After the Heavenly Tune: English Poetry and the Aspiration to SongAfter the Heavenly Tune offers an expansive answer to the basic question central to the history of poetry and poetics: what do poets mean when they write "I sing?" Berley's chapters on Shakespeare and Milton unfold the remarkable development of these two "speculative musical poetics" who are central to the history of English poetry. And in his last two chapters on romanticism and modernism, he draws an intriguing line from Wordsworth to Stevens, in which the aspiration to song becomes a dazzling means of exploring, scrutinizing, and redefining the burdens and achievements--poetic, philosophical, social, and personal--for individual poets in their times. After the Heavenly Tune offers not only groundbreaking studies of The Merchant of Venice and Milton's theory of prophecy, but also compelling new readings of classical and medieval literary theory, the burdens of romanticism, and the resolutions of modernism. This work will appeal to a broad audience: Renaissance, classical, and romantic literary scholars; philosophers; musicologists; theologians; and general readers interested in English poetry and Literary Studies. |
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Page 12
... observes , there is sudden movement from meta- phoric to literal statement . The grandness of Homer is evi- dent in the epic similes , but his genius is evident when Hector's mother " [ runs ] out of the house like a raving woman with a ...
... observes , there is sudden movement from meta- phoric to literal statement . The grandness of Homer is evi- dent in the epic similes , but his genius is evident when Hector's mother " [ runs ] out of the house like a raving woman with a ...
Page 226
... observes , is a “ revival of poetic inspiration , " a renovated relationship with nature that would bring about unencumbered inducements to music . But Wordsworth was able to accept the loss of this possibil- ity in order to gain ...
... observes , is a “ revival of poetic inspiration , " a renovated relationship with nature that would bring about unencumbered inducements to music . But Wordsworth was able to accept the loss of this possibil- ity in order to gain ...
Page 233
... observes , " to tell when ordinary sight transmutes into vision in Wordsworth's poetry but this difficulty is ... the very essence of his ge- nius . " Wordsworth " is our first and greatest border poet . " 36 Wordsworth not only writes ...
... observes , " to tell when ordinary sight transmutes into vision in Wordsworth's poetry but this difficulty is ... the very essence of his ge- nius . " Wordsworth " is our first and greatest border poet . " 36 Wordsworth not only writes ...
Contents
ONE Platos True Musician and the Trope | 27 |
Beyond Aristotelian Praxis | 36 |
Platonic SelfRule and Neoplatonic Frenzy | 45 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
ability achieve Adorno ancient cycle Aristotle aspiration to song assert become Blake Blue Guitar Christian claim to song conception conceptual metaphor condition of music confront desire discord divine inspiration Donoghue early poems earthly ennobling Harmony Ficino God's hear heaven heavenly tune Hesiod Homer human Il Penseroso imagination Jessica John Keats John Milton Keats Keats's Kerrigan L'Allegro language lative Lorenzo Lorenzo's speech M. H. Abrams Maimonides means Merchant Merchant of Venice merriment merry metaphor Milton mind modern Muses nature Neoplatonic Nightingale one's Oxford Penseroso Phaedrus philosophic Plato play poet poet's poetic song Portia practical music Prelude Princeton prophecy prophetic Pythagoras reattuning relationship Renaissance rhetorical romantic says Shakespeare Shelley Shylock Sidney silence sing singer Socrates soul sounds speak speculative music Stevens Stevens's sweet theory things thou thought tion trans trope of song truth Vendler verse voice Wallace Stevens words Wordsworth writes Yeats York