Eenheid-in-veelheid as struktuurstramien in die poësie van T.T. Cloete, met klem op bundelbou

Abstract

Unity-in-multiplicity as structural framework in the poetry of T.T. Cloete, with emphasis on volume construction. Close-knitted coherence or iconic ‘co-communicativity’ is an outstanding characteristic of 20th–century poetry, and the oeuvre of Afrikaans poet T.T. Cloete. This characteristic, which has also become a dominant literary reading convention, is not only manifested on the micro- and intermediate textual levels, but also on the macrotextual (on the level of poetry volume construction). In Afrikaans, compared to what has happened in a language like Dutch, relatively vibrant and profound theorising on poetry volume construction has occurred. Raidt’s 1962 dissertation and Strydom’s 1976 thesis serve as two of the landmarks in the Afrikaans literary field in this regard. T.T. Cloete, apparently, has played a mediating role in this theorising process. In this article, an overview was given of the manifestation of ‘co-communicativity’ on the micro-, intermediate and macro-textual levels of Cloete’s own poetry oeuvre. It is viewed as a poetic iconisation of the way in which God makes himself known through the phenomenon of dynamic earthly and cosmic unityin- diversity (as perceived by Cloete). The focus was on characteristic ways of poetry volume construction by Cloete. It is concluded that his poetry oeuvre primarily takes on a series construction character, and that it is provisionally to be divided into three groups of three volumes each – but which, seen as a three-deckered whole, also showed a certain cyclic nature because of the ‘narrative’ it thereby embodies. OPSOMING: Vervlegte samehang of ikoniese ‘ko-kommunikatiwiteit’ is ’n uitstaande kenmerk van die twintigste-eeuse poësie, ook die digkuns van die Afrikaanse digter T.T. Cloete. Dié kenmerk, wat ook ’n dominante literêre leeskonvensie geword het, manifesteer nie slegs op mikro- en mesotekstuele vlakke nie, maar ook op die makrotekstuele (digbundel-) vlak. In Afrikaans is daar, gesien teen wat byvoorbeeld in Nederlands gebeur het, relatief lewendig en diepgaande geteoretiseer oor digbundelbou. Raidt se 1962-verhandeling en Strydom se 1976-proefskrif is twee bakens hiervan in die Afrikaanse literêre veld. T.T. Cloete het in hierdie teoretisringsproses klaarblyklik ’n bemiddelende rol gespeel. In hierdie artikel word die neerslag van ‘ko-kommunikatiwiteit’ op die mikro-, meso- en makrotekstuele vlakke van Cloete se eie digoeuvre oorsigtelik ondersoek. Dit word beskou as ’n digterlike verikonisering van die Godopenbarende, dinamiese samehang-in-verskeidenheidsfenomeen wat hy in kosmiese en aardse verskynsels waarneem. Klem val op die bundelboukenmerke in sy digoeuvre. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat sy digoeuvre oorheersend ’n reeksaard aanneem en voorlopig in drie reekse van drie bundels elk manifesteer – maar wat, gesien as ’n geheel-in-drie-dele, ten slotte iets siklies vertoon vanweë die ‘verhaal’ wat daardeur vergestalt word.