Wittgenstein's Ladder: Poetic Language and the Strangeness of the Ordinary

Marjorie Perloff examines Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophy of language and its connections to modernist and contemporary poetry. Her analysis draws from Wittgenstein's concept of "language games" and his investigations into how meaning emerges through ordinary language use. The book traces Wittgenstein's influence on poets including Gertrude Stein, Samuel Beckett, Robert Creeley, and contemporary language poets. Perloff demonstrates how these writers engage with Wittgensteinian ideas about the limits of language and the relationship between words and reality. Throughout her study, Perloff analyzes specific poems and texts to show how poets have interpreted and applied Wittgenstein's theories. Her close readings reveal connections between philosophical concepts and poetic techniques. This work bridges the gap between philosophy and poetry, suggesting that both disciplines struggle with similar questions about meaning, representation, and the nature of language itself. The intersection of these fields opens new ways to understand both poetic practice and philosophical inquiry.

Readers appreciate Perloff's analysis of Wittgenstein's influence on 20th-century poetry and her examination of poets like Gertrude Stein and Charles Bernstein. Several reviewers note the book provides clear explanations of complex philosophical concepts. Liked: - Clear connections between philosophy and poetry - Detailed analysis of specific poems - Accessibility for non-philosophers Disliked: - Dense academic writing style - Too much focus on language poetry movement - Some readers found the Wittgenstein interpretations debatable One reader on Amazon states: "Perloff makes convincing arguments about how poets have absorbed Wittgenstein's ideas about language games." A Goodreads reviewer critiques: "The theoretical framework feels forced at times, especially in the chapters on contemporary poets." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (43 ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (6 ratings) Google Books: 4/5 (3 ratings) The book has limited reviews online, with most coming from academic sources rather than general readers.

The Linguistic Turn by Richard Rorty This collection of essays examines the relationship between language, philosophy, and meaning through perspectives that complement Wittgenstein's theories.

Language and Reality by Kim Sterelny This text bridges philosophy of language with poetry and literature while exploring the nature of reference and truth in linguistic expression.

The Fire of Languages by George Steiner The analysis connects linguistic philosophy to literary criticism through examination of translation, meaning, and the limits of expression.

Poetry and Grammar by Gertrude Stein The work demonstrates the intersection of philosophical linguistics and poetic practice through experimental writing techniques.

The Language of Inquiry by Lyn Hejinian This collection merges poetic practice with linguistic theory while investigating the boundaries between ordinary and poetic language.

📚 Marjorie Perloff spent her early childhood in Vienna - the same city where Ludwig Wittgenstein lived and worked - before fleeing with her family from Nazi persecution in 1938. 🔍 The book's title refers to Wittgenstein's famous metaphor from Tractatus where he compares his philosophical propositions to a ladder that must be thrown away after one has climbed up it. 📖 Throughout the book, Perloff examines works by notable poets like Gertrude Stein, Samuel Beckett, and Robert Creeley through the lens of Wittgenstein's language philosophy. 🎓 The author revolutionized the field of poetics by being one of the first scholars to extensively apply Wittgenstein's concepts of language-games to contemporary poetry analysis. 🌟 The book challenges traditional interpretations of "difficult" avant-garde poetry by showing how these works often explore the same questions about ordinary language that preoccupied Wittgenstein.