Poetry as Fiction

Author(s): Barbara Herrnstein Smith

Source: New Literary History, Vol. 2, No. 2, Form and Its Alternatives (Winter, 1971), pp.
259-281
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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Poetryas Fiction
BarbaraHermstein
Smith

fond
RADOXES makeintriguing
titles,but I am not otherwise
of themand intend,by the end of thisarticle,to dissolvethe
theproposionethatentitles
it. I meanto do thisbyelaborating
is thecharacteristic
of
call
what
we
tionthatfictiveness
"poetry"
quality
whenwe use thetermin thebroadsensebequeathedby Aristotle,
i.e.,
to referto thegeneralclassof verbalartworks.My primaryconcern
willbe to developa conception
of poetrythatallowsus to distinguish
it fromand relateit to bothnonpoeticdiscourseand otherartforms.
The viewpresented
herewas initially,
butratherincidentally,
proposed
elsewhere.'I have foundthe elaborationof it of continuing
interest,
and the
however,especiallysincethe groundsforthosedistinctions
natureofthoserelationships
remain,to mymind,extremely
problemand aesthetic
aticincontemporary
linguistic
theory.
Sincemyprocedurein whatfollowsmayseeminitially
perplexing,
someprefatory
remarks
maypreventconfusion.Firstof all, I shallbe
at
sayinga good deal aboutlanguagein generalbeforeI say anything
all aboutpoetry.Anytheoryof poetryinevitably,
thoughnot always
a theoryoflanguage.Thus,thosewho have at
presupposes
explicitly,
varioustimesregardedpoetryas inspired
speech,or embellished
prose,
orthelanguageofpassion,or"emotive"statements,
haveobviously
had
different
notionsofwhatlanguageis whenit is notpoetrysomewhat
speech,plain prose,thelanguageof reason,or "verie.g.,uninspired
fiablestatements."
Since,moreover,
linguistic
theoryis nowin a very
volatilestate,no generalpropositions
concerning
languagecan be offeredcasuallyor takenforgranted.(One can oftentellmoreabouta
now fromhis viewsof languagethan
man's politicsand metaphysics
one oncecouldfromhisclassor religion.)In anycase,althoughI am
thatcould be called a theoryof
hereanything
by no meansoffering
sectionofthisarticlewilldevelopsomegeneraloblanguage,thefirst
or whatI call "natural"discourse,
on nonpoetic
servations
particularly
in distinguishing
it from
in thoserespectsthat are mostsignificant
I

Poetic Closure: A Study of How Poems End (Chicago, 1968), esp. pp.
14-25.

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260

NEW LITERARY HISTORY

poetry.The second sectionof the paper will developsome implications

of the conceptionof poetryas mimetic,or what I shall be callingfictive,
discourse.
and classifications
definitions,
Althoughthe making of distinctions,
will occupy a good deal of the discussionthroughout,
it should become
clear that my ultimateinterestis not in taxonomybut in poetryas an
artform. I am concernedwith how, on what basis, we actually do
identifypoetry,and how that identificationdirectsand modifiesour
of a literaryartwork,both as distinct
experienceand interpretation
froma natural utteranceand as relatedto otherartforms.
Finally, I should mentionthat what is presentedhere is actually a
set of extractsfroma largerstudyin progress,and I am consciousof
the fact that many matterstouched upon in what followsdeserveconsiderablymore attentionthan I have thespace to givethem.

I
By "natural discourse,"I mean here all utterances- trivialor sublime, ill-wroughtor eloquent,true or false,scientificor passionatethat can be taken as someone's saying something,somewhere,sometime: i.e., as the verbal acts of real personson particularoccasionsin
responseto particularsets of circumstances.In stressingall theseparticularities,I wish to emphasizethat a natural utteranceis an historical event: like any otherevent,it occupies a specificand unique point
in time and space. A natural utteranceis thus an eventin the same
senseas the Coronationof Elizabeth I on January15, 1559, or the departurethismorningfromAlbany of AlleghenyAirlinesFlight617, or
the fallingof a certainleaf froma certainelm tree. Other eventsmore
or less resemblingthesein various respectsmay occur at othertimesor
in otherplaces, but the eventitself-that coronation,that flight,that
utterance- cannot recur,forit is historically
unique.
The point requiresemphasisbecause it reflectsa fundamentaldistinctionthat may be drawn between natural utterancesand certain
whichare not historicaleventsand which can
otherlinguisticstructures
be both definedand describedindependentlyof any particularinstance
of occurrence.Dictionaryentries,forexample,or what we referto abstractlyas "the word fire"or "the phraselaw and order"are not themselvesparticularevents;theyare, rather,linguisticforms,or the names
of certaintypesor classesof events. And, as such, certainobservations
may be made about them: for example, the morphemicor phonetic

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POETRY AS FICTION

26I

features
thatdefineall members
oftheclass,or thesyntactic
rulesgovtheir
in
of
use
or, course,thecharerning
accepted
Englishsentences,
in whichtheydo occuras part
features
ofthecircumstances
acteristic
- in otherwords,their"dictionary
ofutterances
meanings."Butthese
etc.
not
historical
forms
are
themselves
words,phrases,
linguistic
ofparticular
eventsunlessoruntiltheyoccuras theverbalresponses
personson particularoccasions.Obviously"thewordfire"as a general
classis a verydifferent
sortofthingfroma specific
utterance,
"Fire!",
whichmaywarna manthathislifeis in dangerorsenda bulletspeedcircumstances
ingtowardhim,verymuchdependingon theparticular
inwhichtheutterance
occursand to whichitis a response.
not onlyoccursin a particularset of circumA naturalutterance
- but is also underoften
referred
to as itscontext
stances whatis
In otherwords,the
those
circumstances.
stoodas beinga responseto
not
of
utterance
"context" an
does
historical
merelysurroundit but
context
ofan utterance,
it
into
The
existence.
occasionsit,brings
then,
but
or
ofnotsimplyas itsgrossexternal physicalsetting,
is bestthought
its
in
determined
that
fact
has
ratheras the totalset of conditions
us
what
makes
of
and form.2That totalset conditions,
occurrence
say
structure
timeand also shapesthelinguistic
at a particular
something
ourintonawordswe choose,oursyntax,
ofourutterance-thespecific
how
no
matter
tion,etc.-is likelyto be manifoldand complex
simple
thatdetermines
the utterance.Moreover,the totalset of conditions
to theobjects
whatwe say and howwe speakis byno meansconfined
of
variouspertheorists
and events"spokenabout,"or whatlinguistic
or "sigsuasionsreferto as "referents,"
"denotations,"
"designations,"
nifications."
ofan objector eventor even,as
It is worthnotingthattheexistence
to it verreasonforresponding
we say,an "idea," is nevera sufficient
a sufis
never
is
true
that
the
fact
In
other
words,
something
bally.
five
"It's
to
heard
I
should
be
it.
If
for
reason
ficient
say,
saying
than
more
o'clock,"thereasonsformysayingso wouldclearlyinclude
2 Since the term context has been acquiring increased currencyin contemporary
aesthetics and linguistics,I should point out that it is not my intention here to
quarrel with or qualify the sense it bears for other theorists. It might have been
better to discover or devise another term altogether for what I am here defining
and later elaborating,but the alternativesthat presented themselvesseemed just as
likely to create comparable confusions,and I confess to a temperamental loathing
of neologisms. It should also be noted that, in proposing that we view the context
of an utterance not merelyas its physical settingbut as the totalityof its determinants, I am not so much broadening the ordinaryreferenceof the term as affirming
the existence and significanceof a particular relation, namely causality, between a
verbal event and the universe in which it occurs. Defined in termsof that relationship, the "context" of an utterance inevitably refersto somethingmore extensive
than what the common use of the term suggests,but also somethingmore particular.

