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“THE POETIC GROUND OF PHYSIOLOGY”: AESTHETIC AND BIOLOGICAL UNITY IN BRITISH ROMANTIC POETRY

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Date Issued:
2018
Abstract/Description:
British Romantic poets adapted the natural-philosophical idea of “organicism”, a framework that explained life as a formative, generative power that pervades all organisms and provides unity to the parts that make the whole, as a way to judge art. The uniquely Romantic idea of organicism was defined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as “unity in multeity” (Theory of Life, 42), which was the aesthetic ideal many poets strove to meet. I will explore how certain works in the Romantic era exemplify various aspects of organic theory, specifically: The Sensitive Plant, by P. B. Shelley, describes a personified organic force; The Botanic Gardens, by Erasmus Darwin, demonstrates how natural philosophers came to view the organization of life as a network, rather than a taxonomic hierarchy; and the ode encapsulates the organic ideal of synthesis. Understanding organic theory helps us to understand the ideal that the Romantics aspired to meet.
Title: “THE POETIC GROUND OF PHYSIOLOGY”: AESTHETIC AND BIOLOGICAL UNITY IN BRITISH ROMANTIC POETRY.
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Name(s): Riso, Anna, author
Sourgen, Gavin, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree Grantor
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Date Created: 2018
Date Issued: 2018
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Jupiter, Florida
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 39 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: British Romantic poets adapted the natural-philosophical idea of “organicism”, a framework that explained life as a formative, generative power that pervades all organisms and provides unity to the parts that make the whole, as a way to judge art. The uniquely Romantic idea of organicism was defined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as “unity in multeity” (Theory of Life, 42), which was the aesthetic ideal many poets strove to meet. I will explore how certain works in the Romantic era exemplify various aspects of organic theory, specifically: The Sensitive Plant, by P. B. Shelley, describes a personified organic force; The Botanic Gardens, by Erasmus Darwin, demonstrates how natural philosophers came to view the organization of life as a network, rather than a taxonomic hierarchy; and the ode encapsulates the organic ideal of synthesis. Understanding organic theory helps us to understand the ideal that the Romantics aspired to meet.
Identifier: FAUHT00044 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, 2018.
Collection: FAU Honors Theses Digital Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUHT00044
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.
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.

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