Post by marigold on Jul 24, 2022 21:13:02 GMT -5
“And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?”
- William Blake
Welcome to the third meeting of the Hyacinth Society. This week we read an essay by a deeply influential, but now mostly forgotten, man of letters— Thomas Carlyle. His influence is very relevant for the kind of literature the Hyacinth Society seeks to focus on. But also a figure as notable as Ralph Waldo Emerson was strongly influenced by him in his early career. Many other legendary figures (even Borges) professed a strong interest in him. This is understandable as Carlyle was a taste maker, a moral guide, a polymathic teacher and a profound artist for his society.
Frankly, this particular essay we read is pretty boring to me. It is interesting enough as a historical document. And you can definitely say it is relevant to current times still. But I mainly picked it as this week’s reading for three reasons:
1. Because this particular work is the beginning of a direct thread of influence that goes to John Ruskin (who we’ll be reading in coming weeks) down to the Pre-Raphaelites who tried to respond to the issues raised in this work with their aesthetic doctrines.
2. As a bit of a preview of Carlyle’s fiery voice in preparation for the work of fiction by him which we will be reading next.
3. As a general historical curiosity
What did you think of this work? One of course can’t help but imagine him being transplanted to our own time and how much more bilious his tone would likely become. And yet, in a certain sense I wonder if he would recognize the role technology is playing in retrieving the culture of artisanship in our own time. I don’t think he would appreciate it though. It would understandably make him more reactionary, I think. For he is not talking about technology specifically so much as the mechanization of all human processes in general. When he talks about how art is affected by this in the piece, one is glad he did not live to see MFA writing programs for instance.
Well, what did you think of the piece?
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?”
- William Blake
Welcome to the third meeting of the Hyacinth Society. This week we read an essay by a deeply influential, but now mostly forgotten, man of letters— Thomas Carlyle. His influence is very relevant for the kind of literature the Hyacinth Society seeks to focus on. But also a figure as notable as Ralph Waldo Emerson was strongly influenced by him in his early career. Many other legendary figures (even Borges) professed a strong interest in him. This is understandable as Carlyle was a taste maker, a moral guide, a polymathic teacher and a profound artist for his society.
Frankly, this particular essay we read is pretty boring to me. It is interesting enough as a historical document. And you can definitely say it is relevant to current times still. But I mainly picked it as this week’s reading for three reasons:
1. Because this particular work is the beginning of a direct thread of influence that goes to John Ruskin (who we’ll be reading in coming weeks) down to the Pre-Raphaelites who tried to respond to the issues raised in this work with their aesthetic doctrines.
2. As a bit of a preview of Carlyle’s fiery voice in preparation for the work of fiction by him which we will be reading next.
3. As a general historical curiosity
What did you think of this work? One of course can’t help but imagine him being transplanted to our own time and how much more bilious his tone would likely become. And yet, in a certain sense I wonder if he would recognize the role technology is playing in retrieving the culture of artisanship in our own time. I don’t think he would appreciate it though. It would understandably make him more reactionary, I think. For he is not talking about technology specifically so much as the mechanization of all human processes in general. When he talks about how art is affected by this in the piece, one is glad he did not live to see MFA writing programs for instance.
Well, what did you think of the piece?