Yuriko Saito
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199278350
- eISBN:
- 9780191707001
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278350.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
Everyday aesthetic experiences and concerns occupy a large part of our aesthetic life. However, because of their prevalence and mundane nature, we tend not to pay much attention to them, let alone ...
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Everyday aesthetic experiences and concerns occupy a large part of our aesthetic life. However, because of their prevalence and mundane nature, we tend not to pay much attention to them, let alone examine their significance. Western aesthetic theories of the last two centuries also neglect everyday aesthetics because of their almost exclusive emphasis on art. This book aims to correct this neglect by revealing how our everyday aesthetic tastes and judgments can exert a powerful influence on the state of the world and the quality of life. By analyzing a wide range of contemporary examples from our aesthetic interactions with nature, the environment, and everyday objects, as well as precedents in 18th century British aesthetics, 19th century American landscape appreciation, and Japanese culture, this book illustrates the complex nature of seemingly simple and innocuous aesthetic responses. The issues discussed include the inadequacy of art-centered aesthetics, diverse modes of practicing everyday aesthetics, the environmental ramifications of our everyday aesthetic tastes and judgments, green aesthetics, the aesthetic appreciation of the distinctive characteristics of objects and phenomena, responses to various manifestations of transience, and the aesthetic experience of moral values. The discussion of each issue explores the complex nature of everyday aesthetics, as well as the power of the aesthetic, by illuminating its serious moral, political, existential, and environmental implications that are often unrecognized.Less
Everyday aesthetic experiences and concerns occupy a large part of our aesthetic life. However, because of their prevalence and mundane nature, we tend not to pay much attention to them, let alone examine their significance. Western aesthetic theories of the last two centuries also neglect everyday aesthetics because of their almost exclusive emphasis on art. This book aims to correct this neglect by revealing how our everyday aesthetic tastes and judgments can exert a powerful influence on the state of the world and the quality of life. By analyzing a wide range of contemporary examples from our aesthetic interactions with nature, the environment, and everyday objects, as well as precedents in 18th century British aesthetics, 19th century American landscape appreciation, and Japanese culture, this book illustrates the complex nature of seemingly simple and innocuous aesthetic responses. The issues discussed include the inadequacy of art-centered aesthetics, diverse modes of practicing everyday aesthetics, the environmental ramifications of our everyday aesthetic tastes and judgments, green aesthetics, the aesthetic appreciation of the distinctive characteristics of objects and phenomena, responses to various manifestations of transience, and the aesthetic experience of moral values. The discussion of each issue explores the complex nature of everyday aesthetics, as well as the power of the aesthetic, by illuminating its serious moral, political, existential, and environmental implications that are often unrecognized.
Elizabeth R. Napier
- Published in print:
- 1987
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198128601
- eISBN:
- 9780191671678
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198128601.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 18th-century Literature
This book is an examination of narrative conventions in one of the most popular and controversial of the 18th-century English literary genres. The vogue of the Gothic in the latter decades of the ...
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This book is an examination of narrative conventions in one of the most popular and controversial of the 18th-century English literary genres. The vogue of the Gothic in the latter decades of the 18th century, its treatment by important critics such as Coleridge, and its distinctiveness as a genre, makes its study central to an understanding of 18th-century culture, of literary genre and popular literature, and of the problems surrounding attempts to judge quality in a literary work. The English Gothic novel, moreover, has attracted renewed attention from modern critics, who have argued its importance in mirroring the late 18th century's discomfort with the political, psychological, and sexual climate of the times. This book challenges such views, suggesting that the instability of the form may be more successfully addressed through a study of generic structure and the relationship of the Gothic to the designs of the fictional works that preceded it.Less
This book is an examination of narrative conventions in one of the most popular and controversial of the 18th-century English literary genres. The vogue of the Gothic in the latter decades of the 18th century, its treatment by important critics such as Coleridge, and its distinctiveness as a genre, makes its study central to an understanding of 18th-century culture, of literary genre and popular literature, and of the problems surrounding attempts to judge quality in a literary work. The English Gothic novel, moreover, has attracted renewed attention from modern critics, who have argued its importance in mirroring the late 18th century's discomfort with the political, psychological, and sexual climate of the times. This book challenges such views, suggesting that the instability of the form may be more successfully addressed through a study of generic structure and the relationship of the Gothic to the designs of the fictional works that preceded it.
