Abstract
Theory of the Lyric aims to approach the field of lyric poetry flexibly and undogmatically, but with the awareness of the rich internal connections of the tradition of poetic writing, listening and reading, which prove themselves in the author's and reader's experience, and thus establish the unity of the genre. In contrast to the hermeneutic question of the meaning of the poetic text, Culler emphasizes what the poem strives for linguistically and what it achieves with its statement: the focus is on addressing, praise and shame, or rhythm and ritual.
Culler uses theoretical stimuli, which he finds, for example, in the work of G. W.
F. Hegel, T.
W. Adorn or phenomenologically focused K.
Hamburger, but at the same time he always bases his reflection on specific examples and makes sure that the book can also serve as a teaching introduction. The book is supplemented by a number of original translations of quoted poems, the author's preface to the Czech edition and the afterword reflecting the Czech context of lyric studies.