Cognitive Appraisal and Coping in Poetry
Abstract
Emotion has recently been receiving special attention from cognitive psychologists, developing different methodologies and terms. Although poetry is most commonly associated with and expressive of emotions, few studies have attempted to apply cognitive psychology methods to poetry. Such an adventure has two benefits: the application evinces the pros and cons of the theoretical framework for literary appreciation. The new perspective it provides results into a more systematic and detailed literary interpretation. This paper investigates how appraisal and coping contribute to a fictional character’s cognition and understanding of his/her situation. It argues emotions are performatives and thereby analyzes the selected poems in this light. The selection is based on expressions of positive and negative emotions. The findings of the study show cognitive appraisal and coping have the potential to encompass extratextual factors like readers’ aesthetic appraisal of literary works.
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