The Essence of Lyric Narration

Rasa Livada’s Poem “On the Making of a Sonnet” / “The Birth of a Sonnet”

Abstract

Livada’s distinctive and inventive play with form, achieved through the deconstruction of the poem and the restoration/reconstruction of the sonnet, demonstrates that identical semantic content can be expressed through different formal manifestations. This is neither a sign of deliberate allegiance to one form or another, nor proof of a preference for either a structured or more liberated creative approach to poetic composition, nor is it merely a formalistic game. Rather, it reflects an instinctive need to channel the intensity of poetic expression into coherent, associative wholes—perhaps even to refine or clarify it. Thus, the attempt to liberate poetic expression from traditional modes results in a return to conventionally established verse, forging a link between the modern and the conventional. This testifies to the impossibility of fully negating tradition. Instead, it persists in a transformed state, adapted to new creative demands. By filtering poetic content, a transformation is achieved through which poetry returns to itself. The italicization of key poetic ideas—those inherent to the sonnet form—undoubtedly exceeds the function of a mere refrain, establishing a poetic discourse that, through its unique compositional philosophy, redirects meaning toward the domain of poetics.