دانشگاه تربیت مدرس فصلنامۀ نقد ادبی 2008-0360 19 75 2026 08 23 Poetry on the Scale of Music: A Reflection on Reza Baraheni’s Theory of Languageness شعر در ترازوی موسیقی: تحلیلی بر نظریة زبانیت رضا براهنی 1 36 29193 10.48311/lcq.2026.120468.82766 FA ابراهیم حسنکلو گروه زبان و ادبیات فارسی، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه گیلان، گیلان، ایران 0009-0001-8192-6336 Journal Article 2026 05 16 This study, drawing on Reza Baraheni’s theory of languageness, examines the relationship between poetry and music in Language Poetry and seeks to demonstrate how this mode of poetry departs from the conventional function of language as a medium for representing reality, moving instead toward a sonic and performative experience. The central problem of the study is that many critiques directed at Language Poetry have been shaped by criteria that evaluate language in relation to meaning, imagery, and reference to the external world. In Baraheni’s view, however, poetry operates on a level beyond these criteria, where language is transformed into a material for musical creation. The aim of the article is to elucidate this shift and to show how such concepts as syntactic deviation, sematic defamiliarization, polyphony, and linguistic madness contribute to the formation of this experience. The study employs a descriptive-analytical method based on a theoretical reading of Baraheni’s works. The findings suggest that if the criteria of criticism are shifted from language’s reference to external reality toward its reference to music and the auditory qualities of the text, many negative judgments about Language Poetry will require reconsideration. The significance of this study lies in its potential to provide a more precise mode of criticism, one better aligned with the internal logic of Language Poetry. Extended Abstract Introduction Language poetry has often been evaluated according to critical criteria that examine language in relation to meaning, imagery, and its reference to the external world. From this perspective, poetic language is expected to convey a recognizable meaning, create vivid images, or represent an identifiable reality. However, such criteria may not adequately explain the poetic innovations associated with Reza Baraheni’s theoretical and creative works. In Baraheni’s view, poetry operates beyond the conventional relationship between language and external reference. Language is not merely a transparent medium for transmitting meaning; rather, it becomes the material through which a new poetic and musical experience is created. This article examines the relationship between poetry and music in Baraheni’s conception of language poetry. It focuses on the ways in which language, once released from its conventional semantic and referential functions, acquires an autonomous aesthetic value. The study particularly investigates the role of syntactic deviation, semantic disintegration, polyphony, and linguistic madness in the formation of this poetic experience. Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework of this research is based on Reza Baraheni’s views concerning the nature of poetry and poetic language. In this framework, poetry cannot be reduced to the communication of a predetermined message or the representation of an external object. Instead, the poem is understood as an event that emerges through the interaction of sounds, rhythms, words, syntactic structures, and multiple voices. From this perspective, the musicality of poetry is not limited to traditional rhyme, meter, or harmonious sound patterns. It also includes the rhythm of syntax, the recurrence and displacement of words, the disruption of ordinary semantic relations, and the interaction of different voices within the text. Consequently, a poem may produce meaning not only through semantic clarity but also through sound, repetition, ambiguity, interruption, and the creative reorganization of linguistic elements. Methodology This study employs a descriptive-analytical method. It is based on a theoretical reading of selected works and critical ideas by Reza Baraheni. The analysis focuses on the principles through which language poetry challenges conventional expectations concerning meaning, syntax, reference, and coherence. The research does not approach the poems primarily as representations of an external reality. Instead, it examines the internal relations among linguistic elements and considers the auditory and musical qualities of the poetic text. In this regard, concepts such as syntactic deviation, semantic disintegration, polyphony, and linguistic madness are analyzed as mechanisms that transform language from a transparent means of communication into an independent material of poetic creation. Findings and Discussion The findings indicate that many negative judgments concerning language poetry have resulted