The Overturning Potential of Poetic Language

• Poetic form varies, poetic forms vary – not least in our time. This variety is one of the paradoxical traits of what we might refer to as “poetic”. This aspect could be, and has been, described from a number of theoretical positions. Joseph M. Conte has referred to as a binary between “protean” and “proteinic”, Paul Hernadi has spoken of it in terms of “concurrency”, Mutlu Konuk Blasing calls it the “non-rational order” of poetic language, whereas Lucy Alford has recently talked in terms of varieties of “poetic attention”. In contrast to other discourses, the poetic does invariably involve (the potential to) its own negation, and a certain, unavoidable and inherent, degree of randomness and arbitrariness, no matter how much a poet attempts to be in control of the process. This has to do with poetry’s actual working on language, not only with it, or through it. Or in Alford’s terms: “how poems compose attention and how attention is in turn poetry’s most essential ‘raw material’” (Alford 4). In his critique of the legacy of Ferdinand de Saussure’s semiotic theory, Jean-Jacques Lecercle states that this legacy tends to overlook the premise that saying ”I speak language” always needs to be complemented by also claiming that “language speaks”. Furthermore, Lecercle claims that it is within poetry and nonsensical texts that this premise is most obvious. What he refers to as “the remainder of language” is precisely that which cannot be controlled. The more we try to control it, the more it tends to become performative – and bite back! It could be claimed that Lecercle’s complementary statement might be stretched even further, into “language speaks me” (Alfredsson 45). In my paper, I study these facets of the poetic within a few various poetic forms. The general idea is that through the poetic aspect of “concurrency”, poetic texts always come with a potential to overturn not only themselves and their claims, but also other control and power structures. The remainder of language might – in its biting back – bring with it other remainders, groups and discourses that are being kept out of power. My readings will exemplify a number of such power structures, such as class, gender, race, and age.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Litteraturvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- General Literary Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Poetry

Power

Intersectionality

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