🧠 Logopoeia – Definition:
Logopoeia (from Greek logos, “word,” and poiein, “to make”) is a type of poetic expression that plays with the meanings, sounds, and associations of words to create intellectual or witty effects.
The term was coined by Ezra Pound, who described it as “the dance of the intellect among words.”
It relies not just on emotion (as melopoeia) or image (as phanopoeia), but on the clever manipulation of language itself—puns, irony, wordplay, and double meanings—to evoke thought rather than feeling.
💡 Example:
From T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”:
“In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.”
Here, Eliot uses logopoeia:
- The repetition of “come and go” subtly mocks meaningless social chatter.
- The highbrow reference to “Michelangelo” contrasts with the triviality of the conversation.
- The irony and contrast create intellectual tension through how the words are used, not just what they say.
✨ In summary:
Logopoeia is the intellectual use of words for effect — poetry that thinks through language, rather than merely expressing emotion or painting imagery.
And there it is! Now go ahead and use logopoeia in your CXC prep/CSEC prep.
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