Semiotiese fokus op die gedig as estetiese teken-objek

摘要

In this article the poem “Sitate per pos” by Lina Spies is decoded according to semiotic premises, inter aha Peirce's triad of icon, symbol and index. The following relations are examined: the symbol-object relation according to findings of Van Zoest; the index-object relation where indexes respectively referring to external reality, intertextuality and the intratext itself are differentiated; the icon-object relation based on Peirce's assertion that iconicity is founded on a likeness relation and Eco's view that iconicity can also be based on observation and convention. The decoding process indicates that informative iconicity takes precedence. Iconicity lends semantic validity to sounds within the context of the poem. Siegel's exposition of syntactic iconicity is applied on poetic syntactic patterns and ungrammaticality. Signs on a higher level of semantic signification are examined in terms of metaphoric iconicities. The investigation demonstrates that a metaphoric icon can also fulfil the function of a lexical interpretant due to the simultaneous generation of intra- and intertexts. The informative power of material icons and super icons within the structural coherence of the poem is highlighted.