Interpretations Of Phrases Research Articles

Poetry and Sufi commentary: a case of/for religious reading in premodern Sufism

ABSTRACT One of the obstacles in the study of post-classical Sufi literatures has been the sceptical attitude toward Sufi commentary on Arabic and Persian lyrical poetry (specifically ‘mystical’ or ‘Sufi allegorical’ readings of the lyric). This attitude has prevented a wider appreciation of Sufi interpretations of such poetry. While there are signs of a shift in attitudes as scholars grapple with different Sufi commentators and their discussions of notable verses, many still hold to their scepticism. Although studies of individual commentaries will be necessary to reform these attitudes, a general response to the sceptical views may help to orient those studies, particularly one that draws its evidence and arguments from representative Sufi commentators and theorists of the lyric. This paper attempts such a response. Following a brief outline of critiques of Sufi commentary, and the reasons for continued scepticism toward commentators, I suggest how shifting understandings around the ambiguity present in the lyric should help to make allegorical interpretations seem more plausible as a collection of meanings in the archive that was persuasive to many readers, the figurative language of the lyric being able to support both literary-historical and allegorical interpretations of words, phrases, or images in particular verses. Sufi commentators used this ambiguity as a means by which to explore the meanings of the allegory according to the principle ‘The figurative is the bridge to the Truth–Reality’. Sufi theorists, moreover, discussed how the figurative language of the lyric and its allegoresis by way of commentary could serve distinct functions for different kinds of readers in Sufi knowledge–practice. If the figurative form of the lyric was more suitable for non-Sufi readers or novices in Sufism to encounter its ‘specific meanings’, commentary, expressed in the technical language of Sufism, could assist more advanced Sufi readers to verify its ‘general meanings’. Far from diminishing the lyric, Sufi commentary only enhanced its value, showing it to possess both literary beauty as well as profound depth of meaning. I invoke Paul Griffiths’s ‘religious reading’ to suggest that an approach to the lyric that privileges the views of Sufi commentators is not only feasible, it can even be valuable for specialists of the lyric in the contemporary academy.

Probability and confidence: How to improve communication of uncertainty about uncertainty in intelligence analysis

AbstractIntelligence agencies communicate uncertainty to decision‐makers through verbal probability phrases that correspond to numerical ranges (i.e., probability lexicons) and ordinal levels of confidence. However, decision‐makers may misinterpret the relationship between these concepts and form inappropriate interpretations of intelligence analysts' uncertainty. In two experiments, four ways of conveying second‐order probability to decision‐makers were compared: (a) probability and confidence phrases written in the text of a report, (b) the addition of a probability lexicon, (c) the addition of a probability lexicon that varied numerical ranges according to the level of confidence (i.e., revised lexicon), and (d) a probability phrase written in text followed by a numerical range that varied according to the level of confidence. The revised lexicon was expected to improve interpretations of second‐order probability. The 275 participants in Experiment 1 and 796 participants in Experiment 2 provided numerical estimates corresponding to analytic judgments provided in descriptions about three overseas military operations and also indicated their support for approving or delaying the operations. The results demonstrated that providing the numerical range in the text of the report or providing a probability lexicon, improved interpretations of probability phrases above the verbal phrase‐only condition, but not interpretations of confidence. Participants were unable to correctly interpret confidence with respect to the precision of their estimate intervals and their decisions about the operations. However, in Experiments 2 and 3 the effects on these variables of providing decision‐makers with information about the source of the analyst's uncertainty were examined. In Experiment 3 (n = 510), providing this information improved correspondence between confidence level and approval of the operation. Recommendations are provided regarding additional methods of improving decision‐makers' interpretation of second‐order probability conveyed in intelligence reporting.

