'One of the most interesting characters on the poetry/music cusp was the
American Sidney Lanier (1842-1881), who was a professional flautist as well
as a poet. I personally find his poetry rather too suave; but his theory of
musical scansion is intriguing, since he scanned verse in the equivalent of
musical bars rather than in feet. He wasn't the only one to do this, but
it's now thought of as a misleading approach to prosody, since it tends to
emphasise a "performance" aspect. I've tried writing this way myself; if not
overindulged, it can give a poetry that moves very flexibly.'
The above paragraph comes from a mini-article I wrote a few years ago for
the newsletter of the Second Light women's poetry network, on "Some Musical
Aspects of Poetry". I had very limited space at my disposal, and it was a
question of scratching the surface and trusting not to mislead by
over-simplification. I would now add to it: what's wrong with emphasising a
"performance" aspect, if that's what's wanted?
joanna
>> There are
>> so many odd systems proposed by poets and others--Sidney Lanier,
>
> I mentioned Lanier to Joanna Boulter recently (the musical connection) but
> I
> don't know his work. Wouldn't mind a quick run-down if you'd be willing
> to
> provide it.
>
>
> Robin
>
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