The Poetics of Space

Explore the idea of logos, or divine expression. What could the word “divine” mean in this context? How does the ability to create and express that creation connects separate humans from other forms of life, or does it?

Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space has resonated with diverse types of people in many different living situations. What draws people from various backgrounds to the book? How can the book be used to interpret all types of spaces? Is its vision of the childhood home relevant to those whose memories are not positive ones?

How would Bachelard feel about the rise of technology in the home and its contribution to or deterrence from reverie?

Apply Bachelard’s theme of verticality to a story or film with a powerful sense of space. For example, explore the role of verticality in the horror film Mother! (2017) or Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado.” How does verticality contribute to the suspense of the narrative?

Bachelard claims that the childhood home is engraved upon memory, and he asserts that the relationship between the child and the house is one of intense intimacy. Analyze a work of children’s literature through the lens of Bachelard’s assertions about the relationship between children and a physical house. How does this work appeal to a child’s sense of space? How does it engage the imagination?

In Chapters 4 and 5, Bachelard considers the natural forms of nests and shells and their emotional and architectural implications for the home. What other lessons about the architecture of the home can be taken from nature? How can the structures and forms of the natural world contribute to the emotions of a space?

Bachelard suggests that dualities are important to the design of a space, that they work to refine and enhance one another. How can dualities (miniature and immensity, exterior and interior, et al.) be incorporated into a design? How do the two opposing forces complement one another?

Throughout his work, Bachelard engages the reader to think about childhood—both in a child’s perception of space and in a child’s connection to form and daydreaming. How can engaging with the imagination of a child contribute to the design of a space? What does it offer to the understanding and form of the space?