Jamie, I’m not saying that poems and songs don’t have distinct modes. They obviously do (if by “modes” you mean the formal differences between them). I’m saying that these modes of distinction do not offer sufficient reason for us to say that songs and poems are different aesthetically or in the way they cause responses in their audiences.
In other words, does a poem cause a different response in a reader, than a song does in a listener? I’m not talking about content causing this. I’m talking about the actual psychological mechanism.
-----------Original Message-----------
Jamie McKendrick wrote:
Again, David, you've misunderstood me. i'm saying that poems and songs operate according to their distinct modes which are not the same. You insist on calling 'superficial and obvious' those formal differences which I am calling fundamental. I've explained my position as carefully as I can, with many examples, and clearly none of this has convinced you in the least. Here, I'm afraid, I have to rest my case.
Jamie
|