Conclusion

Abstract

The Conclusion argues that ‘poetry’ is an idea which emerges most clearly in the absence of lineated text and requires a context to arise and be realized. As the analysis of Woolf’s and Cecchi’s works shows, ‘poetry’ as an idea has no stability or autonomous existence but only emerges from the interaction with its opposite, ‘prose’. As poeticality consists in a broad, open spectrum of elements which are selected and emphasized differently by different literary communities, Woolf’s and Cecchi’s notions of ‘poetry’ illuminate this spectrum in distinctive ways. While they both emphasize ‘poetry’ as an emotional experience rather than a special language, they explore and prioritize different aspects of lyricism, ranging from the epiphanic and visual to the dramatic-choral and epistemological, coming back together into the notion of ‘poetry’ as pure form. These case studies demonstrate that cross-cultural investigations can improve the accuracy with which we understand literary categories.