-
Title
-
Tennyson: Poetics of division and openness.
-
Identifier
-
AAI9119619
-
identifier
-
9119619
-
Creator
-
Choi, Byong Hyon.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: Michael Timko
-
Date
-
1991
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Literature, English | Literature, Modern
-
Abstract
-
Division is one of the essential characteristics of Tennyson's poetry and poetics, and it is manifest in all aspects of his work: structure, character, theme, ideology, and style. Its main importance, however, lies ultimately in its signifying function which produces a plurality of textual interpretations. Division is also Tennyson's poetic strategy for securing his "negative capability," the capacity to be "in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason." What is unique about Tennyson's division is that it deters both moral didacticism and aesthetic radicalism, which Hallam called poetry of "sensation." Thus, division calls for endless interpretations and reinterpretations, and eventually produces a kind of textual metaphor, that critical open space emphasized by post-structuralists and deconstructionists.;This particular aspect of division has been either misunderstood or ignored. Tennyson's division was often treated as a sign of his artistic failure as well as a weakness of his moral character (Nicolson, Eliot, Auden, Lucas, Baum). In the 1950's and 1960's, however, there emerged a critical reaction which attempted to see Tennyson's division in a new, different way. Critics like Johnson, Killham, Langbaum, and Pitt began to see Tennyson's division in terms of poetic technique, not individual psychology or morality. This critical reaction, along with the new generic and aesthetic approaches made by Buckley, Ricks, Priestley, Rosenburg, and Turner, succeeded to a certain degree in restoring a balance in Tennysonian criticism. As a result, Tennyson's division can now be seen as reflecting his creative tension, one that is necessary for producing poetry with more sophisticated and profounder artistic significance (Shaw, Sinfield, Culler, Albright, Tucker, Buckler, Peltason, Berglund, Ball, Wordsworth).;Despite these critical developments, however, the notion of Tennyson's division still appears problematic. While our reception of Tennyson's division has overcome the old prejudice, it still lacks a clear conceptualization. It is my contention that Tennyson's division needs to be seen as the essence of his poetics or creative principle, and its main objective is to produce the openness of textual interpretation.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
