In Jakobson’s paper “Linguistics and Poetics”, he first elaborates on two terms that are central to his argument as they are broad classification systems that are thought to be in opposition. He states that “poetics deals with the problems of verbal structure” and linguistics is defined as the “science of verbal structure” (1145). Although some would separate poetics from the linguistic field, he argues that linguistics and poetics are intimately related. He remarks that “many poetic features belong not only to the science of language but to the whole theory of signs, that is, to general semiotics” (1145). For that statement to be valid, poetics and linguistics must be interconnected because the foundation of the study of language has been built on the theory of signs and semiotics. He also discards another objection in regards to the nature of poetry being “noncasual” as opposed to other verbal communication’s “casual” nature (1145). To debunk this belief he states, “any verbal behavior is goal-directed, but the aims are different…” (1146). As aforementioned, language itself is highly structured and this is validated by the fact that the study of language has spawned a wide variety of theories and fields such as semiotics.

Jakobson’s argument rests on theories grounded in and in contradiction to works by his predecessors and contemporaries. Jakobson concludes that “every language encompasses several concurrent patterns, each characterized by different functions” but that specific “speech events” are comprised of primary factors as well as “secondary factors” (1147). He expounds the six factors of a speech event which consist of an addresser (the person giving the message), context (the person, place or thing being referred to), message (the sound or utterance being made), contact (the medium used to convey the message to the addressee), code (the language or rules used in the code) and the addressee (the “decoder of the message”) (1147). After delineating the structure of a verbal message he outlines the function of various verbal messages. These functions include the emotive (focused on the addresser), the conative (focused on the addressee), the referential (focused on the context), the phatic (focused on the context) and the metalingual (focused on the code) and poetic functions (focused on the “message for its own sake”) (1148-1151).

Jakobson finds the use of the poetic function within and outside of poetry. Just as the interjection or the imperative are the purer forms of the emotive and conative functions respectively, “verbal art” is one of the purest embodiments of the poetic function (1150). However, verbal art isn’t the exclusive use of this function. This is one of the reasons that Jakobson argues against restricting the poetic function to the analysis of poetry. He states that even within poetry “the particularities of diverse poetic genres imply a differently ranked participation of the other verbal functions along with the dominant verbal function” (1151). A message’s structure is governed by a primary function and its subordinate functions (1148). Jakobson gives examples of the use of the poetic function in our daily lives through the use of poetic devices such as paronomasia and alliteration.

Jakobson opens “Linguistics and Poetics” with the question, “what makes a verbal message a work of art” (1144)? Hitherto, I was taught that what constitutes as “art” is completely subjective. Whether it be a painting by a well renowned artist like Van Gogh or an exhibit including everyday objects, self-expression seems to be whatever you deign to call it. Art comes in such a broad spectrum of forms that this very characteristic of diversity is why one might be inclined to assume that it has no real structure. However, this is a deceptive notion because when this generalization is applied to different forms of art such as poetry it falls short. Jakobson’s analysis of verbal utterances and poetics is so illuminating because poetry, arguably the most structured form of language (in the eyes of many), can be found in practically all walks of human life – from works designated to the field of poetry to marketing slogans and everyday speech. The poetic function is utilized constantly. In fact, it was probably used in writing this blog post.