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Abstract
The paper describes a series of SPITBOL programs for the production of statistics on the distribution of sound repetitions in Dante’s poem, as well as the use of the Oxford Concordance Program for the same purpose. Some of the output of the program is considered in relation to recent critical discussion on the function of sound repetitions in the text. The results suggest (i) that the function of vocalic alliterations is in a limited and occasional way sound-symbolical, and (ii) that, contrary to a structuralist argument, the language of the text is not distinguished by peculiarly poetic structures of equivalence. The writer’s conclusion is that computer-generated statistics are more helpful for the interpretation of individual passages than for the purpose of generalizing about the essential features of poetry.
The importance of sound in poetry is indisputable, yet it is not at all an easy subject to discuss, and is rarely treated systematically by literary scholars. This book uses a variety of computer-based processes to construct a systematic analytical description of the sounds of Dante's Divine Comedy in the sense of their overall distribution within the text. The description is developed through a comparative treatment of the same features in a range of related texts, with a view to defining the distinctive characteristics of Dante's practice; and by a discussion of the function and effect of sounds in the work, with special attention to unusually high incidences of particular features. The book is thus both a contribution to the scholarly debate about Dante's poem, and an illustration and discussion of the ways in which new electronic technology can be used for this kind of purpose.
The analysis of sound symbolism in poetry is one of the more promising applications of computational methods. This paper proposes using database software with spreadsheet capabilities to give maximum versatility in the examination of consonant alliteration. In this case the database is drawn from a 10th century anthology of classical Japanese verse called theKokinshû. In recent years scholars have pointed out a few obvious examples of sound symbolism inKokinshû poetry. This study attempts to show that with these few notable exceptions, poetry of the period seems to have striven toward a balance in sound, avoiding techniques such as word initial alliteration which might call attention to itself.
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