Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

A Comparison of Chinese and Western Poetry from the Perspective of Digital Humanities: Taking Li Bai and Shakespeare as Examples

Youyou PengHigh School Affiliated to Renmin University of China*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

From the perspective of digital humanities, a comparative study of Li Bai's and Shakespeare's poetry reveals the cultural gene differences and spiritual resonances between Chinese and Western classical poetry. Through text analysis via high-frequency word statistics and language models, it is found that Li Bai's poetry conveys the poet’s feeling through presenting natural imagery and geographical space, while Shakespeare’s poetry focuses on human’s feelings and explores the themes of time and love. Comparative studies show that the intensity of emotional fluctuations in Li Bai's poetry is significantly higher than that in Shakespeare's, that Shakespeare’s poems are generally more positive, but both share the spiritual core of "transcendent value pursuit". This study confirms that digital technology can penetrate the surface of language, reveal the deep coding mechanism of cultural genes, and provide a new method for comparative poetics research.

Keywords: Digital Humanities; Poetry; Li Bai; Shakespeare
Published: September 24, 2025
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.HT27241
Volume: CHR Vol.75
pp. 175-185
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