PÓS-GRADUAÇÀO EM INGI .ÊS E UTERATURA CORRESPONDENI E
METALANGUAGE IN EMILY DICKINSON’S POEMS
POR
MÁRCLA. T. ZATHARIAM
D is^rta^õ submetída à Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina para a obt^ção do grati de Mestre em Letras.
FLORIANÓPOLIS FEVEREIRO DE 1994
Esta dissertação Toi julgada adequada e aprovada em sua forma fínal para a obtenção do titulo de
MESTRE EM LETR4S
Opção Inglês e Literatura Correspondente.
Pror Dr" Carmen Rosa Caldas-Coulthard
CoordenadoraBanca Examinadora:
P ro f Dr. ‘$érgiwLuiz Prado Bellei 'P r«id en íe
Pror Dr* Susana Bornéo Funck
Prof. Dr. José Roberto Basto O’Shea
Para meu amor Christian, que sempre esteve por perto trazendo alto astral
AGR.4DECÏM ENTOS
Agradeço aos meus pais;
Á Pirofessora Siisana Bom éo Funck;
À Ana Maria Cordeiro;
Ao Professor José Roberto Basfo O'Shea;
Agradeço, em especial, à minha irmã Jane, à amiga Mara e ao Pr«jfessor Sérgio
ABSTRACT
Language is a theme which has always puzzled scholars and poets due to its complexity and its implications in human relationshiops. The belief on the effective communication of the words, though» is not unanimous. Especially when areas of knowledge other than the humanities start to retreat from the realm of verbal communication and create their own code, language loses its aura and power of conveyer of truth This dissertation is an attempt to analyse some of Emily Dickinson’s poems on language and its impact on human lives. In Aiese poems, the poet hi^ili^ts the paradox power/inefficiency of flie words, as well as flie si^ ficance of silence confronted the void of language.
In the introductory diapter, I present my reading on some criticism of Dickinson's poetry. Mudi of this criticism oriented my analysis of the poems contributing largely to my understanding of them. In the next chapter, I discuss some theoretical texts on language by Saussure. Wittgenstein and Geoi^e Steiner. The analysis of the poems itself is in the third chapter, whidi is foUowed by the conclusion of the dissertation as a whole. In general, I tried to read her poems closely, keeping track of her paradoxical views on language, as somefliing that "fails, but entertains...*'
RESUMO
Devido st sua complesidâde e às suas tremendas implicações nas relações humanas, a linguagem sempre apresentou-se como um tema bastante intrigante para os poéticos e teóricos. Não há unanimidade, porém, quanto à sua eficiência na comunicação. Isso faz-se notar de forma particularmente clara quando as chamadas ciências exatas abandonam a comunicação verbal e saem em busca de um código próprio. A linguagem perde, então, o seu status do veículo da verdade. Esta dissertação é uma tentativa de análise de alguns poemas de Emily Dickinson sobre a linguagem e sua importância na vida humana. Nestes poemas, a poeta joga com o paradoxo forçca/ineficiência das palavras, bem como a si^ fícação do sUêncio comparado com o vaiáo presmte na linguagem.
No capítulo introdutório, eu apresento alguns críticos da poesia de Emity Dicldnson. Grande paríe desta crítica contribui muito para a análise e a compreensão dos poemas. No próximo capítulo, eu faço uma breve leitura de alguns textos teóricos de Saussure, Witígenstein e George Steiner sobre a linguagem. O terceiro capítulo contém a análise dos poemas, o que é seguido pela conclusão da dissertação como um
todo. De modo geral, eu tento ler os poemas detalhadamente, trilhando as idéias
CONTENTS AGRADECIMENTOS... ... iv ABSTRACT... ... v RESUMO... ...vi CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION... .... 1 CHAPTER n : ON LANGUAGE... ...21
CHAPTER m : DICKINSON’S METALANGUAGE POEMS... ..45
CHAPTER IV : CONCLUSION... 79
INTRODUCTION
E m i l y D i c k i n s o n p u b l i s h e d sc arc ely d u r i n g he r l i f e t i m e J C h a r le s A n d e r s o n o nc e s a id t h a t she wr ot e "cut o f f from c o m m u n i o n w i t h any but p o s t e r i t y - A s a m a t t e r o f fact she even t r ie d to k e ep some c o n t a c t w i t h the l i t e r a r y w o r l d t h r o u g h T h om a s H i g g i n s o n , and they wr ot e one a n o t h e r for some time. She en de d up s e n d i n g hi m some o f her p o e m s , b u t t h e r e c e p t i o n is well k n ow n . Fo r H i g g i n s o n , w ho may c e r t a i n l y s t a n d for the r e a d e r s at t h a t tim e , h e r styl e n e e d e d " c o r r e c t i o n s ." T h o u g h t h e o r i g i n a l i t y and n e w n e s s o f h e r p o e tr y ; c a u g h t h i m on t h e s p o t , he d i d no t see h e r w o rk as p o e tr y ; he r a t h e r d e s c r i b e d it as " b e a u t i f u l t h o u g h t s and w o rd s ," and t r i e d to s t e e r h e r to w a r d s a m o r e c o n v e n t i o n a l p o e t r y . ^ P e r h a p s f r u s t r a t e d w i t h t h is f i r s t c o n ta c t , she n e v e r t r i e d to m a k e h e r p o e tr y p u b l i c a g a i n . A f t e r h e r
d e a t h in 1886, her s i s t e r fou nd her m a n u s c r i p t s in one of he r d r a w e r s , a n d f a m i l y a n d f r i e n d s p u b l i s h e d some s e l e c t e d p oe m s .^ Her early e d i t o r s even t r i e d to " m ake the m e t e r s c a n and the l in e s r h y m e . "
-It w a s only in 1955 t h a t T h o m a s H. J o h n s o n p u b l i s h e d her c o m p l e t e p o e m s a n d l e t t e r s . J o h n s o n ' s w o rk is ex tr e m e l y i m p o r t a n t not only b e c a u s e o f t h e c o m p l e t e n e s s o f his p u b l i c a t i o n s , bu t a l s o due to h is c a r e f u l e d i t i n g , w h i c h i n c l u d e d a l i s t o f m a n u s c r i p t v a r i a n t s , p r e v i o u s p u b l i c a t i o n d a t a , and e m e n d a t i o n s o f e a r l i e r e d i t o r s . ^
As s o o n as D i c k i n s o n ' s p o e tr y w a s r e v e a l e d , t h e o r i g i n a l i t y a n d s t r a n g e n e s s o f h e r style w e re i m m e d i a t e l y n o t ic e d . A c c o r d i n g to C h a r l e s A n d e r s o n , "she u s e d w o r d s as i f she w e r e t he f i r s t to do so, w i t h a j o y a n d a n a w e l a r g e l y lo st to E n g l i s h p o e tr y s in c e the
R e n a i s s a n c e . " * 7 She c h o s e t he h y m n m e t e r as a p a t t e r n , w h i c h h a d no t
