Sample Student Research Project 2018: Essay
LITR
4328 American Renaissance / Model Assignments
Sample Student Research Project 2018:
Essay
Kyle W. Abshire
11/26/2018
Sublime Transcendence: How Sublime
Writing Elevates the Purpose of a Story
American Romanticism is widely known as a style of
writing that appeals to people’s emotional nature. It arose as a stark contrast
to the previous neo-classical period, which attempted to use intellect and
reason as its main driving force. Romanticism’s differences from the
neo-classical period are made clear through its use of sublime language and
structure. Many Romantic period texts rely on the use the sublime to evoke deep
emotions which give their readers a strong connection to the story and its
themes. Washington Irving’s Rip Van
Winkle, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of
the House of Usher, and Emily Dickinson’s
Dare you see a Soul at the White Heat?
are all strong representations of how emotionally charging a text can
transform said text beyond a surface-level understanding. The sublime writing
style is a tool used by Romantic authors to transcend the physical realm in
which their stories take place and elicit deeper feelings of a religious or
spiritual understanding.
Emily Dickinson’s poetry is often associated with
Romanticism and the use of sublime language. Her use of sublime language
transcends the story being told in each poem to uncover a deeper meaning. One
commentator argues that Dickinson’s use of the sublime revolves around a
relationship between natural occurrences (Nature) and her poetic self. This
argument suggest that the sublime language of a poem is a way of expressing the
deep emotions one might face when confronted with nature. (Fraunholz 465).
Fraunholz claims that Dickinson viewed these natural experiences as greatly
important, therefore requiring specific forms of delivery to be fully grasped:
“Dickinson's aim . . . is not to stress the recollection
and transformation of her experience in a state of tranquility. More likely, she
draws attention to the transformation which the experience of the sublime
provokes in her by means of directly conveying a sense of awe” (Fraunholz 465).
The sense of awe that Fraunholz mentions is a predominant
factor in Dickinson’s poetry and a strong tool used to create a scale larger
than that of the physical story. She seems to reach past the situation that is
unfolding in the text and forces larger emotional scenarios to unfold. Fraunholz
suggest that another way Dickinson invokes the sublime is by leaving her poems
open-ended. Not filling the reader in on every detail of the story leaves many
questions to be asked and gives the story a larger sense of awe. Fraunholz
continues her argument by claiming that the poem is a form of communication
between the poet and reader that can only be complete if both parties take
action (Fraunholz 467-68). Her claim is that the reader’s understanding of the
poem is just as important as the author’s intentions (fraunholz 468). By leaving
the poems open-ended or without detail, the reader is subject to fill in the
empty spaces with their own emotions or feelings. Emily Dickinson wrote many
poems that use these forms of sublime. We will analyze and discuss one specific
poem by Dickinson to better understand how her version of the sublime works.
Dare you see a Soul at the White Heat? The
poem written by Dickinson seems to be describing a forge that would be run by a
black smith. Fire and light are two strong components of nature in this poem.
Each is represented as affecting its surroundings as the poet attempts to
describe them: “Red—is the Fire's common tint— / But when the vivid Ore / Has
vanquished Flame's conditions, / It
quivers from the Forge” (Dickinson 3-6). Light and color are both visual
distinctions used by the poem to describe the fires power. Not only is it able
to light up a room, it also cast out a color. The color is important because it
sets a mood or visual. The reader will begin to associate certain feelings or
emotions with the red color before they realize it themselves. Furthermore, the
poem describes that the fire is not infallible: “It quivers from the forge”
(Dickinson 6). This line seems to suggest that the powerful flame which once lit
an entire space with color and light can be snuffed out.
Dickinson’s description of the flame is
an example of her attention to the natural. The sense of awe she uses to
describe the naturalness of the fire hints to us that the fire itself is not
actually what she is talking about. Furthermore, the title of the poem can give
us a hint of the poem’s true intentions. Dare
you see a Soul at the White Heat? The title hints to us that the poem is
discussing something much more important than fire, human souls. The only time
the poem mentions a soul is in its first line; without the first line the
meaning of the poem might be lost. However, the absence of any supporting
information of the metaphor only seems to strengthen the emotion with which the
reader consumes the poem. The unfinished or un-detailed formation of the story
leads the reader to fill in the gaps left by Dickinson with their own emotion or
feelings, which gives the poem stronger emotional ties to the reader.
The passing of time is often a key
note in the Romantic genre. Washington Irving is famous for writing stories that
address how time relentlessly advances, because of this his works have become
the source of study to many scholars who wish to understand how his use of the
sublime invokes an understanding of history or time.
