Voice, potency, resonance, and body in poetic language

Abstract

This essay aims at reflecting on voice from both an ontological and anthropological perspective, rather than treating it as a purely linguistic issue, that is, as oral speech only. To this end, we have first selected some scholars who conceive the vocal phenomenon in that direction, such as Giorgio Agamben, Jean-Luc Nancy, Adriana Cavarero and Paul Zumthor. Secondly, the challenge will be to investigate the place voice takes in two poems selected in order to evaluate to what extent these different conceptions of voice can be significant analytical devices in literary criticism.