature in
Vietnam witnessed a great number of new literary genres, in which the prose
occupied an important position in the literature forum with poems reigned
before. Changes in the literary life appeared with the advent of the New
Poetry movement in the 1930s. This was a modern movement to liberate
Vietnamese poetry from restrictive rules of classical Chinese poetry. In the
field of the prose, the activities of “Tu Luc Van Doan” group influenced by
the West created modern Vietnam novel. Vietnam literature from this period
set a presence of many movements. It can be named some of them, such as
works in romanticism, works according to realism, or works associated with
politics – revolutionary literature flow
The literary arts, especially poetry, have traditionally
been highly prized in Vietnam. There are three main
types of Vietnamese literature:

1. TRUYEN (traditional oral literature);

2. HAN VIET (Chinese-Vietnamese literature);
3. QUOC AM (modern literature, or anything
written in the romanticized quoc ngu alphabet).
TONE RULE
 Tones are among the most important elements in most of
Vietnamese verse forms.
 In poetry, the tones of Vietnamese language are divided
based on their falling and rising nature into two categories:
1. BẰNG (flat)
Bằng category comprises two tones: ngang and huyền.
2. TRẮC (sharp or non-flat).
Trắc category comprises four tones: sắc, hỏi, ngã, nặng.
RHYME SCHEME RULE
There are two kinds of rhymes in Vietnamese poetry.
VẦN GIÀU (rich rhymes): when two words have the
same final sound and their tones come from the same
category.
 VẦN NGHÈO (poor rhymes): when two words have
nearly similar final sound and their tones come from the
same category.
DIFFERENT POETIC FORMS OF
VIETNAM
 Tho Bon Chu or Four Word Verse 
 It is written as its name implies, measuring the number of words per line
rather than syllables.
 The elements of the Tho Bon Chu are:
1. stanzaic, written in a series of couplets
2. measured by the number of words in the line, each line has 4 words
Example:
Sounds normal to shout
with children at home.

To shout in office
is not my suggestion.
 Tho Sau Chu or Six-Word
 It is measured Verse 
by word count and uses either alternate or envelope rhyme.
It can be written in quatrains or octaves. When written in octaves it is
called Six-Eight Poetry  
 The elements of the Tho Sau Chu are:
1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains. It can also be written in any
number of octaves.
2. measured by word count, 6 words per line.
3. rhymed, either alternate, abab cdcd etc. (when written as Six-Eight
abababab cdcdcdcd etc.) or envelope, abba cddc etc. (when written in
octaves abbaabba cddccddc etc.)
Tho Sau Chu or Six-Word Verse 
If my lines led you astray - A
it’s because I’m a contrary guy. - B
I feel my misdirection is okay - A
when a second reading explains why. – B
I’m writing this Tho Sau Chu - C
(though English cannot do it proud.-D
This form hereby makes its debut- C
with only one hundred words allowed - D
I think none will be uptight - E
with a new form that’s presented - F
to shine and share the spotlight - E
with ninety-six words I feel contented - F
 Tho Bay Chu or Seven Word Poetry 
 It is written with seemingly more flexible tonal pattern than most
Viet verse with the exception of when an end word in the first line is
flat, the 3rd word must be sharp and when the end word of second
line is sharp, the 4th word in the line must be flat.
 The elements of the Tho Bay Chu are:
1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
2. measured by number of words, 7 words per line.
3. rhymed
 Tho Tam Chu or Eight Word Poetry 
 It appears to be more flexible in stanza length as well as tonal and end rhyme.
 The elements of the Tho Tam Chu are:
1. stanzaic, written in any number of either tercets, quatrains or septets.
2. measured by the number of words in the line, 8 words per line.
3. Rhymed
Example:
If word three is long, expect to find
the words five and six not so aligned.
By word three, eight’s sound is now defined.
One must keep these rules within one’s mind.
That being done, then each line is fun,
a challenge yet, here I write this one.
An unrhymed line must still conform like so.
  
The Cherished Daughter

Mother, I am eighteen this year

and still without a husband.
What, Mother, is your plan?
The magpie brought two matchmakers
and you threw them the challenge:
not less than five full quan,
five thousand areca nuts,
five fat pigs,
and five suits of clothes.
 
Mother, I am twenty-three this year
and still without a husband.
What, Mother, dear, is your plan?
The magpie brought two matchmakers
and you threw them the challenge:
not less than three full quan,
three thousand areca nuts,
three fat pigs,
and three suits of clothes.
 Mother, I am forty-three this year.
Still without a husband.
Mother, look, Mother,
will you please just give me away?
 
-- Anonymous (c. 1700 AD) -- trans. Nguyen Ngoc Bich from
World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquit