William Empson ‘Ambiguity’, for 6th Semester:by Podmeswar
According to Empson, an ambiguity in ordinary speech, means
something very pronounced and as a rule witty or deceitful. The word may be
stretched absurdly far, but it is descriptive because it suggests the analytical
mode approached. In extended sense, any prose statement could be called ambiguous.
The
word ‘ambiguity’ is taken from Empson’s book ‘Seven Types of Ambiguity’. He
divides the book into seven different categories of ambiguous meaning as
following:
1.The parts of language used effectively in multiple ways
suddenly.
2.Different meanings that can be determined based on the
author’s one intended meaning
3.The unconnected meaning that results from word usage like
what we see in puns.
4.The different meanings that when connected an reveal the
complicated state of the author’s mind.
5.What he calls ‘fortunate confusion’ which are specifically
similes that imply two conflicting meanings showing the author on discovering
his ideas in the act of writing.
6.Contradictory and irrelevant meanings that require a
reader to drive his/her own interpretations.
7.Statements which are so contradictory, they show the author’s
mind was divided.
Smith found ambiguity of Empson used to the fact that
ambiguous can have a range of two or more possible meanings while Empson used
it in multiple possible meanings. Empson responded to Smith’s criticism. He
argues that he has not used things like puns as ambiguous simply because puns “Say
two things as once.”
Empson argues that ambiguity
occurs when one can puzzle over an author’s meaning, seeing multiple possible
alternative views “without sheer misreading.” Empson’s boon of ambiguity been
criticized for organization and Empson confused that many of his examples of
ambiguity overlapped.
However
in spite of criticism Empson usages of the term ambiguous and organization, his
book is praised as revealing meanings in poetry.