The iconized letter
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John J. White
Abstract
This paper examines forms of iconization in the case of individual letters of the alphabet that use innovative techniques which depart from earlier methods of generating shaped poetry. The iconized letter is shown to function as a sui generis device deployed in individual poems and as the signature of entire literary movements. Contrasts are explored between the Cubo-Futurists’ experiments with the Russian alphabet involving the iconic features of individual Cyrillic letters and French Lettrisme’s construction of shaped images based on multiple repetitions of single letters of the French alphabet in order to create multi-dimensional visual effects. The conclusion sets out a series of observations concerning the significance of the iconized letter for future semiotic approaches to shaped poetry in general.
Abstract
This paper examines forms of iconization in the case of individual letters of the alphabet that use innovative techniques which depart from earlier methods of generating shaped poetry. The iconized letter is shown to function as a sui generis device deployed in individual poems and as the signature of entire literary movements. Contrasts are explored between the Cubo-Futurists’ experiments with the Russian alphabet involving the iconic features of individual Cyrillic letters and French Lettrisme’s construction of shaped images based on multiple repetitions of single letters of the French alphabet in order to create multi-dimensional visual effects. The conclusion sets out a series of observations concerning the significance of the iconized letter for future semiotic approaches to shaped poetry in general.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Iconicity and conceptualization
- Iconicity by blending 13
- The Bashō code 25
- Iconicity in gotoochi-kitii ‘localized Hello Kitty’ 43
- Grammar-internal mimicking and analogy 63
- To draw a bow 引 83
- Spatiotemporal aspects of iconicity 95
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Part II. Visual iconicity
- From diagrams to poetry 121
- The iconized letter 141
- The semantics of structure 159
- Visual iconicity in Latin poetry 173
- Shared and direct experiential iconicity in digital reading games 191
- Iconicity, intermediality, and interpersonal meanings in a Social Semiotic Space 211
- Model and icon 233
- Degrees of indetermination in intersemiotic translation 247
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Part III. Auditory iconicity
- Sound, image and fake realism 263
- Opera, oratorio, and iconic strategies 275
- On some iconic strategies in concept albums within the Italian singer-songwriter tradition 295
- Iconically expressible meanings in Proto-Indo-European roots and their reflexes in daughter branches 311
- The lexical iconicity hierarchy and its grammatical correlates 331
- Author index 351
- Subject index 355
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Iconicity and conceptualization
- Iconicity by blending 13
- The Bashō code 25
- Iconicity in gotoochi-kitii ‘localized Hello Kitty’ 43
- Grammar-internal mimicking and analogy 63
- To draw a bow 引 83
- Spatiotemporal aspects of iconicity 95
-
Part II. Visual iconicity
- From diagrams to poetry 121
- The iconized letter 141
- The semantics of structure 159
- Visual iconicity in Latin poetry 173
- Shared and direct experiential iconicity in digital reading games 191
- Iconicity, intermediality, and interpersonal meanings in a Social Semiotic Space 211
- Model and icon 233
- Degrees of indetermination in intersemiotic translation 247
-
Part III. Auditory iconicity
- Sound, image and fake realism 263
- Opera, oratorio, and iconic strategies 275
- On some iconic strategies in concept albums within the Italian singer-songwriter tradition 295
- Iconically expressible meanings in Proto-Indo-European roots and their reflexes in daughter branches 311
- The lexical iconicity hierarchy and its grammatical correlates 331
- Author index 351
- Subject index 355
