A study on the autobiographical verse of Donggye Jo Gwi-myeong

This paper analyzes the autobiographical aspects revealed in the poetry of Dong-seok Jo Yeong-myeong(1692-1737). Although Jo Gwi- myeong focused on prose, the 27 poems and 6 chapters he left behind contain indispensable thoughts. Jo Gwi-myeong’s thoughts revealed in verse are more internal and implicit in that they are expressed in the language of poetry rather than the language of prose. Among his works, his most important works can be said to be 〈次際卿述懷韻〉 and 〈幽懷賦〉, which are based on the theme of his own life and thoughts. 〈次際卿述懷韻〉 presented five themes and recited his life and thoughts. 〈Yuhoebu〉 is a work that describes the process of internally resolving the conflict caused by the pain of illness. The prose writer Jo Gwi-myeong is familiar, but the poetic language written by Jo Gwi-myeong is also unfamiliar to Jo Gwi-myeong researchers. Although these two works are very important materials for understanding Jo Gwi-myeong, they have not been covered so far. This paper first examines the formal characteristics of Jo Gwi-myeong’s verse, and then analyzes 〈次際卿述懷韻〉 and 〈幽懷賦〉 to examine how Jo Gwi-myeong’s life and thoughts were expressed in his verse. The analysis of Jo Gwi-myeong’s verse seeks to provide clues to a coherent understanding of Jo Gwi-myeong’s inner conflicts and contradictions.