Mystic Fusion: Baudelaire and le sentiment du beau

PMLA ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 1127-1136
Author(s):  
Catherine B. Osborn
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Human Personality ◽  
Open Discussion ◽  
The Many ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Complete Interpretation

CHARLES BAUDELAIRE'S magnificent poetry has aroused constant speculation on his esthetic theory. Critics have felt that an understanding of his esthetics would give a clearer understanding of his poetic technique; this in turn would lead to a more complete appreciation of the beauty of his poetry. He has also left sufficient remarks, if unsystematized and indeed often contradictory, to pique the curiosity of the critic and to suggest various interpretations of his philosophy. His poetry, a consistent interpretation of his theoretical explanations, and the literary climate in which he lived all lead me to believe that his esthetic doctrine is built upon le sentiment du beau. His “définition du Beau,” his “théorie rationnelle et historique du beau,” his “Beau bizzare” all need le sentiment du beau to resolve their contradictions and their ambiguities. More important, this esthetic doctrine is applicable to all of his poetry: it permits a finer appreciation of both the Christian and the Satanic poems and also of the poems that are neither. It maintains the essential esthetic value absent in the many psychological interpretations. It affords more insight into his poetry than a doctrine of metaphor; it permits a more complete interpretation than the theory that his art is based on a fusion of the spiritual and the material. And there is evidence that Baudelaire's theory of the esthetic feeling not only was a logical development of early nineteenth-century esthetics but was under open discussion among the younger poets of the middle of the century. For Baudelaire did know to his satisfaction what this sentiment du beau is: he understood it to be a perfect fusion of the three modes of the human personality—sensation, feeling, and thought. “Il me serait trop facile de disserter subtilement sur la composition symétrique ou équilibrée, sur la pondération des tons, sur le ton chaud et le ton froid, etc. ? vanité! Je préfère parler au nom du sentiment, de la morale et du plaisir.”1

scholarly journals Migration and Memorials: Irish Cultural Identity in Early Nineteenth-Century Lowell, Massachusetts

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-341
Author(s):  
Colm Donnelly ◽  
Eileen Murphy ◽  
Dave McKean ◽  
Lynne McKerr
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Industrial Town ◽  
Place Of Origin ◽  
Nineteenth Century United States ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractLowell is considered as the birthplace of the industrial revolution in the early nineteenth-century United States. Originating in 1822, the new textile factories harnessed the waters of the Merrimack River using a system of canals, dug and maintained by laborers. While this work employed many local Yankees, it also attracted groups of emigrant Irish workers. Grave memorials are a valuable source of information concerning religious and ethnic identity and an analysis of the slate headstones contained within Yard One of St Patrick’s Cemetery, opened in 1832, provides insight into the mindset of this migrant community. The headstones evolved from contemporary Yankee memorials but incorporated Roman Catholic imagery, while the inclusion of shamrocks and details of place of origin on certain memorials attests to a strong sense of Irish identity. The blatant display of such features at a time of ethnic and religious sectarian tensions in Massachusetts demonstrates the confidence that the Irish had of their place in the new industrial town.

scholarly journals ‘The radicals in these Reform times’: Politics, Grand juries, and Ireland’s Unbuilt Assize Courthouses, 1800–50

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 109-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Butler
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
The Political ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Architectural Development ◽  
Irish Case ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Do So

It is the aim, in this article, to identify the reasons why certain designs for courthouses in early-nineteenth-century Ireland remained unexecuted, and to do so by analysing surviving drawings and placing them in the political context at this time of Irish local government and of the efforts of Westminster politicians to institute reform. The funding and erection of courthouses were managed by grand juries, an archaic form of local government which gave few rights to smaller taxpayers and was widely perceived as an unaccountable institution associated with theancien régime. In addition to hosting court sittings, courthouses were used by these grand juries for their private meetings and functions. By exploring the agendas and pretensions of these bodies, and by looking at the fluctuating availability of funding sources that were needed to initiate building work, I will argue through a series of Irish case studies that a renewed focus on elite patronage and its associated politics allows a new insight into courthouse building, which places less emphasis than is often the case on, for example, the role played by the changing legal profession in the architectural development of the courthouse.In nineteenth-century Ireland, courthouses demarcated the visible and tangible presence in the urban landscape of the law and state-sanctioned justice. Laws passed by the Irish parliament and then, after its abolition in 1800, by the Westminster government, were enforced in assize courthouses by travelling judges on established ‘circuits’, visiting each city or county town twice a year (in the spring and summer). These judges travelled with great splendour through the countryside, and were welcomed by a high sheriff at the county border and escorted with military pageantry, ritual, and procession to their destination.

