Individuality and Transcendence in Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Joyce
The development of the scientific method started a revolution in thought
that changed how people viewed the world. Scientists tested theories by
creating experiments and carefully observing the results. The importance
of scientific discoveries raised questions about the role of the observer.
According to Ralph Koster, the importance of observation in science led to
the rise of the individual and an awareness of subjectivity. Society
realized that the individual could determine the outcome of an experiment
and that people could interpret events differently depending on prior
experience.
In addition to changing the role of the individual, science also changed
people's views on religion. By contemplating experimental results,
scientists created rules for how the universe operated. Nature became a
knowable force that scientists described in a logical collection of laws.
Thus, science took away much of the world's mystery and changed how people
viewed God. If the universe operated by rules, it wasn't necessary for God
to be involved every moment. God became a clockmaker who started the
universe and sat back to let it run.
The rise of individuality and changing views on religion resulted in
insecurity and isolation. Before the Romantic era, achieving oneness was
often thought of as an act of grace given in mysterious moments. God was
ineffable, but just. Because science encouraged the clockmaker view of ...
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...nity. He embraces it all in a unique
vision. Amazingly, in this total embrace, he recovers mystery lost in
modern civilization.
Works Cited
Joyce, James. "The Dead." The Norton Anthology English Literature. Ed.
M.H. Abrams. New York: WW Norton, 2000. 2240-68.
Koster, Ralph. "Seeking the Beyond" 29 March 3003.
http://www.legendmud.org/Ralph/papers/transcendence.html
Wordsworth, William. "Preface to Lyrical Ballads." The Norton Anthology
English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: WW Norton, 2000. 238-50
Wordsworth, William. "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey." The
Norton Anthology English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: WW Norton,
2000. 235-237.
The care-givers in both stories, Ethel and the Man, go out of their way to care for and provide opportunities that are appreciated by Skipper and cù mòr glas. Ethel takes time to promote Skipper to dream of his future away from the mining village, while her husband makes it clear t...
Jokinen, Anniina. "Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. N.p., 1996. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. http://www.luminarium.org/
William Blake was one of those 19th century figures who could have and should have been beatniks, along with Rimbaud, Verlaine, Manet, Cezanne and Whitman. He began his career as an engraver and artist, and was an apprentice to the highly original Romantic painter Henry Fuseli. In his own time he was valued as an artist, and created a set of watercolor illustrations for the Book of Job that were so wildly but subtly colored they would have looked perfectly at home in next month's issue of Wired.
The Scientific revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries changed the way that people views the world. Scientific philosophers such as Galileo and Descartes threw out the old teachings of the church and challenged them with new ways of thinking. These men sought to prove that rational thought could prove the existence of God. They also challenged that it was an understanding of a series of rational thoughts, not faith, would bring understanding of how the world worked. Traditional ways of thinking were ultimately challenged by logical and sensible rationale.
Abrams, M.H., et al. ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. 2 Vols. New York: Norton, 1993.
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Imagine going to Los Angeles California with only 40 dollars with you and trying to start a company. Sounds impossible right? Not! Walter Elias Disney was a very famous innovator and animator in the 1900’s and he created the famous company called “Disney” and the very famous cartoon “Mickey Mouse.” Walt Disney is a hero in my eyes because Walt failed throughout his lifetime at numerous things and was told that he coldn’t do anything, but he never gave up and he ended up building a huge company that is one of the world’s greatest known motion-picture companies in the world!
113- The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. of the book. Vol.
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