Lee Sang′s Accusation and Poetic Transformation : On the Limitations of Language Signals

언어기호의 한계성에 대한 이상의 고발과 시적 변용

No one would deny that, despite the fact that they are the central factor in any given communication system, language signals have their limitations. For example, language cannot keep up with the radical changes that occur in the world and its ideas. The present meaning of a language signal is always pegged to the past when it was originally created. This limitation in turn puts limitations on the way we conceive of the world, and we have no choice but to watch the world through the refracted, darkly colored lens called language. Lee Sang′s was well aware of these limitations, and his works reflect his suspicion of language. This paper argues that Lee Sang′s "Ogamdo 1" is a poetic commentary on the ambiguity of language signals; that "Ogamdo 2" is an accusation of the stationary nature of language signals; ; and, finally, that "Sune-kwanhan-gakseo (Treatise on Lines) 7" is a poetic expression of Lee Sang′s negative view of the symbolic limitation of, and the fragmentary nature of, language signals.