Poetic Diction: A Study in Meaning Book

A few days ago I finished reading Owen Barfield's POETIC DICTION (1928). He was a friend of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Not as well known as they, Barfield wrote mainly criticism and philosophical speculations. POETIC DICTION has been consistently reprinted and remains influential. Agreeing with Emerson's "Nature," Barfield argues that all language is in essence metaphorical, even scientific prose. He locates the poetic in the metaphorical use of language to create new perceptions of reality. Aesthetic pleasure derives in large part in the reader's "learning a new perspective on reality" through metaphor. He also praises the use of archaic language and strange diction to do so. In many ways I am drawn to Barfield's theories. I am not a poet'nor was I meant to be. But in my own prose I have tried to create by fresh metaphors and descriptions an effect similar to what Barfield praises. Of course, I am not doing justice to his book in this paragraph. I haven't yet had time to react to some of his speculations. If his work has a fault, it might be one leveled at the so-called New Critics'Tate, Warren, and Brooks'that in concentrating on imagery, he neglects other aspects of poetry's appeal: rhythm, implied dramatic interaction, and narrative structure. At any rate the book is brief, intriguing, but at times a bit obtuse. I recommend it to those of you who are poets or love poetry.