The Gender of Subscribers to Eighteenth-Century Music Publications

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 94-152
Author(s):  
Simon D. I. Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Social History ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Capital Cities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Musical Interests ◽  
Insight Into

One of the most important and valuable resources available to researchers of eighteenth-century social history are the lists of subscribers that were attached to a wide variety of publications. Yet, the study of this type of resource remains one of the areas most neglected by academics. These lists shed considerable light on the nature of those who subscribed to music, including their social status, place of employment, residence, and musical interests. They naturally also provide details as to the gender of individual subscribers.As expected, subscribers to most musical publications were male, but the situation changed considerably as the century progressed, with more females subscribing to the latest works by the early nineteenth century. There was also a marked difference in the proportion of male and female subscribers between works issued in the capital cities of London and Edinburgh and those written for different genres. Female subscribers also appear on lists to works that they would not ordinarily be permitted to play. Ultimately, a broad analysis of a large number of subscription lists not only provides a greater insight into the social and economic changes that took place in Britain over the course of the eighteenth century, but also reveals the types of music that were favoured by the members of each gender.

scholarly journals Ghost Writers: Radcliffiana and the Russian Gothic Wave

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-171
Author(s):  
Katherine Bowers
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Literary History ◽  
Russian Translation ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Book Market ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Russian Literary ◽  
Anglophone World ◽  
Insight Into

Ann Radcliffe’s novels were extremely popular in early nineteenth-century Russia. Publication of her work in Russian translation propelled the so-called gothic wave of 1800-10. Yet, many of the works Radcliffe was known for in Russia were not written by her; rather, they were works by others that were attributed to Radcliffe. This article traces the publication and translation histories of Radcliffiana on the Russian book market of 1800-20. Building on JoEllen DeLucia’s concept of a “corporate Radcliffe” in the anglophone world, this article proposes a Russian corporate Radcliffe. Identifying, classifying, and analysing the provenance of Russian corporate Radcliffe works reveals insight into the transnational circulation of texts and the role of copyright law within it, the nature of the early nineteenth-century Russian book market, the rise of popular reading and advertising in Russia, and the gendered nature of critical discourse at this time. The Russian corporate Radcliffe assures the legacy and influence of Radcliffe in later Russian literature and culture, although a Radcliffe that represents much more than just the English author. Exploring the Russian corporate Radcliffe expands our understanding of early nineteenth-century Russian literary history through specific case studies that demonstrate the significant role played by both women writers and translation, an aspect of this history that is often overlooked.

scholarly journals Sospeso tra due mondi: il velo di San Giusto tra Bisanzio e Trieste

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 39-65
Author(s):  
Livia Bevilacqua
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Medieval Art ◽  
The West ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Early Date ◽  
Careful Observation ◽  
Visual Evidence ◽  
The Many ◽  
General Studies

This article aims to a preliminary reassessment of the silk veil preserved in the Treasury of Trieste cathedral. The cloth is unparalleled in Byzantine as well in western medieval art, in that it is painted with tempera on both sides. It depicts a youthful martyr in a court costume, and bears an inscription that identifies the saint as St. Just. Since its alleged recovery from a reliquary in the early nineteenth century, the cloth has been often addressed by the scholars, who ascribed it either to a Byzantine or to a local master and dated it between the eleventh and the fourteenth century. Despite being referred to in several more general studies, it has been rarely considered individually. In this paper I address the many questions that the Trieste veil raises, including problems of chronology, provenance, function, and iconography. After careful observation and based on both primary sources and visual evidence, I argue that it was produced in Byzantium, possibly at an early date, to serve as a liturgical implement; later, it was brought to the West, where the saint was given a new identity and the cloth was reused as a banner after being painted on the reverse.

scholarly journals Miscellany and Collegiality in the British Periodical Press: TheHarmonicon(1823–1833)

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-293
Author(s):  
Erin Johnson-Hill
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Periodical Press ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
School Of Music ◽  
The Status ◽  
Musical Knowledge ◽  
The Many ◽  
British Culture ◽  
National Styles

The Harmonicon was, in its day, London's premiere music periodical, gaining a wide and loyal readership at home and abroad. Perhaps the most the distinctive feature of the journal was its deliberate imperative to raise what it considered to be the ‘lamentable’ level of musical knowledge held by the British reading public. The journal's editor, William Ayrton, was deeply concerned that there was a lack of a national school of music in his own country that could ever match that which his rival French and German critics called their own. In this light, I argue that the journal's appeal and economic success was due to a didactic philosophy of ‘collegiality’ and ‘miscellany’ – to borrow William Weber's terms – as a means of disseminating musical knowledge to the broadest readership possible. Through reviewing, critiquing and publishing a remarkably assorted array of national styles and genres of music, the Harmonicon attempted to create a very general type of musical knowledge in Britain in the early nineteenth century, one which looked necessarily beyond national borders in an effort to build up a shared knowledge of music. Data drawn from musical examples spanning all 11 years of the journal's print run is analysed, assessing in particular the high number of international composers featured in the journal. The many miscellaneous strands interwoven throughout the Harmonicon reflect a mode of thinking about music that was integral to a valiant effort to raise the status and awareness of music in early nineteenth-century British culture.

