Details

Subject(s)

• Poetry—Appreciation [Browse]
• Poetry—Psychological aspects [Browse]

Series

Routledge studies in twentieth-century literature [More in this series]

Summary note

"Poetry moves us. Sometimes a poem changes our life... Then we analyze it as a cultural artifact with no special connection to us. An extensive critical apparatus enables us to develop sophisticated interpretations, but we dismiss as "idiosyncratic" even life-changing experiences of poetry. We need an apparatus to unfold our experience of reading poems into a more effective relationship with the world. Modern poets in particular wrote prophetic verse for this purpose. Archetypal psychology and phenomenology describe the soul that modern poetry moves in us. Three prosodic mechanisms activate the psyche. The polyphony of accentual and quantitative versification creates depth to lure the soul. Aural images reshape the reader's stream of consciousness. Readers follow the movement of blocks of verse across the expanse of the page with what Maurice Merleau-Ponty terms the phenomenal body. These mechanisms reach us at the collective level of consciousness and generate the power we need to solve big, collective challenges, such as race, climate change, and inequality"-- Provided by publisher.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

• The experience of modern verse. Reading as an experience of the psyche
• Reading as an experience of the body
• The psychoactive mechanisms of modern verse. Polyphony
• Aural images
• Movement
• The value of experiencing modern verse. An Earth of value
• Afterword: Teaching the experience of reading.

Show 4 more Contents items

ISBN

• 9781032448824 (hardcover)
• 1032448822 (hardcover)
• 9781032448848 (paperback)
• 1032448849 (paperback)

LCCN

2022048722

OCLC

1347362863

Statement on responsible collection description

Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...