Generic interpretations of possessive recursion in English-speaking children

Two-part s-possessives such as the dad’s kid’s bike admit at least two distinct interpretations: the dad has a kid who has a bike, or the dad has a bike that is made for kids. We propose that the former interpretation derives from recursively embedding DP-possessives, and the latter from representing kid’s bike as a generic NP-possessive. Accordingly, in the right context, two-part s-possessives are fully ambiguous for adults between ‘recursive’ and ‘generic’ readings. These readings can be disambiguated syntactically. Consider the difference in meaning when we insert a relative clause and extract the constituent kid’s bike — the kid’s bike that is the dad’s — versus when we extract the head noun bike — the bike that is the dad’s kid’s. Our story-based experiment demonstrates that 4-7-year-olds (N=79) and adults (N=68) strongly favor (~80%) the generic interpretation of phrases like the kid’s bike that is the dad’s, as the A-over-A constraint blocks the extraction of a DP-possessive out of a recursive DP. Similarly, adults show a strong preference (~80%) for recursive interpretations of phrases like the bike that is the dad’s kid’s, as the A-over-A constraint blocks the extraction of the head noun bike out of the generic NP-possessive kid’s bike. However, 4-5-year-olds admit generic readings of these recursive phrases 54% of the time; it is not until 6 or 7 years that children show an adult-like preference for the recursive interpretation (~80%). These data support two complementary claims. First, that recursive possessives are acquired late on account of their syntax, and second that children, like adults, represent generic possessives under a different syntactic node than regular possessives.

Feature Uncertainty Predicts Behavioral and Neural Responses to Combined Concepts.

The cognitive and neural structure of conceptual knowledge affects how concepts combine in language and thought. Examining the principles by which individual concepts (e.g., diamond, baseball) combine into more complex phrases (e.g., "baseball diamond") can illuminate not only how the brain combines concepts but also the key ingredients of conceptual structure. Here we specifically tested the role of feature uncertainty in the modulation of conceptual brightness evoked by adjective-noun combinations (e.g., "dark diamond") in male and female human subjects. We collected explicit ratings of conceptual brightness for 45 noun concepts and their "dark" and "light" combinations, resulting in a measure reflecting the degree of conceptual brightness modulation in each noun concept. Feature uncertainty was captured in an entropy measure, as well as in a predictive Bayesian model of feature modulation. We found that feature uncertainty (i.e., entropy) and the Bayesian model were both strong predictors of these behavioral effects. Using fMRI, we observed the neural responses evoked by the concepts and combinations in a priori ROIs. Feature uncertainty predicted univariate responses in left inferior frontal gyrus, and multivariate responses in left anterior temporal lobe were predicted by degree of conceptual brightness modulation. These findings suggest that feature uncertainty is a key ingredient of conceptual structure, and inform cognitive neuroscience theories of conceptual combination by highlighting the role of left inferior frontal gyrus and left anterior temporal lobe in the process of flexible feature modulation during comprehension of complex language.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The meaning of a word depends on the words surrounding it. The challenge of understanding how flexible meaning emerges in language can be simplified by studying adjective-noun phrases. We tested whether the uncertainty of a feature (i.e., brightness) in a given noun concept (e.g., diamond) influences how the adjective and noun concepts combine. We analyzed feature uncertainty using two probabilistic measures, and found that feature uncertainty predicted people's explicit interpretations of adjective-noun phrases (e.g., "dark diamond"). Using fMRI, we found that combined concepts evoked responses in left inferior frontal gyrus and left anterior temporal lobe that related to our measures of feature modulation and uncertainty. These findings reveal the cognitive and neural processes supporting conceptual combination and complex language use.

Robert Boyer, Économie politique des capitalismes: Théorie de la régulation et des crises, La Découverte, 2015

This article presents a book review of Robert Boyer’s Economie politique des capitalismes: Theorie de la regulation et des crises, La Decouverte, 2015. This book shows the systematic framework of the regulation theory based on recent research by the network of economists working along this paradigm. The theory presents a significant message that the analysis of the diverse interactions between polity and economy and the interdependence of growth regimes is indispensable in the analysis of the varieties of capitalism. As the book was originally published in French, this book review provides careful translations and interpretations of French words and phrases in English to help readers understand the academic essence of the book completely. Furthermore, this review highlights the significance of the book with a systematic theoretical framework in the context of Japanese social sciences.

