On the Sublime (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Longinus
- First Published: 1652
- Type of Work: Literary criticism
- Genres: Criticism, Nonfiction
- Subjects: Nature, Authors or writers, Literature, Art or artists, Poetry or poets, Criticism, Drama or dramatists, Greek or Roman times, Greece or Greek people
Critical Evaluation:
On the Sublime is one of a number of classical literary treatises that pose the often-considered problem of nature versus art, of the relative contributions of natural genius or inspiration and of acquired skill to great writing. The author of On the Sublime, who almost certainly was not Longinus but an anonymous Greek rhetorician of the first century, argues throughout his work that it is a writer’s genius that lifts the reader out of himself or herself, above the limitations of reason. The author also points out that it takes great skill,...
[The entire page is 1691 words long]
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