b e e n d o n e by a ny o t h e r w r i t e r p r e v i o u s l y . A l s o , she u s e d a s s o n a n c e , c o n s o n a n c e , i d e n t i c a l a n d s u s p e n d e d r h y m e s , t h a t h a d n o t b e en e x p l o r e d i n o r t h o d o x E n g l i s h b e fo r e , as t h e m a i n p a t t e r n o f r h y m i n g . ^ F o r D a v i d P o r t e r , D i c k i n s o n ' s n e w n e s s lay in the fa c t h a t she w a s not c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e " r e v e l a t i o n o f a l a r g e a n d f a m i l i a r t r u t h b u t w i t h t h e r e l e a s e o f a s m a l l d i s c o n c e r t i n g m y s t e r y r e d i s c o v e r e d . I n f ac t, h e r p o e t r y h a s t h e ^ f a a g m e n t a r y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c w h i c h w ^ l d be l a t e r e x p l o r e d by t h e m o d e r n i s t s . A nd she is e v e n c i t e d as a f o r e r u n n e r o f
r e a d e r s back to root m e a n i n g s . ^ ^ F i n a l l y , some o f her i d eas on the n a t u r e ofz t he p o e t, h i s t a s k s and p o w e r , are " a n i m a t e d by a s t r e n g t h o f fe e l i n g and m a n n e r o f a r t i c u l a t i o n w i t h o u t p r e c e d e n t in our l i t e r a t u r e . " ^ 1 A c c o r d i n g to J a m e s W o o d r e s s , c r i t i c i s m o f D i c k i n s o n ' s w o rk c a n be d i v i d e d i n to the p e r i o d b e fo r e a n d the p e r i o d a f t e r t he p u b l i c a t i o n o f J o h n s o n ' s v a r i o r u m e d i t i o n s . B e f o re the p u b l i c a t i o n o f J o h n s o n ' s w o r k , some i m p o r t a n t a r t i c l e s w e r e p u b l i s h e d on E m i l y D i c k i n s o n ' s p o e t r y , su c h as t h o s e by C o n r a d A i k e n a nd A l l e n T a t e , b u t t h e r e wa s a l s o m u c h s p e c u l a t i o n on the p o e t ’s li fe , w h i c h did l i t t l e for t h e c o m p r e h e n s i o n o f t h e a m p l i t u d e o f h e r wor k. A f t e r J o h n s o n ' s e d i t i o n s , h o w e v e r , D i c k i n s o n ' s w o r k c o u l d be l a r g e l y r e v i e w e d , a n d c o m p r e h e n s i v e s t u d i e s on h e r p o e tr y ca m e a b o u t . ^2 W i t h i n t h is l a r g e s c op e o f c r i t i c i s m on D i c k i n s o n ' s w o r k , we h a v e m a n y c h o i c e s on a r t i c l e s a n d b o o k s by o u t s t a n d i n g c r i t i c s . Some o f t h e m c an be c o n s i d e r e d q u i t e i m p o r t a n t i n t h a t t h e y h e l p e d e s t a b l i s h D i c k i n s o n ' s r e p u t a t i o n . The a f o r e m e n t i o n e d C o n r a d A i k e n a n d A l l e n Tate a re som e o f t h e s e e x a m p l e s . In t h e i r a r t i c l e s , e q u a l l y n a m e d a f t e r "Emily D i c k i n s o n , " t h e y w o r k w i t h p u r i t a n i s m , r e l i g i o n a n d d e a t h in
h e r p o e t r y , t r e a t i n g t h e i r t h e m e s by r e s o r t i n g to her b i o g r a p h y f r e q u e n t l y .
I v o r W i n t e r is one o f the e arl y c r i t i c s of D i c k i n s o n as we ll. In " E m il y D i c k i n s o n and the L i m i t s of J u d g e m e n t , " m ak e s a n e g a t i v e c r i t i c i s m o f h e r p o e m s , a r g u i n g t h a t she wa s p r a i s e d for he r w o r s t m i s t a k e s a n d s t a t i n g t h a t h e r w r i t i n g was " u n p a r d o n a b l e " d u e to its o b s c u r i t y . He a n a l y s e s so m e p o e m s a n d , f i n a l l y , in s p i t e o f som e r e s t r i c t i o n s , he r e c o g n i z e s t h a t "The l a s t n i g h t she lived" is g r e a t p o e tr y. S t i l l w i t h i n the c a t e g o r y o f i m p o r t a n t e a r l y c r i t i c s , D o n a l d E. T h a c k r e y a n d C h a r l e s A n d e r s o n s h o u l d be m e n t i o n e d . T h a c k r e y , in "The c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f t he W o r d s ," w o r k s w i t h Emil y D i c k i n s o n ' s a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s l a n g u a g e a nd w o r d s , a n d d i s c u s s e s h e r m e t h o d o f c o m p o s i t i o n , as w e l l as t h e p o w e r o f t he i n d i v i d u a l w o r d s i n h e r po e m s . He a n a l y s e s p o e m s w h o s e c e n t r a l t h e m e is l a n g u a g e a n d e x p l o r e s t h e p a r a d o x p o w e r / i n e f f i c i e n c y o f l a n g u a g e , a n d a l s o h e r w o r s h i p f u l i d e a s t o w a r d s s i l e n c e . A n d e r s o n ' s b o o k , E m il y D i c k i n s o n ' s Po e t r y : S t a i r w a y o f S u r p r i s e , w a s a ls o qu i te i m p o r t a n t , as it w a s "the f i r s t c o m p r e h e n s i v e r e a d i n g o f a ll p o e m s b a s e d on J o h n s o n ' s t e x t . " ^ ^ The c r i t i c is c o n c e r n e d o n l y w i t h p o e tr y as A r t a n d e x p l o r e s d i f f e r e n t t h e m e s on. h e r po e try : "The p a r a d i s e o f A rt ," "The o u t e r w o r l d , " "The
inner world," and "The other paradise." Like Thackrey, Anderson deals w ith m eta la n g u a g e and m etapoetry, and lays em p h a sis on D ic k in s o n 's concern w ith ex p r essio n .
A fter the e sta b lish m e n t o f D ic k in s o n 's work as part o f the A m erican culture and literature, a great number o f academ ic c r itic is m on her poetry and letters w as p u b lish e d . We w i l l deal here w ith som e e x a m p les o f th is c r itic ism on poetry o n ly , and it is quite important to n o tic e the variety o f them es and approaches explored and v ie w e d by the authors in general.
Roy Harvey Pearce, in The C o n tin u ity o f A m erican Poetrv, ex a m in es the them e o f "achievem ent o f status through cru cial experien ces." For him , this a c h iev e m en t, or the attempt to a c h iev e p s y c h o lo g ic a l statu s through e x p e r ie n ce s o f lo v e , marriage, death, fa ith , and p o e tic e x p r e s s io n , pervades a ll the poet's works and is her central concern. Hyatt H. W aggoner, on the other hand, in A m erican P oets: From the Puritans to the P resen t, w orks s p e c if ic a lly w ith the them e o f r e lig io n , c o n sid er in g D ic k in s o n 's v ie w not only from a puritan p e r sp e c tiv e , but through a tr a n sc en d e n ta l one, and sta te s that the poet r ed efin e s faith in a more u n iv e r sa l manner.
T ou ch in g the them e o f death , w e have D olores D. Lucas's E m ily D ic k in s o n and R id d le . D eath , a c co rd in g to the c ritic , is the
poet's major concern and presents an actual 'riddle' in her poetry. She a n a ly s e s D ic k in s o n 's experim ent o f the rid d le, trying to exam in e her idea o f death , and, c o n se q u e n tly , o f life and truth.
