2024/04/09 by Eliza Ives · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Computer Science · Engineering · #Acoustic Wave Phenomena Research #Music Technology and Sound Studies #Poetry Analysis and Criticism
paper · doi:10.1093/aesthj/ayad033
openalex publication_date 2024/04/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract What is poetry’s so-called ‘form-content unity’? In this paper, I argue that the idea of ‘form-content unity’, as derived from A. C. Bradley’s 1901 lecture, has been misconstrued by Peter Kivy, who believes that it is confused and vague. I argue that it has also been misconstrued, however, by the philosophers who find the idea insightful and instructive and present themselves as defending and developing it against Kivy’s criticisms. Crucially, Bradley’s argument emphasizes that hearing is necessary to any ‘poetic’ reading of a metrical poem, but this focus on sound and metre tends to be ignored. A precision of terminology—particularly a reformulation of the paraphrase ‘form-content unity’—offers an improved understanding of Bradley’s claims. The lecture, I argue, properly understood, in fact supports the call for a shift of attention away from understanding poems as ‘form-content unities’ in the philosophy of poetry.