Abstract
M.A. (Afrikaans)
In literature it is a common occurrence that certain poems are presented as a group, because certain joining forces indicate that these poems should not be treated as isolated entities. Two such classifications for the indexing of collective groups of poems are the cycle and the series. This study examines "Wat die hart van vol is", a collection of poems by Peter Blum in Steenbok tot Poolsee, to determine whether
it is a cycle of poems or a series of poems. In a cycle the poems are constructed in such a way that the constituting elements (symbols, imagery, motifs and themes)
form a structure which is simultaneously "horizontal" and "vertical", presented by a parabole whereby a spiral is incorporated in a chronology which is utilizing time and space in a rigid rranner by which the epic elements culminate in an all-encompassing theme. In this way the cycle progresses to a stage where it proves itself to be (back) at a (new) beginning at the point of its conclusion. The series is a group of poems which is constructed along a "horizontal" line. Unlike the cycle, it does not have the same underlying time-space chronology and interaction between the constituting elements because of its loose construction and the interchangeability of its poems. In the case of the series there cannot be an extention of the central theme or a deepening of the various layers of interpretation. At its utmost it can claim a "general incorporating" theme. In the analysis of the poems of "Wat die hart van vol is" it is proved that this group of poems is a cycle of poems and not of poems, and in the process the fact is established that a series of poems in its turn is an entity on its own with its own individual characteristics.