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Why Lyrics Last : Evolution, Cognition, and Shakespeare’s Sonnets by Boyd, Brian;Shakespeare, William is a science book available to read on EtoBox.

What is Why Lyrics Last : Evolution, Cognition, and Shakespeare’s Sonnets about?

In __Why Lyrics Last,__ the internationally acclaimed critic Brian Boyd turns an evolutionary lens on the subject of lyric verse. He finds that lyric making, though it presents no advantages for the species in terms of survival and reproduction, is “universal across cultures because it fits constraints of the human mind.” An evolutionary perspective— especially when coupled with insights from aesthetics and literary history—has much to tell us about both verse and the lyrical impulse. Boyd places the writing of lyrical verse within the human disposition “to play with pattern,” and in an extended example he uncovers the many patterns to be found within Shakespeare’s __Sonnets.__ Shakespeare’s bid for readership is unlike that of any sonneteer before him: he deliberately avoids all narrative, choosing to maximize the openness of the lyric and demonstrating the power that verse can have when liberated of story. In eschewing narrative, Shakespeare plays freely with patterns of other kinds: words, images, sounds, structures; emotions and moods; argument and analogy; and natural rhythms, in daily, seasonal, and life cycles. In the originality of his stratagems, and in their sheer number

Who reads Why Lyrics Last : Evolution, Cognition, and Shakespeare’s Sonnets?

Author

Boyd, Brian;Shakespeare, William

Publisher

Harvard University, Department of Sanskrit & Indian Studies

Published

2012

Language

EN

ISBN

9780674065642

Category

science

Subjects

History, Literary Criticism, Literary Fiction

Rating

3.88 / 5 (14 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-13