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262

NEW LITERARY HISTORY

what time of day it was just then,for at any momentit is a certain

time, but I do not announce the time continuouslythroughthe day.
Perhaps, on thisoccasion, I wished to remindsomeone of an appointment,or perhapssomeonehad just asked me forthe correcttime. Cerin occasioningmy uttertainlythesecircumstanceswere as significant
ance as that specificone to which my words,"It's fiveo'clock," might
seem exclusivelyto "refer,"namelythe timeof day.
Given any utterablefact or state of affairs,grossor subtle,physical
or psychological- the state of the weather,the color of swans,or my
opinionof thewar - whetheror not I will actuallyutterit, and how I
will utterit, will always depend upon othervariables,i.e., attendant
circumstancesotherthan that fact or state of affairs.These variables
will include, among otherthings,the presenceof a potentiallistener,
my relationshipto him,the natureof the social occasion,the immediate
verbal context (what eitherhe or I have been saying) and, perhaps
mostsignificantly,
theconventionsof the linguisticcommunityto which
we bothbelong.
There is no reason to maintain a sharp distinctionbetweenthe sort
of physicaland social variablesjust mentionedand what mightotherwise be thoughtof as the internal,personal,mental,or psychological
springsof speech. It is obviousthat among the circumstancesthatprovoke, occasion, and shape an utteranceare conditionspeculiar to the
speaker's currentstate: his emotions,his feelings,his memories,expectations,beliefs,and desires. I may say "It's fiveo'clock" partlybecause I am hungryor anxious or bored, and such conditionsmustalso
be recognizedas part of the contextof the utterance. We should note,
moreover,thatthespeaker's"currentstate" is inevitablythe productof
his past as well as his currentexperiences,including,mostsignificantly,
his past verbalexperiences,and thatpart of his psychologicalor mental
condition- and thereforepart of the contextof his utterance- is
how he has learnedto use language.
Althoughwe may, for certain purposes,describe an utteranceexclusivelyin termsof its linguisticform(e.g., as a certainconcatination
of lexemes and/or phonemes), a natural utterancecan never be adequatelyspecifiedor describedas an eventexceptin relationto the contextin whichit occurred. In otherwords,a verbal event,like any other
event,is individuatedas much by its contextas by its form. Thus, althoughwe could say thattwo men each pullingthe triggerof a gun are
engagedin acts of thesame form,it is clear that Mr. X shootingMr. Y
is not the same eventas Mr. A shootingMr. B, or as Mr. X shooting
Mr. Y again fifteen
minuteslater. Similarly,when I say,makingintroductions at a party,"This is my husband," it may not be a unique
eventwithrespectto its linguisticform,but it is certainlynot the same

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POETRY AS FICTION

263

eventas some otherwoman sayingit of her husband or, indeed, as my

own saying it on some other occasion, eitherfifteenminuteslater to
some otherguestor even absentmindedly
to the same one as before.
Moreover, it is unlikelythat any two natural utteranceswould be
even formallyidenticalif one extendsattentionto the more subtle aspects of theirlinguisticform. For although each utterancecould be
transcribedwiththe same symbols,such a transcription
preservesonlya
fractionofthetotalphysicalrealityconstituting
each utterance,a reality
that would include not only a certainsequence of phonemes,but also
intonationalfeaturessuch as pitchcontours,stress,pacing, and usually
facial expressionsand other gesturesas well. While some linguists
may regard the latteraspects of the utterancewith suspicionand dispute theirstatus as linguisticfeatures,it is neverthelessbecoming inbetween the
creasinglyevidentthat thereis no absolute discontinuity
of
an
act
or
event
that
is
the
called
"verbal"
and
part
totalityof that
act or event. In otherwords,a natural utteranceis always continuous
withthe speaker'stotal ongoingbehavior and also continuouswith the
totalworldof naturalevents. The professionallinguist'sor our own ordinary descriptionof the utterancereflectsan arbitrarydemarcation
and abstractionfromthefullness,the density,and the spatial,temporal,
and casual continuity
of all human action and all eventsin nature.
Most of us would agree that it is impossibleto provide a complete
and exhaustivedescriptionof a nonverbalhistoricaleventsuch as the
Coronationof Elizabeth or the departureof Flight6 I7. What the historianofferswill usuallybe a selectionor abstractionof certainfeatures
of theseeventsat a level thoughtadequate forthe purpose at hand. It
is clear, moreover,that neitheran eye-witness
reportnor, if we had it,
even a videotape, would constitutea total record of the event; and
neitherone, of course, would constitutethe event itself. The same
limitsand distinctionsapply to the descriptionsand recordsof verbal
events: Elizabeth's firstspeech to Parliamenton February4th, 1559,
or my farewellsthis morningto my family. No descriptionor record
in
would be complete,neithera vocal quotation nor a tape-recording,
eitherof which manyfeaturesof the originaleventwould be lost. The
fact,however,thatverbal eventscan be transcribedin a standardnotational systemoftenseems to obscure for us their similarityto other
events. It is true that orthographyand phoneticnotationallows us to
record or describe natural utteranceswith considerablesubtletyand
specificityof detail through conventionalizedsymbols. Moreover, a
of this kind - i.e., a "text" of the utterance- may be
transcription
an adequate descriptionor recordof it formostpurposes. Nevertheless,
we should not confusea copy of that textwith the verbal eventitself,
the historicalact of a particularspeakeron a particularoccasion.

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264

NEW LITERARY HISTORY

The relation of utterances to texts is of special interestto us

here since, at least in our own culture,we typicallyencounterpoetry
as texts. The relation is extremelycomplex, however,with respect
to both natural and poetic discourse,and, indeed, it is not always
the same relation. I have just been speaking of texts that serve
of veras recordsor descriptionsof naturalutterances,i.e., inscriptions
bal eventsthat occurredat some specifictime,such as Elizabeth's first
addressto Parliament. Not all textsbear thisrelationto some natural
utterance. Many texts- personal letters,for example - are not
recordsor descriptionsof utterances,but constituteutterancesthemselves,onlyin writtenratherthan vocal form. It is true,of course,that
thereare otherverysignificantaspects to the relationbetweenwriting
and vocal speech, and they are not mutuallyindependentor simply
to the extentthat the writer'sact of
parallel possibilities.Nevertheless,
and
is
an
composing
inscribing
historicallyspecificand unique verbal
is
it
the
to
event,
analagous
speaker's act of emittingthe sounds that
discourse.
And
thus we may regard the product of
comprisespoken
eitheract as a naturalutterance.
In view of the Gutenbergrevolution,the question may arise as to
whetherprinted (or otherwiseduplicated) textscan also be regarded
as natural utterances,and the answerhere is sometimesyes and sometimesno. A printedtextmay be simplyone of many copies of an inscribedrecordof a vocal utterancethat,like Elizabeth's Address,did
occur at some specifictime and place. In this case, the text is not
of one. But a printedwork
a natural utterance,but the transcription
may also be a naturalutteranceitselfin writtenform,exactlylike a personal letter- though the letter,of course, usually exists as only a
to conceive of a printedwork
single text. It may be initiallydifficult
as a natural utteranceand thus,by our definitionhere, an historically
unique event. We should recognizehowever,thatno matterhow many
duplicationsof a text are subsequentlyproduced, the writer'sactual
compositionof the linguisticstructurethat constitutesthat text was
and remains an historicallyunique event. ("Unique" here does not
mean unitary,and it is understoodthatthe compositionof the textwill
often consistof numerous "acts" dispersedin time, fromthe initial
jottingsto theultimaterevisions.)
To summarizethesepoints,then: whetheror not a compositionwas
writtento be printed,and no matterhow long it is, or how long it took
to write,and no matterhow remotein timeor space thewriterfromhis
ultimateaudience, or how eloquent its style,or how culturallysignificant and otherwiseestimableit is, the compositionmuststillbe regarded
as a naturalutteranceso long as it may be taken as the verbal responses
of an historicallyreal person,occasioned and determinedby an his-

