On poetry : the emergence and function of meaning
Abstract
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI--COLUMBIA AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] On Poetry: The Emergence and Function of Meaning is intended to contribute to the scholarship of poetics and literary theory. The work is divided into three section, with each section utilizing several distinct theoretical frameworks and methodologies. Section I relies heavily on linguistic anthropology and oral-formulaic theories of literature to establish a more functionalist approach to poetry that attempts to extend the category of poetry beyond the typical western, structuralist view of poetry as a written text. This section illustrates that the concept of poetry is not stable because it is always culturally and historically situated, but argues that despite these differences, poetry seems to universally function as a tool for developing complex thoughts and for communicating those thoughts to others. Section II examines the rise of modern American poetry as a case study for how poetry as a genre perpetuates itself and evolves. This section utilizes both the translation theory of Brazilian poet and translator Heraldo de Campos and the metaphysics of anthropologist Eduardo Viveiros de Castro. I argue that the metaphorical consumption of texts reveals the mechanism of literary production and shifts our attention from translation theory's concerns with authorial intent and the task of the translator to highlight instead the role of artistic influence and the ways in which new literature grows and interacts with previous literary works. Section III begins with a reflection of William Carlos Williams's lecture "The Poem as a Field of Action" in light of recent developments in theoretical physics and attempts to uncover where poetry comes from. This section looks at where meaning originates, moving from fields as distinct as quantum mechanics to speculative realism and panpsychist philosophies, to biosemiotics, endosymbiotic and Gia theory, cognitive science, and evolutionary approaches to art. After arguing that the basic elements of poetry, such as the perception of similarity and difference, are basic aspects of all living, autopoietic beings, from cells, to trees, to people, I turn to focus on the role of emotion in poetry and in the construction of values. Because we enact our reality via a noticing that begins with feeling, and because poetry is inherently relational, the emotional reaction we have to poetry establishes connections and generates meaning.
Degree
Ph. D.