<b>The Language of Paradox in the Ironic Poetry of Emily Dickinson</b>
Keywords:
Cleanth Brooks, Language of Paradox, Irony, Poetry of Emily DickinsonAbstract
The Language of Paradox in the Ironic Poetry of Emily Dickinson
Abstract
Emily Dickinson’s poetry is characterized by her emphasis on ironic use of discourse that amounts to her persistent manifestation of individuality against hypocrisy and vanity. She exerts her peculiar poetic language in a way that helps deplore as well as explore the paradoxical human condition. This paper argues that Dickinson produces a language of poetry, which, in Cleanth Brooks’ terms, provides the reader with the “language of paradox.” Dickinson’s ironic poetry exemplifies Brooks’ idea that ironic poetry is self-conscious and satiric in nature and is made up of a language of paradox. The study, therefore, aims to reveal how the language of paradox in Dickinson’s poetry yields to irony which is primarily associated with her salient assertiveness, isolation and strong individuality.
Emily Dickinson’ın İronik Şiirlerinde Paradokslu Dil
Öz
Emily Dickinson’ın şiirlerini söylemin ironik kullanımı karakterize eder ve bu özellik onun şiirlerinin toplumdaki iki yüzlülük ve riyakârlığa karşı sürdürdüğü kararlı bireysel duruş ve isyanının dışavurumudur. Dickinson, kendine özgü şiirsel dili insanlık durumunun paradoksal niteliğini araştırmak için olduğu kadar eleştirmek için de etkili biçimde kullanmıştır. Dickinson’ın şiiri, Cleanth Brooks’un “paradokslu dil” olarak tanımladığı bir dil kullanır. Brooks, ironik şiirin öz-farkındalığı olan ve doğası gereği eleştirel tonu yüksek ve temelde paradokslu dilden oluşmuş olduğunu ileri sürer. Bu çalışma, Dickinson’ın ironik şiir dilinin Brooks’un bu kanısını doğruladığını ortaya koymaktadır. Dolayısıyla bu çalışma, Dickinson’un şiirlerindeki paradokslu dilin yazarın dikkat çekici sesi, kendini toplumdan soyutlaması ve toplum karşısındaki güçlü bireyselliğinin dışa vurumunu imleyen ironiyi incelemektedir.
References
Anderson, Charles R. “From a Window in Amherst: Emily Dickinson Looks at the American Scene.” New England Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Jun ., 1958), pp. 147-171. JSTOR Arts & Sciences III. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.
Anderson, Charles R. “The Conscious Self in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry.” America Literature, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Nov., 1959), pp. 290-308. JSTOR Arts & Sciences III. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.
Bové, Paul A. “Cleanth Brooks and Modern Irony: A Kierkegaardian Critique.” Boundary 2, Vol. 4, No 3 (Spring, 1976), pp. 727-760.
Brooker, Jewel Spears. “In Conclusion: Literature and Culture in the Last Essays of Cleanth Brooks.” South Atlantic Review, Vol. 60, No.4 (Nov., 1995), pp. 129-136.
Brooks, Cleanth. “Irony and “Ironic” Poetry.” College English, Vol. 9, No. 5 (Feb., 1948), pp. 231-237.
Brooks, Cleanth. The Well Wrought Urn, Studies in the Structure of Poetry. London: DennisDobson, 1947.
Burbick, Joan. “The Irony of Self-Reference: Emily Dickinson’s Pronominal Language.” Essays in Literature 9. 1. (1982): 83-95. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.
Crane, R.S. “Cleanth Brooks: Or, the Bankruptcy of Critical Monism.” Modern Philology, Vol.45, No. 4 (May., 1948), pp. 226-245.
Dickinson, Emily. The Poems of Emily Dickinson. Jim Manis, Ed. Pennsylvania State
University, 2012. Electronic Resource.
Bloom, Harold. “Introduction” to Emily Dickinson. Ed. H. Bloom. New York: InfoBase
Publishing, 2008. 1-8.
Greene, Elsa. “Emily Dickinson Was a Poetess.” College English, Vol. 34, No. 1, Women, Writing and Teaching (Oct., 1972), pp. 63-70.
Hutchens, Eleanor N. “The Identification of Irony.” ELH, Vol.27, No.4 (Dec.. 1960), pp. 352-363.
Lentricchia, Frank. “The Place of Cleanth Brooks.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Winter, 1970), pp. 235-251.
Rivkin, Julie and Michael Ryan, Eds. Literary Theory: An Anthology. 2nd ed. Ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004.
Martin, Wendy. The Cambridge Introduction to Emily Dickinson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Muecke, D. C. Irony and the Ironic. New York: Methuen& Co, 1970.
O’Hara, Daniel T. “The Designated Light”: Irony in Emily Dickinson (“Dare You See a Soul at the White Heat?”).” Boundary 2, Vol. 7, No. 3, Revisions of the Anglo-American Tradition: Part 2 (Spring, 1979), pp. 175-198.
Walker, Nancy. “Emily Dickinson and the Self: Humor as Identity.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, Vol.2, No. 1 (Spring, 1983), pp. 57-68.
Weaver, Russel. “Questioning Keats: An Introduction to Applied Hermeneutics.” Book Chapter (2006): 81- 112.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All papers licensed under Creative Commons 4.0 CC-BY.- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.