contexture

Perhaps no single word adequately conveys the special qualities of the poetic collection as an organized book: the contextuality provided for each poem by the larger frame within which it is placed, the intertextuality among poems so placed, and the resultant texture of resonance and meanings. I have recently proposed, however, that the word ‘contexture’ be used for such a purpose because of its utility in suggesting all three of these qualities without being restricted to any one.

Contributed by Wout. View changelog.