More rec en tly , fem in ist c ritic s have a lso contributed to the c r itic is m on D ic k in s o n 's work. Am ong many prominent authors, one r elev a n t ex a m p le is Sandra G ilbert and Su san Oubar in The M adw om an in the A ttic: The Woman Writer and the N ineteenth -C entury Literary I m a g in a tio n . In th is study, the c ritic s p la c e Em ily D ic k in s o n am ong a number o f w om en w riters fro m the nin eteenth-century. D e a lin g w ith the them e o f e n c lo s u r e and e sc a p e in D ic k in s o n 's work, they explore "metaphors o f p h y sic a l d iscom fort m a n ifested by frozen la n d sca p e s and fiery in te r io r s ." '^ D ic k in s o n 's work is said to fo llo w the pattern o f a fem a le literary trad ition , and she h e r s e lf is seen to em body the character o f the "madwoman" o f many w om en writers's sto r ies. V iv ia n P o lia k , in "Thirst and Starvation in E m ily D ick in son 's Poetry." and M argaret D ic k ie , in "D ickinson's D isc o n tin u o u s Lyric S e l f , ” present stu d ie s in w h ic h they bring about d ifferent themes: P oliak lin k s thirst and starvation to renunciation: "lack o f appetite" for human r e la tio n s h ip s . Food and drink im agery is a lso exam ined. D ic k ie illu m in a te s th e d is c o n tin u ity o f the "lyric-self" in contrast to the tra d itio n a l m a le 'plot.'
In "The M aiden and the Muse: D ic k in s o n ’s Tropes o f P oetic Creation," Rita D i G iuseppe brings up the paradoxical theme o f poet vs. poetry, c o n sid er in g D ic k in so n 's struggle for creative autonomy and for a v o id in g the bias o f being a woman writer. The creative power o f the poet is compared to that o f Ood.
E m ily D ic k in s o n 's poetry is , then, a very rich universe to be explored. In th is d isserta tio n , h ow ever, I w ill be s p e c ific a lly concerned w ith som e poem s w h o se central them e is language and its im p lic a tio n . Surveying her poetry as a w h o le , I came across many p oem s about la n g u a g e and com m u nication , as i s the case o f poem J.
1651:
A Word made F lesh is se ld o m And trem b lin gly partook
Nor then perhaps reported But have I not m istook Each o f us has tasted W ith e c s t a s ie s o f stealth ,,The very food debated
A Word that breathes d is tin c tly Has not the power to die
C o h e s iv e as the Spirit It may expire i f He —
"Made F le sh and dw elt among us" C ould c o n d e s c e n s io n be
Like th is co n se n t o f Language This lo v ed P h ilo lo g y
Indeed, as C harles A n derson s u g g e s t s , the poet is "concerned w ith e x p r e ss io n from her e a r lie st years." And in many o f her p oem s, lik e in the poem a b ove, D ic k in s o n s e e s the word as a powerful entity w h ic h has its ow n lif e and f u l f i ll s an e m p tin e ss in human life (This and other a sp ects in her poetry w i l l be explored w ith more d e ta ils in chapter III.)
Some c r itic s h a v e d ealt d irectly w ith language as a thèm e in D ic k in s o n 's poetry. John G ross, for e x a m p le, in "'Tell A ll the Truth But — ref ers to D ic k in s o n 's 'non com m unication,' that is , the u n w illin g n e s s to com m u n icate. For him , the poet feared the "uncertainty o f an u n d erstan d in g reason," w h ic h w ould prevent the reader from g e ttin g w h at she m eans. He com pares D ic k in so n to several
other nin eteen th-centu ry artiats who exp erien ced the same fear for the 'com m u nication o f the word.' A ccord in g to G ross, authors such as Em erson, M e lv ille , Hawthorne, and Thoreau shared with D ic k in s o n an 'obliquity' o f m ethod, w h ich a llo w ed them to 'tell the truth ' sla n tly , as i f d is g u is e d by the fear o f being attacked by an audience w h ich w as not contemporary enough to understand them. Even in her p ro se, D ic k in s o n w as indirect and, at tim e s , she made no d iffe r e n tia tio n b e tw e en prose and poetry.
In " E m ily D ic k in s o n , Em erson, and the Poet as Namer," John S. M ann comparés D ic k in s o n to Em erson in that both w ere concerned w ith the process o f nam ing th in g s. The poet as 'namer' is the one w h o se e s and fe e ls nature s e n s itiv e ly en ou gh to create the names for its e le m e n ts. For M ann, th ou gh , D ic k in s o n 's attitude differs from E m erson 's, for she is c o n s c io u s o f the d o u b le n e ss o f things and o f the lo s s and a b sen ce w h ic h e x is t s is b e tw e en a thin g and its name. He h ig h lig h ts D ic k in s o n 's s e d u c tio n for n am es, their power and im p lic a tio n s. N am ing for the poet p resen ts som ething o f an 'adamic' q u ality, in that it is a w ay o f recreatin g what he s e e s , what he k n o w s. In this se n s e , D ic k in s o n 's poet is the namer and the creator o f the w orld, that i s , the poet " p o s s e s s [e s ] the w orld by nam ing it," what is e v id en ce d in her poetry in the c om p lex q u estion o f the
n a m in g /p o s s e s a io n dilem m a. Its co m p lex ity ranges from the naming and d e fin in g o f h e r s e lf — her inner action and em otion — to the attem pt to "define the indefinab le," h en ce, the irony r esu ltin g from D ic k in s o n 's paradoxical poetry.
Many o f D ic k in s o n 's poem s on langu age are e x p lic itly con cerned w ith the in e ffic ie n c y o f la n g u a g e in com m u nicatin g. In lin es su ch as "If I could t e ll how glad I w a s / I should not be so glad," "I can't t e ll you - but you f e e l it — "The d e fin itio n o f beauty is / That d e fin itio n is none — w e can se e the poet's attitude towards the c o m m u n ic a b ility o f la n g u a g e. But even sh o w in g the 'failure' o f la n g u a g e in d e fin in g , t e llin g th in g s , D ic k in s o n r e c o g n iz e s that la n g u a g e has much im pact on human r ela tio n s h ip s , and the pow er and in d ep en d e n c e o f words are made e x p lic it by the poet in many p oem s, su ch as J.8:
There is a word W hich bears a sword Can pierce an armed man It hurls its barbled s y lla b le s And it is mute a g a in —
The saved w ill tell On patriotic day.
Some ep au letted Brother Gave his breath away.
Wherever runs the b re a th ele ss sun — Wherever roams the day —
There is its n o i s e l e s s onset — There is its victory!
B eh old the k e e n e st marksman! The m ost a c c o m p lish e d shot! Time's s u b lim e s t target Is a soul "forgot!"
Charles A n d erson , in E m ily D ic k in s o n 's Poetry: Stairway o f Su rprise, sh ow s that D ic k in s o n is " ex p licitly concerned w ith the power o f la n g u a g e ." !^ For him , the poet is c o n s c io u s o f the creative pow er o f w o rd s, w h ic h is capable o f "mov[ing] men's hearts." Poetry has its ow n lif e and the "living word has re-crea tiv e p o w e r . " B y "living word", she m eans the word that is uttered and u sed , not the one that lie s inert in a dictionary. The p o e t, then, b e lie v e s in this higher power
o f w ords and o f eloq u en ce it s e lf , even w h ile r e c o g n iz in g the am biguity w h ic h can surround such a power. B e c a u se o f th is b e lie f , her langu age i t s e l f is c r e a tiv e , and she can d isc o v e r the "inner paradise o f art by the la n g u a g e o f s u r p r i s e . " A n d e r s o n p o in ts out D ic k in s o n 's "oblique approach" as her manner o f e x p r e s s in g , o f te llin g the truth 'slant.' W ith in th is o b liq u ity , her c o n s c io u s n e s s o f lan gu age in e ffic ie n c y in d e a lin g w ith em otion s is apparent. She fears lan gu age's dangerous a m b ig u ity , s in c e , once created, words have their ow n l if e and may m ean d iffe re n t th in g s, w ith u n ex p ec ted c o n se q u e n ce s.
