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1 Burnside Literary History- British 18th Century

This title in other editions

The Power of the Passive Self in English Literature, 1640 1770

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The Power of the Passive Self in English Literature, 1640 1770 Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Challenging recent work contending that seventeenth-century English discourses privilege the notion of a self-enclosed, self-sufficient individual, this study recovers a counter-tradition that imagines selves as more passively prompted than actively choosing. Gordon traces the origins of such ideas of passivity from their roots in the non-conformist religious tradition to their flowering in one of the central texts of eighteenth-century literature, Samuel Richardson's Clarissa.

Synopsis:

Challenging recent work that contends that seventeenth-century English discourses privilege the notion of a self-enclosed, self-sufficient individual, The Power of the Passive Self in English Literature recovers a counter-tradition that imagines selves as more passively prompted than actively choosing.

Synopsis:

Examines passivity, and disinterestedness, in English writing during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
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About the Author

Scott Paul Gordon is an Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University. He has published numerous articles on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century subjects.
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Table of Contents

Introduction: 'spring and motive of our actions', disinterest and self-interest; 1. 'Acted by another': agency and action in early modern England; 2. 'The belief of the people': Thomas Hobbes and the battle over the heroic; 3. 'For want of some heedfull Eye': Mr Spectator and the power of spectacle; 4. 'For its own sake': virtue and agency in early eighteenth-century England; 5. 'Not perform'd at all': managing Garrick's body in eighteenth-century England; 6. 'I wrote my heart': Richardson's Clarissa and the tactics of sentiment; Epilogue: 'A sign of so noble a passion': the politics of disinterested selves; Bibliography.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780521810050
Author:
Gordon, Scott Paul
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Location:
Cambridge, UK
Subject:
English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
Subject:
English literature
Subject:
Self in literature
Subject:
Christianity and literature
Subject:
Ethics in literature
Subject:
English literature -- 18th century -- History and criticism.
Subject:
English literature -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism.
Subject:
Christianity and literature -- Great Britain -- History -- 17th century.
Subject:
Christianity and literature -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.
Subject:
Passivity
Subject:
Passivity (Psychology) in literature
Subject:
Literary Criticism : General
Series Volume:
no. 96-26
Publication Date:
20020331
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
Professional and scholarly
Language:
English
Pages:
290
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Related Subjects

Health and Self-Help » Health and Medicine » Medical Specialties
History and Social Science » Literary History » British » 18th Century
Humanities » Literary Criticism » General
Humanities » Literary Criticism » Literary and Cultural Studies

The Power of the Passive Self in English Literature, 1640 1770 Used Hardcover
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Product details 290 pages Cambridge University Press - English 9780521810050 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , Challenging recent work that contends that seventeenth-century English discourses privilege the notion of a self-enclosed, self-sufficient individual, The Power of the Passive Self in English Literature recovers a counter-tradition that imagines selves as more passively prompted than actively choosing.
"Synopsis" by , Examines passivity, and disinterestedness, in English writing during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
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