222 t He tang Dy na s t y
not present perfect maximum contrast but only generally does so. The only per-
fectly balanced unit is the second couplet, so it dominates, prosodically speaking.
Yet it does not provide closure all on its own but also reintegrates the first couplet:
notice that the pattern of line 4 is identical with that of line 1—the poem has re-
turned to its starting point.
Apart from prosody, the organization of contents is invariably designed to lead
to a sense of closure as well. The first couplet tends to be a setup for conclusion in
the second couplet, and it is at first glance not necessarily memorable. Unlike in
lüshi, in jueju parallelism is not required, although it is an option. When found, it is
more frequent in first couplets, where it efficiently presents multiple scene-setting
images in a few words. However, parallelism is generally avoided in second cou-
plets, because its static quality makes conclusions difficult. The second couplet is
the focus of the poem: it is successful when it completely integrates all four lines.
Closure of a theme in jueju does not imply predictability. The first couplet sets up
a theme or topic, perhaps by suggesting a question, a dramatic situation, or an
archetypal character. The reader has an expectation of where the poem is going,
but the successful jueju will “turn” (zhuan) the pattern in the second couplet and
bring about a gratifying closure in a way that is surprising, transformative, yet still
a natural outgrowth of what has been said before.24
The subtle design of Li Bai’s “Quiet Night Thoughts” has already been men-
tioned. Another illustrative example is Jin Changxu’s “Spring Lament.” The first
couplet sets a conundrum: Why does the speaker so desperately want to stop the
singing of the birds? The second couplet sends us in an unexpected direction but,
at the same time, explains the mystery. The power of genre also helps to create
thematic closure. As jueju became established, knowledgeable readers became ac-
customed to looking for closure in the second couplet, even when doing so was
difficult. The “green moss” in Wang Wei’s “The Deer Fence” is an “image in sus-
pension” that is at first glance enigmatic, but, because of its position in the poem,
the reader knows it must be important and so actively tries to unify it with the rest
of the poem.
Finally, a word about the differences between the two forms. Frequently, critics
have assumed that the qijue is merely a longer version of the wujue. However, there
are significant structural differences between the two that led to clear divergences
in their aesthetic potentials and the styles that poets developed.
The pentasyllabic line invariably follows a 2 + 3 meter, which is most often used
to present a single subject + predicate or topic + comment structure (thematic
table of contents 5.2 and 5.3). The two parts of the line are read together as related
units. Alternatively, both lines in a couplet may constitute one continuous propo-
sition. It is possible, but very uncommon, for one pentasyllabic line to present two
separate topic + comment structures. This is because the two-character part of
the line is too short to say very much. The three-character part, however, shows
considerably more potential to complete a topic + comment, with its 1 + 2 or 2 + 1
pattern variability. Thus when we consider the pentasyllabic quatrain, generally