Poetic Closure
A Study of How Poems End
9780226763439
Poetic Closure
A Study of How Poems End
In Poetic Closure, distinguished literary scholar Barbara Herrnstein Smith explores the provocative question: How do poems end? To answer it, Smith examines numerous individual poems and examples of common poetic forms in order to reveal the relationship between closure and the overall structure and integrity of a poem. First published in 1968, Smith’s book remains essential reading in poetic theory.
“Ranging from Elizabethan lyric through free and syllabic verse and concrete poetry, Poetic Closure is a learned, witty, and richly illustrated study of the behavior of poems. . . . It can be read, enjoyed, studied by people who like reading poetry, including—I would suspect—poets.”—Richard M. Elman, New York Times Book Review
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
I A Definition of Poetic Structure
II The Perception of Poetic Structure
III Poetry and Speech
IV Poetry, Form, and Integrity
V Style and Conventions
VI Closure and Stability
2 Formal Structure and Closure
I Introduction
II Closure and Formal Conventions: The English
Sonnet
III Stanzaic Forms
IV The Rhymed Couplet
V Blank Verse
VI Free Verse
3 Thematic Structure and Closure
I Introduction
II Paratactic Structure
III Sequential Structure
Temporal Sequence
Logical and Syntactic Sequences
IV Associative and Dialectic Structure
4 Special Terminal Features
I Introduction: Closure and the Sense of Truth
II Formal Devices and Nonsytematic Repetition
III Puns, Parallelism, and Antithesis
IV Thematic Devices: Closural Allusions
V Thematic Devices: Unqualified Assertions
VI The Poetic Coda
5 Further Aspects and Problems of Closure
I Epigram and Epigrammatic
II Failures of Closure
III Closure and Anti-Closure in Modern Poetry
IV Coda: Beyond Closure
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX