The aim of this paper is to discuss the reasons why abstract substantive works of art achieve poetic meaning. Its ultimate purpose is to understand the poetic meaning of non -vocal instrumental music. In the first and second sections, I present certain philosophical assumptions about the substantive arts and about abstract art. Next, I recognize the non -neutral classificatory nature of my proposal (section 3). Then, I analyze certain examples of abstract works of art, especially musical works (sections 4 and 5). Finally, I conclude that, in order to achieve poetic meaning, works of abstract substantive art should be linked in an intelligible way to the reality outside them.
