more on this theme | more from this thinker
Full Idea
In literary contexts semantically equivalent words cannot replace each other without loss of literary meaning.
Gist of Idea
In literature, word replacement changes literary meaning
Source
Roger Scruton (Public Text and Common Reader [1982], p.25)
Book Ref
Scruton,Roger: 'The Aesthetic Understanding' [Methuen 1983], p.25
A Reaction
The notion of 'literary meaning' is not a standard one, and is questionable whether 'meaning' is the right word, given that a shift in word in a poem is as much to do with sound as with connotations.
| 12159 | Without intentions we can't perceive sculpture, but that is not the whole story [Scruton] |
| 12160 | In aesthetic interest, even what is true is treated as though it were not [Scruton] |
| 12161 | We can be objective about conventions, but love of art is needed to understand its traditions [Scruton] |
| 12162 | In literature, word replacement changes literary meaning [Scruton] |
| 12163 | Literary meaning emerges in comparisons, and tradition shows which comparisons are relevant [Scruton] |