The Works of Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (Volume 1)

The Works of Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (Volume 1)

The Works of Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (Volume 1)

The Works of Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (Volume 1)

Interpreting Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying Legislation

When the Canadian medical assistance in dying (MAiD) legislation came into force in June 2016, it was widely noted that the meaning of some of its key terms and phrases was unclear. For example, questions were immediately raised about the meaning of “incurable illness, disease, or disability,” “advanced state of irreversible decline in capability,” and “natural death has become reasonably foreseeable.” Interpretation challenges are not uncommon with new legislation. However, in the context of something as significant as access to MAiD and potential criminal liability for getting the meaning of the legislation wrong, these challenges must be confronted by those who have the responsibility and authority to provide interpretative guidance to patients and health care practitioners. The risks of leaving uncertainty and confusion unaddressed in this context are significant both in terms of the seriousness of the consequences and the probability of occurrence. Some individuals may be denied access who should have access (too narrow interpretation) and some individuals may be given access who should not (too broad interpretation). Two individuals in the same circumstances may be treated differently (one allowed and one denied access) simply because their providers interpret the legislation differently. In addition, some individuals may forego effective symptom management in order to maintain the necessary capacity to reiterate their request for MAiD. Other patients may be roused from palliative sedation immediately prior to provision and, by definition, be brought back into a state of intolerable suffering in order to reiterate their request. Finally, the uncertainty about the meaning of key terms and phrases may have a chilling effect on physicians’ and nurse practitioners’ willingness to provide MAiD. With almost a year of experience of MAiD under the federal legislation, it is time for those who can help to clarify the meanings and correct the misunderstandings to do so. In the spirit of contributing to such a project, we propose a set of interpretations of key phrases in the legislation. We call upon all relevant entities to exercise their authority and capacity to provide interpretative guidance for, and education about, the practice of MAiD in Canada. They can do this by adopting, endorsing, and disseminating interpretations such as those presented in this paper.

DICTIONARY OF ISLAMIC FUNERAL TERMINOLOGY

In September 2015, The Institute of Human Rehabilitation, published a book entitled Dictionary of Islamic Funeral Terminology. In the absence of lexicographical material on the otherwise very rich Bosnian language, this dictionary presents only about 3500 burial terms. This dictionary is monolingual, words are accented and very well explained, which is why this book has the characteristics of the lexicon (it interprets customs, habits, obligations, prohibitions, etc.). For a better understanding of the book, it contains color photographs, frequent and numerous comparisons with other religions, and detailed interpretations of particular words or phrases.

Partition If You Must: Evidence for a No Extra Times Principle

Plural phrases are open to many interpretations in English, where cumulative interpretations of noun and verb phrases are possible without any disambiguating morphology. A sentence like Every week, the high school kids went to the movies or the ballgame might involve quantifying over multiple occurrences of a single scenario, in which subsets of the kids do different things, or it might involve quantifying over distinct scenarios, in which all of the kids do one thing or all of them do the other. We pursue the No Extra Times principle that favors interpretations where a phrase is construed as describing a single event taking place during a given time period. In two written interpretation studies, we found that participants more often interpret indeterminate sentences with disjunctive predicates by partitioning the set of individuals rather than partitioning the predicate to denote distinct scenarios or times. We conclude by offering some speculations about why partitioning the eventuality denoted by the verb phrase into multiple times is more costly than partitioning the entities denoted by its subject noun phrase into multiple sets.

A computational model of logical metonymy

The use of figurative language is ubiquitous in natural language texts and it is a serious bottleneck in automatic text understanding. A system capable of interpreting figurative expressions would be an invaluable addition to the real-world natural language processing (NLP) applications that need to access semantics, such as machine translation, opinion mining, question answering and many others. In this article we focus on one type of figurative language, logical metonymy, and present a computational model of its interpretation bringing together statistical techniques and the insights from linguistic theory. Compared to previous approaches this model is both more informative and more accurate. The system produces sense-level interpretations of metonymic phrases and then automatically organizes them into conceptual classes, or roles, discussed in the majority of linguistic literature on the phenomenon.

The Gesta Hungarorum of Anonymus, the Anonymous Notary of King B�la: A Translation

