CASSIUS LONGINUS

The "sublime"...
Longinus states that the sublime consists "in a consummate excellence and distinction of language, and...this alone gave the greatest poets and historians their pre-eminence...For the effect of genius is not to persuade the audience but rather to transport them out of themselves."
Debate: does art come from "innate genius or from conscious application of methodology and rules?"
It should elevate us, says Longinus...and I agree.
In this chapter, Habib cites five sources which Longinus felt met the "sublime" nature of poetry and art:
Robust ideas
The inspiration of "vehement emotion,"
Proper construction of figures, of thought and speech,
Nobility of Phrase (diction and metaphor usage),
and the general effect of dignity and elevation.
Thus, constructing an organic whole.
Some of my most favorite forms of literature, both classical and modern do "carry" me away.
I simply love a story that pricks my ears and my heart..that when the story is over I question my previous opinions or even construct new ideas about what I perceive as reality. I remember walking out of the theater after watching "Pulp Fiction" and just looking at people differently. I actually felt anxious about what was really going on around me...as if there was a whole dimension of life that existed beyond my knowledge. Well, of course it does! Yes, we tend to get all wrapped up in what we perceive as our own function of the day that maybe we forget that the world doesn't center around us. I felt like my youngest son...simple, naive, and vulnerable and I liked it.
Longinus pulls together so many thoughts of what poetry is (well, art and all that good stuff) and what it provides us slovenly humans! And, when we read his opinions and interjections, it raises us up to expect more and understand what we appreciate about what we read and watch...beyond our over-due bills and stresses of the day.
Thank goodness. This course is forcing me to re-evaluate previous studies of Literature and Poetry with a capitol "P"
Within boundaries, greatness is found. And, greatness exists within us if we pursue it.
The power of language to illuminate our thoughts and question our ideals...
Let's be transported...rather than just persuaded as we listen and see the world around us.
This is me in my "rose colored-lenses" saying "yes, take me away and lift me up..alter what I think I know and raise me to a higher ground where I am small and ideas are huge!"