Perceptual Misalignment and Archaic Greek Poetry : Conditions of Applicability and Ontological-Textual Limits

This essay examines the applicability of the theory of perceptual misalignment to archaic Greek poetry, focusing on Sappho, Pindar, and Alcman. It argues that archaic lyric can be read through this theory only when perception exceeds the sovereignty of a stable “I” and emerges instead as a corporeal, performative, ritual, or cosmic field. The essay defines the methodological limits of the concept and distinguishes perceptual misalignment from lyric subjectivity, formal complexity, and choral performance as such.