A nother asp ect raised by the sam e c ritic is D ic k in so n 's c o n cern w ith craftsm an sh ip and w ith the im portance o f the poet. The p oet's craft is v iew e d as creation o f beauty not in a h ea v e n ly m ode, but in a th e a tr ic a l one. D ic k in s o n 's poet is extrem ely human, private and d e v o id o f d iv in ity .
A l s o e m p h a siz in g D ic k in s o n 's b e l i e f in the pow er o f w ords, D a v id Porter's "The P o e tic s o f Doubt" d is c u s s e s the is s u e o f the a f f e c t iv e pow er o f poetry in w h ic h "impact and in n o v a tio n are c o n c o m ita n t." !^ P of D ic k in s o n , la n g u a g e caused a sh ock by the "surprise o f d iscovery in the fam iliar i s s u e s , "20 and the poet is the one w h o has "supreme o b lig a tio n s and power" to r e v ea l lan gu age's
su rp rises. L anguage assu m e s a pow erful role in the revelation o f a "large and fam iliar truth."
D ic k in s o n 's attitu de towards lan gu age seem s to be, therefore, tw o fo ld . She se e s in words an pow erful and creative power; at the sam e tim e, she r e c o g n iz e s their in e ffic ie n c y in com m unicating. In his a r tic le "Sign and P rocess; The Concept o f Language in Em erson and D ic k in so n ," R oland H agenbflchle confronts th ese two a sp ects. Stating the d iffe r e n c e s b etw een D ic k in s o n 's and Emerson's assu m p tion s on the nature o f la n g u a g e, he sh o w s that, for D ic k in s o n , words have som e kind o f d e str u c tiv e n e ss and their pow er is e x p lo siv e ; the "dangerous p o te n tia l o f language"21 is explored by the poet through in d ir e c tio n , w h ic h b e c o m e s a strategy o f "self-defen ce." Emerson's primacy is laid on 'the th in g,' w h ile D ic k in s o n p r iv ile g e s 'the word.' HagenbOchle b u ild s up a d iffe r e n tia tio n b e tw e en the transcendental sig n and the sym b ol. The first p r e sen ts a "subject-ob ject relationship," w h ile the se co n d c a lls on the prim acy o f la n g u a g e, based on an "awareness o f the irred u cib ly lin g u is t ic nature o f all k n o w led g e and, therefore, o f a ll r e a lit y ."22 The s ig n s t i l l k eeps the 'autonomy' o f the object; the sym b ol ign ores " e x tra lin g u istic reality." D ick in so n 's poetry brings out the sy m b o l, and she is aware o f the lack o f convention e x is t in g b e tw e en word and rea lity . M ea n w h ile, D ic k in s o n is c o n sc io u s o f the
in a d eq u a cy o f language. Perception o f the thing, for the poet, is not e x a ct; c o n v e rsely , it in v o lv es lo s s , but even r ec o g n izin g the lim ita tio n s o f language in c om m u n icatin g, she works w ith it in se lf- n e g a tio n . Thus, D ic k in so n 's poems "are often records o f f a i l u r e . " 2 3
Another critic who exam in es this double attitude o f the poet before lan g u a g e is Murray Arndt in "Emily D ic k in s o n and the Lim its o f Language," in w h ic h a p o s itiv e and a negative attitude towards la n g u a g e are exam ined. W hile lan gu age has " reson ances that range beyond the lim its o f l o g i c ,"24 th ese same lim its can c on fin e langu age
u n til it "no longer has the power to d om in ate [D ick in so n 's] v i s i o n ."25
E ven r e c o g n iz in g the lim its o f w ords, she w ants to break the lim its o f ) grammar "push[ing] her poems beyond lo g ic a l lim its o f l a n g u a g e ."26
Faced, then, w ith this paradoxical v ie w o f la n g u a g e, its p ow er and its in e ffic ie n c y , I decid ed to explore one s p e c ific q u estio n
1
con cern in g langu age in Em ily D ic k in s o n 's poetry. If lan g u a g e is p o w er fu l, but u s e le s s in com m u nicatin g, so why use langu age? What is the fu n ctio n o f langu age in human r e la tio n sh ip s? Here w e must ex a m in e some o f the c ritic ism related to the problem.
B. J. R ogers, in "The Truth Told Slant: Emily D ic k in s o n 's P o e tic Mode," m entions the in a b ility to grasp m ean in g, p o s in g that "meaning does not lie in the world o f external reality, and the s e n s e s
are not to be trusted en tire ly , alth o u g h they are all that can be relied
u p o n ."27 That is , alth ou gh the p ercep tion through w h ich w e try to
exp ress th in g s and f e e lin g s is in accu rate, and the way in w h ich w e exp ress th e se same f e e lin g s and th in g s is a lso inadequate, there is no other w ay to do it. D ic k in s o n , in a s e n s e , plays w ith lan gu age's a m b ig u ity produ cin g a c ir cu m fer en cia l m ovem ent around a center w h ic h is om itted. Her poetry m o v es from the realm o f 'knowable' t h in g s , to the attempt to utter the 'unkn ow able.' She is , though, quite c o n s c io u s ' o f the im p o s s ib ilit y to presen t truth and reality straightforw ard ly; so m e tim e s la n g u a g e is e v e n unable to r eflect truth.
In Lyric T im e. Sharon Cameron sta te s that lan gu age "mourns th« sp a ce it must fa ith fu lly r e c o r d " 2 S ^ and that D ic k in s o n is c o n sc io u s
o f t h i s m ourning that is la n g u a g e. The e x p e r ien c e s w h ic h the speaker tries to con vey are separated from the act o f naming by the in terp retation o f that e x p e r ie n ce , w h ic h is not the event anymore, but the rep re sen ta tio n o f it. But ev en i f the sp eaker is c o n sc io u s o f this failu re o f la n g u a g e, the " n ecessity for nam es becom es apparent at th o s e m om ents w h en they fa il u s ."29 F requ en tly, we do not have words
for our m ental im a g es and. s o m e tim e s , "unable to say what w e mean, w e a ls o fa il to kn ow it."^® D ic k in s o n , in Cameron's v ie w , has a un iq u e attitu d e in rela tio n to the com p lex and d ia le c tic a l relation sh ip
b e tw e en p resen ce and represen tation . D ic k in so n tries to convey p re sen ce into la n g u a g e , w h ich acts as a theatrical "source o f hope." In other w ord s, la n g u a g e w ou ld be the theater through w h ich what is lo st, the exp erien ce i t s e lf , w ou ld be recovered. Would that be the fun ction o f lan gu age? W ould th is fu n ctio n , o f recoverin g the e s s e n c e o f e x p e r ien c e , be im portant to human r ela tio n sh ip s?
F in a lly , Jerome L o v in g , in E m ily D ic k in so n : The Poet on the S econd Story, is con cerned w ith the " illu sio n s o f language" w h ich is our on ly p ro tectio n in a w ild e r n e s s o f natural facts." He sh o w s the r ela tio n l a n g u a g e / i if e /l i e in D ic k in s o n 's poetry. Language can turn life into lie and, c o n s e q u e n tly , d istan t from the "terrible harmony o f nature." W ould the fu n ction o f lan g u a g e be, then, illu so ry ? Would lan g u a g e be the illu s o r y s o lu tio n in a cruel natural world?
