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1 - Singularity

from Part I - Ideas of the Poem

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2024

Sean Pryor
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney
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Summary

This chapter argues that the concept of singularity is particularly helpful in examining what is distinctive about the reader's or listener's experience of a poem of literary quality. The chapter compares singularity to comparable concepts, such as difference, uniqueness, and originality, and it argues that singularity has two especially important features: a relation to generality and a relation to the event. This means that singularity is something that happens, something that the reader or listener experiences, rather than an unchanging object independent of readers and listeners. As something that happens, the singularity of a poem may work with, as well as against, conventions shared by other poems. Treating examples by Andrew Marvell, Christina Rossetti, and others, the chapter concludes that a singular poem is singular precisely through its arrangement of poetic conventions, shared social discourses, and general linguistic codes.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Singularity
  • Edited by Sean Pryor, University of New South Wales, Sydney
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Poem
  • Online publication: 30 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009498852.003
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  • Singularity
  • Edited by Sean Pryor, University of New South Wales, Sydney
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Poem
  • Online publication: 30 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009498852.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Singularity
  • Edited by Sean Pryor, University of New South Wales, Sydney
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Poem
  • Online publication: 30 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009498852.003
Available formats
×