EXISTENTIAL SENSIBILITY THROUGH NOSTALGIC AND SELF‑QUESTIONING TONES IN SOUTHERN URBAN POETRY (1965 ‑ 1975)

Abstract

Grounded in theories of tone and modern stylistics, this study examines Southern urban poetry as a distinctive
linguistic space in which tone functions as an “aesthetic signal” articulating the existential self. The analysis
focuses on two key tonal modes꞉ the nostalgic tone, understood as a structural expression of existential memory,
and the self‑questioning tone, which operates as a linguistic modality through which the self enters into
dialogue with itself. Through these tonal modalities, Southern urban poetry of the 1965–1975 period constructs
a unique “existential voice,” wherein memory, inquiry, and an acute awareness of human finitude become
central semiotic codes. These codes profoundly illuminate both the tragedy and the spiritual resilience of
human existence in its pursuit of selfhood amid a turbulent historical moment.