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Temporal Theory of Poetic Rhythm
Temporal Theory of Poetic Rhythm
and correlated these features with phenomena in a range of other areas: language, rhetoric, literature, literary
and cultural history, neurobiology, sociobiology, psychology, metaphysics, ethics, etc. These advances have
transformed the rhythmic theory presented in RPEV into a full, rhythmically-based poetics (Cureton 1996b,
1997a, 1997b, 1997c, 1997d), one that can provide a fresh view of both linguistic form and its contexts of
use. [For more discussion of this new poetics, see the description of one of my other book projects: A
Temporal Poetics.] This new poetics greatly strengthens the force and significance of my claims for verse
rhythm by detailing their theoretical and practical productivity.
Fourth, within this temporal poetics, I have developed a new, rhythmically-based syntax. [For more
discussion of this syntax, see the description of one of my other book projects: A Temporal Theory of
Syntax.] This new syntax provides a multi-levelled, fractal representation of the rhythmic values of syntactic
forms and functions, a result that permits a more detailed treatment of verse prolongation than I suggest in
RPEV.
Outline
The book is divided into 9 chapters:
Chapter 1 Poetic Rhythm: Text and Context
Chapter 2 Language as a Rhythmic Medium
Chapter 3 Versification
Chapter 4 Rhythm: Features and Forms
Chapter 5 Meter
Chapter 6 Grouping
Chapter 7 Prolongation
Chapter 8 Theme
Chapter 9 Analyses
Chapter 1 presents some brief, informal explorations of verse rhythm as it occurs at a number of different
levels and in a number of different manifestations. Chapter 2 explores the nature of language as a rhythmic
medium. Chapter 3 surveys the conventional verse forms in the language. Chapter 4 describes my theory of
rhythm and the temporal poetics that its entails. Chapter 5 presents my new theory of meter. Chapter 6
summarizes the theory of grouping developed in RPEV. Chapter 7 uses the temporal poetics presented in
Chapter 4 to enrich the theory of verse prolongation suggested in RPEV. Chapter 8 uses the temporal poetics
presented in chapter 4 to suggest a theory of non-linear, relational rhythms in verse, especially free verse.
And Chapter 9 presents a number of complete rhythmic analyses of individual canonical poems.
Works Cited
Cooper, G. and L. Meyer. The Rhythmic Structure of Music. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1960.
Cureton, Richard D. "Rhythm: A Multilevel Analysis." Style 19 (1985): 64-91.
Cureton, Richard D. "Traditional Scansion: Myths and muddles." Journal of Literary Semantics 15 (1986a):
171-208.
Cureton, Richard D. "Visual Form in e.e. Cummings' No Thanks." Word & Image 2 (1986b): 171-208.