Abstract
The article considers the poetry of Objectivist poet Charles Reznikoff as informed by the frequent use of rhetoric of silence. The analysis is two-fold: first, it explains the two theoretical key terms, sincerity and objectification, as distinct features of the Objectivist verse, which are crucial in the thematic framework of the analysis, and, second, it gives examples of the practical use thereof by Reznikoff, who is viewed as the poet-witness.
Highlights
The article considers the poetry of Objectivist poet Charles Reznikoff as informed by the frequent use of rhetoric of silence
In the present critical review of the ways in which the rhetoric of witnessing through silence is used in the poetry of American Objectivist poet Charles Reznikoff (1894-1976), I consider the key terms of reference, witnessing and silence, in three distinct but often overlapping fields of reflection – as the poet’s strategies against received logorrhea of “old” poetic discourse, his ethical mindset, and the manifestation of his social stance
The silence that is used as a rhetorical device becomes instrumental in approximating the objective quality of witnessing – the goal that, even if unattainable fully, patronizes Reznikoff’s poetic project
Summary
The article considers the poetry of Objectivist poet Charles Reznikoff as informed by the frequent use of rhetoric of silence.
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