Overview

Often labelled as 'indescribable', the sublime is a term that has been debated for centuries amongst writers, artists, philosophers and theorists. Usually related to ideas of the great, the awe-inspiring and the overpowering, the sublime has become a complex yet crucial concept in many disciplines. Offering historical overviews and explanations, Philip Shaw looks at: * the legacy of the earliest, classical theories of the sublime through the romantic to the postmodern and avant-garde sublimity * the major theorists of the sublime such as Kant, Burke, Lyotard, Derrida, Lacan and Zizek, offering critical introductions to each * the significance of the concept through a range of literary readings including the Old and New testaments, Homer, Milton and writing from the romantic era * how the concept of the sublime has affected other art forms such as painting and film, from abstract expressionism to David Lynch's neo-noir. This remarkably clear study of what is, in essence, a term which evades definition, is essential reading for students of literature, critical and cultural theory.

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9780415268479

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Easily the most informative and wide-ranging series of its kind, so packed with bright ideas that it has become and indispensable resource for students of literature. <br>-Terry Eagleton, University of Manchester, UK <br> The New Critical Idiom is a constant resource, essential reading for all students. <br>-Tom Paulin, University of Oxford, UK <br>

Easily the most informative and wide-ranging series of its kind, so packed with bright ideas that it has become and indispensable resource for students of literature. -Terry Eagleton, University of Manchester, UK The New Critical Idiom is a constant resource, essential reading for all students. -Tom Paulin, University of Oxford, UK

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University of Leicester, UK

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