SEER, Vol.87,M. 4, October 200g DOCUMENT The Gesta Hungarorum ofAnonymus, theAnonymous Notary ofKing Bela:A Translation MARTYN RADY Introduction The Gesta Hungarorum oftheAnonymous NotaryofKing Bela is the oldestextantchronicleof the history of the Hungarians.It remains 'themostfamous, themostobscure,themostexasperating and most misleadingof all the earlyHungariantexts'.1Purporting to be an accountofthebackground, circumstances and immediate aftermath of theHungarianconquestofPannoniain thelateninthcentury, itwas mostprobablycomposedin theearlyyearsofthethirteenth century by a chancellery clerkwho had formerly been in theserviceofKing Bela III ofHungary(1172-96). The extant version, whichsurvives in a latethirteenth-century copy,is apparently incomplete.2 The soleMS, consisting of24 folios, wasfirst notedinthelibrary ofSchlossAmbras, outside Innsbruck, intheseventeenth century, from whereitwasmoved to Vienna in 1665,and muchlater,in 1928,to Budapest.3 Although detailsof theMS wereincludedin twoprintedseventeenth-century catalogues oftheimperial library, itstext wasnotpublished until1746.4 Betweenthenand the end of the nineteenth century, the MS was Martyn RadyisProfessor ofCentral EuropeanHistory atUCL SSEES. This translation is dedicatedto thememory of László Péter(1929-2008), forwhose diversion itwasbegun.The author ismostgrateful forthehelpandadvicegiventohim initspreparation byJánosBak,SimonMacLean,LászlóVeszprémy andtheanonymous readersofthe Slavonic andEast European Review. 1C. A. Macartney, The MedievalHungarian Historians: A Criticaland Analytical Guide, Cambridge, 1953, p. 59. 1The MS ends witha rhyming coupletwhichsuggests thatat leasta breakwas intended there, buta discussion ofevents promised inch.15isnotfollowed upintheextant text. 3ItisnowintheNational Széchényi Library, MSS, Cod. Lat.medii aevi, 403. 4Petrus Lambecius, Diarium Sacri Itineris Cellensis, Vienna,1666, p. 267;DanieldeNessel, Sciagraphia sive Prima Delineato etbrevis notitia magni corporis historiei, hactenus inediti, Vienna, 1692, p. 29;J. G. Schwandtner, Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum Veteres, ac Genuini, voi. 1,Vienna, 1746, pp. 1-38. 682 THE GESTA HUNGARORUM OF ANONYMUS republished morethana dozentimes.5 A scholarly edition, withcritical annotation, wasfirst published byGyulaPaulerandLászlóFejérpataky in 1900,6and a revisededitionby EmilJakubovich and Dezsö Pais in thefirst volumeofImreSzentpétery's Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum (2vols,Budapest, 1937;hereafter, SRH).1The Latintext hasbeentranslatedseveraltimesintoHungarian ,mostnotably by Pais,8as wellas intoRomanianand German.9 Whatfollows isthefirst rendering ofthe LatintextintoEnglish. There can scarcely be any documentfromthe Middle Ages that carries suchheavypolitical baggage.The description whichtheauthor givesofthepresenceand whereabouts ofpeoplesin CentralEurope during theninth century hasbeenextensively usedtobuttress historical claimsto territories in the twentieth century. Readingsof the Gesta Hungarorum werethususedafter 1918tojustify thecessionofTransylvaniatoRomaniaas wellas,after theSecondWorldWar,ofOroszvár to Czechoslovakia.10 In 1987,the Gesta acquiredparticular notoriety on accountofa full-page advertisement in TheTimes, paid forbythe Romanian government, affirming the validityof the chronicler's accountofa Romanianpresence intheCarpathian basinmorethana thousand yearsbefore.11 Fortunately, modernscholarly readings ofthe Gesta Hungarorum are lessbesetby politicalpartisanship since,in the post-Schengen worldoftheEU, onlydinosaurs care aboutwho was wherefirst. Nevertheless, former interpretations ofphrases, locations, personsand word-strings, preserved in an olderliterature, may yet serveto confusethe unwary, whilein remoteacademiccornersthe Jurassic Age is stillnotquiteover. The author of the Gesta,knownhistorically as the Anonymus (always thus), pretends togivea historically-grounded accountofearly Hungarianhistory thatdisregards thesongsofminstrels and theyarns ofyokels,12 butdoes in factnothing ofthesort.Anonymus's account 5Thesearelisted inGyulaPaulerandSándorSzilágyi (eds), AMagyar Honfoglalás Kútfoi, Budapest, 1900,pp. 385-86.The listomits a Romanianedition, published inthejournal Transilvania in 1899. 6Included inPaulerandSzilágyi, AMagyar Honfoglalás Kútfii, pp. 392-463. 7Aninternet version oftheLatintext isalsonowavailable: [accessed 19January 2009]. 8Dezso Pais, Magyar Anonymus Béla király jegyzqjének könyve a magyarok cselekedeteiröl, Budapest ,1926. 9See thus Paul Lazar Tonciulescu (ed.), Cronica Notarului Anonymus FapteleUngurilor, Bucharest, 1996, which alsogives details ofprevious Romanian translations; Gabriel Silagi and László Veszprémy(eds),Die 'Gesta Hungarorum' desAnonymen Notars. Die älteste Darstellung derungarischen Geschichte, Stuttgart, 1998. 1U Macartney,TheMedieval Hungarian Historians, p. 70. 11TheTimes, 7 April1907;reproduced in Laszloreter(ed.),Historians andthe History of Transylvania, Boulder, CO andNewYork,1992, pp. 197-201. u See below, Prologue andch.42. MARTYN RADY 683 is essentially a 'toponymie romance'thatseeksto explainplace names by reference to imaginedeventsand persons.Althoughhe getsthe namesoftheearliestHungarianrulersright, as wellas some ofthe earlytribalchieftains, he has the HungariansbeatingSlavonicand Romanianleaderswhosenamesare notattested to anywhere else,as wellas fighting theCumans(whoappearedin Europeonlyin thelate eleventh century) and,moreincredibly, theRomans.His description of powerrelations northoftheDanube in thelate ninthcentury is not supported by any otheraccount.It is at bestan attempt to project contemporary conditions backwards. Clearly, thereis a bitofcorrect history inAnonymus's work, and at leasta fewof his heroescan be 'cross-checked' againstinformation givenbyConstantine Porphyrogenitus, Liudprand ofCremonaandthe Annalsof St Gall.13Anonymus also borrows, extensively in places...

