Ontological Poetics: An Interpretation Of Understanding Poetry

Cleanth Brooks (1906-1994) and Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989) are key figures in American literary theory circle of all times. After establishing a worldwide fame through the publication of Understanding Poetry in 1938, Brooks and Warren's continuous writing and fruitful achievements have secured their position in the field of literary criticism. As the influential members of the New Criticism, the collaborators and disciples of John Crowe Ransom (1888-1974)—the founder of ontological poetics, Brooks and Warren are impacted by Ransom, and their Understanding Poetry surely shows great concern for his ontological criticism, especially in the inseparable relation between poetry and the experiential world, and the mutually related internal elements in composing an organic unity. They take pains to explain how to understand poetry. Their comprehensive consideration, their detailed analysis and induction, and their numerous subtle illustrations are all aimed at an ideal way of evaluating poetry.Although western critics have commented on the great contributions of this textbook, few materials are available and less attention has been paid to this book in China. Therefore, by employing the ontological poetics and the methodology of text analysis, this thesis is going to cast a new angle of view on Brooks and Warren's Understanding Poetry, attempting to probe into the theories embodied in this textbook from two perspectives, that is, beyond it, poesy is a written experience; in it, poetry is an organic unity, meanwhile, pointing out that the best way to interpret poetry is to experience it.Brooks and Warren have enumerated uncountable poems to explore the disparities and connections under the due categories in the course of searching for the ways to study poetry in a better and more reasonable way. Their persistent explanation of the specific methods and their application to correlative poems would always encourage people all over the world to tirelessly explore the truth of the poetry and appreciate the beauty of it.Besides the introduction and the conclusion, this thesis falls into three chapters.The introduction mainly includes a brief introduction to the New Criticism. Among the representatives of this movement, Brooks and his main literary thought are emphasized. Then, it gives a brief review of Warren, including a biographical recommendation and a brief generalization of his law of impure poetry. In the literature review, the present writer summarizes the critical reaction to the New Criticism at home and abroad. Besides, the theoretical basis of this thesis—Ransom's ontological poetics is generally introduced in this part. Finally, the present writer states the organization of this thesis.Chapter one is devoted to making a brief analysis of the general structure of and the critical responses to Understanding Poetry, and the embodied ontological view is generally introduced.Chapter two analyzes the first five sections of Understanding Poetry by dividing them into three parts according to the truth of poetry, the beauty of poesy, and the coexistence of truth and beauty. In this chapter, the present writer intends to explain that poetry is a reflection of experience.Chapter three is mainly about the application of the law of organic unity on specific poems through the discussion of the difference and connection of the poems respectively relating to the image of the bird and the mother. In this chapter, the present writer attempts to prove that poetry is not an isolated entity, since a poem is historically and culturally connected with other poems.Based on the above analysis, this thesis comes to the conclusion that Brooks and Warren successfully present readers enough evidence to support Ransom's ontological poetics in Understanding Poetry. At the same time, on the account of the limited resources at hand, this thesis cannot do a deeper study on this book and the detailed studies of the appendixes remain unsolved. But the present writer hopes this study can arouse people's interest in exploring the academic value of this book with no discrimination to the New Criticism, to some extent, by regarding it as an unscientific, irrational and one-sided literary movement.