Klank-, ritme- en leksikale organisasie as poësieteoretiese konsepte: kognitiewe toetsing en aanvulling van 'n teoretiese kader - Schmahl, Sylvia Jacqueline (University of the Free State, 2000)
Although sound, rhythm and lexical organization are accepted as poetic strategies in existing research, no effort is made to explain this supposition. Therefore, an attempt was made by the Science of Literature Department at the UFS to develop a model which would make possible the objective identification and explanation of generic presence in a literary text. This model seems to be more productive, because logical relations are established between the function of a genre system and the textual strategies in terms of which generic manifestation can be expected to take place. The aim of my research is cognitive testing and supplementing of this model on the basis of existing publications in cognitive theory concerning the poem's lexical, rhythmical and sound organization. The productivity of this approach is increased by its interdisciplinary modus operandi. In the first chapter the relevance of my research is motivated where after the hypotheses to be investigated are explicated. The point of departure of the Department's model is that culture organizes and explains man's life world. Therefore, in the second chapter I investigate non-cognitive as well as cognitive conceptions of culture and the cognition systems developed by man. In the first sections of chapters 3, 4 and 5, I evaluate my hypotheses concerning respectively lexical, rhythm and sound organization in terms of existing, non-cognitive research. Relevant approaches include: Russian Formalism, New Criticism as well as structuralist semiotics. Thereafter, the cognitive paradigm's contribution towards testing and supplementing of the genological model is determined in detail. Only non-cognitive research concerning the poem's rhythmical and lexical organization verifies my hypothesis that the reader is identified with a state of consciousness. The following hypotheses, however, are confirmed by non-cognitive as well as cognitive research: that lexical, rhythmical and sound strategies, optimally organized, 2. identify this state of consciousness for the reader by means of implicit communication, i.e. by thematizing strategies of similarity; 3. function and interact by means of repetition as the organizing principle; 4. do not present the state of consciousness in historical or logical terms. The fifth hypothesis is neither verified nor falsified by existing research on rhythmical and sound organization. However, it is partially supported by non-cognitive as well as cognitive studies on the metaphor. While no aspect of this poetological model was contradicted, the second and fourth hypotheses were supplemented by cognitive theory. It appears as if strategies of similarity are thematized in distinctly cognitive ways by a poem's lexical, rhythmical and sound organization. Perhaps this explains why the information potential of a poem is increased when more than one of these sub-systems is semantically active. The cognitive paradigm has some shortcomings of its own. Nevertheless, its advantages for the (scientific) study of literature is illustrated by its ability to explain objectively some aspects of Grebe's interpretations of Opperman's "Kontrak".

Bestaande navorsing oor die poëtiese organisasie van leksikon, ritme en klank tref onvoldoende onderskeid, enersyds, tussen literêre en nie-literêre kommunikasie en andersyds, tussen teks (die empiriese manifestasie) en sisteem en teoretiese konstruk wat veronderstel word). Dit het verwarring tot gevolg en maak derhalwe probleemoplossing in terme van 'n gestandaardiseerde logika by voorbaat onmoontlik. Juis daarom is die afgelope jare in die Departement Algemene Literatuurwetenskap aan die UV 'n poging aangewend om 'n genremodel te ontwikkel wat generiese aanwesigheid in literêre kommunikasie op 'n objektiewe wyse moet kan identifiseer en verklaar. Logiese verbande word gelê tussen die funksie van 'n genresisteem en die strategieë wat daardie funksie kan laat realiseer. Die doel van my navorsing is die toetsing en aanvulling van hierdie teoretiese kader aan die hand van gepubliseerde navorsing oor klank-, ritmiese en leksikale organisasie van die gedig en in terme van die kognisieteorie, een van die mees resente benaderings in die literatuurwetenskap. Die interdissiplinêre werkswyse daarvan verhoog die toetsbaarheid van navorsingsresultate. In die eerste hoofstuk motiveer ek die relevansie van my ondersoek en word die hipoteses uiteengesit wat getoets gaan word. Aangesien die genremodel 'n kultuurkonsep benut as vertrekpunt wat die logika van die hele daaropvolgende argumentasie akkommodeer, stel ek in die tweede hoofstuk kortliks vas watter implikasies beide nie-kognitiewe en kognitiewe benaderings inhou vir hierdie model se karakterisering van kultuur en episteme. In hoofstukke 3, 4 en 5 word, net soos in hoofstuk 2, my hipoteses oor onderskeidelik leksikale, ritmiese en klankorganisasie as poësieteoretiese konsepte eerstens getoets aan die hand van bestaande, niekognitiewe navorsing in dié verband. Relevante benaderings sluit in: die Russiese Formalisme, die New Critics asook die strukturalistiese semiotiek. Hierna word telkens, in besonderhede, die bydrae bepaal van die kognisieteorie betreffende toetsing en aanvulling van die teoretiese kader waarmee ek werk. Ek bevind dat slegs nie-kognitiewe studies oor ritme- en leksikale strategieë my hipotese verifieer dat identifikasie bewerkstellig word met 'n bepaalde bewussynstoestand. Die volgende hipoteses word welondersteun deur beide benaderings: dat leksikale, ritme- en klankstrategieë, poëties optimaal georganiseer, 2. hierdie bewussynstoestand te kenne gee aan die leser deur middel van implisiete kommunikasie, dit wil sê deur die tematisering van strategieë van ooreenkoms; 3. funksioneer en interakteer by wyse van herhaling as die onderliggende organisasieprinsipe; 4. meebring dat die emotiewe funksie van taal prominent is. Terwyl die vyfde hipotese nie geverifieer of weerlê word deur navorsing oor klank- of ritmies-metriese organisasie nie, is dit deels ondersteun deur nie-kognitiewe en kognitiewe bydraes oor metaforiek. Dit verifieer naamlik dat die toestand van belewing nie verreken word in historiese of logiese terme nie. Nóg die prekognitiewe, nóg die kognitiewe benaderings steun of falsifieer egter eksplisiet dat verhoed moet word dat afstand geskep word tussen die leser en die gemoedstoestand waarom dit gaan. Geen aspekte is geïdentifiseer waardeur die genremodel se karakterisering van die poësiesisteem gefalsifieer is nie, maar dit blyk wel dat die tweede en vierde hipoteses aangevul word deur die kognitiewe benadering. Uit hierdie aanvullings kan afgelei word dat die leksikale, ritmies-metriese en klankorganisasie op onderskeidend kognitiewe wyse strategieë van ooreenkoms tematiseer. Dit is waarskynlik een van die verklarings vir die verhoging van 'n gedigteks se informasiepotensiaal na gelang meer van dié strategieë semanties aktief is. Hoewel die kognitiewe benadering nie sonder tekortkomings is nie, blyk die nuttigheid daarvan vir die literatuurwetenskap ten slotte daaruit dat dit oor 'n groter verklaringspotensiaal beskik as die hoofsaaklik strukturalisties-linguistiese benadering wat Grabe gebruik om Opperman se "Kontrak" te analiseer.
Dissertation (M.A. (Science of Literature))--University of the Free State, 2000
Keywords: Poetology; Genology; Literary theory; Cognitive poetics; Culture; Epistemology; Lexical organization; Metaphor; Rhythm; Metrics; Sound organization; Poetry -- History and criticism; Criticism; Psychology and literature