Colluthus' ‘Homeric’ Epyllion

Poetaster, plagiarist, parrot, and so on. During the last two centuries, Colluthus has been widely reputed an utterly bad poet by both amateur readers and professional scholars: his reputation is not much better than that once enjoyed by, say, Eudocia or Dioscorus of Aphrodito. It is therefore unsurprising that the literary features of his poem have won very little attention from the res publica philologorum. Efforts have been made to emend its (very badly transmitted) text, and much ingenuity has been devoted to the study of its sources and its diction; but few scholars have tried to analyse the Rape of Helen as a literary work. The present paper hopes to be a first step towards such a goal. Let me say from the very beginning that I am not concerned at all with Colluthus' inspiration, skill or the quality of his poetry. This is not what I mean by speaking of a ‘revaluation’ of our poem. Nor am I trying to follow in the steps of Giangrande, who once made a sustained effort to demonstrate that Colluthus was fond of learned allusion in an almost Alexandrian way—Giangrande rightly pointed to Colluthus' irony, but his interpretations of single passages and phrases were for the most part ill-founded, and it was quite easy for Livrea, in a spirited reply to Giangrande, to dispose of them. My concern is a simple one: what was the aim of the Rape of Helen? Are there any ‘signs of life’ in those 394 hexameters—to put it in other words: are we sure that Colluthus aimed at a slavish rewriting of the story of Paris and Helen with the bare addition of some Nonnian flavour, or rather may we suppose that his poetical project was slightly more ambitious?

Nuclear Risk Assessment and UK Law

The purpose of this paper is to review the requirements of the law that are relevant to nuclear risk assessment at UK nuclear licensed sites. The relevant Acts of Parliament, Statutory Instruments and Approved Codes of Practice are reviewed for nuclear risk assessment requirements. Relevant requirements are drawn together and grouped in appropriate categories. The issue of nuclear risk assessment depth is considered. Definitions and interpretations of key legal words and phrases are discussed.

Consumers' Interpretations of the Semantic Phrases Found in Reference Price Advertisements

Consumers are frequently presented with a higher reference price to compare with a lower advertised selling price. The research on reference prices has traditionally been conducted based on the implicit assumption that consumers’ interpretations of a given semantic phrase, e.g., “Regular Price/Sale Price,”are consistent across all consumers, but this fundamental assumption has never been tested. Guidelines issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, as well as regulations enacted by approximately half of all states, appear to be based on a similar assumption. However, given the variability among consumers’ perceptions found in other areas of consumer research, it is reasonable to expect that consumer interpretations of semantic phrases may vary. Given the potential variability, a pricing claim may be deemed informative or deceptive depending on the meaning the particular consumer attaches to the claim. This article presents a discussion of the vagueness in pricing claims as a step toward evaluating deception.

