Feel free to pull together our analysis/discussion/exploration of the sublime here, with any questions you would like to ask, reflections you would like to offer, or observations you would have liked to make in class but didn't have the opportunity to.
Deadline: Monday (4/18), start of class.
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The most over-arching idea that I took away from class is that sublime is an internal, personal, subjective experience that others might not understand. There are certain phenomena that the majority of people can find alluring and evoke similar emotions, such as, the star galaxies, sunrises, and other extraordinary occurrences in nature. But, I think the internet has diminished the wonder and uncertainty of the world. Now, if I want to see a picture of a sunrise in Arizona (which I've been told is one of the most incredible experiences one could see because of all the hues from the sun reflecting onto the sands) I can watch a clip on youtube. All the build-up and excitement is taken away. So, if I ever make it to AZ, the experience won't mean as much or evoke the same emotions because it won't be a completely new experience.
The idea that the sublime is harder to experience today than in the past is one that resonates with me. It's possible to find breathtaking images and videos online, but the rise of image-editing software and CGI effects makes us more and more numb to things that are truly beautiful.
The etymological origin of the word "sublime" was fascinating to me for a simple reason that I don't think came up in class. It makes perfect sense to me that the word means "below the doorframe," because that's where all of the beautiful and sublime things take place -- outdoors. As the group Wednesday alluded to, the very act of studying the sublime in a classroom setting takes some of the wonder out of it; it's hard to be in awe while at a desk studying academic material. To find the sublime, one has to go through the doorway and seek it out. Just as we decided that a major aspect of the sublime involves the hunt for it, it makes sense that you have to leave your comfort zone (i.e., walk through the door) in order to find the sublime.
The topic this week of the sublime was by far my favorite and most interesting to learn about. Although I was curious, and wanted to learn more about why and how the definition of "the sublime" changes from author to author? However, the group on Wednesday basically summed up that the sublime involves such a grandeur, vastness, and feeling beyond one's comprehension that results in an intense gratification and awe.
Because the sublime involves associations with nature, terror, and fear of the unknown I couldn't help but relate some of these elements to the gothic unit that we learned about earlier this semester. The gothic expresses a recognition of extreme emotion and the pleasure of awe and fearfulness. I do agree with PMV that "the internet has diminished the wonder and uncertainty of the world." It is much more of a sublime experience when you are the one in the moment and not on the other side of the camera/picture/television etc. And I think RS is right in saying that because of our technological advances today, it is much more difficult to experience the sublime than it was in the past.
I guess my question here has to do with one of the questions in the post above concerning our Tristram Shandy reading for Monday. Number six asks if love or sex is sublime, and I don't really see how love and sex can fit into the definition of sublime. As I understand it, there is definitely an element of terror/fear to the sublime, and I don't really see how that fits in to love and sex? Maybe a fear of losing yourself completely in another? I also thought that the sublime was meant to make one feel very small and insignificant, and I think that love and sex kind of do the opposite of that; they make one completely aware of one's sense of self in relation to another? I was just kind of curious to see what others thought about how love and sex fit in with the sublime, since we didn't really get to talk about it a whole lot in class.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/A_View_of_the_Mountain_Pass_Called_the_Notch_of_the_White_Mountans_%28Crawford_Notch%29-1839-Thomas_Cole.jpg&imgrefurl=http://teachingcompany.12.forumer.com/a/9-thomas-colethe-late-years_post2247.html&usg=__BVPPNWqdhhFyWy7Kw2OXO966Uz8=&h=1788&w=2824&sz=3955&hl=en&start=0&sig2=UFhiNvcrSVCHT_JbtX3fyQ&zoom=1&tbnid=wtJUNBapGe2YoM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=174&ei=5JCrTbirLYPHgAeQ7r3uCA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthomas%2Bcole%2Ba%2Bview%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bmountain%2Bpass%2Bcalled%2Bthe%2Bnotch%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bwhite%2Bmountains%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1125%26bih%3D540%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=117&vpy=93&dur=11&hovh=179&hovw=282&tx=97&ty=74&oei=5JCrTbirLYPHgAeQ7r3uCA&page=1&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0
The URL leads to a painting by Thomas Cole titled "A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains" and this painting was shown to me by my ENGL 255 professor during our sublime lectures. In our discussion of the definition of sublime and even the previous blog post that asked us to find videos of the sublime, I don't think there were many videos that showed man-made creations as being sublime. I always thought that the sublime was a very natural thing. It didn't come from looking straight up at the Sears tower, but rather it came from seeing the depth of the Grand Canyon or projecting yourself billions of light years away across the galaxy or even witnessing Captain Ahab's crew destroyed by the Great White Whale. Maybe it's my own presuppositions that lead me to say this but I thought that the sublime was always evoked from seeing the littleness and helplessness of mankind slapped across the backdrop of nature's ubiquity and power. And I always thought it had to lead to nature because the grandeur of the natural led to the realization of the supernatural. The sublime made us believe in the existence of a higher being. I believe that the sublime isn't gone now but it just shifted. Now people don't marvel at the natural, but the manufactured, and the scientific. Nowadays, people are inspired more by the technological innovations and the potential of science than they do looking at the Niagara Falls. Rather than people being in awe of the work of God, I believe the sublime has now led us to revere the work of man.
