Sounding the Word

Chapter 3, ‘Sounding the Word’, addresses the verbal arts, both oral and written. What are the sources of the power and precision of words? How is a particular sequence of words used to build up a new world, or a new view of the world, in the mind of reader or listener? These and other questions direct our attention to the many links between word and image, the relationship between poetry and prose, the implicit music and rhythm of language, and the role of word—in conjunction with image and gesture—in the development of the performed arts.