Aspects of the Passion and Meaning of the Resurrection in Seo Jeong-ju's Early Poems Focusing on Hwasajip
This study examined the constituting principle of Hwasajip("Flower-Snake Anthology") and its Christian influence. The consciousness of original sin in the Bible refers to the fall of Adam and Eve that led mankind to a state of corruption. However, the consciousness of original sin in "Self-Portrait," "Flower snake," "Leper," "Daytime," and "Barley Summer" seems to be a longing for something carnal. Mankind's sins were the cause of the Passion and death of Christ. Yet, "From the Hill of Noon," "Goeulna's Daughter," "Rooster(I)," and "Rooster(II)" depict the struggle for freedom from the body and the accompanying limitations of human existence. Christ was resurrected three days after his death. But in "The Sea," "The Door," "Ode to the West Wind," and "Resurrection," Seo Jeong-ju depicts the resurrection of the poetic speaker from the desires of youth. However, this desire for resurrection indicates an Oriental worldview. Therefore, the poet seems to have understood, assimilated, and transformed Christianity into a vehicle for revealing the wanderings and intense mental agony of youth.