The Poetics of Space

Epistemology is the theory of knowledge. Before studying philosophy, Bachelard studied science; his scientific study contributed to the field of education, in which he worked as a physics and chemistry teacher. The Poetics of Space rejects utilizing an epistemological lens—one rooted in the study of knowledge—to examine creative consciousness.

Fibonacci’s Spiral, or the Golden Spiral, is so named for following the golden ratio, a mathematical equation first written in Sanskrit poetry. The spiral occurs in numerous natural forms including the shell, the fiddlehead fern, and the organization of seeds in the head of a sunflower.

In a biblical context, logos is defined as the Word of God. Bachelard submits that anyone is capable of divine expression, or logos, through a connection with the poetic image.

Ontology is the study of being and existence, which Bachelard suggests is the focus of The Poetics of Space. Specifically, Bachelard examines how being and the poetic image are interrelated.

Phenomenology is the study of consciousness and experience. Bachelard refers to many different types of phenomenology in The Poetics of Space, including the phenomenology of the mind and the phenomenology of the soul. In this work, Bachelard focuses on the phenomenology of the imagination, the space where he suggests the soul and the mind meet.

“Poetics” refers to the writing of poetry or the theory of literature. Bachelard refers to “the poetic image,” which encompasses more than simply the field of poetry. “The poetic image” means the initial creative thought that occurs in consciousness, seemingly spontaneously. The image is then translated into creative expression. Bachelard emphasizes that the term “poetics” is derived from the Greek word “to make.”

For Bachelard, resonance represents an intersection of the cosmos with being. Resonance is the ethereal—intangible or spiritual—space within which the imaginative properties of the universe become available to the individual.

Bachelard’s approach to imagination explores the sounds and rhythms of poetry in terms of the related concepts of reverberation and resonance. He states, “In the resonance we hear the poem; in the reverberation we speak it” (7). In other words, reverberation refers to the individual’s connection to the rhythm of resonance and the outpouring of the poetic image that it sparks.

Note: Bachelard spells the term “revery,” but the preferred English spelling is reverie, which this guide uses when not directly quoting Bachelard.

Reverie refers to musing or daydreaming. Bachelard asserts that the poetic image resides within reverie, and reverie allows a person to float freely through consciousness and being.

Topoanalysis applies the field of psychology to the study of the home, the space in a person’s life that is most intimate. Bachelard suggests considering the home in all its parts—including the contrast between the exterior and the interior and the scale of the miniature versus the immense—as well as all of the characters that inhabit each of those spaces when engaging in topoanalysis.