Critic speak is tough, but we've got you covered.
Quote :"Sound Repetitions"
No matter how one looks at the interrelationship of image and sound, there is undoubtedly only one conclusion possible—the sounds, the harmonies, are not only euphonious accessories to meaning; they are also the result of an independent poetic purpose.
Is a euphonious accessory like a Gucci purse? Um, sure, if it goes nice with the other stuff you're wearing (euphonious means it sounds pretty).
But basically, says Brik, we have this very bad tendency when we read poetry to pay more attention to meaning than sound. We think the meaning of words in a poem is more important than the sounds of words. Which actually is total baloney.
Not only are sounds just as important as the meaning of the words—sounds in a poem are often completely independent of meaning. A poet puts in certain words because they just sound nice. Poetry is music, people! It ain't just about making sense. This emphasis on sound (as opposed to sense) is a hallmark of poetic language.
So pretty much the Formalists were obsessed with sound. They sat there reading poems aloud to themselves and thinking about how each little line sounded. And they came to the conclusion that sound in poetry is super important. In fact, one of the things that makes poetic language "poetic" is that it puts at least as much emphasis on sound as it does on sense—if not more!