How poetry evokes emotions.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Literary Theory

Background:

• Poetry is known to evoke strong emotional responses in readers.
• Existing theories offer limited explanations for the mechanisms underlying poetic emotions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel theory explaining how poetry evokes emotions through simulation.
• To identify the distinct simulation types involved in processing poetry.
• To empirically validate the proposed theory of poetic emotion.

Main Methods:

• Developing a tripartite simulation theory of poetic emotion.
• Analyzing semantic content, prosodic cues (meter, rhythm, rhyme), and self-simulation.
• Collecting empirical evidence to corroborate the theoretical predictions.

Main Results:

• Semantic simulations of poem content evoke emotions akin to other representational media.
• Mimetic simulations of prosodic features elicit specific emotional states, including basic emotions.
• Self-simulations confirm reader engagement, potentially leading to aesthetic emotions.

Conclusions:

• The theory successfully predicts various emotional responses to poetry.
• The three simulation types offer a comprehensive framework for understanding poetic emotions.
• Empirical findings support the proposed simulation-based model of poetic affect.