9780198812470 / The Life of Words: Etymology and Modern Poetry
by Oxford University Press (July 6, 2020) (Author)
For centuries, investigations into the origins of words were entwined with investigations into the origins of humanity and the cosmos. With the development of modern etymological practice in the nineteenth century, however, many cherished etymologies were shown to be impossible, and the very idea of original ‘true meaning’ asserted in the etymology of ‘etymology’ declared a fallacy. Structural linguistics later held that the relationship between sound and meaning in language was ‘arbitrary’, or ‘unmotivated’, a truth that has survived with small modification until today. On the other hand, the relationship between sound and meaning has been a prime motivator of poems, at all times throughout history.The Life of Words studies a selection of poets inhabiting our ‘Age of the Arbitrary’, whose auditory-semantic sensibilities have additionally been motivated by a historical sense of the language, troubled as it may be by claims and counterclaims of ‘fallacy’ or ‘true meaning’. Arguing that etymology activates peculiar kinds of epistemology in the modern poem, the book pays extended attention to poems by G. M. Hopkins, Anne Waldman, Ciaran Carson, and Anne Carson, and to the collected works of Geoffrey Hill, Paul Muldoon, Seamus Heaney, R. F. Langley, and J. H. Prynne.
Specification: The Life of Words: Etymology and Modern Poetry 9780198812470
Weight
1.36 lbs
Dimensions
9.3 × 0.9 × 6.2 in
User Reviews
0.0out of 5
★★★★★
0
★★★★★
0
★★★★★
0
★★★★★
0
★★★★★
0
Write a review
There are no reviews yet.
Be the first to review “The Life of Words: Etymology and Modern Poetry 9780198812470” Cancel reply
![ATI TEAS 7 Study Guide 2023-2024: 4 Practice Exams and TEAS Test Review Book for Nursing Entrance [2nd Edition] ISBN-13: 9781637753033](https://www.adobooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/51EffQg4tsL_ac91834e-0c3f-425e-b049-d7ec8615bb0c-300x300.jpg)
There are no reviews yet.