Poetry of Grammar and Grammar of Poetry
Abstract
designs of sentence as opposed to sentences and to vocabulary, which is somewhat rudimentary and not 26 V. Veresaev, Zapiski dlja sebja, Novyj mir, 1960, No. 1, p. 156. 27 Cf. comparative scrutiny of these two Puskin poems in present volume, pp. 47-58. 28 See Przesztosc' Cypriana Norwida, in SW ///, pp. 499-507. 29 C. Bragdon, The Beautiful Necessity (Rochester, New York, 1910). 30 Cf. R. Jakobson, Boas' View of Grammatical Meaning, Selected Writings II: Word and Language (The Hague-Paris, 1971), pp. 489-496. 31 See G. Wallerand, Les oeuvres de Siger de Courtrai (Louvain, 1913), p. 46. 44 Poetry of Grammar and Grammar of Poetry self-sufficient part of linguistic order, and envisages a 'geometry' of form principles characteristic of each language. A further between grammar and geometry was outlined in Stalin's polemics of 1950 against Marr's linguistic bias: distinctive property of grammar lies in its abstractive power; abstracting itself from anything that is particular and concrete in words and sentences, grammar treats only general patterns, underyling word changes and combination of words into sentences, and builds in such way grammatical rules and laws. In this respect grammar bears resemblance to geometry, which, when giving its laws, abstracts itself from concrete objects, treats objects as bodies deprived of concreteness and defines their mutual relations not as concrete relations of certain concrete objects but as relations of bodies in general, namely, relations deprived of any concreteness. The abstractive power of human thought, underlying—in views of two quoted authors—both geometrical relations and grammar, superimposes simple geometrical and grammatical figures upon pictorial world of particular objects and upon concrete lexical wherewithal of verbal art, as was shrewdly realized in thirteenth century by Villard de Honnecourt for graphic arts and by Galfredus for poetry. The pivotal role performed in grammatical texture of poetry by diverse kinds of pronouns is due to fact that pronouns, in contradistinction to all other autonomous words, are purely grammatical, relational units, and besides substantival and adjectival pronouns we must include in this class also adverbial pronouns and so-called substantive (rather pronominal) verbs such as to be and to have. The relation of pronouns to non-pronominal words has been repeatedly compared with relation between geometrical and physical bodies. Beside common or widespread devices grammatical texture of poetry offers many salient differential features, typical of given national literature or of limited period, specific trend, an individual poet or even one single work. The thirteenth-century students of arts whose names we have quoted remind us of extraordinary compositional sense and skill of Gothic epoch and help us to interpret impressive structure of Hussite battle song Ktoz jsii bozi bojovnici. We deliberately dwell on this incentive revolutionary poem almost free of tropes, far from decorativeness and mannerism. The grammatical structure of this work reveals particularly elaborate articulation. As shown by analysis of song, its three strophes in turn display trinitarian form: they are divided into three smaller strophic units—membra. Each of three strophes exhibits its specific grammatical features which we 32 B. L. Whorf, Language, Thought and Reality (New York, 1956), pp. 253, 257. 1. Stalin, Marksizm i voprosy jazykoznanija (Moscow, 1950), p. 20. As V. A. Zvegincev brought to my attention, Stalin's confrontation of grammar with geometry was prompted by views of V. Bogorodickij, an outstanding disciple of young Baudouin de Courtenay and M. Kruszewski. 34 See, e.g., A. Zareckij, O mestoimenii, Russkij jazyk v skole, 1960, No. 6. pp. 16-22. 35 See SW HI, 215-231, in particular graphs on 226-231. Poetry of Grammar and Grammar of Poetry 45 labeled vertical similarities. Each of three membra throughout three strophes has its particular properties, termed horizontal and distinguishing any given membrum in strophe from its two other membra. The initial and final membra of song are linked together with its central membrum (the second membrum of second strophe) and differ from rest of membra by special features, enabling us to connect these three membra through falling diagonal, in contradistinction to rising diagonal linking central membrum of song with final membrum of initial strophe and with initial membrum of final strophe. Furthermore, noticeable similarities bring together (and separate from rest of song) central membra of first and third strophes with initial membrum of second strophe, and, on other hand, final membra of first and third strophes with central membrum of second strophe. The former disposition may be labeled higher upright arc, while latter will be called lower upright arc. There appear, moreover, arcs, likewise grammatically delimited, higher one, uniting initial membra of first and last strophes with central membrum of second strophe, and lower inverted arc, tying central membra of first and last strophes with final membrum of second strophe. This steadfast membrification and congruous geometricity must be viewed against background of Gothic art and scholasticism, convincingly compared by Erwin Panofsky. In its shape Czech song of early fifteenth century approximates authoritative precepts of classic Summa with its three requirements of (1) totality (sufficient enumeration), (2) arrangement according to system of homologous parts and parts of parts (sufficient articulation), and (3) distinctness and deductive cogency (sufficient interrelation). However immense difference is between Thomism and ideology of anonymous author of Zisskiana cantio, shape of this song totally satisfies artistic request of Thomas Aquinas: the senses delight in things duly proportioned as in something akin to them; for, sense, too, is kind of reason as is every cognitive power. The grammatical texture of Hussite chorale corresponds to compositional principles of Czech contemporaneous painting. In his monograph about pictorial art of Hussite epoch, Kropacek analyzes style of early fifteenth century and points out congruous and systematic articulation of surface, strict subordination of individual parts to total compositional tasks, and deliberate use of contrasts. The Czech example helps us to glance into intricacy of correspondences between functions of grammar in poetry and of relational geometry in painting. We are faced with phenomenological problem of an intrinsic kinship between both factors and with concrete historical search for convergent development and for interaction between verbal and 36 E. Panofsky, Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism (New York, 1957), p. 31. 37 Quoted ibid., p. 38. 46 Poetry of Grammar and Grammar of Poetry representational art. Furthermore, in quest for delineation of artistic trends and traditions, analysis of grammatical texture provides us with important clues, and, finally, we approach vital question of how poetic work exploits extant inventory of masterly devices for new end and re-evaluates them in light of their novel tasks. Thus, for instance, masterpiece of Hussite revolutionary poetry has inherited from opulent Gothic stock both kinds of grammatical parallelism, in Hopkins' parlance comparison for likeness and comparison for unlikeness, and we have to investigate how combination of these two, mainly grammatical, ways of proceeding enabled poet to achieve coherent, convincing, effective transition from initial spiritual through belligerent argumentation of second strophe to military orders and battle cries of finale, or—in other words—how poetic delight in verbal structures duly proportioned grows into preceptive power leading to direct action. 38 Hopkins, op. cit., p. 106.
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Roman Jakobson, Krystyna Pomorska, Stephen Rudy (1981). Poetry of Grammar and Grammar of Poetry. Mouton eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110802122
@book{roman1981poetry,
title = {Poetry of Grammar and Grammar of Poetry},
author = {Jakobson, Roman and Pomorska, Krystyna and Rudy, Stephen},
year = {1981},
publisher = {Mouton eBooks},
doi = {10.1515/9783110802122}
}Citations in this library
Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 222 citations exist upstream.