Glimpses of Lacan and Barthes in two poems by Gillian Clarke

Essay from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, , language: English, abstract: Language is not a very predominant theme in the work of the Welsh poet and playwright, Gillian Clarke (born 1937) nor has she, to my knowledge, ever expressed an interest in linguistic theories and their application to literature. Her work tends to be rather autobiographical in style, recounting experiences involving her own family, children and local people. However, occasionally she touches upon the subject of education and of writing poetry (as for example in 'Lunchtime lecture' and 'Pipistrelle', respectively) and it is by way of these themes that issues concerning language come into play. Such is the case in 'Clocks' and 'Miracle on Saint David's Day'. In the first, I offer a Lacanian interpretation of the issue of 'naming' described in the poem. What the grandmother of the poem is concerned with is the development of the subject (her grandchild) and the need to construct his sense of 'reality' in and through language which in turn enables him to enter the Symbolic or Social Order. The official language of the Social Order is also pitted against what Lacan would term the 'lalangue' of the child, evident in his onomatopoeic utterances. 'Miracle on St David's Day' is a testament to the miraculous power of poetry and I illustrate how Clarke is reinforcing that the oral articulation of poetical language can induce a sense of euphoria as described by Barthes in Le Plaisir du texte.

Vivienne Suvini-Hand is a professor emerita of italian literature and music at Royal Holloway, the University of London. She gained a first class honour degree in Italian and French at Trinity College, Dublin in 1983, also winning the French Government Award for that year. She went on to study at New College, Oxford, transferring to Linacre College on the award of a scholarship, and gaining a Doctorate (D. Phil) at Oxford University in 1989. She became a lecturer in Italian at Royal Holloway, the University of London in 1988, a Senior Lecturer in 1999, a Reader in 2003, and a Professor of Literature and Music in 2005. Professor Suvini-Hand has published widely in academic, peer-reviewed journals on modern Italian and European poetry, eighteenth to twentieth-century opera, Italian film, Italian instrumental music, and the relationship between libretti and music in the work of avant-garde composers. Her major book publications include: Andrea Zanzotto (Edinburgh: EUP, 1994), Mirage and Camouflage: Hiding behind Hermeticism in Ungaretti's L'Allegria (Leicester: Troubador, 2000) and Sweet Thunder: Music and Libretti in 1960s Italy (Oxford: Legenda, 2006). She is currently pursuing research on the nineteenth-century Italian virtuoso violinist, Niccolò Paganini, and is the author of many articles on the representation of Paganini in the visual arts and literature. She has been the recipient of grants from major educational bodies for the production of a CD on the music of Luigi Dallapiccola (Nuova Era), monographic concerts on contemporary composers at the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, and conferences and concerts organized by the European Music Society. She has written for The Times newspaper, and reviewed classical concerts at the Barbican, London for Bachtrack. In addition to her writing career, Vivienne is a qualified classical singer, violinist and music teacher with a passion for the musical education of young people. For this reason she frequently publishes childrens' literature on cultural and educational topics. Paganini, "Little Pagan". The Life of Paganini in Verse (with a scholarly introduction and notes) (Charleston SC, 2017) is her latest book of this type, aimed at introducing the life and times of Paganini to both young and adult readers. Professor Suvini-Hand's full profile and publications list can be consulted at http://tinyurl.com/ogs6b6y.