The History and Future of the Book

Quiz on Andrews' "Divine Mind Fragment Theatre" and L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry

  1. The allusion to L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry is important in “Divine Mind Fragment Theatre” because:

    1. this poetry movement was characterized by wit, subtle argumentations, “conceits,” and/or the use of unusual similes or metaphors (this describes metaphysical poetry)

    2. this poetry movement challenged the notion of a “natural” presence of a speaker behind the text who provides meaning; it emphasized the reader’s role in bringing meaning to a work; it emphasized the disjunction between the language, or signifier, and the material thing it represented (an acceptable answer)

    3. this poetry movement suggested that the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme, etc. (this describes concrete poetry, where typography—the arrangement of print on a page—creates an image; an argument could be made that the typographical arrangement in "Divine Mind Fragment Theatre" fulfills a similar function to the visual arrangement of words in concrete poetry, but this was not the aim of L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry)

    4. this poetry movement opposed mainstream literary values of narrative, personal expression, formal organization, control, and bourgeoisie values (an acceptable answer)

    5. it’s not important at all—the author could have chosen any random passage, such as a speech from an episode of The Simpsons, and the poem would have the same effect and meaning (an acceptable answer, if you interpret the poem as an exercise in challenging literary values of authorial intent and the disjunction between language and the thing that is represented)

L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry

See:

Social Values and Poetic Acts by Jerome McGann.

"LANGUAGE POETRY" from The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics.

"What is 'Language Poetry'?" by Lee Bartlett. Critical Inquiry 12.4 (Summer 1986): 741-752.