Rhythm in Modern Poetry: An Essay in Cognitive Versification Studies
BY EVA LILJA
Bloomsbury Academic, 2023
ISBN: 9798765100967
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/rhythm-in-modern-poetry-9798765100967/
A pioneering work in cognitive versification studies, scrutinizing the rhythmical means of free verse.
BOOK NEWS is an online-only feature announcing new publications in modernist and contemporary literary studies. These announcements do NOT constitute an endorsement by the Journal of Modern Literature.
Investigating a previously neglected area of study, Rhythm in Modern Poetry establishes a foundation for cognitive versification studies with a focus on the modernist free verse. Following in the tradition of cognitive poetics by Reuven Tsur, Richard Cureton and Derek Attridge, every chapter investigates the rhythms of one modern poem, by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Sylvia Plath and others, and engages each element in the broader interpretation of the poem in question.
In her examination of modernist poetry in English and other Germanic languages, Eva Lilja expands her analysis to discuss both the Ancient Greek and Norse origins of rhythm in free verse and the intermedia intersection, comparing poetic rhythm with rhythm in pictures, sculptures and dance. Rhythm in Modern Poetry thus expands the field of cognitive versification studies while also engaging readers writ large interested in how rhythm works in the aesthetic field.
"This is a landmark book. It sets out with clarity and commitment how an approach based in poetic cognition can illuminate poetry, metrics, rhythm, and reading, Rhythms in Modern Poetry take sthe reader on an intellectual and poetic journey in its compelling ideas and its artful expression" --Peter Stockwell, professor of literary linguistics, University of Nottingham
"Eva Lilja's new book is not only for the scholars and students of cognitive versification, but for anyone who is keen to gain deeper insight into the poetics of free verse. Through a meticulous analysis of historical context and diverse art forms, the book unveils the underlying cognitive processes that shape modern poetry and shows the reader new ways to uncover the rich and subtle meanings of poetic rhythm." --Maria-Kristina Lotman, associate professor in classical studies, University of Tartu, Estonia
Eva Lilja is professor emerita of literature, specializing in modernist poetry, in the Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She pioneered the study of free versification since her doctoral thesis in 1981 and was the founder and chair for the Nordic Society for Metrical Studies (1995-2009). Lilja was also a Swedish Academy Researcher for writing the official Swedish handbook in metrics (1998-2006).
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