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The Edge of Perception : The Psychology of the Seen and the Unseen in the Works of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Öwre, John LU (2023)
Abstract
This thesis investigates the psychological dimensions of sense perception in the works of two key poets in the British Romantic tradition - William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge - using a combination of traditional close reading and a newer psychobiographical approach. The thesis proposes that Wordsworth's and Coleridge's works can be seen as staging a dialogue between two mutually incompatible habits of sense perception, with Coleridge experiencing perception as metaphysically divisive, and Wordsworth experiencing it as metaphysically unifying (once the mind learns to correctly process sensory gaps). In this dialogue, Wordsworth eventually takes center stage as the dominant 'seer' of the two, while Coleridge takes on the role of... (More)
This thesis investigates the psychological dimensions of sense perception in the works of two key poets in the British Romantic tradition - William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge - using a combination of traditional close reading and a newer psychobiographical approach. The thesis proposes that Wordsworth's and Coleridge's works can be seen as staging a dialogue between two mutually incompatible habits of sense perception, with Coleridge experiencing perception as metaphysically divisive, and Wordsworth experiencing it as metaphysically unifying (once the mind learns to correctly process sensory gaps). In this dialogue, Wordsworth eventually takes center stage as the dominant 'seer' of the two, while Coleridge takes on the role of auditor, alternating between vicariously adopting, interrogating, doubting and philosophically augmenting Wordsworthian perception. Furthermore, I argue that this dialogue represents a philosophically significant attempt to combine transcendent values with a tangible and intuitive connection to real objects, with Wordsworth and Coleridge attempting to forge a middle road between idealism and empiricism - a pursuit of transcendent objectivity that, I argue, problematizes the conventional reading of Romanticism as an inward turn. (Less)
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author
supervisor
opponent
  • professor Neil Vickers, Kings College London
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Romanticism, British Romanticism, sense perception, vision, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, philosophy, Romantic period, poetry
pages
256 pages
publisher
Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University
defense location
SOL, Hörsalen
defense date
2023-09-30 10:00:00
ISBN
978-91-89415-86-7
978-91-89415-87-4
project
Sense Perception and Transcendence in the Works of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
20aeac13-9142-4c1c-8bce-2fcdaf961ef4
date added to LUP
2023-08-31 09:05:38
date last changed
2023-08-31 16:24:19
@phdthesis{20aeac13-9142-4c1c-8bce-2fcdaf961ef4,
  abstract     = {{This thesis investigates the psychological dimensions of sense perception in the works of two key poets in the British Romantic tradition - William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge - using a combination of traditional close reading and a newer psychobiographical approach. The thesis proposes that Wordsworth's and Coleridge's works can be seen as staging a dialogue between two mutually incompatible habits of sense perception, with Coleridge experiencing perception as metaphysically divisive, and Wordsworth experiencing it as metaphysically unifying (once the mind learns to correctly process sensory gaps). In this dialogue, Wordsworth eventually takes center stage as the dominant 'seer' of the two, while Coleridge takes on the role of auditor, alternating between vicariously adopting, interrogating, doubting and philosophically augmenting Wordsworthian perception. Furthermore, I argue that this dialogue represents a philosophically significant attempt to combine transcendent values with a tangible and intuitive connection to real objects, with Wordsworth and Coleridge attempting to forge a middle road between idealism and empiricism - a pursuit of transcendent objectivity that, I argue, problematizes the conventional reading of Romanticism as an inward turn.}},
  author       = {{Öwre, John}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-89415-86-7}},
  keywords     = {{Romanticism; British Romanticism; sense perception; vision; William Wordsworth; Samuel Taylor Coleridge; philosophy; Romantic period; poetry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{The Edge of Perception : The Psychology of the Seen and the Unseen in the Works of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/156477526/The_Edge_of_Perception_The_Psychology_of_the_Seen_and_the_Unseen_in_the_Works_of_William_Wordsworth_and_Samuel_Taylor_Coleridge.pdf}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}