Abstract
This article asks how the properties of symmetry and asymmetry, as aesthetic properties, are realized in literary language. I will argue that language makes available many kinds of asymmetry, and that the asymmetry often holds between two elements which are at the same time in a symmetric relation. This coincidence of an asymmetric and a symmetric relation between the same linguistic elements may be one source of the aesthetics of literary language.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 50-59 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | European English Messenger |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 24 Apr 2009 |
Keywords
- linguistics
- aesthetics
- metre
- english studies