The Sounds of Poetry Viewed as Music

By Alfred Lerdahl

Poets, literary critics, and lovers of poetry often speak of the "music of poetry." The Sounds of Poetry Viewed as Music gives substance to the metaphor by building on recent research in linguistics and music theory to propose a theory of the sounds of poetry conceived in musical terms. It develops a rule-based methodology for assigning normative readings to the rhythms and contours of poetic lines. Each component of the theory is compared to earlier treatments both in traditional prosody and in generative metrics and intonational phonology. The theory's predictions correspond well to recorded readings by poets and actors. The book also advances an original hierarchical treatment of syllabic rhyme, alliteration, and assonance.

The Sounds of Poetry Viewed as Music is an interdisciplinary project. In reconceiving prosody in musical terms, it offers a detailed treatment of the cognitive organization of poetic sounds, and by implication it supports the claim that music and language have a common ancestry in expressive vocalization. This book will engage readers of poetry, literary scholars, musicians, philosophers, and cognitive scientists interested in the intersection of the musical and linguistic capacities.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231221193
• ISBN13: 9780231221191
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"