Neohelicon
Volume/Issue:
Volume 39: Issue 2
Poetry and narrative: an evolutionary perspective on the cognition of verbal art
Author:
Norbert Francis College of Education, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 5774, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA

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Pages:
267–294
Online Publication Date:
04 Jul 2012
Publication Date:
01 Dec 2012
Article Category:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-012-0148-7
Keywords:
Verbal art; Poetry; Narrative; Evolutionary psychology; Modularity
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Abstract  

The study of the aesthetic genres reveals important design features of cognition, in how complex higher-order abilities are organized mentally. An evolutionary perspective frames this research in a way that considers the componential nature of language-related abilities in particular. In addition, it directs our attention to the important problem of understanding how different abilities are related. In this review of the research the focus will be on poetic and narrative abilities: (1) as they develop in children, (2) how the component sub-structures of poetry and narrative might be represented cognitively, and (3) how they may have emerged in early humans. Crucially, the analysis of component structures implies understanding how they interact in performance, and more interestingly how different abilities and faculties share competence modules and processing mechanisms in common. This approach helps put the discussion regarding the relative weight of domain-specific and domain-general structures into perspective, potentially reconciling some seemingly opposing viewpoints in evolutionary science and in the study of language development.

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Cover Neohelicon
Neohelicon
Print ISSN:
0324-4652
Online ISSN:
1588-2810

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Neohelicon
Language English
Size B5
Year of
Foundation		 1973
Volumes
per Year		 1
Issues
per Year		 2
Founder Akadémiai Kiadó
Founder's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
Publisher Akadémiai Kiadó
Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Publisher's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
CH-6330 Cham, Switzerland Gewerbestrasse 11.
Responsible
Publisher		 Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN 0324-4652 (Print)
ISSN 1588-2810 (Online)

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