The Discourse of the Sublime: Readings in History, Aesthetics and the Subject

by Peter De Bolla

Genres: Art

324 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter da Bolla is a persuasive thinker and writer, and his Discourse on the Sublime tells us about the origins not only of the sublime as an aesthetic construct but also about the concept of the "self" that is so essential to modern day thought, and so crucial to our contemporary view of Democratic institutions and government. It may seem surprising to the modern reader to realize that our conceptions of selfhood are constructions that developed, according to da Bolla, out of discursive practices just around the time of the French Revolution in the late 18th century. The early Romantic poets such as Shelley, Keats, and Wordsworth arguably could not have written their deep meditative verses that touch on sublimity and the self, had certain events in history, just prior to their writings, not also occurred. Da Bolla also reveals a fascinating reading about gender and the sublime, and the divide between feminine beauty and masculine sublimity. This is a book worth reading, studying, and contemplating, whether or not you are a student or teacher of aesthetics, modern history, and the sublime.