Meaning in Poetry

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that meaning, which was traditionally supposed to emerge from language and to transcend it at the same time, is now considered as something which can never attain full or absolute presence in a given text. The paper then examines the poetry of Len Lye and of Hugh Sykes Davies and shows how difficult it is to interpret and translate. The paper shows how their poetry centers on language experiments and the instability of meaning, which obviously makes translation almost impossible.

From the Paper:

"Postmodernism has swept away all the traditional concepts and notions, proclaiming the disappearance of truth as a transcendental or metaphysical reality which exists independently. Meaning, which was traditionally supposed to emerge from language and to transcend it at the same time, is now considered as something which can never attain full or absolute presence in a given text. Derrida for instance, proposed that truth cannot be reached since every thing must be set up permanently against a system of differences, and thus the meaning is always deferred. To reach this conclusion, Derrida analyzes the concept of 'centered structure' which is the very basis of cognitive coherence in the traditional view, and testifies that there is no one center around which the structure can be coherently built, but an infinite number of centers that can be substituted one for the other randomly and incessantly."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Derrida, Jacques. Writing and Difference. New York: Rutledge, 2001

More papers on Meaning in Poetry:

• Poem Review # 102605 : "Form and its Relationship to Meaning in Poetry"
• Essay # 67472 : "Gratitude in Poetry"
• Analytical Essay # 8584 : "Pastoral Convention in Poetry"

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