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"Fore-conceit," autonomy, and Sidney's view of mimesis

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Date Issued:
1995
Summary:
In Sidney's conception of mimesis, a pyramid of autonomy exists with God as the ultimate artificer, and the succeeding levels peopled with human artificers, then fictional artificers. The autonomous character of each descending artificer connects one to the power of the heavenly maker. Sidney's use of mimesis argues for cognizance of our innate capacities, for which we are grateful solely to God. In creating the characters of The Old Arcadia, Sidney first endows them with the capacity for "fore-conceit," a necessary corollary to Free will, the essential aspect of man's condition as Sidney conceived it. By emphasizing the artificer/artifact relationship on successive levels, Sidney implies the focal importance of the creative process. Because Sidney's artifacts are constructed in the image of their maker, despite the limitations of an "infected will," they are also artificers themselves, at least insofar as they approach a true mimesis of the nature of man.
Title: "Fore-conceit," autonomy, and Sidney's view of mimesis.
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Name(s): Lewis, Steven Michael.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Collins, Robert A., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1995
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 65 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: In Sidney's conception of mimesis, a pyramid of autonomy exists with God as the ultimate artificer, and the succeeding levels peopled with human artificers, then fictional artificers. The autonomous character of each descending artificer connects one to the power of the heavenly maker. Sidney's use of mimesis argues for cognizance of our innate capacities, for which we are grateful solely to God. In creating the characters of The Old Arcadia, Sidney first endows them with the capacity for "fore-conceit," a necessary corollary to Free will, the essential aspect of man's condition as Sidney conceived it. By emphasizing the artificer/artifact relationship on successive levels, Sidney implies the focal importance of the creative process. Because Sidney's artifacts are constructed in the image of their maker, despite the limitations of an "infected will," they are also artificers themselves, at least insofar as they approach a true mimesis of the nature of man.
Identifier: 15171 (digitool), FADT15171 (IID), fau:11943 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1995.
Subject(s): Sidney, Philip,--1554-1586--Arcadia
Sidney, Philip,--1554-1586--Criticism and interpretation
Mimesis in literature
English literature--Early modern, 1500-1700--History and criticism
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15171
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.