Longinus-On the Sublime | Classical Criticism |

"On the Sublime" is a precious legacy of the Greco-Roman period. It is a critical document of great worth and significance. This work belongs to Longinus. However, the authenticity of the date and author is a matter of debate.

        It has a well-marked structure. Longinus has addressed this document to a friend and a pupil- Terentianus. Its central discussion is those vices of style included in the contemporary oratory i.e. "a false Sublime". While addressing his friend Terentian, Longinuis has said that this essay aims to correct the faults of Caecilius's essay "Essay on Sublime" and make some preliminary observations.

        Longinus has propounded that "Sublimity is a certain loftiness and excellence in language". It is the sublimity that the greatest poets and prose writers of any age have gained reverence and immmortility in the realm of criticism. Sublimity not only persuades us but also carries us irresistibly. According to Longinus, Sublimity can be expressed even in a single line, like a flash of lightning. 

        Further, He has divided Sublimity into two categories. They are- true sublimity and false sublimity. True sublimity, as Longinus has defined it, uplifts our soul. "It arises from lofty ideas, clothed in loft language". In other words true sublime "Pleases all and pleases always". On the contrary, the false sublime consists merely of appealing surfaces that conceal nothing only emptiness. There is a bombast of language and a cheap display of passion.

        According to Longinus, Sublimility can be achieved in five ways. Those five ways are the following- "Grandeur of Thought", "Intensity of Emotion", "The Appropriate Use of Figure of Speech", "Nobility of Dicton", and "Dignified  Composition".

The first two qualities, "Grandeur of Thought" and "Intensity of Emotion" are the gifts of nature. It is a human's intrinsic quality. And the others are acquired by art. 

Sources of Sublimity-:

Grandeur of thought - It is the first requirement of sublimity. It means greatness and nobility of thought that will surely find its natural expression in lofty language. Such thoughts are the "echo of greatness" As per Longinus such thoughts can be cultivated by nourishing the mind on the thought that is elevating. Therefore he who wants to attain such distinctiveness in their style and writing must feed his soul on the work of the great master like Homar. However, Longinus warns that learning does not mean imitation but "a man catches fire in from the spirit of other".  Further, he says that the grandeur of conception is to be emphasised and made effective by suitable material treatment.

Intensity of emotion / Passion - This is the second source of the sublime. In Longinus's view, nothing can contribute to grandeur conception other than vehement emotion.

The use of figures - It is the third source of sublimity. It can be achieved through learning. Longinus has devoted one-third of his work to it and says that figures should not be used mechanically, instead they must come from true or genuine emotions. In other words,  

"A figure is most effective when the fact that it is a figure is happily concealed, and it is concealed by splendour of style"

However, Longinus does not deal with all the figures of speech. He only deals with rhetorical questions, Asyndenton, Hyperbaton, and Periphrasis.

Diction - The fourth source of 'sublime' is diction. It includes choice and arrangement of words, and use of metaphor, and simile. As per Longinus words must be chosen for the formation of the impressive style. He adds "Beautiful words are truth the very light of thought". Next, he talks about the use of metaphor. He includes metaphor as a queen of metaphor, and simile and comparison under the heading of figure. Metaphors are used to give the necessary elevation to style. There should be no rules on how many metaphors should be used, rather it is the insight of genius that decides it. 

Dignified Composition - It is the fifth source of the sublime. As per Longinus words must be harmoniously set not only of persuasion and pleasure but of lofty emotion as well. Such a harmonious combination of words appeals to the soul and enables the reader to share in the emotion of the author. Further, Longinus praised the hexameter and said it was most beautiful.

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Modern Education and Classic - Eliot

Modern Education and Classic

"Modern Education and Classic" is an essay by T S Eliot. In this essay, Eliot presents his views regarding the modern education system. The essay commences with a tone of dissatisfaction over the contemporary education system. He blames the unsettled and disarrangement of society as a real cause of the worsening of education in society. The vague and diverse opinions of people lead to more chaos and meaninglessness in the relation of education to the social system.

Eliot says the "theory of education" must be derived from our philosophy of life. We must know what we want in education and what we want in general.

This disintegration of education in society, which Eliot calls 'Crisis of Education'. While defining the reason for this crisis Eliot says,

"The progress of education of several countries has been one aspect a drift, from another aspect a push; for it has tented to be dominated by the idea of getting on".