H avin g m ade th e se c o n sid e r a tio n s, I want to reach a p oin t in w h ic h I w i l l report my q u estio n s to their very source : Em ily D ic k in s o n 's poetry. In other w ord s, my purpose in this d is se r ta tio n w i l l be to a n a ly se so m e o f D ic k in s o n 's poem s w h ic h have la n g u a g e as their m ain th em e, tryin g to com e to som e c o n c lu s io n about the fu n ction o f la n g u a g e for the poet. I w i l l try to v ie w several a sp ects in my a n a ly s is , nam ely the p o w e r /in e ffic ie n c y o f la n g u a g e, the im portance o f s ile n c e — g iv e n the n o n co m m u n ica b ility o f words and the task o f the
poet as a namer. At the end o f the a n a ly s is , I w ill try to answ er the q u e s tio n s I asked before; Why use langu age? Is it important for our r ela tio n sh ip s?
Many o f D ic k in s o n 's poem s g iv e a clu e to the answ er o f th ese q u es tio n s and my h y p o th e sis is that, as a w h o le , they present langu age as a n e c e s s a r y h op e for human life even though it works in s e l f n e g a tio n .
In the chapter that f o llo w s , I w i l l d isc u ss som e is s u e s c o n c er n in g la n g u a g e and human com m u nication . In that chapter, I w ill d is c u s s b r ie fly so m e th e o r e tica l tex ts w h ic h may help illu m in a te my r ead in g o f - D ic k in s o n 's poetry. Chapter 3 w i l l contain the a n a ly s is o f the p oem s t h e m s e lv e s , and chapter 4 w i l l present my c o n c lu s io n s in r e la tio n to the d is s e r ta tio n as a w h o le and to my h yp oth esis.
NO TES - CH APTER I
1 • See Karen Dandurand, "Publication o f D ic k in s o n 's Poem s in Her L ifetim e," L egacy (Sp rin g 1 9 8 4 ):7 . A ccordin g to the cr itic , D ic k in s o n p u b lish e d 10 poems during her life .
2 - C harles A n derson, E m ily D ic k in s o n 's Poetry: Stairway o f Surprise (N e w York : H olt, Rinehart and W in ston , 1960) 62.
3 - M ordecai Marcus , E m ily D ic k in so n : S e lected Poems - N o te s (L in coln : C l i f f N o te s , 1 982) 10.
^ - James W o o ch ess, "Emily D ick in son ," F ifteen A m erican A uthors before 1900 - B ib lio g r a p h ic a l E ssa y s on R esearch and C r itic is m , ed. Earl N. Harbert and Robert A. R ees (M adison: The U n iv e r sity o f W isc o n sin P ress, 1 9 8 4 ) 189.
^ - W o o d r e s s 1 90. ^ - A nderson 3. ® - A nderson 11. ^ - D a v i d P o r t e r , "E mi ly D i c k i n s o n : The P o e t i c s o f D o u b t , " E m e r s o n S o c i e t y Q u a r t e r l y 7 7 ( 1 9 7 4 ) : 89. - A n derson 32. 11 - P o r t e r 87. 12 - W oodress 197. 13 - W oodress 206.
14 - Sandra Gilbert and S u san Gubar, The M adwom an in the A ttic: The Woman Writer and the N in e teen th -C e n tu r v Literary Im a g in a tio n (N e w Haven: Y ale U p , 1 9 8 4 ) 590.
15 - A n d e r s o n 36. 1^ - A n derson 30. 1*7 - A nderson 41. 1^ - A nderson 46. 19 - P o r t e r 89. 20 - P o r t e r 89.
21 - Roland H agenbtlchle, "Sign and Process: The Concept o f L an gu age in Em erson and D ick in so n ," Em erson S o c ie ty Quarterly 2 5 ( 1 9 7 9 ) : 140.
22 . H a g c n b t t c h l e 143. 23 . Hag enbtk chle 153.
24 - Murray Arndt, "Emily D ic k in s o n and the Limits o f Language," D ic k in s o n Studies 5 7 (1 9 8 6 ): 19.
25 - Arndt 2 1. 26 . Arndt 27.
27 - B. J. R o g ers, "The Truth Told Slant: Emily D ic k in s o n ’s P o etic Mode," Texas Studies in Literature and Language 1 4 (1972); 336.
28 . Sharon Cameron, Lyric Time - D ic k in s o n and the Lim its o f Genre fB altim ore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1 9 7 9 ) 137.
29 - Cameron 141. 30 - Cameron 145.
CHAPTER II
ON LANGUAGE
Language is our v e h ic le to talk o f langu age its e lf. The d e f in it io n may seem parad oxical at tim e s , and this paradox has been a c h a lle n g e for p h ilo s o p h e r s, p s y c h o lo g is t s , literary c r itic s, lin g u is ts , and p oets. L an guage is very c o m p lex , and it is through i t s e l f that w e m en tio n its co m p lex ity .
This p reo ccu p a tio n w ith la n g u a g e , w ith words, w ith the poet as the language*m aker is a strong p re sen ce in D ick in son 's poetry. And
th is s e lf -r e f le c t iv it y o f language we name m etalanguage, that is, la n g u a g e about i t s e lf , words on words, as w e see on poem J.1261 ■.
A word dropped ca reless on a page M ay stim ulate an eye
W hen folded in perpetual seam The Wrinkled Maker lie
In fec tio n in the sen ten ce breeds We may inh ale D espair
At d ista n ces o f Centuries From the M
alaria-The p oem above is not only about the word i t s e lf , but about th e act o f creation on w h ich w ritin g, lan gu age c o n s is ts . (This poem w i l l be d is c u s s e d in more d eta ils on the f o llo w in g chapter.)
A s p oin ted out in the former chapter, I here intend to an a ly se E m ily D ic k in s o n ’s poetry as language and m etalan guage. R eading about la n g u a g e in D ic k in s o n is reading a poet's v ie w p o in t on la n g u a g e, on her o w n instrum ent o f w orking. But this chapter does not aim to a n a ly se her p oem s on language; its intent is to d is c u s s other
co n sid e r a tio n s on the topic. In other w ords, I want to read other v ie w p o in ts on la n g u a g e, made by other people than the poet.
L anguage is a top ic w h ich has a lw a y s pu zzled scholars. P erhaps, L anguage's s e lf-r e fle x iv ity came about w hen the very first 'speakers' started com m u nicatin g through words. That m eans to say, la n g u a g e has alw a y s been com plex and paradoxical for p e o p le , due to its u n lim ited realm o f p o s s i b i l it i e s , and, so m e tim e s, b lan k n ess.
In th is chapter, I w i l l briefly d is c u s s texts by Saussure, L u dw ig W ittg en stein , and George Steiner. I think it is a n e cessary step before I go on w ith the a n a ly s is o f D ic k in s o n 's work, sin ce it may be in stru m en tal for the un derstanding o f important a sp ects on lan gu age, th ou gh th is th e o re tica l background w ill not 'guide' my a n a ly sis later on, but h elp creating it. A ls o , I think it is important to have different v ie w s on the th em e, so that w e can o c c a s io n a lly compare them to D ic k in s o n 's ow n v ie w s and see how the poet's id eas on it can be differen t or sim ilar to th o se o f the scholars.
B efore goin g to the tex ts th e m s e lv e s , I w ou ld lik e to raise an i s s u e o f r elevan ce for the work as a w h o le . In the p r e v io u s chapter, I m en tioned the in e ffic ie n c y o f lan gu age in com m u n icatin g, in e x p r e ss in g fe e lin g s and em otion s. S h iftin g the focu s now to the th e o r e ticia n s , w e can surely find the same concern w ith the 'sayable'
and the 'un sayab le.' This is probably the track I w ill fo llo w in the chapter, so that I can a c h ie v e a r ea so n a b le answer to my first q u e s tio n s; for th o s e concerned w ith w h eth er or not lan gu age co m m u n ic a te s, la n g u a g e is so m e tim e s a fa ilu r e , som etim es s u c c e s s f u l, so m e tim e s no better than s ile n c e .
The fir s t im portant con cep t to be exam ined is Saussure's d is tin c tio n b e tw e e n 'sig n ifier ' and 's ig n ifie d .' For the lin g u is t, the link b e tw e e n the nam e and the thin g it refers to is not p h y sic a l; it is arbitrary and m en tal. Instead o f 'name' and 'thing,' Saussure u s e s the terms 'sound im a g e' and 'con cept.' T hese tw o elem en ts are united in a p s y c h o lo g ic a l w a y , and one r ec a lls the other. The sound im age is the 's ig n ifie r ,' w h ic h has a m aterial q u ality, as opp osed to the co n cep t, w h ic h is the 's ig n if ie d .' The tw o o f them m ake up the sign. The s ig n has an arbitrary nature, for it resu lts from an arbitrary a ss o c ia tio n ; that i s , the s ig n if ie r "actually has no natural connection w ith the s ig n if ie d ." !
In R ea d in g S a u ssu re. R. Harris d is c u s s e s Saussure's Cours de L in gu istiq u ^ . p r e se n tin g the lin g u is t ic s ig n as b e in g co n stitu ted by m en tal e le m en ts rather than by p h y sic a l o n e s. The sig n is the co m b in a tio n o f s ig n if ie r and s ig n if ie d , but it is ordinarily v iew ed as the sound im age it s e lf . A c co rd in g to H aris, th en , Saussure's merits lie
in d is tin g u is h in g b e tw e en "The 'sound' o f a word in the sense o f its
i m a g e a c o u s t i q u i and the 'sound' o f the a sso cia te d acoustic phenom ena. "2
Thus, the difference betw een the sound im age and its a s s o c ia te d a c o u s tic phenomena relates to the lin g u is tic sig n being "construed sim p ly as a mental com b ination o f a certain sound pattern w ith a certain m e a n i n g . C o n s e q u e n t l y the internal relation sh ip b e tw e en s ig n ifie r and s ig n ifie d is arbitrary. This is an important p r in c ip le o f lin g u i s t i c s as elucidated by Saussure. Arbitrariness o f la n g u a g e h ow ever, has noth ing to do w ith in d iv id u a l c h o ic e , but with la n g u a g e b eing a s o c ia l in s titu tio n w h ic h g o e s beyond all others and has a unique character:
. . . l a l an gu e, cla im s Saussure, is arbitrary in a unique way.
The a b sen ce both o f external and internal constraints on the pairin g s i g n i f i a n t s w ith particular s i g n i f i é s m eans that for any g iv e n la n g u a g e the ch oice o f actual s ig n s ( e .g . s o e u r ) from am ong the range o f p o s s ib le s ig n s ( zo e u r , soeuf,
p a t a p l u . . . ) is entirely unconstrained. This ab solu te freedom
to vary 'arbitrarily' is the fundamental reason Saussure w ill adduce for the remarkable d iv ersity o f human la n g u a g es and the no l e s s remarkable s u s c e p tib ility o f la n g u a g es to quite revolutionary structural chan ges. Other so cia l in s titu tio n s are not free to vary in this way b e cau se changes in their case (e c o n o m ic , le g a l, p o litic a l, e tc .) have im m ed iate m aterial co n se q u e n c e s for the members o f so c iety . Thus althou gh la
la ng u e is a s o c ia l in s titu tio n • and in certain asp ects the very
archetype o f a so c ia l in stitu tion - its arbitrariness g iv e s it a structural autonomy v is d vis so c ie ty w h ich w ould be un th in k ab le (and incom p reh en sib le) in the case o f any other e s ta b lis h e d s o c ia l in s titu tio n .4
Saussure s h o w s , therefore, that la n g u a g e is an arbitrary entity w h ic h e x is t s "only through the a s s o c ia t in g o f the s ig n ifie r w ith the s i g n i f i e d . "5 This p r o cess o f a ss o c ia tio n is h ow we 'name.' N am ing is m en ta l and arbitrary. U nderstanding is p o s s ib le becau se there is a shared valu e w h ic h is attributed to a sig n . But sin ce langu age is an ab stra ctio n , the id e n tity and the valu es o f w ords can be confused . Iden tity can be v ie w e d as the word it s e lf , but the valu e o f a word is not w ith in the word it s e lf . It has to do w ith what the word brings to m ind, the realm o f diversity that the word in vok es through p s y c h o lo g ic a l fla s h e s and a ss o cia tio n s.
In short, lan gu age is a com p lex sy stem made up by the o p p o s itio n o f con crete u n ions. The s ig n ifie d and the s ig n ifie r com p ose the s ig n . The s ig n , then, is the arbitrary name. Thus, langu age is an attempt towards rep resen ting the world, r ep resen tin g elem en ts w h ic h lie o u ts id e the word. Saussure sees it as "the most com p lex and u n iv e r sa l o f a ll sy stem s o f expression."^ And y et, this system o f r ep resen tation is arbitrary and pervaded by am b igu ity.
We have b riefly exam ined the way a lin g u ist v ie w s langu age. In l in g u i s t i c s , lan gu age is the object o f study, an articulated form o f e x p r e s s in g m e s s a g e s . It is se en from a m aterial p e r sp e c tiv e , takin g into account its parts and c h a r a cter istics. It is an 'object.' How w ou ld a p h ilo so p h er v ie w lan gu age? First o f a ll, w e must have in mind that p h ilo s o p h y stu d ies r eality as a w h o le , trying to apprehend the m ost o f it in order to understand it better. Language is one part o f r ea lity , one o f the m ost im portant, w e must say, but it is not rea lity it s e lf . L in g u is tic a works w ith lan gu age through a m e ta lin g u is tic d is c o u r se , w h erea s p h ilo so p h y d oes it through a p a r a lin g u istic one. That is to sa y . L in g u is tic s u se s la n g u a g e to go after it s e lf . It is la n g u a g e trying to see how i t s e l f represents the world. It is la n g u a g e as s e lf-r e fle c tio n . P h ilo s o p h y u se s la n g u a g e not to go after lan g u a g e i t s e lf , but to go beyond it and to apprehend the w orld, ev en th ou gh , as w e w i l l see n e x t, la n g u a g e's rep resen tation o f the w orld is lim ited .
Language is important to human lif e in that it d irectly affects human r e la tio n sh ip s, and it is d e fin ite ly r e sp o n s ib le for the m ovin g o f s o c ie ty . I d e o lo g ie s , a d vertisem en ts, d is a g r e e m e n ts, ev en wars are c o n v e y ed through lan g u a g e and, not rarely, b ec a u se o f it. C om prehending lif e , therefore, has to do w ith com prehending la n g u a g e , e s p e c ia lly b e c a u se it is through lan g u a g e that we try to
express what w e se e o f the world. C o n se q u e n tly , what comes to mind is the q u estio n o f representation. If la n g u a g e is our principal means to convey and represent reality, then our representation o f it is not 'reliab le.' L u dw ig W ittg en ste in , in his Tractatus L o g ic o -P h ilo so p h icu s, states: "What fin d s its reflection in la n g u a g e , la:nguage can not represent . ” ^ L an guage is v iew ed as a mirror, as an im age o f som eth in g e ls e , and here we must reca ll S a u ssu re ’s statement o f the word b ein g the s ig n for som ething w h ic h is elsew h ere. The rep resen tation o f th is 'else' is distant from it. R eality is distan t from the p r o p o sitio n o f it s e lf .
W ittg en ste in d is c u s s e s the d iffe re n c e betw een nam ing and d e sc rib in g . The latter is a p o s s ib le operation; the same can not be said about th e former. D e sc rib in g im p lie s tak in g into account 'how' som eth in g is; n am in g , 'what' it is. In d e sc r ib in g , we must point out c h a r a cter istics w h ic h are present in the th in g d escrib ed , that is , w e are sen d in g the m ean in g towards other words that, in turn, try to com p ose the sig n ific a n t w h o le . N am in g is d e fin ite ly more com plex, sin ce sayin g what so m eth in g 'is* m eans g iv in g it a nam e, that represents it. This name is the arbitrary sig n stated by Sau ssure. A s sig n ifica n t exam p les,
The s ig n through w h ich we exp ress the thought I call the p r e p o sitio n a l sign . And the p r o p o sitio n is the p ro p o sitio n a l sign in its p r o jec tiv e relation to the world.®
Here the p h ilo so p h er states the idea o f langu age as rep resen tation . First, there is the thou ght, the mental concept, as put by Sau ssu re, w h ic h is exp ressed by the sign . The sig n , the "projective rela tio n to the world," is the rep resen tation o f the world. This is how w e ex p ress our th ou gh ts. Then, w e have the acknow ledgem en t o f the lim ita tio n s o f su ch a representation;
O bjects I can only name. Signs represent them. I can only speak o f them. I cannot
a s s e r t them. A p ro p o sitio n can only say how
a thin g is , not w h a t it is. ^
The gap b etw een reality and the representation o f it becom es clearer, in that the a ssertio n o f it is im p o s s ib le , g iv e n the fact that the 'What', the e s s e n c e , can not be uttered. The 'what' lie s outsid e la n g u a g e. We can 'name' th in gs - that is the process explained by Sau ssu re, the sig n nam ing th in gs through an arbitrary a sso cia tio n o f s ig n if ie d and s ig n ifie r - but w e can not 'assert' them .
A c l e a r e r s t a t e m e n t o f the g a p r e p r e s e n t a t i o n / r e a l i t y can be fo u n d in t h e f o l l o w i n g p a s s a g e by W i t t g e n s t e i n :
P ro p o sitio n s can represent the w h ole
r eality, but they cannot represent what they must have in common w ith reality ...
That w h ic h mirrors i t s e l f in la n g u a g e, lan gu age cannot represent. That w h ich e x p r e ss e s i t s e l f in lan gu age, we cannot express by la n g u a g e.
The p h ilo so p h er , th u s , gradually m oves from the p e rsp ectiv e that lan g u a g e is the r ep re sen ta tio n o f the w orld, to the fact that there is an ab so lu te gap b e tw e e n this represen tation and the w orld its e lf. Language is only a mirror for what it r eflects. If we take this gap into account, the q u e s tio n about the e x is te n c e o f real com m u n ication ar ises. We must so m ew h a t digress in order to make clear what is understood by c om m u n ication .
C o m m u n ica tio n , in its primary s e n s e , in v o lv e s b a s ic a lly tw o or more e le m en ts and som ething to be said; receptor, sender, and m e s sa g e . A w ish to understand and to be un derstood is a lso required, w h erein com es the need o f a shared k n o w led g e; in other w ords, the tw o elem en ts in the p r o c e ss must have a sim ilar e xp erien ce concerning what is b e in g said . The problem lie s in this sim ila r ity o f exp erien ce.
How can we m easure exp erien ce? If e x p e rien ce is som ething one a cq uires w h en one liv e s it, it is a private phenom enon. I f each o f us has h er/h is ow n e x p e rien ce , that is , i f the o u ts id e world ca u se s differen t im p r e s sio n s on each person, exp erien ce is unique. Perhaps it ifl about the u n iq u e n es s o f private experien ce that W ittg en stein w rites w h en he m en tio n s the 'un sayab le.' M ystic ex p erien ce is private and can not be alw a y s uttered. On that, wrote Werner L ein fellner:
It seem s that W ittg e n ste in , under the in flu e n c e Schopenhauer's role o f
c o n te m p la tio n in Art, fo llo w s here h is early m aster : There are, according to him , th in g s that can not be put into words. But they make th e m s e lv e s m a n ife st. They are what is m y stic a l. 11
In s a y in g that som e th in g s "can be said," it is understood that there are th in g s that can be sp ok en o f better than others. W ittg e n ste in g iv e s r elev a n ce to m eta p h y sic s as being this a sp ect o f liv in g w h ic h is more d if f ic u lt , so m e tim e s im p o s s ib le , to talk about. M etap h ysics g o e s beyond p h y s ic s , that is , beyond the e lu c id a tio n o f phenom ena w h ic h can be se en or reason ed m a te r ia lis tic a lly . It d ea ls w ith the realm o f th in k in g im m a te ria lity , th in k in g the being;
The right method o f p h ilo s o p h y w ould be th is. To say nothing ex ce p t what can be said , i.e. the p r o p o sitio n s o f natural
sc ie n c e , i.e. som eth in g that has nothing to do w ith philosoph y; and then a lw a y s, when so m e o n e e ls e w ish ed to say som eth in g m e ta p h y s ic a l, to dem onstrate to him that he had g iv e n no m eaning to certain sig n s in his p r o p o s itio n s. 12
Here, W ittg en stein enters the realm o f the 'unsayable' and d iffe re n tia tes th in g s that can be sa id from th o se that cannot. But what can be m ade out o f what can not be said? B efore goin g to the answ er, I w ould lik e to fo cu s attention on one more in terestin g prop osition in the T ractatus. H avin g pointed out all the r ela tiv ity o f langu age and com m u n ication , a ll the p o s s i b i l i t i e s , and, so m etim es, the lack o f p o s s ib ilit ie s ra ised by la n g u a g e, the author question s ab solute truth itself;
W hatever w e see could be other than it is. W hatever w e can d escrib e at a ll could be other than it is.^^
In this s e n s e , lan g u a g e im p oses severe lim ita tio n s to rea lity , so diverse and p erson al that no d e sc r ip tio n can ever be thought o f as a mirror for it. In other words, la n g u a g e and r ea lity , language and truth
im p ose lim its on each other, sin ce they are not com patible. Language has becom e the m ain v e h ic le for hum anity's com m u nication , for each one's reality; and yet, it cannot but d istort reality.
N o w w e report back to the p rev io u s questions concerning what can be m ade out o f what can not be said. A ccordin g to W ittg e n ste in , s ile n c e is the answer: "What w e cannot speak about we m ust p ass over in silence."^^ In order to avoid tautology and u s e le s s s p eech it is n e c ess a r y to 'shut up.' L an gu age g o e s only so far. Further is s i l en c e.
In c lo s in g th is short d i s c u s s i o n on W ittgen stein 's p r o p o sitio n s on la n g u a g e , it is w orth q u otin g a s ig n ifica n t p a s sa g e o f h is work, in w h ic h he m akes a c o m p a riso n betw een langu age and dressing;
So m uch so , that from the ex tern a l form o f the c lo th e s one cannot infer the form o f the thought they c lo th e, b ecau se the extern al form o f the c lo th e s is constructed w ith quite
another ob ject than to let the form o f the body be r ec o g n ize d .
