ISBN: 9780802005625

Although the concept of the performative has influenced literary theory in numerous ways, this book represents one of the first full-length studies of performative language in literary te… More...

Although the concept of the performative has influenced literary theory in numerous ways, this book represents one of the first full-length studies of performative language in literary texts. Creating States examines the visionary poetry of John Milton and William Blake, using a critical approach based on principles of speech-act theory as articulated by J.L. Austin, John Searle, and Emile Benveniste. Angela Esterhammer proposes a new way of understanding the relationship between these two poets, while at the same time evaluating the role of speech-act philosophy in the reading of visionary poetry and Romantic literature.Esterhammer distinguishes between the 'sociopolitical performative, ' the speech act which is defined by a societal context and derives power from institutional authority, and the 'phenomenological performative, ' language which is invested with the power to posit or create because of the individual will and consciousness of the speaker. Analysing texts such as The Reason of Church-Government, Paradise Lost, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and Jerusalem, Esterhammer traces the parallel evolution of Milton and Blake from writers of political and anti-prelatical tracts to poets who, having failed in their attempts to alter historical circumstances through a direct address to their contemporaries, reaffirm their faith in individual visionary consciousness and the creative word - while continuing to use the forms of a socially or politically performative language. Media > Book, [PU: University of Toronto Press]<

1994, ISBN: 9780802005625

University of Toronto Press, Hardcover, Auflage: First Edition, 245 Seiten, Publiziert: 1994-08-10T00:00:01Z, Produktgruppe: Book, 0.53 kg, Books Global Store, Special Features, Books, Li… More...

University of Toronto Press, Hardcover, Auflage: First Edition, 245 Seiten, Publiziert: 1994-08-10T00:00:01Z, Produktgruppe: Book, 0.53 kg, Books Global Store, Special Features, Books, Literary Theory & Movements, History & Criticism, Poetry, Drama & Criticism, Subjects, Poetry & Poets, University of Toronto Press, 1994<