The philosophical concept of The Sublime, while typically difficult to define due to its complex nature, is often described as an object or environment that evokes a feeling of profound awe when viewed . The fundamental difference between the concept of the Sublime and the more direct concept of "beauty" is that the Sublime, although awe-inspiring, usually comes with a sense of unease and often even fear, rather than evoking the sole response of joy in how makes an object of beauty.[1] Sublime entities include mountains, oceans, caves, and cathedrals, all of which can simultaneously evoke joy and terror when one finds oneself in one's present. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Coleridge, who had an ongoing fascination with The Sublime - evident in both his works of poetry and his autobiographical writings - distinguished between The Sublime and the beautiful through the use of a metaphorical circle. In his Biographia Literaria he suggests; 'The circle is a beautiful figure in itself; it becomes Sublime, when I contemplate eternity under that figure'. This analogy indicates the need for further exploration and contemplation in the face of the Sublime. [2] As Coleridge explains, there is no simple definition or understanding of the Sublime, and this is because the feeling it provokes is so profound that expressing it in simple words is no simple task. So why is the concept of the Sublime so strongly present in Romantic literature, a movement based exclusively on the written word? The answer is just as Coleridge suggests; The Sublime requires exploration and introspection, for which romantic poetry serves as the perfect medium. The literature of the Romantic period very often finds the Sublime in nature. Because Romantic poetry is often an expression of the Self, it can serve as a form of written introspection, and Romantic poets are able to use the sublime environment as a tool for deeper thought and understanding of the Self, then turning to the word written to exercise this. . The analysis of nature is synonymous with the analysis of the Self and therefore, when left exclusively to nature, one is essentially left to one's own devices, and any thought about one's surroundings is also a thought coming from deep within the psyche. So, when one approaches the sublime objects of nature, which often represent a void or something diminished to man, one's introspection becomes transcendent and one is able to introspect on a deeper level, making further expression and discovery through the medium of ideal poetry. Kubla Khan's Coleridge uses effective linguistic styles to convey the overwhelming disquiet of The Sublime. With the use of lines like; “Wrapping sunny patches in green” [3] and “Through caves measureless for man/Down to a sunless sea,” [4] Coleridge creates tiny images and highlights the contradictory nature of the Sublime. By implementing both beautiful and ugly adjectives in the same line to describe the same Sublime environment, such as "savage" and "enchanted" [5], he successfully reflects how The Sublime makes one feel terror and joy simultaneously. The phrase "As if this land in fast and thick pants were breathing" [6] is an example of personification of nature, testifying to the connection between man and Sublime nature. When exploring the Sublime it is common to find an absence rather than something tangible. The Sublime itself is a limitation[7], the limitation of meaning and the absence of full understanding; a feeling of longing with no end goal available. Beyond the sensory excitement and confusion of the Sublime there is ultimately a void, representative of, 2015]
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