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POETRY AS FICTION

265

toricallyreal universe. And this means that most of what we call

"literature"in the generalsense of inscribedcompositionsdoes in fact
consistof natural utterances.This would include worksrangingfrom
Aristotle'sMetaphysicsand Macaulay's HistoryofEngland to an article
in a scientific
journal or an editorialin thismorning'sNew York Times.
These are all as much naturalutterancesas the remarksexchangedbetweenme and a colleaguea fewmomentsago.
There remains,however,one other class of textsthat are neither
natural utterancesin writtenformnor the transcription
of natural utterancesthat originallyoccurredin vocal form,and this class consists
thosecomof the textsof fictiveutterances,includingmostprominently
positionsthatwe otherwisereferto as worksof imaginativeliteraturepoems,tales,dramas,and novels. I shall reservecommenton thesetexts
untillater,in connectionwiththe generaldiscussionof fictivediscourse;
for,as we shall see, fictiveutterancesbear an altogetherdistinctiverelation to theirown textswhen indeed (as is not always the case) such
textsexist.
But we may returnnow fromthe textsto the contextsof natural utterances,and therebyto the crucial questionof meaning and interpretation. A naturalutterancecannotbe exclusivelyidentifiedor described
independentof its context,nor can its meaning be understoodindependentofthatcontext. Indeed, what we oftenmean by the "meaning"
of an utteranceis its context,i.e., the set of conditionsthat occasioned
itsoccurrenceand determineditsform. The view of meaningproposed
hereis not offeredas an analysisof all the numeroussensesin whichthe
termhas been or could be used, and certainlynot as a solutionto the
numberof problemsassociated with it in contempoever-proliferating
rary linguisticsand philosophy. Nevertheless,a casual conceptionof
meaning - which thisis - has much to recommendit, particularly
here, since it permitsus to appreciate betterthe distinctivenature of
poetic discourse and of its "interpretation."Moreover, it is not so
idiosyncraticas may firstappear, for "meaning" in the sense of causes
will oftenbe found to accommodate or correspondto
or determinants
familiarusage of theterm.
I must emphasize that I am speaking here of the meaning not of
wordsbut of utterances,a distinctionnot always graspedeven by those
most concernedwiththeseproblems. One may ascertainthe meanings
of those abstractclasses called words by determiningthe conventions
governingtheirusage in the relevantlinguisticcommunity,usuallyby
arise,
consultingone's experienceof the language or, when difficulties
eithera dictionary-or an analyticphilosopher. Dictionariesand philosophersare of onlylimitedhelp, however,in ascertainingthe meaning
of particularverbal events. When we speak ordinarilyof the meaning

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266

NEW LITERARY HISTORY

of a particularutterance-i.e., what someonehas said-we are usually

concerned not with the definitionsof the words that compose it or
even, in a restrictedsense, with what it "refers"to, but ratherwith
why it occurred: the situationand motivesthat produced it, the set
of conditions,"external" and "internal,"physicaland psychological,
that caused the speaker to utterthat statementat that time in that
form-in otherwords,what we are calling here its context.
For example, definitionsand referentsare not what interestJohn
when he asks, "What do you mean?", in responseto his friend'sremark,"You know,I thinkBill is a fool." Pointingto Bill and offering
an analysisof the "concept" of follywill probablynot answerhis question. Knowing this,his friendis more likelyto describe certain circumstances,observationshe has made, impressionshe has had (and
perhaps also his motivesfor articulatingthem at that moment), and
so forth,untilJohnsays,"Oh, well,now I understandwhat you mean,"
meaningthat he has located to his own satisfactionthe reasonsforor
causes of his friend'sremark. The qualificationhere,"to his own satisfaction,"is an importantone, forit is mostunlikelythat Johnwould in
all thedeterminants
involved.
facthave identified
We rarely "understand completely"one another's utterances,nor
do we need or seek to do so. Criteriaforthe adequate understanding
of an utterancevarywidely,dependingon the nature of the utterance
of thespeakerand listener.And
and theprimarypurposesand interests
in
office- one
for
a psychoanalyst's
sometimes
example,
although
may probe for increasinglysubtle and obscure determinants,both
speaker and listenerare usuallysatisfiedwith considerablyless than a
of all of them. It is usually not necessary,and of
total identification
courseit is usuallynot possible,forthe listenerto ascertainall the conditionsthat make up the contextof an utterance. It is not necessary
because many of them will be trivialand irrelevantto his concerns.
And it is not possible eitherbecause the speaker's original contextis
remotein time or space, or because many of the springsof speech are
not apparentfromthe immediatecontextor, as we say, are privateor
is always
internalto the speaker. The listeneror audience, therefore,
obligedto "interpret"what is said or written.That is, to theextentthat
he must
the listenerhas an interestin thoseunavailable determinants,
imagine,or inferthem.
hypothesize,
When we read the inscribedutteranceof a friend,such as a letter
as such than when
fromhim, we may be more aware of interpreting
we listento him speak,but we do so in both instancesand by the same
based on what we know of him perprocess: partlythroughinferences
sonally,but mostlythroughinferencesbased on all our own prior experiences,especiallyour priorexperienceswith language. And, when

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POETRY AS FICTION

267

he alludes eitherin speech or writingto mattersof which we have no

specificknowledge--e.g., a third person whom we have never met,
a place we have nevervisited- we supplyour ignoranceby an imaginativeprojectionof what we do know generally.It is importantto emphasize, however,that these projectionsare attemptsto inferor approximate actual circumstances,and thus are subject to correction
should our knowledgebecome more specific. ("Oh, you're Charlie's
brother.From what he said, I picturedyou as much older.")
What makes a letterparticularlyinterestingas an utteranceis the
informationusuallyconveyed
factthat,sinceit lacks the supplementary
to the listenerby intonationand gesturesas well as by shared physical
contexts(we cannot point to thingsin letters),thissortof information
will commonlybe suppliedby thewriterin otherways: by explicitallusions ("As I writethis,I am sittingby my studywindow-you know,
the one that looks out over the back garden, etc.") by graphic substitutesfor intonation(e.g., underlining,punctuation,spacing), and by
of thelanguage itself(e.g., in diction,syntax,
moresubtlemodifications
turnsof phrasing,and metaphor). Our syntaxin letters,because it
carriesa greaterburden of informationthan in conversationalspeech,
not onlycan be but mustbe more controlled.To be sure,since we are
oftenmore or less conscious of the generic relation of our lettersto
"literature,"we will employformssuch as archaismsand metaphoric
imagery that would seem pretentiousor otherwiseinappropriatein
conversationalspeech. This, however,does not altogetheraccount for
thefactthatsome of us become,in our letters,ratheruncharacteristically eloquent and "literary";for,as we shall see, thereare otherreasons
why the linguisticfeaturesof lettersoftenbear an interestingresemblance to thosecommonlyassociatedwithpoeticdiscourse,to which,at
last, I am now happy to turn.