scholarly journals The public worth of Mary Somerville

2006 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLAIRE Brock
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
Unpublished Manuscripts ◽  
Century Science ◽  
Insight Into

This article assesses the reputation of Mary Somerville in the 1830s and suggests that critical confusion over her status in the changing world of early nineteenth-century science is not new. Drawing on Somerville’s own writings, contemporary newspaper and periodical reviews, political debates and unpublished manuscripts, Somerville's ‘uniqueness’ as a public figure is examined through the eyes of both the nascent scientific community of the time as well as the wider audience for her work. Somerville's status as a popularizer and an educator is more complicated than may have previously been assumed and can be both confirmed and undermined by an analysis of contemporary public opinion. Although her works were directed at the public who indirectly paid her pension for services to science, Somerville's private and published comments about and within her writings offer an alternative interpretation. Despite an apparent turn to more popular works in order to bolster her finances, Mary Somerville relished the specialist aspect of her writings and valued the difficulties which prevented the ordinary reader from obtaining ultimate insight into celestial mechanics.

Remember Me

2020 ◽  
pp. 557-577
Author(s):  
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Body ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Church

This chapter explores the eighteenth-century concept of sensibility as it took form in popular culture in the United States in the early nineteenth century. Although later generations made fun of the weeping sentimentality of parlor poetry and embroidered memorials to the dead, nineteenth-century Americans believed that a pen mark on a page or a twined lock of hair could animate invisible chords in the body that connected one person to another through memory. To write about Mormonism in relation to sensibility may seem odd, since to outsiders the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seemed the epitome of grim-faced patriarchy, with its embrace of polygamy and attempt at theocratic government. A closer look at the rich materials preserved in its archives shows the many ways in which early Saints used common cultural forms to express unique religious belief such as baptism for the dead. Latter-day Saints celebrated plural unions in the language of sentimental friendship. Like other Americans, they used tangible things to cross boundaries of space and time.

Gazing on the Past (and Being Photobombed by Children)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Crawford ◽  
Katharina Ulmschneider
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Glass Plate ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
The Past ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
The Many ◽  
Insight Into

Archaeologists often ignore the presence of children as a contributing factor in the archaeological record. However, recent analysis of a number of glass plate and film photographs taken by archaeologists at the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century shows that children were often incorporated into the photograph, either deliberately or inadvertently. These images provide not just a record of ancient sites and monuments, but also of the many local children who appear in the photographs. The children recorded by archaeologists offer an insight into children, their childhoods, their freedoms, and their place in society across a range of cultures in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, as well as raising questions about how archaeologists ‘saw’ the human subject in photographs where monuments and sites were the object.

A ‘Presbyterian insurrection’? Reconsidering the Hearts of Oak disturbances of July 1763

1998 ◽  
Vol 31 (122) ◽  
pp. 165-187
Author(s):  
Eoin F. Magennis
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
The North ◽  
Willingness To Use ◽  
Industrial Societies ◽  
Landed Elite ◽  
Fresh Insight ◽  
Insight Into

In the midsummer of 1763 six of the nine counties of Ulster temporarily passed out of the control of the landed élite and into that of the Hearts of Oak. People gathered in their thousands across most of Ulster, with the exclusion of Counties Antrim, Donegal and most of Down, to protest at the levels of the taxes levied by the grand juries, the collection of small dues by the clergy of the established church and the compulsory six days’ labour on the roads. At the time one Dublin newspaper expressed its horror at this outbreak among the ‘loyal Protestants of the North of Ireland’ and warned that ‘our neighbours [might] be glad to make a handle out of this to our great prejudice and scandal, as they did about the Whiteboys last year’. Among many observers the belief was that these embarrassing disturbances by Ulster’s Protestants, particularly by the Presbyterians — who had long been seen as a difficult element — should quickly be put down and the insurrection regarded as an aberration. The scale of subsequent events in late eighteenth-century Ulster made it easier to forget the Oakboy disturbances. They were neither as long-lasting as the Steelboy outrages, nor as violent as the later clashes between the Peep o’ Day Boys and Defenders. In the early nineteenth century the narrators of rural unrest, Richard Musgrave and George Cornewall Lewis, believed the Hearts of Oak disturbances to be of little importance, while historians like Lecky saw all agrarian rioters as largely cut from the same apolitical cloth. This was to remain the perception until the late 1970s and 1980s and a series of groundbreaking articles, several of them resulting from the research of James S. Donnelly. These showed a fresh insight into eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Irish agrarian troubles, accompanied by a willingness to use theoretical models of unrest in pre-industrial societies and the responses of their legal systems.

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