Poesi som poetik. Idéer om diktkonst i Jesper Svenbros lyrik

Sammanfattning: Jesper Svenbro’s poetry can be understood as forming a lyrical poetics. This poetics can be extracted from the many poems that focus and reflect on the ontology of poetry and language, the creation and different functions of lyrical poetry, and the question of reference. This dissertation highlights the main principles of this poetics, charts its development over time, and shows the different ways in which it is expressed in the œuvre. In four thematic chapters the major poetological aspects of Jesper Svenbro’s work are examined. In the first chapter Svenbro’s reflections on language is discussed. The thesis stresses the importance of the poetry and ideas of Francis Ponge in Svenbro’s earlier writing. The second chapter charts the use of literary tradition – especially ancient Greek texts – in Svenbro’s work, while in the third chapter Svenbro’s poetological interest in the relationship between geography and poetry is the main focus. The fourth chapter elaborates on the poetological consequences of time and personal memory. This final chapter also discusses and theorizes the extensive autobiographical content in Svenbro’s poetry. In analyzing and interpreting some of the key poems in Svenbro’s production, the study gives an outline of the poetological scope of his lyrical works. The different themes of the four chapters also give an account of the chronological development of the oeuvre, as they follow the change of poetological focus in Svenbro’s work.