II
Poems are not natural utterances,not historicallyunique verbal acts
or events; indeed a poem is not an event at all, and cannot be said
ever to have "occurred" in the usual sense. When we read the textof
a poem or hear it read aloud, our responseto it as a linguisticstructure
is governedby quite special conventions,and it is the understanding
that these conventionsare operatingthat distinguishesthe poem as a
verbal artworkfromnaturaldiscourse. The operationof theseconventionsis mostreadilyapparentin dramaticpoetry,i.e., plays,whereit is

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268

NEWLITERARY
HISTORY

understoodthat the acts and eventsperformedupon the stage are not

happening but are being representedas happening. When we see a
productionof Hamlet, we do not watch a queen drinkingpoison,but
the enactmentof such an event,which may be said to "occur" only
in beingthusenacted. But among the acts and eventsrepresentedupon
the stage are also verbal ones. As the actor who portraysClaudius
leans forwardand extendshis arm in a gestureof horrorand abortive
a man leaning forwardand extendinghis
warning,thus representing
arm, etc., that actor also uttersthe words, "Gertrude,do not drink,"
thus representing
a man utteringthosewords. We are not aware here
of any radical discontinuity
betweenthe enactmentof a physicalaction
and the enactmentof an utterance- and of course an utterancezs
a physical action, though it has other characteristicsthat sometimes
obscurethatfact.
Most of us would be quite willingto grant the existenceof what
of
could be called mimeticdiscourse- i.e., the fictiverepresentation
in
I
to
at
least
dramatic
What
would
like
speech
poetry.
suggest,
however,is that all poetrymay be so regarded,that we could conceive
of speechin drama,
of as mimeticdiscoursenot onlythe representation
but also lyrics,epics,tales, and novels. Indeed, I wish to proposethat
of discourse,is preciselywhat definesthat
this,the fictiverepresentation
class of verbal compositionswe have so much troublenamingand disi.e., "imaginativeliterature"or "poetryin thebroad sense."
tinguishing,
The conceptionof poetryas mimeticis, of course,quite ancient,and
modem theoristsdo continueto assertthat literatureis a representational art. It is by no means clear,however,what or what kindof thing
it is thatthe poem "imitates"or represents.One commonnotionseems
to be thatpoetry,apparentlyon the analogy of painting,somehowrepresents"images in words." Or, in view of the existenceof numerous
ideas or feelimage-lesspoems and passagesin novels,thatit represents
or
of
his
in
either
the
those
characters.
author's
Or, view of how
ings,
even thisformulation
it
restrictive
is
sometimes
is,
suggestedthatliterary
works,especiallynarrativefictions,representimagined eventsor even
worlds- in, it will solemnlybe added, themediumof language. I will
not attempthere to indicate all the problemsentailedby such suggestions,3forI wish onlyto point out that theyall ignorewhat mightbe
thoughtmost apparent,namelythat what poems do represent"in the
medium of language" is language, or more accurately,speech, human
utterance,discourse. The definitionproposedhere attemptsto close in
on poetryfromtwo directions: one, as it may be distinguishedfrom
3 I have considered the matter elsewhere: see "The New Imagism," Midway
(Winter, 1969), pp. 27-44.

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POETRY AS FICTION

269

fromother
and two, as it may be distinguished
othermimeticartforms,
verbal compositions.As a mimeticartform,what a poem distinctively
and characteristically
representsis not images, ideas, feelings,characor
but
discourse. Poetrydoes, like drama, represent
ters,scenes, worlds,
actionsand events,but exclusivelyverbal ones. And, as a verbal comnot a natural
and characteristically
position,a poem is distinctively
of
one.
the
but
utterance,
representation
discoursein thesame senseas a play,in itstotality,
A poem represents
representshuman actions and events,or a painting representsvisual
objects. When we speak of the objects representedin or by a painting,
it is understoodthattheyneed not correspondto any particularobjects,
but ratherto an identifiableclass of them. A paintingcan depict a
landscape that exists as a visual object only in the depiction itself.
in an artwork,we
Thus, when we speak of mimesisor representation
recognizethat it does not constitutethe imitationor reproductionof
existingobjects or events,but ratherthe fabricationof fictiveobjects
and eventsof which thereare existingor possibleinstancesor typeswhetherthey be rural landscapes, star-crossedlovers,or laments for
dead friends. In otherwords, to say that an artisthas representeda
certainobject or eventis to say that he has constructeda fictivemember of an identifiableclass of natural (real) objectsor events.
Part of what has obscuredthe relationof poetic mimesisto pictorial
and other kinds of artisticrepresentationare traditionalnotionsthat
identifythe various artformsin terms of their characteristicmedia.
Thus, sound is said to be the medium of music, pigmentthe medium
of painting,and of course words or language the medium of poetry.
The corollaryformula-X (artwork) representsY (object of imitation) in Z (medium)--has created more problemsthan it has illuminated, most conspicuously,perhaps, in regard to music, where art
underthe presumedobligationto locate the object that music
theorists,
have
come up with an amazing assortmentof chimeras,from
imitates,
of
shapes feelingto statesofbeing. It is anotherproblem,however,that
concernsus here. The plasticmaterialsthat are presumablythe media
of the visual arts- pigment,stone,metal,and so forth- do not have
an expressivefunctionindependentof the artworksinto which theyare
fashioned. These materials,moreover,do not in themselvesresemble
the objects and scenesthattheyrepresent.A block of marble is a very
different
thingfroma human figure. The correspondingmedium of
however,
language, is not a "raw" material,but itselfa sympoetry,
bolic systemwith expressivefunctionsindependentof its use in artto conceiveof language as
works. For thisreason,it has been difficult
by it.
boththe mediumof an artworkand also what is represented
traditional
the
is
The difficulty
concept of the
here,however, really

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270

NEW LITERARY HISTORY

art mediumitself,particularlyits implicitdualism of formand matter.

This dualism- i.e., the notionofthe artmediumas formlessmatternot only createsproblemswith regard to poetry (for language is obviouslynot formlessmatter), but it also obscuresthe nature of other
think
artforms.We could just as readilyand, I think,more fruitfully,
of the medium of the visual arts not as pigmentand stone but as the
visuallyperceivedpropertiesof matteror, indeed, as the elementsand
dynamicsof visual perceptionitself. And, if we must have a corresponding "medium" for poetry,we would do betterto locate it not
simplyin words or language conceived abstractly,but in the whole
dynamiccomplexof verbal behavior and verbal experience.
But if we are contentto do withoutthe traditionalnotionof the art
medium altogether,we may be betterable to appreciatethe essential
and its relationto artisticmimesisgennature of poetic representation
erally. As I suggestedabove, we may conceiveof an artworknot as the
"matter,"of the "form" of particularobimitation,in some different
jects or eventsalreadyexistingin nature,but as the creationof a fictive
memberof a certainclass of natural objectsor events. Thus, paintings
are fictiveinstancesof what, in nature,are visuallyperceivedobjects.
Musical compositionsare fictiveinstances of acoustically perceived
events,in otherwords designed sounds as distinguishedfromsounds
simply occurringin nature. And poems are fictiveutterances. The
kindsof natural eventsrepresentedin poetryare, of course,quite speand in that sense
cial: utterancesare themselveshuman constructions,
"artificial." This should not, however,obscurethe sense in which they
are neverthelessnatural events,like the flightof birds,the fallingof
leaves, and all the particularactions of individualmen moving about
in, and being moved about by, the naturaluniverse.
We can, I think,readily conceive of a-man-walkingas a natural
eventand should be able to conceiveof a-man-talkingas such; for,as
I have alreadysuggested,thereis no real discontinuity
betweenverbal
and non-verbalactions. A painting can represent,througha visual
of line and color,a man walkingor a child sleeping,beconfiguration
cause such eventsare ordinarilyperceivedprimarilyas visual events.
And although a visual artistcan also representa man talking (one
may think,forexample,of some of Daumier's printsof lawyersin animated conversation),he cannot representpictoriallythe utteranceitself,for speech is not perceived as a visual event-except of course,
when it is in writtenform,a matterto which I will returnlater. But
fornow let us pursuethe exampleof Daumier a bit further.As a visual
sensitiveto the expressiveand
artist,he was of course extraordinarily
otherwiseinterestingqualities of the appearances of his fellow creatures: the way theystood and grouped themselvestogether,the "ex-

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POETRY AS FICTION

27I

pressions"on theirfaces,the gesturesof theirhands, and so forth.Had

he also been, as some people are, extraordinarily
sensitiveto the expresof
the
sive and otherwiseinteresting
speech of his fellowcreaqualities
tures,he mighthave soughtto representthat too. But how could he do
so? The answerI am suggestinghere is that he could fashiona fictive
representationof speech, i.e., a poem - something,perhaps, like
Browning's"The Bishop Orders his Tomb," which I thinkwe might
recognizeas a verbalcounterpartof a satiricDaumier print: ut pictura
poesis.
The relationof "dramaticmonologues"to dramaticpoetryproperis,
of course,readilyappreciated,and we can see how eithercould be regarded as mimeticdiscourse. My claim here,however,is moregeneral,
forwhat is centralto the concept of the poem as a fictiveutteranceis
not thatthe speakeris a "character" distinctfromthe poet, or that the
audience purportedlyaddressed,the emotionsexpressed,and the events
alluded to are fictional,but that the speaking,addressing,expressing
and alluding are themselvesfictiveverbal acts. To be sure, a fictive
utterancewill oftenresemblea possiblenatural utteranceveryclosely,
for the distinctionis not primarilyone of linguisticform. Moreover,
although certain formalfeatures- verse,most notably- oftendo
of an utterance,
mark and indeed identifyforthe readerthe fictiveness
the presenceof such featuresare not themselvesthe crux of the distinction.The distinctionlies, rather,in a set of conventionsshared by
poet and reader,accordingto which certainidentifiablelinguisticstructuresare takento be not the verbal acts theyresemble,but representationsof such acts. By thisconvention,Keats's ode "To Autumn" and
Shakespeare'ssonnetsare preciselyas fictiveas "The Bishop Orders His
Tomb" or Tennyson's "Ulysses." All of these poems are understood
of utterancesactuallyutteredby men who spoke
not as the inscriptions
as
rather
but
linguisticstructurescomposed by men whom
poetically,
we call poets because they compose such structures.The statements
in a poem may, of course, resemblequite closelystatementsthat the
utteredas an historicalcreaturein
poet mighthave trulyand truthfully
world.
the historical
Nevertheless,insofar as they are offeredand
in a poem, theyare fictive.To the objection,
as
statements
recognized
meant what he saysin that poem," we must
Wordsworth
I
know
"But
have meant themif he had said them,but
he
would
mean
"You
reply,
I
As
shall explain later,we may choose to rethem."
not
is
he
saying
a
as
not
the
poem but as an historicalutterance,but
composition
gard
is understoodand
thenthe conventionsby virtueof whichitsfictiveness
has its appropriateeffectsare no longerin operation.
Anothermattershould, however,be clarifiedat this point. I have
said that novels and tales, as well as lyrics,epics, and dramaticpoems

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272

NEW LITERARY HISTORY

are also fictiverepresentations

of discourse. The fictivenessof prose
fictionis, of course, commonlyacknowledged,but it is more radical
than is sometimessupposed. For not onlyare the charactersand events
narratedin a novel fictional,and not onlyis the narratorwhose voice
so also is the entire
relatesthe eventsfictional,but most significantly,
structureof discoursethroughwhich the narrationis presented. Indeed, as we all know, many novels such as War and Peace allude to
quite real personsand events,a considerationthat has createdtheoretical problemsfor many literarytheorists.The essentialfictivenessof
novels,however,as of all literaryartworks,is not to be discoveredin
the unrealityof the characters,objects,and eventsalluded to, but in the
unrealityof the alludingsthemselves.In otherwords,in a novel or tale,
it is the act of reportingevents,the act of describingpersonsand refertheverbal action of a
ringto places,thatis fictive.The novel represents
man reporting,
and
describing, referring.
Considerthefollowingtwo passages:
and
(a) "He was a gentlemanof good familyin Buckinghamshire,
and of a mostciviland affabledeportment.In his
bornto a fairfortune,
entranceintotheworld,he indulgedhimselfall the licensein sportsand
exercisesand companywhichwas used by men of themostjollyconversahe retiredto a more reservedand melancholysociety."
tion; afterwards
(b) "He had been a memberof the Court of Justice,and died at the
His fatherhad been an officialwho, afterservingin
age of forty-five.
had made the sortof
in Petersburg,
and departments
variousministries
careerwhichbringsmen to positionsfromwhichby reasonof longservice
theycannotbe dismissed."
The firstis from the descriptionof John Hampden in Clarendon's
Historyof the Rebellion; the second is fromTolstoi's "Death of Ivan
Ilyitch." (In both, we mightnote, allusionsare made to real places,
Buckinghamshireand Petersburg.) I am suggestinghere that the reof
lationbetweenthe two passagesis thatthe second is a representation
the kind of thingthe firstreallyis, namely a biography. "The Death
of Ivan Ilyitch"is not thebiographyof a fictionalcharacter,but rather
a fictivebiography. The fictionattachesno more to the narratedfacts
of Ilyitch'slifethan to the factof someone'snarratingthem. Tolstoi is,
if you like, pretendingto be writinga biographywhile actuallyfabricatingone.
If we considerliteraturefromthepointofview I am developinghere,
it becomesevidentthatthevariousgenresofliteraryart- forexample,
fromeach
tales, classicalodes, and lyrics- can oftenbe distinguished
otheraccordingto what typesof naturaldiscoursetheyrepresent: here,
anecdotal reportsof past events,public speeches,and more
respectively,

