Semiotic Approach To Poetic Interpretation

Based on the discussion of Saussure's "arbitrariness" theory of linguistic signs, this thesis undertakes a study of the motivatedness of the poetic sign to introduce a semiotic approach to poetic interpretation.In his well-known book Course in General Linguistics, Ferinand de Saussure pointed out that the linguistic sign is arbitrary, for there is no intrinsic and necessary relation between the signifier and the signified. The signified of the linguistic sign is stipulated and allows for no individual creation. However, for the poetic sign the signified is connoted right in the signifier and can be approached by an individual reader. Hence, it is a motivated sign.The poetic sign, to be brief, is the unifying image prepared or represented by the poet in his work.The unifying image, as the poetic sign, takes its part of picture as the signifier and the part of meaning as the signified. Like the sign being the unit of the signifier and signified, the image is the compounded unit of the picture and the poetic meaning. The front of a sheet of paper cannot be cut without the back being cut; likewise, the poetic meaning cannot be separated from the picture. The picture carries meaning and the meaning is connoted in the picture.To interpret a poetic work, in a large sense, is to grasp the poetic signified or poetic meaning. Since the poetic signified is connoted right in the signifier, to identify the poetic signifier becomes then the key to interpretation.Through the analysis of the hierarchical structure of the unifying image, i.e., the poetic sign, this thesis puts forward two semiotic models of poetic interpretation: segmentation and unification. With segmentation, the poetic sign (image) is cut into major signs(major images), which are further cut into specificsigns (specific images). In the case of unification, the interpreter analyzes the specific signs (specific images) first, then unifies them into major signs (major images), and ultimately establishes the poetic sign (unifying image) by unifying the major signs (major images).