Further, Eliot mentions,

"The Individual wants more education, not as an act of the acquition of wisdom but in order to get on; the nation wants more in order to get the better of the other nations, the class wants it to get better of the other classes, or at least hokd against them".

Therefore, Education is associated with technical efficiency on the one hand and writing on the other. The prime purpose of education is to become a tool to get more money, power over others, a better social position and at least a respectable job. "If these thongs would not be provided by education then there are very few people who will take the trouble to educate themselves"

        Next, Eliot says, To dismiss the miserable 'stop-gap' idea and to diminish unemployment the age of enrollment of children should be raised. He refutes the idea of  'more years of education', and instead emphasises the government should make its elementary education as good as possible and limit the number of students treated in 'higher education'. 

        To overcome this problem of who should educate, how and why, Eliot discerns three tendencies in education i.e. the liberal, the radicalism and the orthodox.

"The liberal attitude is apt to maintain the apperently unobjectionable view that education is not mere acquisition of  facts, but a traning of mind as an instrument, to deal any class of facts , to reason , and to apply training ontain in one depaerment apply in new one."

Liberalism, as per Eliot, assesses that students should choose the subject according to their own bent. But, he refutes that and says that it is a danger because students will become overspecialized in their desired subject, and they will be wholly ignorant of the general interest of human beings. In Eliot's  view, "No one can become really educated without having persuaded some study in which he took no interest." For Eliot, liberalism committed the folly of pretending that one subject is as good as another for study.

Commenting on Radicalism, he says, 

"Radicalism, which is offspring of liberlism, discard this attitude of univrsal toleration and pronounces Latin and Greek to be subject of little import."

It proceeds to organise the vital issues and rejects what is not vital. However, Radicalism can be applauded for wanting something to select and eliminate, even if it wants to select and eliminate wrong things.

In the third discern i.e. orthodox, Eliot says that the ideal society can be cultivated by preserving what is right and helpful for development, and discouraging what is useless and distracting. For this Latin and Greek should be preserved, and for their preservation all education must be religious. However, he does not want to confine education to the tenant of religion, but in education, the hierarchy of religion should be followed. He has opposed the secularization of education because in his view universities have lost any common fundamental assumption as to what education is for.

Being an orthodox follower Eliot supports Christian civilization and emphasises bringing back the monastic teaching and its expansion because only then Latin and Greek can survive. The other reasons are the following:-

• educational task of the communities should be the preservation of education within the cloister, uncontaminated by the deluge of barbarism outside.
• the provision of education for the laity.

At last, he says, as the world at large becomes more completely secularised, the need becomes more urgent than professedly Christian people should have Christian education, which should be an education both for this world and for the life of the prayer in this world.

 

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Defects of Shakespeare-Preface to Shakespeare

Quotes from "Preface to Shakespeare", written by Samuel Johnson

Preface to Shakespeare is a critical essay by the neo-classical writer Samuel Johnson. In this essay, he has judged the merits and demerits of William Shakespeare's plays. Here are some of the defects of his plays-

Defect/Demarite in Shakespeare- 

"His first defect is that to which may be imputed most of the evil in books or in men. He sacrifices virtue to convenience and is so much more careful to please than to instruct, that he seems to write without any moral purpose." [362-365]

👉The first defect that can be attributed to Shakespeare is that there is evil in his works. His prime purpose was to entertain his audiences, not to instruct them which is why he sacrificed virtues and wrote without moral purpose.

"He makes no just distribution of good or evil, nor always be careful to show in the virtuous a disapprobation of the wicked; he carries his persons indifferently through right and wrong, and at the close dismisses them without further care, and leaves their examples to operate by chance... for it is always writer's duty to make the world batter, and justice is a virtue independent on time or place." [368-375]

👉Shakespeare does not distinguish between good and evil. His characters irrespective of their virtues and vices, are filled with all human qualities and when they reach that point where the opposite qualities are very close to each other and require distinction then he leaves them to operate by the time and place in which they are confronting. By remanding the duty of a writer, Johnson says that the writer must make the world better. Justice is a virtue and free from time and place.

"The Plots are often so loosely formed, that a very slight consideration may improve them, and so careless pursued, that he seems not always fully to comprehend his own design. He omits opportunities of instructing or delighting which the train of his story seems to force upon him, and apparently rejects those exhibitions which would be more affecting, for the sake of those which are more easy."

