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Journal article 1519 views

'Blake's Material Sublime'

Steven Vine

Studies in Romanticism, Volume: 41, Issue: 2, Pages: 237 - 257

Swansea University Author: Steven Vine

Abstract

The essay argues that Blake offers an affirmative version of what Coleridge deplores as the ‘material sublime.’ For Coleridge, the material sublime entails an excess of sense and spectacle over against intellect and reflection. Acknowledging that there is an idealist strain in Blake that promotes id...

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Published in: Studies in Romanticism
Published: 2002
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa17983
first_indexed 2014-05-16T01:30:07Z
last_indexed 2018-02-09T04:52:08Z
id cronfa17983
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spelling 2014-05-15T17:14:24.1943076 v2 17983 2014-05-15 'Blake's Material Sublime' 8adad05ceecbaab7f4b2be512149b4d7 Steven Vine Steven Vine true false 2014-05-15 CACS The essay argues that Blake offers an affirmative version of what Coleridge deplores as the ‘material sublime.’ For Coleridge, the material sublime entails an excess of sense and spectacle over against intellect and reflection. Acknowledging that there is an idealist strain in Blake that promotes ideality over materiality, the essay contends that Blake’s prophetic books present a sublime that opens materiality up to infinitude. This involves a discovery of the sublime in temporal and historical process rather than the metaphysical. Drawing on Lyotard’s sense of the ‘postmodern’ sublime as an aesthetic of the event, and Jerome McGann’s argument that Blake pursues a poetics of practice rather than Kantian disinterestedness, the essay suggests that Blake locates the sublime in the ‘Particular’ not the ‘General,’ the singular not the abstract. This emerges in the labours of his poet-artist-prophet figure, ‘Los,’ who works relentlessly in time and projects a sublime of historical futurity rather than transcendence. Journal Article Studies in Romanticism 41 2 237 257 29 8 2002 2002-08-29 COLLEGE NANME Culture and Communications School COLLEGE CODE CACS Swansea University 2014-05-15T17:14:24.1943076 2014-05-15T17:14:24.1943076 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics Steven Vine 1
title 'Blake's Material Sublime'
spellingShingle 'Blake's Material Sublime'
Steven Vine
title_short 'Blake's Material Sublime'
title_full 'Blake's Material Sublime'
title_fullStr 'Blake's Material Sublime'
title_full_unstemmed 'Blake's Material Sublime'
title_sort 'Blake's Material Sublime'
author_id_str_mv 8adad05ceecbaab7f4b2be512149b4d7
author_id_fullname_str_mv 8adad05ceecbaab7f4b2be512149b4d7_***_Steven Vine
author Steven Vine
author2 Steven Vine
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container_title Studies in Romanticism
container_volume 41
container_issue 2
container_start_page 237
publishDate 2002
institution Swansea University
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hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics
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description The essay argues that Blake offers an affirmative version of what Coleridge deplores as the ‘material sublime.’ For Coleridge, the material sublime entails an excess of sense and spectacle over against intellect and reflection. Acknowledging that there is an idealist strain in Blake that promotes ideality over materiality, the essay contends that Blake’s prophetic books present a sublime that opens materiality up to infinitude. This involves a discovery of the sublime in temporal and historical process rather than the metaphysical. Drawing on Lyotard’s sense of the ‘postmodern’ sublime as an aesthetic of the event, and Jerome McGann’s argument that Blake pursues a poetics of practice rather than Kantian disinterestedness, the essay suggests that Blake locates the sublime in the ‘Particular’ not the ‘General,’ the singular not the abstract. This emerges in the labours of his poet-artist-prophet figure, ‘Los,’ who works relentlessly in time and projects a sublime of historical futurity rather than transcendence.
published_date 2002-08-29T12:37:51Z
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score 11.048064

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