On the interplay between speech and writing: Where Wordsworth and Zen discourse meet

Abstract

This study juxtaposes the texts of two culturally distinct genres: poetry, Wordsworth in particular, and Zen koans. The koan, a genre unique to Zen Buddhism, refers to the enigmatic, paradoxical dialogues stemming from ancient Chinese Zen monastic life, which are still used as a means of leading Zen trainees to enlightenment. Wordsworth's poetry, although culturally and generically different from the koan, is also concerned with the growth of the individual mind. This investigation focuses on the interplay between speech and writing in both Wordsworth and Zen koans, a subject that, given the emphasis on contrasting modes of examination, has not been given much attention. To explore the speech-writing interface in discourse, this paper centers on three particular linguistic-semiotic issues: direct speech, questions, and affective signification. By using (re)immediacy as a central concept resulting from speech-writing interplay, this paper argues that a mixed-mode representation is freighted with ideological significance, influencing the production and reception of the texts.