Re: RT list: Non-sentential utterances, logical form, explicatures (e.g. in poetry)

>
> Seven stars in the still water,
> And seven in the sky;
> Seven sins on the the King's daughter,
> Deep in her soul to lie.
>
>

Aren't these sentences being used to express something like:

There are seven stars in the still water
and there are seven [stars] in the sky.
There are seven sins on [somewhat unidiomatic choice of pronoun by the way: meaning = possessed by?] the King's daughter and these sins lie [or 'will/should lie'?] deep in her soul.

?

(cf Tolkien's 'One ring to rule them all' i.e. There is one ring to rule them all -- and no doubt many more literary examples...)

The paraphrase leaves open various questions, which may or may not pertain to the propositions expressed (e.g. is 'the still water' meant attributively or referentially? and, supposing the later, which bit of water is referred to?) but it looks like a perfectly acceptable first stab at a logical form to work with.

(And of course, writing it all out like that makes it clear why Wilde didn't.)

I'm sure that (as Ernst-August implies) there _are_ bits of poetry where it is very hard to specify a sentential paraphrase/explicature/proposition expressed -- ee cummings, perhaps, see below.

Best,
Nick

anyone lived in a pretty how town by e e cummings

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did

...
Received on Fri Feb 11 17:27:07 2011