The author is Charles Taylor (yes, the Charles Taylor) and the subtitle is Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment. This book is a very good introduction to Romanticism, and also to the poetry of Romanticism, knowing that its degree of originality may depend on what you already know. I preferred the chapters on Rilke and Mallarmé, here is an extract:
It follows that for Rilke, our full capacity for praise can only be realized if we take into account the point of view of the dead. The middle of Price East Gesang (song). thus the voice which most fully carries this song should be that of the golden Orpheus, who moves in the two kingdoms, that of the living and that of the dead.
And the sonnet is the medium. As its name suggests, it is a poetic form that demands to be heard, not just read on the page. These two modes of reception are essential to all poetry, but in the sonnet the musical dimension becomes the most important channel of the message.
So a song of praise from both sides, that of the dead as well as that of the living. They call on Orpheus, the singing god who travels between the two kingdoms. Hence the Sonnets to Orpheus.
I’m very happy to see that Taylor is still there, and at 640 pages at that. Additionally, this book is (unintentionally?) a good way to think about how much deculturation took place.
The post office *Cosmic Connections* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.
