Five years have passed; five falls, with length Of five long winters! and again I hear These bells, ringing every hour from Old Mains tower… “Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey,… Continue reading
In today’s stereotypical relationship, it is considered taboo for couples to pass gas, use the bathroom, or even vomit in front of each other. Jonathan Swift, sarcastic poet and political novelist, writes a… Continue reading
This sublime scene was captured in the fictional television show, Twin Peaks. The murder of Laura Palmer haunts this small, sleepy town where the residents are full of secrets. Directors Mark Frost and David Lynch designed the show to be mysterious and disturbing, encompassing the sublime aesthetic which was described by Edmund Burke as that which “excite[s] the ideas of pain and danger… or operates in a manner analogous to terror” (37).
For centuries the story of Frankenstein’s monster has been a source of entertainment and fear for people all over the world. Mary Shelley’s iconic novel has inspired songs, art, and Halloween decorations since… Continue reading
Edmund Burke defined the Sublime as anything that terrifies and astonishes us, particularly whatever is vast, ambiguously defined, or extremely powerful. In his view, a subjects’ ability to strike fear in the… Continue reading
Keats famously called Wordsworth’s approach to nature and the sublime egotistical. Indeed, most Wordsworthian poems are chiefly concerned with his metacognition — memory, personal loss, and nature are filtered through Wordsworth’s self-concept. But… Continue reading
The theme of many of William Wordsworth’s most famous works is a return to nature. Nature, as he describes it, has qualities both beautiful, inspiring love and passion, and sublime, inspiring terror and… Continue reading
