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(2013
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2013 #3: Web Highlights |
LITR 4232 |
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Mickey Thames
What a Wonderful World- The Sublime All Around Me
“Through nature especially, readers could rise up and be
close to something larger than themselves, whether that be their own personal
gods or just more enlightened understanding. Ralph Waldo Emerson is the perfect
example in our reading that illustrates this aspect. He takes the readers
outside of themselves through his works, and makes them view the world around
them, the same woods that have always bordered their backyards, in a way they
never had before.” - Dorothy Noyes
“Yet, the scene also emits a feeling
of motion. The vines in the tree "threw" their shadows over the brook.
Not only are the shadows thrown over the brook, but they are "cavernous" giving
the feeling that they are endless. The sublime as something grand, large
or extending generally gives a feeling of movement outward or forward.
Sometimes movement is not necessarily forward, but a change.- “
Velma Laborde
“Emerson, a Transcendentalist writer,
uses the sublime when describing the sense of reverence people should feel when
viewing nature. In chapter one of Nature, Emerson says that at twilight
while under a cloudy sky he has experienced “perfect exhilaration.” The
use of exhilaration leads the reader to understand that the speaker is
experiencing more than just a passing thrill. This strong noun hints that
the reader is leaning towards the sublime. In the next sentence Emerson
says that he is glad “to the brink of fear” which is a classic depiction of the
sublime. He continues with the unnerving descriptions by comparing a man
to a snake shedding his slough. Emerson uses these examples of sublime to
show how all people should feel about their experiences with nature. In
this passage, Emerson is describing how twilight experienced in a treeless town
square still inspires in him a profound sense of awe.”-Kat Henderson
In each of these
excerpts from midterms, one thing is repeated- change. Whether that change be
the transcendence of the reader, the feeling of movement, or the profound
transformation that occurs after a harrowing experience, each of the above
passages is about change. So, in a way, American Romanticism could say to be
obsessed with change.
Dorothy was the one who helped flesh out the idea in my
head of a sublime that returns the reader or observer to a state of appreciation
for their own surroundings, a change very much in line with the idea of
transcendence. My short response essay used this idea as a springboard for the
sublime aspects.
Velma’s description of “movement” again touches on the
transcendence, but not necessarily being focused on enlightenment. Her view of
movement of any kind that the sublime initiates could be seen as a transcending
one was a unique interpretation, reminiscent of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. And I know
how those old Romantic writers just loved their pagan gods.
Kat brings up what
I like to call “big” and “little’ sublimes. So often the sublime is thought of
as massive mountain ranges, huge valleys, and other wonders of nature, sprawled
out to me marveled at. But Kat reminded me of the little sublimes, with the
description of the treeless town square at twilight could instill just as strong
a reaction as a rolling thunderhead. Romantic writers would have covered both of
these phenomenon, and it also serves as a reminder not to miss the tree in front
for the forest around us, again reflecting an idea of transcendence. Two for
one, not bad Kat.
That I chose three passages pertaining to the sublime was
no accident, as it was my favorite part of Romantic writing thus far. These
three passages served as very good reminders of the directions I could take that
favoritism, without it getting stale.
