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Aesthetics of poetry: a Kant-inspired account

Out of all literary forms, poetry is the one whose relation to aesthetics seems the least problematic. Poetry touches us perceptually via its melodic, rhythmical language, it ‘paints’ rich imagery, it arouses emotions, captures imagination, inspires reflection and, on the whole, is beautiful, even if it takes some work to explicate what goes into this beauty. Focusing on how poetry’s formal features inspire and contribute to the multifarious ways in which poetry engages us reflectively, moves us emotionally and leaves us with a strong sense of having experienced something beautiful, I set out to ground the aesthetics of poetry. My background is Kant’s theory of fine arts. Relying on his explication of poetic creation (KU §46 – 50), and his justification for valuing poetry above all other arts (KU §51 – 53), I develop an account of the aesthetics of poetry centred on reader’s experience. I focus on the connection between form and content, i.e. between aesthetic attributes and aesthetic ideas. This connection supports “commonplaces” regarding poetry – according to P. Lamarque, these include the experiential thesis, the form/content unity thesis, heresy of paraphrase thesis and the semantic density thesis – and it helps us settle some issues regarding poetry’s ways of handling abstract thought. Analyzing how readers attend to the aesthetic ideas expressed in a poem, I elaborate on Kant’s claim that poetry “expands the mind” (KU §53), which enables me to show that strictly formalistic interpretations of Kant should be amended with cognitivism. Only such inclusive theory can ground the aesthetics of poetry sufficiently rich to accommodate all segments of poetic experience. I end by considering one obstacle for grounding aesthetics of poetry in this ‘inclusive’ interpretation of Kant’s theory, namely his claim regarding disinterestedness as the proper aesthetic attitude.

aesthetic experience, Kant, poetry

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