How is the Romantic construction of the Sublime reflected in
the ideological, conceptual and linguistic construction of the texts under
consideration in this Romanticism reader?
You can look here at Blake's Songs, Shelley's Ode to the West Wind, Byron's Manfred and Frankenstein...
Manfred!!! Coolest poem ever! In reference to the sublime, i'll try simmer down and answer without too much excitement. The greatest lines I've ever come acoss in a poem, however briefthey re, represent the sublime in a variety of ways.
ReplyDelete"But grief should be the instructor of the wise;
Sorrow is knowledge: they who know the most Must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth,"
Here the sublime is represented through the metaphysical/philosophical ideaology, that knowledge, the most valuable, liberating and powerful thing a human can have, is tintent with sorrow; the plight of man. The similar comparison is made with 'grief' an the 'wise'. The ones that know the most, that seem to be the wise and strong and powerful, must be followed by the mournful shadow of the 'fatal truth.'
Now, wether he means the fatal truth of his terrible secret, ot the fatal truth of life and the harsh world isnt clear at this stage of the poem and i like to keepit open for interpretation. Perhaps it is intended to represent both, thus be applicable to us all.
The most interesting line in this poem struck me; 'The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life.'
ReplyDeleteThis made me probe the realm of endles questions... How can it be that, the one thing we seek most in life is TO KNOW, yet all the knowledge we acquire is not coherent with the reality of life? This is what I thik Byron is trying to say here, and i agree. The sublime is represented through the image and notion of the 'Tree of Knowledge' and contrasted against life. We acqire knowledge from life that in one way is useul for us during life, but alot of it is (in my opinion) acquired for a higher, later purpose.
Byron carries this contrast thoughout his first speech.