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The lyrics of Emily Dickinson :A word is dead /When it is said/Some say./I say it just/Beginsto live/That day:open multiple reading keys and interpretations, both in the sense of poetic

reflections around the expression potential of the word and also in a strictly linguistic way.From a poetic point of view, these lyrics allow analogies with metaphysical reflections on the

fine language of ichita !t"nescu and Tudor #rghe$i in the %omanian literature. From a

linguistic point of view, the relations mentioned above not only make reference to the theoryof speech acts&specific to pragmatics' and according to it language means action&to tell

determins to make'but it also make reference to the concepts of competence and performance.

Thus, in terms of poetic reflection, these lyrics emphasi$es the living nature of the word and

the one of human language, generally their connection with life even with the affections andemotions of the speaking sub(ect. The word brings to life things from the ob(ective world,

from outside, in this way words ac)uire a contour and become relevant in speakersconsciousness, therefore things exist if only they are spoken and transfered in words. The

verse It is said! reflects the idea of language as an autonomous human pattern, to its creative

potential, noticing the purposes of *latonic logos. +anguage has its own metaphysics.

From a linguistic perspective, in the first line A word is dead!we fiind the concepts ofcompetence and performance which emphasis the idea of a word previous state before is

been used, more exactly to the concepts of competence and also reflects that the word comes

to life by utterance, the language is updated by using it, in this case the word is related tolinguistic performance. +inguistic defines the concept of competence as the storage of

language in memory of a speaker, the internali$ation of language. -owever, the language isstored at the level of competence and is e)uivalent with a state of inactivity and death &A

word is dead ' only by performance a word comes to life because this process enables a self/

referential frame with meanings and affections. # word starts his life by being said andthis uni)ue idea e)uals with the concept of linguistic performance .

0n a pragmatic approach, the lyrics of Emily Dickinson evokes the theory of speech acts.

Formulated in *ragmatics by 1.+. #ustin and 1. %. !earle, this theory is based on class

identification of the performative verbs&which imply actions like to promise or to bapti$e'regarding the distinction between contatative statements&which emphasis neutral universal

truths' and performative statements.&like 0 promise to give you the book'.0n this case, thelines /When it is said/Some say./! exudes the idea of the language as independent living,

beside this, the capacity and its ability to have its own particular features. 2ith reference to

the lines: I say it just/Begins to live/That day! the speaker underlines the power of thewords, the way words act and language in general. +anguage is not a dead entity stored in

grammars and dictionaries, but a living, peforming and active entity.

0n conclusion, the analogies 03ve made between the lyrics of Emily Dickinson and the

linguistic theories of interpretation demonstrates the potential of these lyrics, strongtheoretical support. 4n the other hand, these lyrics demonstrate the metalinguistic function of

language, the language ability to reflect on itself, to reflect on it. This function is defined by%. 1akobson as language 5 statement whose ob(ect is language. Thus, in addition to linguistic

analogies reported, these lyrics evoke metalinguistic function of language which reflects on

itself.

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8/10/2019 1.Essay iulescu Alexandra tefania

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7ibliography:

6.#ngela 7idu 89rnceanu, ;ristina ;"l"ra