I would disagree with the fact that technology depreciates the sublime. When I think about how far technology has taken us, even just compared to the technology of ten years ago. A great example of this is instant chatting, be it on Facebook or via e-mail. The idea that we can instantaneously communicate with a friend, be they next door or across the ocean, truly is astounding. Technology has enabled us to keep in touch much more efficiently, saving relationships that would have fallen to the wayside without such means to communicate by.
If anything, I think technology increases our awareness of the sublime. It opens our eyes to wonders the world over and truly exhibits how unstoppable the human mind is in creating new advances. The possibilities are endless which, in fact, directly relates to the idea of the sublime.
Reading the Barbauld poem in the context of the sublime was interesting, particularly because it made me see the inherent similarities between the gothic and the sublime. Anna Laetitia Barbauld wrote the first story in the "Three Gothic Stories" packet, and now, having read her work in a sublime context, I'm finding consistencies between the two. For instance, I'm looking at the way Barbauld portrays the ominous house that Sir Bertrand must go into. In my opinion, the limitless potential of the imagination to motivate people to certain actions is a sublime notion, and I believe that Barbauld uses this to prime readers for the horrors within the house.
I think that technology is an obstacle to the sublime. This is because the sublime does not exist outside our minds. So the sunset in Arizona is not the sublime until you see it and register it as the sublime. But if you don't see it, or are not in the right state of mind to feel its greatness, then it is not the sublime. What technology does is hinder our capability to go out and seek the sublime, because, after all, why would we when we can just watch TV? I honestly think there is too much technology in our lives that prevent us from interacting with nature and humanity.
The sublime is all around is, you just need to have an open and clear mind to see it. I am reminded of this quote from Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, "Colleges being nothing but grooming schools for the middleclass non-identity which usually finds its perfect expression on the outskirts of the campus in rows of well-to-do houses with lawns and television sets is each living room with everybody looking at the same thing and thinking the same thing at the same time while the Japhies of the world go prowling in the wilderness to hear the voice crying in the wilderness, to find the ecstasy of the stars, to find the dark mysterious secret of the origin of faceless wonderless crapulous civilization." I really think Kerouac (who aspires to be like his friend Japhy) is constantly seeking the sublime and is able to despite the fact that he lives in a world much like ours that is overcrowded with technology. In contrast to Molly and Paul, I do not feel inspired, or terrified because of the greatness of technology. Yeah, I think we are some smart monkeys, and I get pretty terrified when I think of the nuclear bomb, but like we said in class, 911 isn't really the sublime.
It seems as though technology's main impediment to feeling the sublime is that it takes away the journey of sorts that often leads to the natural experience of the sublime. As DelayedKarma says, people have largely ceased seeking the sublime when they assume that that seeing an image on a television or computer screen is the same as seeing that image in person. Part of the feeling of the sublime is almost a kind of reward for getting to the place in which the natural sublime is experienced. In response to last week's "sublime on the internet" prompt, I posted an image of the view from the summit of Mt. Everest. While I certainly find the image interesting, my response absolutely pales in comparison to the feeling of a climber who actually reaches the summit and looks outward.
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