The Life of Words

Etymology and Modern Poetry

David-Antoine Williams

Traces lines of continuity, as well as discontinuities, between ancient, medieval, and modern linguistic thought in a literary context, with an emphasis on the study of words
Provides a technical account of the different functions of etymological tropes in modern poetry, with a large number of examples
Includes analyses of archival material and unpublished lectures by Geoffrey Hill, as well as readings of the posthumous Book of Baruch by the Gnostic Justin

The Life of Words

Etymology and Modern Poetry

David-Antoine Williams

Description

For centuries, investigations into the origins of words were entwined with investigations into the origins of humanity and the cosmos. With the development of modern etymological practice in the nineteenth century, however, many cherished etymologies were shown to be impossible, and the very idea of original 'true meaning' asserted in the etymology of 'etymology' declared a fallacy. Structural linguistics later held that the relationship between sound and meaning in language was 'arbitrary', or 'unmotivated', a truth that has survived with small modification until today. On the other hand, the relationship between sound and meaning has been a prime motivator of poems, at all times throughout history.

The Life of Words studies a selection of poets inhabiting our 'Age of the Arbitrary', whose auditory-semantic sensibilities have additionally been motivated by a historical sense of the language, troubled as it may be by claims and counterclaims of 'fallacy' or 'true meaning'. Arguing that etymology activates peculiar kinds of epistemology in the modern poem, the book pays extended attention to poems by G. M. Hopkins, Anne Waldman, Ciaran Carson, and Anne Carson, and to the collected works of Geoffrey Hill, Paul Muldoon, Seamus Heaney, R. F. Langley, and J. H. Prynne.

The Life of Words

Etymology and Modern Poetry

David-Antoine Williams

The Life of Words

Etymology and Modern Poetry

David-Antoine Williams

Author Information

David-Antoine Williams, Associate Professor, St Jerome's University in the University of Waterloo

David-Antoine Williams is Associate Professor of English at St Jerome's University in the University of Waterloo. He was educated at Harvard University, The University of St Andrews, and Balliol College, Oxford. His previous book, Defending Poetry: Art and Ethics in Joseph Brodsky, Seamus Heaney, and Geoffrey Hill, was published by Oxford University Press in 2010.

The Life of Words

Etymology and Modern Poetry

David-Antoine Williams

Reviews and Awards

"The central thrust of this erudite book is the meaning of words—the use of poetic figures and prosody. Williams's extensive knowledge of languages and how language works in poetry is apparent throughout the book...Valuable for scholars of poetry, philology, critical theory, and linguistics. Summing Up: Highly recommended." - CHOICE