The Sublime

Usually related to feelings of overwhelming grandeur, irresistible power, lofty emotion or simple awe, the sublime is a term impossible to define. If it has any definition, it is that which exceeds description. In exploring this complex yet crucial concept, Philip Shaw looks in turn at: - the legacy of classical theories of the sublime - Edmund Burke's and Immanuel Kant's eighteenth-century contributions to debates around the term - romantic notions of sublimity - the postmodern and avant-garde sublime - politicisation of the concept by contemporary critical theorists. A remarkably clear study of what is in its essence a term near-impossible to pin down, this guide is essential reading for students of literature, critical and cultural theory.