Semantic vs. Poetic Meaning in Human
Language
Rhetorically speaking, semantic (i.e., useful) and poetic (i.e., artistic) uses of human language may seem different from one another, in form as well as function. Semantic meaning is the literal, utilitarian meaning of a word, that is, the way or ways a word is typically used in everyday speech and/or writing. Poetic meaning, on the other hand, generally has to do with way(s) in which a word is used artistically, that is, metaphorically, as synecdoche, or in various other symbolically inflected ways. For example, in comparing the two sentences "Earth has five oceans" and "She cried oceans of tears," comparative semantic and poetic meanings of the word "oceans" become clear. However, the argument exists that semantic and poetic meanings are inherently the same, due to the imbedded "Symbolic Action" ("Burke, Kenneth") of words themselves, i.e., the theory that words themselves are so deeply symbolic in automatic meaning as to transcend separate or unique situations, contexts, occasions, or circumstances.
Because words serve such versatile functions in a variety of human situations and circumstances, language theorist Kenneth Burke suggests that essentially no difference exists between semantic and poetic human uses of them. In examining the Symbolic Action theory of Burke, one encounters an especially interesting challenge to the assumption...
Memory and Language Semantic memory is part of a larger division of memory known as declarative memory which refers to items in memory that can be consciously retrieved or recalled such as factual information, memories of events, and other types of knowledge (Tulving, 1972). Semantic memory is the memory of meanings and concept-based knowledge that can be consciously recollected such as facts about the world, word meanings, and other related information,
Integration of music and reading may help parents prepare their children for school. On the surface, music and literacy seem opposite of each other both in meaning and delivery. However, the two forms of learning go hand in hand. For example, lyrics and literacy are similar because lyrics are the words sung in a song. Often, they are poetic and can be understood as poetry that sometimes tells a story. Many
The Middle English period offers a quaint and riveting look regarding how language functioned, namely spelling an grammar. This paper will examine and compare chapter 20 from the Apocalips of the Wycliffe Bible (WB) with the same chapter in the King James Version (KJV) and the New International Version (NIV). Examining simply the first line of this chapter in each version tells us a tremendous amount of about early English spelling
Proust, Narratology f. Specifications Narratology and Proust: An Essay on the Narrative Form Narratology refers to the narrative form in literature, and all that it entails. It is concerned with the order and method by which the narrative is crafted. By design, a narrative must contain at minimum characters and a narrator, a voice apart from the characters that plays the role of storyteller, observer, and commentator. It is important because narration
Jamaican Music It is never just about the music. No matter how great the musician, music is always the expression of an entire culture, of a moment in history, of a particular place in time. The genius of a particular musician, the synergy of a particular group - these are both essential to the success or failure of a particular group. But that success or failure is never intrinsic to a single
Plato, Marx, And Critical Thought David Richter's book is absolutely indispensable, as it is one of the few anthologies willing to acknowledge the existence of and include well-chosen examples from the long history of critical thought and how it helps us understand what we read, why we read, and what we value. The greatest strength of Richter's work is that it simply starts at the beginning of classical literature and moves forward
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