Repetition has connotations of something boring, or unoriginal, or
lacking in poetic skill, but repetition - in several different senses
- dominates Wordsworth's poetry. This book explores those moments of
repetition, placing them in the early nineteenth century context from
which they emerged, and teasing out through extended close attention
to the poetry itself the complexities of repetition and
recapitulation. Drawing on extensive close readings of Wordsworth's
poetry, the book asks what it means to repeat, and how saying things
again, often in a way which recognises both sameness and difference at
the same time, is fundamental to Wordsworth's attempt to write what he
called 'sincere' verse. By analysing instances of repetition and the
conjunctions which facilitate recapitulation within Wordsworth's
writing, the book attempts to understand the context, in terms of
ideas of repetition, from which Wordsworth's works emerge, and to
consider repetition in a broad range of senses - from repeated words
and sounds within particular poems, to ideas of translation, allusion,
and echo. Houghton-Walker also argues the importance of the element of
difference within even apparently 'pure' repetition. Such difference
might be in perception, attitude, or understanding, but for
Wordsworth, the subtle relationship between instances of what seems to
be the same experience illuminates the potential for poetry to portray
simultaneously the specific and the universal: to hold within its
lines both immediate and general truths at the same time.
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Romantic Recapitulation
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780192697806
Publisert
2023
Utgiver
Vendor
OUP Oxford
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter