Poetique
From: | Gary Shannon <fiziwig@...> |
Date: | Friday, December 26, 2003, 16:46 |
It occured to me to wonder what a conlang would look
like if it were designed specifically for use in
poetry. Some random thoughts:
The poet must have a choice of many different ways of
expressing a particular thought.
[] The word order must be very flexible.
[] The stressed vowel must be marked so
that rythm is clearly defined for each word.
[] Each word has a prescribed rhythm with
which it is spoken.
[] There must be a good supply of synonyms
and near-synonyms.
[] There might be more than one way of
conjugating a verb. For example, suppose
"ti" is the first person singular pronoun
affix that is suffixed to the verb "núnya"
as "núnyti", 'nnyáti", or prefixed to
the verb in modified form as "tnúnya",
or "tínnya". Depending on the requirements
of meter and rhyme all four forms are
acceptable.
The words must flow pleasantly both individually and
in combination.
[] Harsh and gutteral sounds should be
avoidable, yet harsh sounds should be
available for use where aesthetically
appropriate.
[] Each word must have a particular
metrical pattern that it fits.
[] Rhyming should not be the result of some
rigid form of word endings.
( E.g., rhyming is easy of every word
is requireded to end in "-ambo")
[] The joining of words should allow for
maximum euphony. Word endings may have
different forms depending on what sound
starts the following word. "dóban dkámatu"
vs "dóbam bósa" vs "dóbani tása"
where "dóban", "dóbani" and "dóbam" are
alternate forms of the same word.
What other qualities might an explicity poetic
language posses?
--gary
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