Hans-Ulrich Mohr is at least one scholar who suggest that Irving’s use of
the sublime mirrored his understanding of the vast power of time. He describes
time as a “sublime object” because it is impossible to predict or control (Mohr
393). Mohr seems convinced that Irving viewed time as an all-powerful force that
people hold no control over. He sets up his argument by establishing In Irving’s
own words the purpose of one of his most well-known stories: “In the preface to
‘Rip Van Winkle,’ Irving sets a frame for the coming narrative. He introduces
the story as having been found among the papers of Diedrich Knickerbocker, who
had taken a strong interest in the history of the Dutch settlers in the Hudson
Valley” (Mohr 399). Mohr suggests that Irving intentionally introduces the
source of his story as a historian of sorts to establish a theme of history
(Mohr 399). Mohr continues his argument about the nature of the sublime and its
connection to time by echoing a sentiment by Fraunholz. He suggests that the use
of awe is key to the successfulness of Irving’s sublime:
“The aesthetic material presented in “Rip Van Winkle" as
a component of the story and as a factor of history is the Kaatskill Mountains.
In its contours it evokes awe, if not terror, and the onlooker surmises huge
uncontrollable natural powers lying dormant underneath; in short, it is what the
writers we have dealt with would call sublime” (Mohr 400, Fraunholz 465).
The Kaatskill Mountains evoke a sense of awe in the story
because of their undeniably large and powerful presence. Mohr claims their
existence in the story is too establish a sense of mortality (Mohr 400). The
mountains were there long before Rip Van
Winkle and they will continue to be there long afterwards. The surface story
is given depth by the presence of an eternal landscape. It becomes an
awe-inspiring and emotional reminder that time continues, with or without
people. Through close inspection of Irving’s
Rip Van Winkle, we will discuss how
the sublime evokes a deeper meaning revolving around time and history.
It is no secret that the story of
Rip Van Winkle deals with the passing
of time. The main character finds himself asleep as the American revolution
takes place only to awaken after its completion. The immediate sense of being
left behind resonates strongly through the chords of the story as Rip struggles
to understand how things around him have changed. However, the usage of the
sublime creates a deeper level of understanding to the story. Change as time
passes creates a great struggle for Rip:
“I’m not myself—I’m somebody else—that’s me
yonder—no—that’s somebody else got Into my shoes—I was myself last night, but I
fell asleep on the mountain, and they’ve changed my gun, and
everything’s changed, and I’m changed, and I can’t tell what’s my name,
or who I am! (Irving 44).
Rip is utterly confused because everything in his life is
different. He believes that he only went to sleep the night before but really
has been asleep for years. This passage of time seems to suggest that time waits
for no one regardless of one’s perception of how it passes. The notion that
things will change with or without our approval can be alarming and can bring a
sense of reality to the knowledge of our own mortality. Rip becomes so confused
by the passage of time and changing of his surroundings that he loses a sense of
who he is: “I’m changed, and I can’t tell what’s my name or who I am!” (Irving
44). The emotional response from Rip is overwhelming. To lose one’s sense of
personhood is of the greatest fears of mankind. Not only does the reader
experience confusion along with Rip at the passage of time, they are also left
with a sense of bewilderment as to how such a scenario is possible. Irving
Includes one passage that seems to help the reader accept these events by
introducing an elderly figure from the village: “He assured the company that it
was a fact, handed down from his ancestor the historian, that the Kaatskill
mountains had always been haunted by strange beings” (Irving 55). Mohr’s claims
that the presence of the mountains hold a powerful role in the lives of the
Dutch settlers is supported by Irving’s decision to have a character corroborate
Rip’s recollection. The mountains are not simply a landscape but a powerful
force that reminds us of our mortality and the passing of time.
Edgar Allan Poe is another Romantic
author who delves into the usage of the sublime. However, at first glance it
might be difficult to identify. Poe is most notably famous for a gothic style
which is effective at producing emotions of fear or anxiety. His usage of the
sublime to explore darker themes sets him apart from other Romantic authors and
makes him the focus of many scholars. J. Alexandra McGhee believes Poe’s darker
route through the sublime is effective because it uses fear rather than the
overcoming of fear to achieve his goal: “Poe disrupts his notions of the sublime
experience as uplifting by calling attention to the horror of that experience as
central to the definition of sublimity” (McGhee 56).
