Sterne means that "sentiment" is a lot of things, almost interchangeably, anywhere from sex to emotion to nonsense, depending on its usage, and even should something be guised as sweet, Valentine's Day-ish sentiment, it can easily and actually be nonsensical and/or lewd.What do you think? Reflect on your classmate's thoughts, in the light of class discussion, in your response to this post
It seems like Sterne uses sentiment to mean general feeling or emotion, not love, as he so vividly separates on p. 492, but rather the ability to connect w/another human being.
...Sterne seems to be implying that sentiment is some form of knowledge.
I'm not entirely sure, but it seems as though Sterne's use of "sentiment" is anothe rway of referring to e, or at least romantic feelings towards the opposite sex Maybe? It just seems, as always, as though he's being sarcastic, using another word (word play?) to hide his potential vulgarity.
Judgeing from the line "...that tender and delicious sentiment, which ever mixes in friendship, where there is a difference of sex," ["sentiment"] means feeling sexually aroused. God forbid Shandy have a standard understanding of sentiment, where it means emotion brought on by something personal.
Sterne' idea of sentiment, I think, is that words are less effective than it when it comes to unambiguous expression. When he mentions love, hatred, sentiment, and nonsense, it is my belief that the sentiment speaks for the heart, whereas the others are simple trivialities. Sentiment can be pinpointed with words, but not communicated. Maybe...?
Feel free to pose any questions about all things Shandy here as well.
Deadline: Friday (2/18), 1pm.
8 comments:
I believe that Stern believes that sentiment is the feeling that acts as a gate to stronger emotions, such as hatred and love. He portrays sentiment as a very ambiguous feeling that is so simple it can have no positive or negative effects. The basic human instincts of attraction and lust are always present between the two individuals, only they never will clash or act on them. Sensibility in simple terms is a feeling between two people that the world is large enough for both of them to fit in, similar to the fly section.
If Shandy believes, as one comment said, that sentiment means feeling sexually aroused, and if we believe that sentiment is emotion brought on by something personal, then can't it be both? Isn't arousal an emotion brought on by something personal (the act of intercourse)? I think that sexual arousal can be an unintentional and off-beat expression of sentiment.
Classmate's thought: "Sterne means that "sentiment" is a lot of things, almost interchangeably, anywhere from sex to emotion to nonsense, depending on its usage."
I would have to say that I agree with this insight as to what sentiment is all about. As discussed in class, the definition of sentiment has changed over the years and therefore can mean many different things. The meaning of sentiment changes depending on how it is used and in the case of Sterne, I would say that it signifies pure emotion. It seems like sentiment is the reaction to the action maybe? If the act is sex, then the reaction is passion or satisfaction or love. It is the focus on what that act or particular person does to your senses and your emotions. Another student pointed out that "words are less effective ...when it comes to unambiguous expression...it is my belief that the sentiment speaks for the heart." I think this sums it up nicely and gets down to the core of what sentiment really stands for in the 18th century, and specifically for Sterne. Sentiment is "half a yard higher," meaning that it is more important than anything else in a relationship, we cannot be satisfied without it (492).
I kind of enjoyed reading all of these different comments on what Sterne means when he refers to "sentiment," because I think it shows that as his context changes, so does his meaning of the word. The line "that tender and delicious sentiment" definitely hints at a sexual innuendo (little in Sterne does not) yet it's not fair to say that every time he refers to sentiment he is talking about sex. Rather, he manipulates the word and its various connections to fit in with whatever tone he is using at the moment or point he is trying to make.
I think the flexibility of the word "sentiment" can lend itself to further discussion (I'm in the group that presents on Wednesday); as it has such a fluid definition then how does its meaning change depending on who is using it?
My thoughts on how Sterne approaches sentimentality have changed a great deal since Monday's discussion. I feel like the section in which he talks about "love as with Cuckoldom" is meant to show that there are many words that can be used to describe the same feeling. The only difference, then, must be the context. Sterne writes, "Love -- may be Hatred, in that -- Sentiment half a yard higher -- and Nonsense -- no, Madam, -- not there -- I mean at the part I am now pointing to with my forefinger," which I feel suggests that one can't effectively trace certain feelings back to a single point. I think that any expressed emotion is a result of the internal interactions of feelings, and thus the same expression is composed of blended feelings that cannot accurately be attributed to one source. This being said, I think that sentiment, then, since it is a component of expression, represents the degree of truth and sincerity behind an expressed emotion.
After class, leaving more confused than actually finding a true definition I believe that sentiment, sensibility, love, and hate are equally ambiguous when they are spoken not written down. If one writes to another that he or she loves, hates, or has sensual feelings towards them it will be powerful and taken from the textbook definition.
But when the words are spoken directly by speech it seems that the power of the word is lost and ambiguity of the word has set in. For instance I may say I love the person next to me after I just said that I love this pepperoni pizza. Or I hate getting scabs on my knees, and I also hate genocide. Which use of the word is more powerful if I like them both but use the same word to describe each?
I agree with David's that Stern portrays sentiment as a very ambiguous feeling that is so simple it can have no positive or negative effects. As discussions emerged on Wednesday about what sentiment meant for us personally, we all initially gave (what we thought at least) a sound definition based off specific texts we covered (like Jane Austen) within this major. However, we all left baffled by the comparisons of our classmates. Although, we did not leave with a complete definition of sentiment, sentimentality and such, I believe we gained alot from this week's discussion on such an ambiguous topic. I personally thought of sentimentality was a mental state of simply understanding our various emotions and what triggers them.
If we are talking about sentiment in terms of what Sterne believes it to be than I would agree with my classmate who said that Sterne thinks it is some form of knowlege. I think this is implied in his in the chapter in which he tells us that Jenny cannot be defined as his mistress. By telling the reader that it is much more deep a connection he is implying that one must posess a more finely tuned intellect to understand the breadth of his feeling. He seems to be saying that in order to understand one must have the ability to look at the relationship in a more logical way and is thus linking sentimentality to intellectual ability. I believe that one of the ways Sentiment was viewed in the eighteenth century was that it was a demontration of the ability to think and feel deeply. This was viewed as a positive and I think what Sterne was all about.
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