On the Use and Representations of Sound in British Pre-Romantic and Romantic Poetry, or “On The Power of Sound”
The aim of this paper is to attract the reader’s attention on the treatment of the sounds of nature by British poets in the pre-Romantic and Romantic era. It is demonstrated that, at a time when the age-old topos of world harmony was at bay in an increasingly dechristianized Europe, poets endeavoure...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut du Monde Anglophone
2016-06-01
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| Series: | Etudes Epistémè |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/1032 |
| _version_ | 1818930228194443264 |
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| author | Claire Téchené |
| author_facet | Claire Téchené |
| author_sort | Claire Téchené |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this paper is to attract the reader’s attention on the treatment of the sounds of nature by British poets in the pre-Romantic and Romantic era. It is demonstrated that, at a time when the age-old topos of world harmony was at bay in an increasingly dechristianized Europe, poets endeavoured to revive the idea of a pact of man with nature through the notion of aural sensation. From Thomson to Keats, natural noises and sounds came to the status of traces of the transcendence. In texts such as The Task (Cowper) or “On the Power of Sound” (Wordsworth), the topos of locus amoenus and that of harmony are outlined so as to point to an evanescent unity at work in nature which it is the poet’s task to find and to bring to the knowledge of his fellow human beings. It is striking that, in forgotten fragments and major works alike, the lexical field of music as an art is omnipresent, though unobtrusive, in bucolic or georgic depictions of landscapes. Used in metaphors, it hints at natural sounds to be heard and understood as a language that man must be aware of and make his. Poetry around 1720-1830 thus invited each of its readers, as an individual, to open themselves to the mystery underlying the sensible world and to re-enchant their vision of this world… through listening. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T03:57:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e0ca313d38dc45e19b2e4bd602b15eec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1634-0450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T03:57:21Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | Institut du Monde Anglophone |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Etudes Epistémè |
| spelling | doaj.art-e0ca313d38dc45e19b2e4bd602b15eec2022-12-21T19:54:17ZengInstitut du Monde AnglophoneEtudes Epistémè1634-04502016-06-01291310.4000/episteme.1032On the Use and Representations of Sound in British Pre-Romantic and Romantic Poetry, or “On The Power of Sound”Claire TéchenéThe aim of this paper is to attract the reader’s attention on the treatment of the sounds of nature by British poets in the pre-Romantic and Romantic era. It is demonstrated that, at a time when the age-old topos of world harmony was at bay in an increasingly dechristianized Europe, poets endeavoured to revive the idea of a pact of man with nature through the notion of aural sensation. From Thomson to Keats, natural noises and sounds came to the status of traces of the transcendence. In texts such as The Task (Cowper) or “On the Power of Sound” (Wordsworth), the topos of locus amoenus and that of harmony are outlined so as to point to an evanescent unity at work in nature which it is the poet’s task to find and to bring to the knowledge of his fellow human beings. It is striking that, in forgotten fragments and major works alike, the lexical field of music as an art is omnipresent, though unobtrusive, in bucolic or georgic depictions of landscapes. Used in metaphors, it hints at natural sounds to be heard and understood as a language that man must be aware of and make his. Poetry around 1720-1830 thus invited each of its readers, as an individual, to open themselves to the mystery underlying the sensible world and to re-enchant their vision of this world… through listening.http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/1032Natureworld harmonymusic and poetrytopostranscendenceimagination. |
| spellingShingle | Claire Téchené On the Use and Representations of Sound in British Pre-Romantic and Romantic Poetry, or “On The Power of Sound” Etudes Epistémè Nature world harmony music and poetry topos transcendence imagination. |
| title | On the Use and Representations of Sound in British Pre-Romantic and Romantic Poetry, or “On The Power of Sound” |
| title_full | On the Use and Representations of Sound in British Pre-Romantic and Romantic Poetry, or “On The Power of Sound” |
| title_fullStr | On the Use and Representations of Sound in British Pre-Romantic and Romantic Poetry, or “On The Power of Sound” |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Use and Representations of Sound in British Pre-Romantic and Romantic Poetry, or “On The Power of Sound” |
| title_short | On the Use and Representations of Sound in British Pre-Romantic and Romantic Poetry, or “On The Power of Sound” |
| title_sort | on the use and representations of sound in british pre romantic and romantic poetry or on the power of sound |
| topic | Nature world harmony music and poetry topos transcendence imagination. |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/1032 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT clairetechene ontheuseandrepresentationsofsoundinbritishpreromanticandromanticpoetryoronthepowerofsound |