After h a v in g exam ined som e id e a s on langu age by Saussure — lan gu age as rep resen tation o f the w orld — and by W ittg e n ste in —
the gap b e tw e e n representation o f the w o r ld (la n g u a g e ) and the word i t s e l f — , w e w o u ld lik e to d is c u ss som e id ea s brought up by George Steiner in h is book Language and S i l e n c e . Steiner a lso evokes the lim ita tio n s o f la n g u a g e and its failu re to com m unicate, but presents the p ow er o f lan g u a g e and its im portance to humanity as w e ll. He d is c u s s e s the role o f language in m odern so c ie ty and its c r is is , h ig h lig h t in g im portant historical a sp ec ts o f lan gu age and literature, c o m m e n tin g on the relation s b etw een la n g u a g e and humanity.
The author presents lan gu age in the period o f C h ristian ity as b e in g p rim o rd ia l, as a powerful instrum ent on w h ic h humans depended entirely:
The prim acy o f the word, o f that w h ic h can be sp o k e n and comm unicated in d is c o u r s e , was c h a r a c te r istic o f the Greek and Judaic gen iu s and carried over into C h ristia n ity . The c la s s ic and the C hristian sen se o f the word strive to order r ea lity w ith in the go v ern a n ce o f
la n g u a g e . Literature, p h ilo s o p h y , th e o lo g y , la w , the arts o f history, are endeavours to e n c lo s e w ith in the bounds o f ra tio n a l discou rse the sum o f human ex p erien ce, its recorded past, its presen t condition and future
In the se v en tee n th -cen tu ry , h ow ever, areas o f k n o w led g e other than the h u m a n ities, su ch as m ath em atics, start to "recede from the sphere o f verbal s t a t e m e n t . " T h a t is to say, these areas begin to formulate their ow n system s o f com m u n ication and verbal lan gu age is no longer their v e h ic le sin c e the k n o w led g e conveyed by them is not e a sily tran slated into lan gu age. The grow in g o f autonom ous and peculiar c od es for natural s c ie n c e s fostered the apparition o f a long bridge b etw e en lan g u a g e and th ese new codes;
Where b io lo g y turns tow ards chem istry, and bio c h e m istry is at present the h ig h ground it tends to relin q u ish the descrip tiv« for the enum erative. It abandons the word for the figure. 1*7
A s a r e su lt, la n g u a g e lo s e s its authority and its aura, and begins to be se e n from a n ew p e r sp e ctiv e ; c o n fid e n c e on it d e clin e s;
This b e l i e f is no longer u n iv ersa l. C on fid en ce in it d e c lin e s after the age o f M ilto n . The cause and history o f that d e c lin e throw sharp lig h t on the
c ircu m stan ces o f modern literature and lan gu age.
L an guage is no longer the con veyer o f truth, but o f i t s e l f on ly, w h erein com es the d iv isio n o f exp erien ce and p erception o f reality in to differen t realm s, w h ich are not equivalen t.
The actu al facts o f the case • the space continu um o f r ela tiv ity , the atom ic
structure o f a ll matter, the w a v e -p a r tic le state o f energy - are no lo n g er a c c e s s ib le through the word. It is no paradox to a sser t that in cardinal resp ec ts reality n o w b e g in s ou tsid e verbal la n g u a g e .
Stein er p o s e s the dichotom y w o r d s /f e e lin g s , statin g that it is p o s s ib le to put into words what one s e e s , but not what one fe e ls . What in f e lt is anterior to or ou tsid e la n g u a g e, And this fact c a u ses trem endous r eso n a n c es on modern Art. A s la n g u a g e is no lon ger at the center o f l i f e , r e a lity has no e q u iv a len c e w ith w ords anymore. Art may not be tra n sp o se d into lan gu age, but into Art itself:
B e c a u s e the community o f tra d itio n a l valu es is sp lin te r e d , because words th e m s e lv e s have b een tw is t e d and cheapened, b e c a u se the c l a s s i c forms o f statem ent and m etaphor are y ie l d in g to com p lex, tra n sitio n a l m o d e s, the art o f read in g, o f true lite ra c y , m ust be r e c o n s titu te d .20
M ea n w h ile , and p a r a d o x ic a lly enough , Steiner str es se s the e s s e n t i a l ly verb al character o f w e ste rn c iv iliz a t io n . W estern thou ght a r tic u la tes i t s e l f verb ally in many s ig n ific a n t parts o f our liv es:
We take this character for granted. It is the root and bark o f our e x p e rien ce and w e can not read ily tran sp ose our im a g es ou tsid e it. We liv e in s id e the act o f d i s c o u r s e .21
The pow er literature exerts over hum anity is o f b o u n d less s ig n if i c a n c e , as the reader's c o n s c io u s n e s s is o c cu p ied by great w a v e s o f im p r e s s io n com in g from a great n o v e l or poem . In this a sp ec t, literatu re ch a n g e s rea lity , 'literating' humans:
A great poem , a c l a s s i c n o v e l, p ress in upon us; they a s s a il and occu p y the strong p la c es o f our c o n s c io u s n e s s . They e x er c ise upon our im a g in a tio n and d e s ir e s , upon our am b ition s and m ost covert dream s, a strange, b r u isin g m a ste r y .22
And what pow er d oes th is literacy bring to humanity? What d oes it m ean b ein g able to sp ea k or to w rite? Sp eech has taken us a w ay from the natural w o rld , from the com pany o f the a n im als. In
being able to sp ea k , we fic tio n a liz e our th o u g h ts, our fe e lin g s , and we e v en come c lo s e r to divinity:
Man's con trol o f the word has a lso hammered at the door o f gods. More than fire, w h ose pow er to illu m in e or to c o n su m e , to spread and to draw inward, it so str a n g e ly
r e s e m b le s , sp ee ch is the core o f man's m u tin ou s rela tio n s to the g o d s .23
Steiner illu s tr a te s this p ow er o f langu age w ith practical exam p les drawn out o f modern h isto r y , and poin ts out the destructive quality that la n g u a g e p o s s e s s e s i f u sed for n e g a tiv e ends. The German la n g u a g e, for h im , not only happened to be the langu age o f n a zism , but it a lso helped m ake the war and the h o lo c a u st:
N e w lin g u i s t s were at hand to make o f the German langu age a p o lit ic a l w ea p o n more to ta l and e ffe c tiv e than any history had k n ow n , and to degrade the d ig n ity o f human sp e e c h to the l e v e l o f b a y in g w o l v e s . 2 4
E m ily D ic k in s o n , as we w i l l s e e , is lik e w is e aware o f the power o f la n g u a g e , o f its u se as a w e a p o n . In poem J .8, for exam p le, she c a lls a tten tio n to th is aspect:
There is a word W hich bears a sword
Can pierce an armed man — It hurls its barbed sy lla b le s And is mute again —
But where it fe ll The saved w i l l te ll On patriotic day.
Som e ep au letted Brother Gave h is breath, away.
(...)
Here w e see clearly that w ith her game o f words -— w o r d s/sw o r d , arm ed/barbed — the poet p resen ts langu age as a w eapon w h ic h can "pierce an armed man." A n d, in fact, a weapon that can k ill. The "epauletted Brother" who "gave h is breath away" is not o n ly the v ictim o f a m etal sw ord, but rather o f the word as a sword, as a dangerous sw ord w h ic h can be used to k i l l and be 'mute' again. Here w e have the dan ger o f the w ords in u se, o f la n g u a g e being able to d estroy and fa ll in to s ile n c e , alw ays ready to be sp ok en again.