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POETRY AS FICTION

273

or less private or personal utterance.4 Poetry itself,as distinctnow

fromnovelsand stories,traditionally
representsvariouskindsof spoken
discourse. Certain typesof discourse,however,are themselvestypically
in writtenand often
textualinscriptions;i.e., theyexistcharacteristically
in printedform- for example, chronicles,journals,letters,memoirs,
and biographies. And certaingenresof literaryart, roughlywhat we
referto as "prose fiction,"characteristically
representsuch varietiesof
inscribeddiscourse.Novels,forexample,a distinctively
post-Gutenberg
of chronicles,journals,letters,
genre,have typicallybeen representations
memoirs,and biographies. This aspect of prose fictionhas some interestingimplicationsforthe natureof novelsas texts,but theywill be
betterappreciatedafterwe have given some attentionto literarytexts
generally.
A poem - i.e., a fictiveutterance- consistsentirelyof a linguistic
unlikea naturalutterance,which consistsof a linguisticevent
structure,
culture,e.g., among
occurringin an historicalcontext.In a non-literate
NorthwestIndian tribes,thelinguisticstructurethatwould be identified
as thatsong or storyis preservedand duplicated,if at all, onlyin being
rememberedand recited. But in a literateculture,the identityof the
poem may be preservedand reproducedthrougha standardnotational
system,i.e., in a writtentext. The text of a poem, however,bears a
quite special relationto the utteranceof which it is presumablyan inscribed counterpart.For it is neithera transcriptionof an utterance
that actuallyoccurredat some specificpriortime,like Elizabeth's first
speech to Parliament,nor is it a natural utterancein writtenform,like
a personalletter. It is, rather,likethescoreof a musicalcompositionor
the scriptof a play, i.e., formalspecificationsforthe physicalproduction of certainevents. The text of the poem tells us, in otherwords,
how to produce the verbal act it represents.This is evidentenough for
a playscript,which directsthe performer'sverbal actions along with
other more obviouslyphysicalactions: e.g., "enter," "exit," "is stabbed," "falls,"says "I am dead, Horatio; wretchedQueen, adieu." But
thisis trueof any poetic text,i.e. of any verbal artworkthat represents
spoken ratherthan writtendiscourse. The textof a novel mustbe reas I will explainbelow. But, allowingfor
garded somewhatdifferently,
in the firstinof
the
text
thisexception,
any poem is to be interpreted,
the
for
performanceof a
stance,as, in effect,a score or stage directions
thus
in
exists
act
that
performed.A poem is
only being
purelyverbal
It
is always re-cited;for
himself.
the
not
even
neverspoken,
poet
by
have
could
the
to
words
its
relation
whatever
spoken,it has, as a
poet
4 "Private or personal utterance" may be extended to include not only overt
but interiorspeech. The representationof the latter, particularlyin romantic and
modern lyrics,is discussed in Poetic Closure, pp. 139-50.

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NEW LITERARY HISTORY

poem, no initial historicaloccurrence. What the poet composes as a

textis not a verbal act but rathera linguisticstructurethat becomes,
of a verbal act.
throughbeing read or recited,the representation
As I pointedout above, worksof prose fictionare characteristically
not of spokenbut of inscribedutterances,and forthis
representations
reason the textsof novels are, interestingly
enough, closer to pictures
than to musical scores. What the text of Richardson'sClarissa represents is not the speech of certain charactersbut a collectionof their
letters;what David Copperfieldrepresentsis not the spoken reminiscenses of a man, but his autobiography. Each novel itself,i.e., the
marksprintedon its pages and, if you like,the pages themselves,plus
coversand binding,is a depictionof- a fictiveinstanceof- a kindof
the copy of the novel
book. Indeed, in view of itsthree-dimensionality,
we hold in our hands could be conceived of as a sculpture,where the
the grossphysicaland
sculptorhas not satisfiedhimselfin representing
visual qualities of a book, but has soughtto representthe verytext of
one. But, ratherthan complicatematters,we may at least agree that
what the textof a novel represents
is, precisely,a text.
In what follows,I shall be speakingagain of poetryin the narrower
ofspokendiscourse,usuallyin verse. Some
sense,i.e., as representations
of the pointsI shall be makingwould requirea somewhatdifferent
or
additional formulationwith respect to novels or representationsof
writtendiscourse,but I will not have the space hereto develop them.
Althougha poem, unlike a natural utterance,consistsentirelyof a
we obviouslydo not respondto poemsas pure forms
linguisticstructure,
or merelyas organizationsof sound,any morethan we respondto plays
as purelyformalstructuresof movementor to traditionalpaintingsas
of line and color. For each of theseis understood
pure configurations
to be a representationalartform,and the spectatorreadily infersa
meaningor context-though a fictionalone - forthe objects,actions,
and events represented. The curtain rises on Hamlet, and we
see a human figureblowing his fingersand stamping his feet on a
dimlylit stage. Beforea word is uttered,we have already inferredat
least a cold nightas the contextforhis speech. We read or hear recited
a sonnetby Shakespeare: "To me, fairfriend,you never can be old
...," and no matterhow littlewe know about William Shakespeareof
Stratfordand the various earls withwhom he may have been intimate,
we immediatelybegin to create for those words a plausible and
appropriate context: at the minimum, a speaker addressingsome
other person whom he regards as fair and, in some sense, as his
friend. All our experienceswith language and the contextsin which
men speak not only enable us to make this inferencebut reallyoblige
us to make it.

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POETRY AS FICTION

275

Throughoutour livesas verbal creatures,we have learnedto respond

to linguisticstructures
in a certainway: namelyto interpret
theirmeaninfer
contexts
from
forms.
of poetry
to
their
their
The
effects
i.e.,
ings,
as a representational
artformdepend upon the strengthof our habitual
tendencyto infercontextsfromverbal structures.We should note that
Milton,in Paradise Lost, does not createEve or Eden; what he creates,
rather,are statementsabout "Eve" and "Eden" that lead the reader
to create a woman and a place - in order,as it were,to providereferents for those statements. Other representationalartformsdepend
for their effectsupon comparable tendenciesin the spectator: illusionist painting, for example, depends upon fundamentalhabits of
visual perceptionto transforma configuration
of lines and colorson a
flatsurfaceinto the appearance of a three-dimensional
scene or object.
It is only because of perceptualconditioningproduced by our experiences in the natural visual world that we can see, as a cow grazing
in the distance,what is actuallyonlya fewbrushstrokes
of color on the
of
a
This
of
canvas.
upper part
process interpretive
filling-inor peris
similar
inference
to
the
which
we infer,from
very
ceptual
processby
a fewlinesin a poem, a richcontextof motives,feelings,and situations.
"To me, fair friend,you never can be old . .. ." Nine small words
that summonup forus a man, his consciousnessof the pathos of mutability,and his impulseto denyitshold upon his friend.
Thus, although a poem is a fictiveutterancewithout a real and
effectis to createits own
particularhistoricalcontext,its characteristic
contextor, more accurately,to inviteand enable the readerto create a
plausible contextforit. And what we mean when we speak of interpretinga poem is, in large measure,preciselythis processof inference,
conjecture,and indeed creation of contexts.5 But these contextsi.e., "meanings" - that we half create and half perceive can be no
more than "plausible," forthe poem is a fictiveutteranceand its contextscan be neitherdiscoverednor verifiedin natureor history.As we
saw earlier,when we interpreta naturalutterance,we seekto ascertain
the contextthat did in fact occasion its
its real historicaldeterminants,
occurrenceand form. However complex and elusivethat context,it is
neverthelesshistoricallydeterminateand particular. The contextof a
fictiveutterance,however,is historicallyindeterminate.This is not to
5 I should emphasize that I am not specificallyreferringhere to those formally
and publicly articulated "interpretations"of poetrythat we associate with academic
or professionalcriticism,but ratherto the informaland oftenenough private activities of the reader as such, or what we might otherwisespeak of as his response to
or experience of the poem. Of course much formalcriticismis an extensionof these
informal activities, but the very fact that professional critics are offeringpublic
statementsentails other concerns and responsibilities,and I am not presuminghere
either to limit or to account for them. See, however,fn. 7 and p. 280, below.