On the Expressive Power of Monotone Natural Language Quantifiers over Finite Models

We study definability in terms of monotone generalized quantifiers satisfying Isomorphism closure, Conservativity and Extension. Among the quantifiers with the latter three properties — here called CE quantifiers — one finds the interpretations of determiner phrases in natural languages. The property of monotonicity is also linguistically ubiquitous, though some determiners like an even number of are highly non-monotone. They are nevertheless definable in terms of monotone CE quantifiers: we give a necessary and sufficient condition for such definability. We further identify a stronger form of monotonicity, called smoothness, which also has linguistic relevance, and we extend our considerations to smooth quantifiers. The results lead us to propose two tentative universals concerning monotonicity and natural language quantification. The notions involved as well as our proofs are presented using a graphical representation of quantifiers in the so-called number triangle.

Using aspect to express viewpoint in EST texts

The rhetorical function of tense and aspect forms in English-for-Science-and-Technology (EST) texts is not well understood because of the enormous variation in their use. In this paper, a new system of analysis of EST data is proposed. To illustrate this system, some data from previous grammatical-rhetorical interpretations will be re-analyzed in an exemplary fashion. In this analysis it is proposed that each grammatical tense/aspect form in English, including the passive, can be reduced to a unique semantic core that may be combined with one of several event types into which predicate phrases can be classified based on their lexical-aspect properties. In creating texts, events are cognitively assembled into coherent causal networks. One factor determining the degree of coherence between events is the grammatical-aspect form used. Presumably, writers make use of the cognitive potential available through these lexical/grammatical-aspect combinations for different rhetorical purposes. Consequently, previous disparate rhetorical interpretations of predicate phrases used in EST texts will be subsumed and systematized according to their degree of coherence.

Thetic and Categorical, Stage and Individual, Weak and Strong

No abstract.

Preposition-phrase attachment in noun phrases

This paper examines the ambiguity of noun phrases (NPs) with postmodifying preposition phrases (PPs), such as “the triangle next to the circle below the square.” This ambiguity is attributable in part to the difference in attachment sites for the second PP. If it attaches low, it modifies just the NP that is the object of the first preposition, and the resulting structure is right branching. If it attaches high, it modifies the entire preceding NP, and the resulting structure is left branching. However, each of these structures itself has two distinct interpretations. In the case of the high-attachment structure, these different interpretations have been previously noted; we call them stacking and coordinating. In the stacking interpretation, each PP modifies the entire NP to its left, whereas in the coordinating interpretation, it modifies just the head noun to its left (the first noun in the construction). In the case of the low-attachment structure, only the interpretation corresponding to the coordinating one has been noted; we call it alternating. However, a fourth distinct interpretation is possible, which corresponds to the stacking interpretation of the highattachment structure; we call it stuffing. In the alternating interpretation, each preposition has scope only over the head of the NP that is its complement. In the stuffing interpretation, each preposition has scope over its entire complement. In a pilot study, we found that the interpretations based on low attachment are preferred to those based on high attachment by a 2∶1 ratio. Of the two low-attachment interpretations, alternating is preferred to stuffing by a 20∶1 ratio. However, of the two high-attachment interpretations, coordinating is preferred to stacking by only a 2∶1 ratio. In a second pilot study, we examined the pattern of interpretations of phrases with four PP postmodifiers of an NP, which in principle have 112 distinct interpretation types. Eleven of these types were noted in the experimental materials. We provide a detailed analysis of these types and note that the relative preference of the various interpretations found in the first study is preserved.

On The Poetics

Professor Else explains in his preface that this book is not intended as a complete new edition of the Poetics, for he omits five and a half chapters, and does not deal with all of the textual problems. On the other hand, it is not a coherent account of Aristotle's theory; Professor Else promises to provide that in a later work. It is, in his words, “a close line-by-line analysis of Aristotle's argument,” to clear the way for a new and more accurate interpretation of the Poetics.His method is to present a short segment of the Greek text, as emended by himself, and then his own translation into English. His translation incorporates his own interpretations of key phrases, sometimes departing very far from the literal meaning of the Greek—if one can speak of a literal meaning when translating from one language to another. He then defends both his textual emendations and his interpretations, taking on a frightening array of grammarians, editors and commentators who have been disputing over the Poetics in many languages for the last twenty centuries.