Essentially Poe’s focus on the fear that is developed in
his stories does the same thing that other Romantic authors employ through the
triumph of fear. McGhee argues that Poe’s contemporaries used the sublime to
rise above fear and conquer it, to establish a new stronger individual. In
contrast to Poe who uses fear as an internal struggle that takes the individual
beyond death (McGhee 56). McGhee
analyzes the main characters in Poe’s The
Fall of the House of Usher and
Bernice to establish something that she calls the perverse. She explains
that the characters Rodrick Usher and Egaeus’ unhealthy focus on the “abyss” is
responsible for their actions and downward spiral: “Both characters are
decidedly perverse—morbidly fascinated with their family heritages and their
surviving (female) relatives, they are afflicted with diseases that cause
hypersensitivity and monomaniacal concentration” (McGhee 62). She is
establishing that the perverse is a form of insanity that differs from common
thought. The two previously mentioned character’s afflictions of insanity or
mental illness cause them to act in a manor far beyond what the rational mind
would seem acceptable. Dennis A. Foster supports this argument with his own
words on the perverse: “the pleasure of perverts begins where ordinary peoples’
imaginations stop dead.” (Foster 48-49). Through close examination of
The Fall of the House of Usher we
will attempt to uncover how McGhee’s argument is materialized in one of Poe’s
writings.
The Fall of The House of Usher begins with
a sense of darkness. The first paragraph of the short story describes the house
which the story takes place in, as a dark and uninviting place: “There was an
iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart—an unredeemed dreariness of thought
which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime”
(Poe 1). The story starts out with a sense of depression. There is no mention or
impression that light heartedness or happiness will be experienced in this
story. It simply begins dark which leads us to accept that the entire story will
remain there. Sublime language is used to create this sense of darkness or fear:
“There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart” (Poe 1). This
description of how the house made the narrator feel creates a feeling of anxiety
for the reader and establishes that fear will be a main theme in the story. The
establishment of fear from the first line of the story places us in a relatively
emotional state. However, the perverseness of Rodrick Usher elevates the
darkness into madness:
“an observable change came over the features of the
mental disorder of my friend. His ordinary manner had vanished. His ordinary
occupations were neglected or forgotten. He roamed from chamber to chamber with
hurried, unequal, and objectless step. The pallor of his countenance had
assumed, if possible, a more ghastly hue” (Poe 26).
This passage establishes that the narrator believes
Rodrick Usher to suffer from some sort of mental illness. It also announces to
the reader that the story is likely to delve into the realm of the insane or
perverse. Usher has ceased presenting himself or acting as a normal person might
which inevitably leads to the horrific conclusion of the story. The perverse
mental state of Usher creates a stronger emotional reaction than just the dark
descriptions which creates a deep feeling of fear that insanity can harm us.
The sublime writing style is a tool used
by Romantic authors to transcend the physical realm in which their stories take
place and elicit deeper feelings of a religious or spiritual understanding. As
seen from the three authors analyzed the sublime can be used to elicit deeper
meaning. Emily Dickinson’s Dare you see a
soul at the White Heat? uses a sense of awe to describe natural events to
create a metaphor between fire and a human soul. The metaphor pushes us to look
past the fire and forge and see the deeper meaning hiding underneath. Washington
Irving’s Rip Van Winkle also uses a
sense of awe to elicit powerful feelings of time. The Kaatskill mountains are
present as an all-powerful force. Comparable to a deity the mountains transcend
time. Their stature in nature gives them a sense of supernatural power to the
Dutch settler’s and forces the reader to accept that they cannot control time.
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House
of Usher uses darkness and depression to elicit feelings of fear. The dark
descriptions of the house and the perverse nature of Roderick Usher creates a
scenario that takes readers beyond the realm of the living. The reader is forced
to wrestle with the actions of Usher’s insanity and wonder how far away they are
from that state. The sublime is an extremely powerful tool for the Romantic
author that use emotions to evoke deeper understandings of their works.
Works Cited
Dickinson, Emily.
Dare you see a Soul at the White Heat?
Foster, Dennis A.
Sublime Enjoyment: On the Perverse Motive in American
Literature. New
York. Cambridge University Press, 97
Fraunholz, Jutta. “‘Bring Me the Sunset in a Cup’: The
Experience of the Sublime as a Source of Poetic
Inspiration in Dickinson's Poetry.”
Amerikastudien / American Studies, vol. 43, no. 3, 1998, pp. 463–482.
JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/41157399.
J. Alexandra McGhee. “Morbid Conditions: Poe and the
Sublimity of Disease.” The Edgar Allan
Poe Review, vol. 14, no. 1, 2013, pp. 55–70.
JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/edgallpoerev.14.1.0055.
Mohr, Hans-Ulrich. “Sublimity, History, and Revolution:
Barlow, Dwight, and Irving.”
Amerikastudien / American Studies, vol. 43, no. 3, 1998, pp. 391–404.
JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/41157395.
Poe, Edgar Allan.
The Fall of the House of Usher, 1839-40
Irving, Washington.
Rip Van Winkle, 1819
"Great Star" flag of pre-Civil War USA