The Double Man

poem by        Ouyang Yu

Lesson 1
 Goals
>> know important biographical facts about an Australian
migrant poet

>> appreciate the potential links between concepts of

journey, self-identity and language

>> express first impressions of a poem that explores

concepts of journey and identity as they relate to
multicultural Australia
 REVISING … Ouyang Yu ( 歐陽昱 ): Composer Context
https://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/ouyang-yu

Ouyang Yu was born in Huangzhou, China, in 1955. He is a prolific contemporary Australian Chinese writer. In 1983 he
graduated from Wuhan Institute of Hydro-Electric Engineering (now Wuhan University) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
English and American Literature, and in 1989 he completed a Master of Arts in Australian and English Literature at East
China Normal University in Shanghai.

He left China for Australia in 1991 to commence a PhD at La Trobe University on the representation of the Chinese in
Australian literature. He completed his doctorate in 1995.

Since arriving in Australia, Yu has commenced an extraordinarily prolific literary career as a poet, critic, translator, editor
and novelist. In 1996, he co-founded Australia’s first Chinese-language literary journal Otherland [Yuanxiang], which he
has continued to run as editor. He has received a number of grants and awards for his work, both as an editor and
translator, and has spent periods as a writer-in-residence and as a research fellow at various Australian universities. He
was also Professor of Australian Literature at Wuhan University in China from 2005-2008.

Yu’s poems, written both in English and in Chinese, have appeared in numerous Australian literary journals and
newspapers, and have been frequently anthologised.
 Ouyang Yu First impressions: What
do you think Yu means
by this? From this
“My work is a product of dual
quotation, why do you
Chinese and english (yes, small ‘e’) think Yu’s work is
traditions, linguistic, poetic, cultural included among the Year
and political, combining influences 9 journey texts?
from other places . . . It is part of, and
apart from, the Australian traditions.
I am, after all, on my own in this
country, just a place to live, and
probably to die, with little connection
to anyone”.

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 What does this statement suggest about Yu’s
relationship with language?

“There is nothing perfect in poetry. Certain poems may seem perfect in one
language but are imperfect in another. Recently, I’ve been showing ‘Loveliest of
trees, the cherry now’ by A. E. Housman and ‘The Road not Taken’ by Robert
Frost to my translation students, and I pointed out that the second stanza in both
poems is so boringly repetitive that it could be succinctly expressed in Chinese, in
a single line, when translated.” - Ouyang Yu

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 Investigate:
Research Yu’s life and writing and construct an author profile.

Your profile should take up one page and include at least the following:
● An overview of Yu’s life, including when he came to Australia and why
● An outline of his published work
● What he cites as his inspiration and/or motivation to write poetry
● Common themes explored in his work
● Which poems of his is the most well-known and why

CLICK HERE for some good places to begin your research.

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 Reflecting
Before returning to Ouyang Yu's poem 'The Double Man', it is important to
reflect on what 'double' or 'dual' might mean for a person's identity.

Read the linked article by a migrant to Canada:

https://www.routedmagazine.com/omc2020-1-immig-identity

→ Design a mind map or flow chart to explore how your

own identity consists of multiple elements (EG in terms of
culture, gender, age, religion, sports …).
 On the next slide is Yu's poem 'The Double
Man'. Read it once to gain an early sense of its
ideas.

Next, in pairs, one person reads aloud the first

The Double Man

'column' of the poem's free verse to the other

Ouyang Yu

person; then that second person reads aloud

the second 'column' of the poem's layout to
the first reader.

After your readings, write your early

impressions of the poem as point-form notes
in your work book. Include THREE quotes of
lines that strike you as especially interesting
and memorable.
The Double Man
Ouyang Yu
Interpretation
Write answers in your exercise book.

1. What is the ‘doubleness’ of the persona?

2. How does the persona feel about the ‘doubleness’?

(Include a quotation from the poem.)

3. What do you notice about the punctuation?

(Give examples by quoting from the poem.)

4. What does the capital ‘M’ represent?

5. Where is the ‘home country’?
Time to annotate. Find these techniques in Yu's poem:
Contrast Alliteration

Antithesis Hyperbole

Tautology Chiasmus

Metaphor Dialect

Pun Repetition

Anaphora Idiom

literarydevices.net
 Writing task:

“If culture was a house, then language

was the key to the front door, to all the
rooms inside.” — Khaled Hosseini,
Afghan-born American novelist

Considering what you now know about Ouyang Yu, write a TEEEL
paragraph exploring the ways in which this statement reflects Yu’s life and
work.

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