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NEW LITERARY HISTORY

276

saythatwe mustregardthepoemas an anonymous

giftdroppedfrom
theEmpyreanor ignorethefactthatit was composedby a realman
at a particular
timeand place. It is to say,rather,thatwe mustdisbetween
thepoet'sact of composing
thepoemand theverbal
tinguish
act thatthe poem represents,
as
would
we
William
distinguish
just
in
of
act
and
the
the
of
Hamlet
acts
Prince
Shakespeare's
composing
in theplay. Shakespeare
let
Denmarkrepresented
the
composed play,
us say,in 1603,but in whatyeardid HamletkillClaudius? In one
whetherin
sense,he killsClaudiuseverytimethe playis performed,
1603 or 1970; but in anothersense the slayingof Claudius is an act

thatneverdid,neverwill,and nevercan occurin thehistorical

world.
It can onlybe represented
of theplay,
as occurring.The composition
determinate
then,was an historically
event,buttheeventsrepresented
in the play are historically
indeterminate.
This means,amongother
that
when
we
ask
Hamlet
abuses
why
things,
Opheliain thenunnerynot
in
we
do
to
find
the
answer
scene,
anyhistorical
expect
particulars
of thelifeof WilliamShakespeare
or of the circumstances
thatoccasionedhiscomposition
oftheplay. Knowledgeoftheseparticulars
and
of
us
account
for
circumstances
whyShakespeare
may, course,help
wrotea playin whicha characternamedHamletabusesa character
different
namedOphelia,butthatis an altogether
question.To understandwhyHamletabusesOphelia,thereadermustinferfrom,on the
one hand,thelinguistic
structure
of theplayand, on theotherhand,
he
the
of menand therelationof their
knows
world
about
everything
and situaand motives,
actsto theirsituations
a plausiblesetofmotives
tionsforthatact.
fora sonnetbyShakespeare,
say87, whichbegins: "FareSimilarly
likeenoughthouknowst
well,thouarttoodearformypossessing,/And
thy estimate..."

To interpretit as a poem, to understandwhy the

tonestosomeoneuponwhom
in suchbitter
speakeris saying"farewell"
he thoughtto have some claimsof love,the readerwill not require
and
concerning
anyparticulars
privatelife: theidentity
Shakespeare's
ofwhatever
moralcharacter
youngmenhe knewat thetime,thespeor
fromwhichhe mayhavesuffered,
ofpersonalbetrayal
cificincidents
is
the
as a lover. Whatthereaderdoes require
hisopinionof himself
thatmightlead a man to
capacityto conceiveofthekindofsituation
and
the
reader
can
and
feelthus
developthatcapacityonly
speakthus,
theirfeelings,
and
withmen,theirsituations,
outofhisownexperiences
their
especially language.
utterance
of a poemas an historical
The interpretation
may serve
orbiographer,
butitis likehistorian
oftheliterary
thespecialpurposes
to thedeor "literal-minded"
precisely
lyto appearshallow,reductive,
the contextof the poem to historicalparticularsand
greethatit restricts

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POETRY AS FICTION

277

suggeststhat the meaningsof the poem are to be located exclusively

in an historicallydeterminatecontext. For example, a recent editor
of Shakespeare'sSonnets prefixesthe followingnote to Sonnet o07 as
part of his runningcommentaryon what was happening in Shakespeare's personal life at the verymomenthe was writingthe poems:
"Shakespeare had just escaped fromthe danger of his Company's involvementwith the Essex rebellionand . . . the Queen, furiouswith
PembrokeforfatheringMary Fitton'schild and refusingto marryher,
had sentPembroketo jail ... ."6 Then comes the sonnet:
Not mineownfears,northepropheticsoul
Of thewideworlddreamingon thingsto come,
Can yetthelease ofmytruelovecontrol,
to a confineddoom....
Supposedas forfeit
Forfeit,indeed, to a confineddoom, if interpretedas this editor suggests. But forthe readerwho regardsthe sonnetas a poem, thissortof
is absurd not onlybecause its foundationsin historyare,
interpretation
in fact,quite dubious,but because the invocationof particularsof this
kind - even if theywere accurate - have no greaterclaim to conthat
stitutingthe "real" meaning of the poem than an interpretation
infersfromit and providesforit an appropriatelyrich,subtle,and coherent context of human feelings,quite independent of Pembroke,
Mary Fitton,particularjails and particularrebellions.
I pointedout earlierthat personallettersoftenexhibitcharacteristics
thatwe associatewithpoeticdiscourse,a "literariness"thatis produced,
for example, by unusuallywell-controlledsyntax,precisionof diction,
of descriptions,
elaboratenessor specificity
imagery,allusion,and metawill
a
letter
be
read
in
a
context
Since
both temporallyand spaphor.
tiallyremotefromthatin whichit was composed,the writermustprovide exclusivelythroughitslinguisticstructurethesortof supplementary
informationthat is otherwise,in a spoken utterance,providedby the
physicalcontextsharedby speakerand listenerand also by thespeaker's
in otherwords,must exploit
intonationand gestures.The letterwriter,
all the expressivepossibilitiesof language itselfto enable his reader to
inferand reconstruct
properlythe meaningsand contextof his original
utterance.
The poet is obviouslyoperatingunderthe same limitations,
but even
more so. He mustconveyto his readersnot onlya contextremotefrom
themin space and time,but one that neverexistedin historyor nature,
and consistsentirelyof what the reader will be enabled to construct
(rather than reconstruct)fromthe verbal formof the poem. More6 The Sonnets, Songs, and Poems of Shakespeare, ed. Oscar James Campbell
(New York and Toronto, I964), p. 136.

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278

NEW LITERARY HISTORY

over,the poet mustsuggest,throughthe possibilitiesof language alone,

not only a plausible and interestingcontextthat has no independent
reality,but also the experiences,attitudes,and feelings- and, indeed,
the identity- of a speakerwho has no otherexistenceand of whom
the readerhas no otherknowledge. Finally,especiallysince the textof
the poem will functionas the scriptforits futureperformance(and by
recitersotherthan the poet), it must specifyor directits own vocal
realization,includingits pacing and otherintonationalfeatures.
The poet will, therefore,in the verbal structurehe composes,be
strainingto the limitall the expressiveresourcesof language. And, beyond that limit,he will sometimesdevise new ones. But what are
sometimesspoken of as "poetic devices" (and we may include here
rhythmor meter) are really the potentiallyexpressivefeatures of
natural discourse. Tropes and figures,distortionsof idiomaticsyntax,
departuresfromidiomaticdiction,imageryand allusion-all theseare
certainlynot restrictedto poetic discourse; nor can theybe taken as
of poetic language. They are not what
the distinctivecharacteristics
definespoetrybut are, rather,entailedby what does defineit, namely
itsfictiveness.
Because a poem does not reflectbut create the contextin which its
meaningsare located, its linguisticstructuremust carryan extraordinaryburden. Poetic language seems- and indeed is - richer,more
"suggestive,""connotative,"and "evocative" than natural language
preciselybecause and to the extentthatit requiresthe readerto cooperto interpret
the poem,
ate in thecreationof itsmeanings. In our efforts
to constructthe contextof human situationsand motivesit demands in
orderthat its meaningsbe realized,we will draw upon all our experiences of theworld and wordsof men. Indeed, the activityof interpreting poetryoften becomes the occasion for our recognitionand acknowledgementof otherwiseinaccessiblefeelingsand in a sense, our
own otherwiseunknowableknowledge. The richerand more extensive
our experiencesand feelings- or as we say, "the morewe bringto the
poem"-the more significanceit can have for us, which is why, of
course,subsequentreadingsof a poem "reveal" more meanings. The
"concentrated"because it
language of a poem seems characteristically
allows for such an extraordinaryand continuous expansivenessof
but
meaning,not confinedto itsown finiteand particulardeterminants,
of
the
relate
to
it.
The
that
we
can
know
on
all
we
language
drawing
to
for
we
have
as
to
mean
as
continues
meanings
provide
long
poem
it. Its meaningsare exhaustedonly at the limitsof the reader's own
experienceand imagination.
But now I should addressmyselfto the suspicionthat the view of interpretationdeveloped here leads one directlyinto the camp of the

