Poetry and the emergence of the voice

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Date
2005
Authors
Peeters, Leopold
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
English: Poetry seems to occupy an ever-diminishing place in contemporary culture and this situation has given rise to speculation about its coming to an end, as so many other realms of human spiritual creation have seemed to do. However, in its essence, poetry is the unending endeavour of poets all over the world to re-enact the origin of human speech. It continues to respond to humankind’s need to bridge the chasm which modern science has created between itself and the world. But man himself is torn between body and soul. The quest for unity, then, is a quest for the identity of human beings, which finds its expression and confirmation in a voice. In poetry, prosody offers the possibility of making that voice heard again in its mysterious power of making sense with articulated sound.
Afrikaans: Digkuns bestryk ’n al hoe kleiner plek in die hedendaagse kultuur en hierdie situasie het aanleiding gegee tot spekulasie oor die einde daarvan soos in die geval van baie geestesskeppings van die mensheid. Maar die essensie van digkuns het sy grond in die voordurende poging van digters in die hele wêreld om die oorspong van menslike spraak te herskep. Digkuns beantwoord aan die behoefte van die mens om die kloof wat die moderne wetenskap tussen mens en wêreld geopen het, te oorbrug. Maar die mens self is verdeel tussen liggaam en gees. Die soeke na eenheid is dus ook ’n soeke na die identiteit van die mens wat sy uitdrukking en bevestiging vind in sy stemgewing. In digkuns bied die prosodie die moontlikheid om die stem weer te laat hoor in sy misterieuse krag om met geartikuleerde klanke sin te maak.
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Keywords
Poetry, Human speech
Citation
Peeters, L. (2005). Poetry and the emergence of the voice. Acta Academica, 37(1), 1-21.