To answer that question, we'll be discussing more Shandy on Monday (bring your books to class!), the readings from Wollstonecraft and Hume on Wednesday (e-mailed to you by the presenters), and some poetry (bring your anthologies to class!) on Friday.
In preparation for next week's discussions, use the response thread here to canvas what you already know about the question. In what other English courses have you discussed either sensibility or sentimentality? What were the books for which those terms were important? What is your current understanding of the term? (Don't worry about whether or not your knowledge tracks with later C18 usage of these terms--it's helpful to think about how they have changed.)
Deadline:
7 comments:
In Engl 281 last semester I studied "Sense and Sensibility" and in one discussion we talked about the term "sensibility" and how the definition has changed since Austen's time. Today we might consider "sensibility" as the origin for the word "sensible" which is often taken to describe something as logical, or intelligent. But before we took this word to mean such things, it actually referred to one's senses or emotions, which are typically not associated with anything well-reasoned or logical. When I looked "sensibility" up in the OED, I had to scroll far down the list of definitions of the word before I found something I was familiar with (Endowed with good sense; intelligent, reasonable, judicious), so it seems that the term is still used in association with emotions.
Yes, I agree with everything Sam M said about sense and sensibility. I also have my interpretation of sentimentality and sensibility from Jane Austin's "Sense and Sensibility." It is interesting to see how sense and sensibility differ in their meanings in earlier centuries, where today they can be used interchangeably. Sentimentality suggests a longing for the past or a reference to an important emotional time in the past. Sentimentality suggests sort of a reminiscent feeling, which could be paired with sensibility (as its definition in earlier times). It seems logical that the two terms be paired together because of their dependence on emotion verses rationality and objectiveness.
To mash up sentimentality and sensibility into one unit is interesting to me. The terms don't necessarily go hand in hand. Sentimentality refers to extracting an overtly and maybe exaggerated emotional response. Sensibility refers to perception through the senses. Both are modes of drawing out feelings, but sentimentality seems almost satirical in its excessiveness. Like Sam M said, the term "sensibility" echoes of the words "sensible", reasonable, logical. This is almost to say that the emotional reaction to a sensible piece should be rational and thoughtful, while the emotional reaction to a sentimental piece should be irrational and almost absurd.
I took English 300 last semester and our area of study was American gothic from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War. The last third of the semester was geared toward slavery, which lead us to read works such as "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." The latter work in particular introduced me to the idea of sentimentality in literature. The author relied heavily on sentiments shared between all people to stir up anti-slavery attitudes in the northern states. Instead of focusing primarily on the forced labor aspect of slavery, Jacobs fills her work with issues of female vulnerability and psychological domination, which is something that isn't exclusive to any race. So far that has been my experience with sentimentality in literature. I am looking forward to seeing how my colleagues present sensibility and sentimentality in the context of our C18 studies.
When thinking about sentimentality and sensibility I identify with what Mariam K wrote because I think both terms are interesting. I do remember discussing these terms in a previous English class and I believe we were discussing Jane Austin as well. When I think about sensibility I automatically began to think about it connecting to the emotions; but when I try and connect it to literature I think of it appealing to some sens of logic. Next trying to define sense I think of ones ability to make something logical. I think of both terms being similar.
In my English 247 class, we read Laurence Sterne's "A Sentimental Journey," and so this was the place I first encountered the term. At the time I took it to simply mean "feeling" and that sentimental literature strove to evoke emotion in the reader, thus making the reader more invested and connected to the book they were reading. Then in 281 we read "Sense and Sensibility," and this was the first time that I encountered the term in a somewhat negative light. Marianne is the sister that is obsessed with feeling, and in the end she is the one that is hurt, and in fact almost dies. I guess in this way we see the gradual progression of sensibility and sentimentality from positive to negative.
Yes, I too as some of my peers already expressed have been introduced to the concept of sensibility through Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. I also learned from taking a course here that its a term closely associated with the expression of deep emotions. I found it very interesting that the definition tends to lead in the direction of logic and intellect. When I think of sentimentality I often refer to the sentiment of being a woman, because you often see people bashing females for being so overcome with sentimental emotions or soft feelings that leave them vulnerable.
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