Digital Humanities
@ Pratt

Inquiries into culture, meaning, and human value meet emerging technologies and cutting-edge skills at Pratt Institute's School of Information

Beyond Scansion: Exploring Holistic Prosody Analysis through Digital Humanities Tools

Prosody, the subtle art of sound and rhythm in language, plays a central role in the experience of poetry. It imparts musicality, emotional resonance, and layers of meaning to verses. Traditional prosody analysis focuses on scansion, which parses metrical patterns and stressed syllables in a text format, but often overlooks the nuanced musicality unique to poetry. In the digital age, a significant shift occurs in the study of prosody, driven by the substantial expansion in capabilities of digital humanities tools. These tools transcend the limitations of scansion, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of poetic sound and intentionality. Through computational analysis, visualization techniques, and natural language processing, scholars navigate the complexities of prosody, uncovering deeper insights into poetry. This paper explores the potential of digital humanities tools in fostering a more inclusive and insightful approach to prosody analysis. It begins by outlining the constraints of scansion and highlighting its shortcomings. Subsequently, it surveys various digital humanities tools, showcasing their transformative impact on interdisciplinary prosodic analysis as well as their potential limitations.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *