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Dimensions of Iconicity
Edited by Angelika Zirker, Matthias Bauer, Olga Fischer and Christina Ljungberg
[Iconicity in Language and Literature 15] 2017
► pp. 331–344

The iconicity of literary analysis

The case of Logical Form

| Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

In this paper, we propose that the iconicity of Logical Form can help us evaluate the adequateness of an interpretation. We consider the relationship between iconicity, literary texts, formal semantic analysis and interpretation. With the help of an example taken from the poem “This was a Poet –” (Fr446, J448) by Emily Dickinson, we explain in which way a formal semantic analysis is iconic of the meaning of a text. We then compare this iconic analysis to other interpretative utterances about literary texts, in particular to statements that can be considered allegories of the text meaning. With this comparison we come to the conclusion that a formal semantic analysis does not restrict interpretation, but serves as guidance towards finding out about all relevant and complex structures that should also be followed in an interpretation. A linguistic analysis is thus to be seen as a measure to test the adequacy of interpretations.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.What is iconic about a semantic representation of the sentence meaning?
  • 3.Alternative (allegorical) interpretations
  • 4.Semantic representation as a touchstone of any other “deep” analysis
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 8 September 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ill.15.19bau
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Cited by

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Tabakowska, Elżbieta
2017. Iconicity, ambiguity, interpretability. In Dimensions of Iconicity [Iconicity in Language and Literature, 15], DOI logo

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