Aguila o sol? A Riffaterrian analysis of the prose poems of Octavio Paz

This dissertation is an analysis of Octavio Paz's ques Aguila o sol? (1951), a collection of three books of surrealistic prose poems to which critics have paid little attention. The methodology employed is the model Michael Riffaterre presented in Semiotics of Poetry. Chapter 1 contains historical background on the prose poem, a summary of Paz's theories of poetics from his prose writings, and an explanation of Riffaterre' s terminology. By applying this terminology, I demonstrate that the key to Paz's surrealistic imagery involves understanding ungrammaticalities (deviations of grammar or lexicon) and making connections to the hypogram (preexisting word group (s), which may be a system of signs possessing certain qualities or a complete text). Following this analytical procedure, readers understand the matrix (abstract concept of a poem) rather than just surface meaning presented in strings of surrealistic images.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Spanish, Italian and Portuguese

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Burk, Linda Janet

Contributors dc:contributor

• Wilcox, John C.
• Meehan, Thomas C.

• Literature, Latin American

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1994 Burk, Linda Janet

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

AAI9503149
(UMI)AAI9503149

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/22723