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POETRY AS FICTION

279

of literaryhistory
subjectivists:thosewho, scorningthe revelations
and scholarship,
wouldmaintainthatall and anymeaningsof a poem
are essentially
the
"personal"and equallyvalid. This is not,however,
In
of
the
case. speaking
createdor projectedbythereader,I
contexts
have repeatedly
usedthetermplausible;and althoughI have seemed
to be saying"If themeaningfits,
wearit,"I havealso impliedthatthe
and plausibility
relateto verysignificant
meaningmustfit.Thisfitness
on interpretation
constraints
thatarethemselves
amongtheconventions
of fictivediscourse.Thoughtheseconstraints
in manyrespects
differ
fromthoseinvolvedin ourinterpretations
ofnaturaldiscourse,
theyare
nevertheless
and althoughthereare inevitably
substantial;
groundsfor
in determining
themforindividualpoems,theyare neverargument
theless
relatively
objective.
thepoem,will have made certainassumpThe poet,in composing
his audience,specifically
thattheyare membersof a
tionsregarding
and thusable and willingto
and culturalcommunity,
sharedlinguistic
abide by relevantlinguistic,
conventions.
cultural,and indeedliterary
of a poemare ignorantofthose
To thedegreethatourinterpretations
or violatetheseconventions,
we are notthatpoem'saudiassumptions
usewe maybe makingofit,we are notresponding
ence,and whatever
toitas whatitis.
ofdiscourse,
we can understand
Althougha poemis a representation
our
for
withthe
infer
it,
meanings it, onlythrough priorexperiences
natural
in
utterances
historical
sortof thingit does represent,
namely
thathisreaderhas a knowledge
contexts.The poetassumes,
therefore,
the
conventions
ofthelanguagerepresented
by
poemand thelinguistic
ofan utterance
toitsmeanings
in thatlanguage.
thatgoverntherelation
convention
can hardlybe separated
However,as we all know,linguistic
theword"God"
The readerwhoencounters
fromculturalconvention.
it
in a poembya seventeenth-century
is notfreetointerpret
Englishman
as thedeityoftheMuslimsor Hopi Indians,anymorethanhe is freeto
of
of Elizabethas thecrowning
a paintingofthecoronation
interpret
thepoetwillassumethathisreaders
theQueen ofSiam.Furthermore,
his composition
as one of a kind- a genre
are capableofidentifying
- ofartwork,
ofinterpreting
it in relationto thosegenand therefore
thatoperatedforhim in composingit.
eric and artisticconventions
withtheformsand traditional
Thusthereaderwhois quiteunfamiliar
Comusforthescriptofan ordiofthemasque,and mistakes
functions
it improperly.
narytheatricalcomedy,will obviouslybe interpreting
are not to be conWe shouldnoteherethatthe poet'sassumptions
fusedwith his intentions.Whereas the latter- his intentions- are
the former
specific,personal,and can onlybe surmizedor hypothesized,

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280

NEW LITERARY HISTORY

- his assumptions-aregeneral,communal,and can be reasonably

determined
oratleastsought.
7
theview of inA finalobservation
shouldbe made hereregarding
I
been
and
that
have
bywayofconcluding
terpretation
developing
thisarticle.To recognizea poemas mimeticratherthannaturaldiscourse,as a verbalartworkratherthanan eventin nature,is to acit as theproductofa humandesignin accordwithcertain
knowledge
valuedeffects.I have notdiscussedheretheverycrucialquestionof
theeffects
offictive
thedistinction
between
orfunctions
and naturaldiscoursebecauseit is a questionthatinvolvessubstantial
problemsin
well
and
could
not
be
as
as
dealt
with
briefly.
linguistic
poetictheory,
thefactthatpartoftheefat leastacknowledge
We should,however,
froma naturalutterance,
fectof a poem,as distinct
derivesfromthe
ofthepoetstanding,
as it were,behindthepoemas
reader'sawareness
in
reflected
This awarenessis also commonly
itscreaterand artificer.
we seekforand inferfrom
foramongthemeanings
ourinterpretations,
a poemare thosethat,in Aristotelian
terms,mightbe calleditsfinal
orintentions,
thegoverning
causes: i.e.,themotives
design,ofthepoet
fromeithera naturalspeakeror thefictive
distinct
as an artist,
speaker
Hamlet'sabuseofOpheliabothin
ofa poem. Thus,we can interpret
termsof a plausibleset of humanmotivesprojectedforHamletand
motives
in termsofa plausiblesetofartistic
projectedforShakespeare;
7 The linguistic,cultural,and generic constraintson interpretationalluded to here
are, of course, what much professionalcriticism(or "philology" in the broad sense)
is directed toward establishing. And to the extent that it is engaged in determining
the existenceand nature of such assumptionsand conventionson the basis of historical and publicly accessible data, criticismis a cognitivelyrespectable enterpriseissuing in objectivelyverifiableand indeed cumulative knowledge (granting the probabilistic nature of "verifiability"in regard to historical facts and the inevitable
grounds for uncertaintyand controversyregarding their relevance to individual
poems). It would be well, however,to recognize the distinctionbetween this enterprise, which is more or less continuous with that of the cultural historian,and the
aspect of professionalcriticismmentioned in fn. 5, i.e., the public articulation and
elaboration of the critic's experience as the audience of an artwork.Both are commonly spoken of as "interpretation"and, of course, both frequentlyappear in conjunction, but claims that may be made for the one cannot be made for the other,
and their functionsand value are distinctivelydifferent.The meanings of a work
that a philological "interpretation"seeks to establish are those that the poem bears
in relation to the historical universe in which it was composed, and are themselves
historical and determinate; but the meanings that the poem has by virtue of its
characteristicsas a fictiveutterance are historicallyindeterminateand thus cannot
be the object of objective or cumulative knowledge, though we may for various
reasons find their "interpretation"by individual readers interestingand valuable.
It might be added that each of these types of interpretationmay, in turn, be distinguishedfromthose interpretationsbrieflyalluded to below as the reader's (and,
when publicly elaborated, the critic's) hypotheses and inferences concerning the
poet's governingartisticdesign. The meanings of "interpretation"are no less multiple than the meanings of "meaning."

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281

POETRY AS FICTION

forany
could be offered
and the same sortof doubleinterpretation
poem.
a morefundamental
reflects
This double aspectof interpretation
ofartitself.As
indeedtheduplicity
in thenatureofpoetry,
doubleness
we view the canvas,the myriadspotsof paint assumethe guiseof
naturalobjectsin the visual world,but we are nevertheless
always
ofthemas spotsofpaint.As we watchtheplay,thestage
half-conscious
of the actorsyieldto thoseof the
recedesand the personalidentities
we clap our
fictions
whomtheyportray,
butwhen,at thefinalcurtain,
the
but
it
not
whom
we
are
is
Hamlet
hands,
performers
applauding,
and the playwright
himself.The illusionsof art are neverdelusions.
and movesus bothas thethingrepreThe artwork
interests,
impresses,
sentedand as the representing
itself: as the actionsand passionsof
PrinceHamletand as theachievement
ofWilliamShakespeare,
as the
of
men-and
as
the
fictions.
speech
poet's
BENNINGTON COLLEGE

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