Melancholy and resentment, which here refers to a sense of helplessness found

in poems, is one of the 24 poetic styles summarized by Sikong Tu, a poet in

the late Tang Dynasty. Faced with frustrations and tough challenges in life, or

overwhelmed by the immensity of nature or major events, poets were often

seized by dejection, grief, sadness, and anger, which gave rise to a "melancholy

and resentment" style in poetry writing. While the style bears similarity with the

genre of tragedy in Western literary tradition, it is more influenced by Daoism,

often featuring a sense of resignation or stoic optimism.