Rhythm in Massaud Moisés and Henri Meschonnic: presenting and contrasting

Abstract

In this paper, I present and then contrast briefly the understandings of ‘rhythm’ in the works of both Massaud Moisés and Henri Meschonnic. Meschonnic proposes a quite open understanding of the term, which brings up notions of ethics, politics, linguistics and several other branches of knowledge to the understanding of rhythm; and really intends to revolutionize all of the theory of language in order to do so. Moisés, on the other hand, works with a much more discernible and precise term, which refers to very specific sound-related characteristics of a word, without, however, oversimplificating it. By presenting and contrasting both understandings I intend to bring out how fruitful a debate one can achieve from oposing them. Further in this paper – and in order to ascertain how the understandings of the two, as well as my remarks, are put into translation practice – I will bring along two translations I made of german-language poets Ingeborg Bachmann and Peter Waterhouse.