 

"It may be observed, that in many of his plays that latter part is evidently neglected. When he found himself near the end of his work and in view of his reward, he shortened the labour to snatch the profit." [383-385]

"In Tragedy his performance seems constantly to be worse, as his labour is more. The effusion of passion which exigence forces out are for the most part striking and energetic; but whenever he solicits his invention, or strains his faculties, the offspring of his throes os tumour, meanness, tediousness, and obscurity." [414-419]

Merits of Shakespeare

Source-

ENGLISH CRITICAL TEXTS by  Ernst De Chickera D J Enright.

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Johnson's quotes- Preface to Shakespeare

Quotes from "Preface to Shakespeare", written by Samuel Johnson

Preface to Shakespeare is a critical essay by the neo-classical writer Samuel Johnson. In this essay, he has judged the merits and demerits of William Shakespeare's plays. Here are some of the merits of his plays-

Merits/Qualities of Shakespeare-

"Nothing can please many, and please long, but just representation of general nature." [80-81]

👉Here, Johnson says that the popularity and demand of any play lies in its true representation of human nature.

"Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life."[88-90]

👉In Johnson's view Shakespeare is the greatest among all writers, particularly above all modern writers, because he presents the true nature of human beings. He faithfully presents genuine emotions- hate, love, anger, jealousy, of common people through his characters. In that condition how a person will behave and think is also presented through his play.

"His characters...are the genuine progeny of common humanity,...his persons act and speak by the influence of those general passion and principles by which all minds are agitated, and the whole system of life is continued in motion." [90-98]

👉 Here, Johnson says that Shakesperae's characters are true to the nature of humans. The elementary feelings and emotions that perturb, perplex, and worry the mind of the common human, the same emotions are the driving force of his characters.

"...But the dialogue of this author is often so evidently determined by the incident which produces it, and is pursued with so much ease and simplicity, that it seems scarcely to claim the merit of fiction, but to have been gleaned by diligent selection out of common conversation and common occurrence." [123-128]

👉Here, Johnson presents his view regarding Shakespeare's language selection in his play. According to Johnson, the selection of words of Shakespeare's characters is raised from the incident and the emotions in which she/he is in. He diligently selects the common dialogue and languages. The language is so simple that it hardly bears the shreds of evidence that his works have any merit.

"Upon every other stage, the universal agent is love, by whose power all good and evil is distributed, and every action quickened and retarded. To bring a lover, a lady and a rival into the fable; to entangle them in contradictory obligations, perplex them with  oppositions of interest, and harass them with violence of desires inconsistent with each other..."  [129-134]

👉In every other dramatic work of Shakespeare the universal or the prime agent which sets the action in motion is love. It is love that brings a lover, a lady and a rivel and entangles them in contradictory obligation, feeling and thought.

"Shakespeare has no heroes; his scenes are occupied only by men and speak as the reader thinks that he should himself have spoken or acted on the same occasion: Even the agency is supernatural the dialogue is levelled with life." [160-164]

👉Johnson says that Shakespeare's plays have no hero because his heroes speak and act in such a that if a common human were there she /he would act in similar ways. Johnson further mentions that even the supernatural agency has a dialogue that parallels with humans. For instance- In Tempest Ariel speaks, and feels just like humans.

" Shakespeare approximates the remote, and familiarizes the wonderful; the event that represents will not happen, but if it were possible, its effects would be such as he has assigned...This therefore is the praise of Shakespeare, that his drama is the mirror of life." [167-170,173-74]

👉It is Shakespeare's genius that presents even the remotest events of human life that apparently will not happen but if would happen then the person will respond in such situations as his characters have responded on the stage. That is why he has been praised and his dramas are considered as a "mirror of life".

"Shakespeare always makes nature predominance over accident; and if he preserves the essential characters, is not very careful of distinctions superinduced and adventitious."

👉In Shakespeare's play, the nature of the character plays more role than the events or accidents. It is the nature of characters that brings him in any accident and rise or downfall, For instance- The suffering of Lear in "King Lear" is due to his nature (i.e. the love of flattery), and this nature in him provokes anger for Cordelia and becomes a cause of his unbearable suffering.

Source-

ENGLISH CRITICAL TEXTS by  Ernst De Chickera D J Enright.

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