from the application of inappropriate critical standards. When poetry is evaluated solely on the basis of its relationship with semantic clarity, visual imagery, or external reference, linguistic practices such as syntactic deviation and semantic disruption may appear arbitrary or meaningless. However, if the critical focus shifts from the referential function of language to its musical and auditory dimensions, these features can be understood as essential components of the poem’s internal logic. Syntactic deviation plays a significant role in challenging established patterns of reading. By disrupting ordinary syntactic relationships, the poem prevents language from functioning as a predictable channel of communication. This disruption draws attention to the materiality of words and to the rhythm created by their arrangement. In this context, the reader is encouraged not only to interpret the poem semantically but also to listen to it and experience its linguistic movement. Semantic disintegration also contributes to the liberation of language from fixed and predetermined meanings. The absence of a single, stable meaning does not necessarily imply the absence of meaning altogether. Rather, it allows meaning to emerge through associations, repetitions, sounds, contrasts, and the interaction of different textual elements. Thus, the poem generates a dynamic field in which meaning remains open, unstable, and continually renewable. Polyphony is another important feature of this poetic structure. The presence of multiple voices challenges the authority of a single, unified speaker and creates a complex relationship among various perspectives, tones, and linguistic registers. Through polyphony, the poem becomes a space of confrontation and coexistence among voices, thereby expanding its musical and semantic possibilities. The concept of linguistic madness further intensifies this process. In Baraheni’s conception, linguistic madness should not be interpreted simply as disorder or irrationality. It may be understood as a deliberate departure from the normalized rules of language and as an attempt to discover new possibilities within the linguistic system. Through this departure, the poem exposes the limitations of conventional language and creates new forms of rhythm, sound, and expression. Conclusion The analysis demonstrates that poetry, particularly language poetry in Reza Baraheni’s thought, cannot be adequately judged through criteria based exclusively on representation, semantic clarity, imagery, or reference to the external world. Such criteria overlook the musical and material dimensions of poetic language. When the critical standard is shifted from the referential function of language to its musicality and auditory quality, many of the negative evaluations directed at language poetry require reconsideration. In this framework, syntactic deviation, semantic disintegration, polyphony, and linguistic madness are not signs of poetic weakness or meaningless disorder. Rather, they are strategies through which language becomes an autonomous material of poetic creation. The poem establishes its identity through sound, rhythm, repetition, disruption, and the interaction of multiple voices. Therefore, a more appropriate criticism of language poetry must be founded on the internal logic of the poem and on the specific ways in which it produces musical and aesthetic experience. This study may contribute to the development of a more precise and context-sensitive approach to the criticism of language poetry. Such an approach recognizes that the poem’s significance may lie not only in what it says or represents but also in how it sounds, moves, disrupts, and creates new possibilities for language. این پژوهش با تکیه بر نظریة زبانیتِ رضا براهنی، نسبت میان شعر و موسیقی را در شعرِ زبان بررسی کرده و می‌کوشد نشان دهد که چگونه این نوع شعر، از کارکرد معمول زبان در بازنمایی واقعیت فاصله می‌گیرد و به سوی یک تجربة صوتی و اجرایی حرکت می‌کند. مسئلة اصلی پژوهش آن است که بسیاری از نقدهای واردشده بر شعر زبان، بر پایة معیارهایی شکل گرفته‌اند که زبان را در نسبت با معنا، تصویر و ارجاع به جهان بیرون می‌سنجند؛ در حالی که در نگاه براهنی، شعر در سطحی فراتر از این معیارها عمل می‌کند و زبان در آن به ماده‌ای برای آفرینش موسیقایی بدل می‌شود. هدف مقاله آن است که این جابه‌جایی را تبیین کند و نشان دهد مفاهیمی مانند نحوگریزی، معنازدایی، چندصدایی و جنون زبانی چگونه در ساختن این تجربه نقش دارند. روش پژوهش، توصیفی ـ تحلیلی و مبتنی بر خوانش نظری آثار براهنی است. یافته‌های مقاله نشان می‌دهد که اگر معیار نقد از ارجاع زبان به واقعیت بیرونی به سمت ارجاع آن به موسیقی و کیفیت شنیداری متن منتقل شود، بسیاری از داوری‌های منفی دربارة شعر زبان نیازمند بازنگری خواهند بود. این پژوهش از آن رو اهمیت دارد که می‌تواند زمینه‌ای برای نقدی دقیق‌تر و متناسب‌تر با منطق درونیِ شعر زبان فراهم سازد.

https://lcq.modares.ac.ir/article_29193_6dfdd63abbcb8863fba5ab0ab35d76f5.pdf