John Bryce Jordan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195386691
- eISBN:
- 9780199863600
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386691.003.0007
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
John Bryce Jordan proposes that the linkage between the male dancer and the stigma of effeminacy began in the early 18th century, rather than in the 19th century, as other dance writers and scholars ...
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John Bryce Jordan proposes that the linkage between the male dancer and the stigma of effeminacy began in the early 18th century, rather than in the 19th century, as other dance writers and scholars have proposed. Through an analysis of writings in the Spectator, one of the first modern English‐language periodicals (London, 1711–41), Jordan demonstrates how concepts related to masculinity emerged through satire and social commentary, illuminating period understandings of dance as a socially meaningful, gendered practice. Characters who are deemed “problem men” are critiqued by “Mr. Spectator” for wardrobe, manners, and style of country dancing, and include Mr. Shapley, the “beau” (a woman's man, such as Dick Crastin and Tom Tulip), John Trott, Mr. Fanfly, and Mr. Prim. Rather than a marginal activity, dance is shown to be a prominent site for the performance of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors for men in early 18th‐century England.Less
John Bryce Jordan proposes that the linkage between the male dancer and the stigma of effeminacy began in the early 18th century, rather than in the 19th century, as other dance writers and scholars have proposed. Through an analysis of writings in the Spectator, one of the first modern English‐language periodicals (London, 1711–41), Jordan demonstrates how concepts related to masculinity emerged through satire and social commentary, illuminating period understandings of dance as a socially meaningful, gendered practice. Characters who are deemed “problem men” are critiqued by “Mr. Spectator” for wardrobe, manners, and style of country dancing, and include Mr. Shapley, the “beau” (a woman's man, such as Dick Crastin and Tom Tulip), John Trott, Mr. Fanfly, and Mr. Prim. Rather than a marginal activity, dance is shown to be a prominent site for the performance of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors for men in early 18th‐century England.
Elaine Chalus
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199280100
- eISBN:
- 9780191707087
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280100.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
The conclusion makes a case for women's involvement in political life, arguing that it needs to be understood in context. By no means all women, even at the level of the political elite, were ...
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The conclusion makes a case for women's involvement in political life, arguing that it needs to be understood in context. By no means all women, even at the level of the political elite, were politically active, yet women were an integral part of the political world of the 18th century. For many, involvement in political life was motivated by familial considerations, but the effectiveness of such involvement should not be underestimated. Furthermore, while questions about whether women made a difference might be hard to evaluate in national terms, in local or personal politics — in terms of places gained, preferments and promotions secured, votes won, and supporters wooed — there can be little doubt that they did.Less
The conclusion makes a case for women's involvement in political life, arguing that it needs to be understood in context. By no means all women, even at the level of the political elite, were politically active, yet women were an integral part of the political world of the 18th century. For many, involvement in political life was motivated by familial considerations, but the effectiveness of such involvement should not be underestimated. Furthermore, while questions about whether women made a difference might be hard to evaluate in national terms, in local or personal politics — in terms of places gained, preferments and promotions secured, votes won, and supporters wooed — there can be little doubt that they did.
Ros Ballaster
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198184775
- eISBN:
- 9780191674341
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198184775.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 18th-century Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
This introductory chapter sets out the purpose of the book, which is to give an account of the conditions that enabled some women writers in the late 17th and early 18th century to ‘profit’, both ...
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This introductory chapter sets out the purpose of the book, which is to give an account of the conditions that enabled some women writers in the late 17th and early 18th century to ‘profit’, both materially and ideologically, from the narcissistic strategies that Aphra Behn's heroine learns through the course of the novel. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.Less
This introductory chapter sets out the purpose of the book, which is to give an account of the conditions that enabled some women writers in the late 17th and early 18th century to ‘profit’, both materially and ideologically, from the narcissistic strategies that Aphra Behn's heroine learns through the course of the novel. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.
B. W. Young
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199256228
- eISBN:
- 9780191719660
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256228.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter strengthens the important claim made by the literary critic Terry Castle, who has argued for the need for modern scholars properly to appreciate a vitally important ‘spectral’ dimension ...
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This chapter strengthens the important claim made by the literary critic Terry Castle, who has argued for the need for modern scholars properly to appreciate a vitally important ‘spectral’ dimension in what she describes as Leslie Stephen's otherwise all too rational 18th century. Even though she respects the impetus behind W. E. H. Lecky's progressively rationalizing thesis in his History of the Rise and Progress of Rationalism in Europe (1865), she has offered her own richly suggestive series of discrete genealogies that account for the survival of the uncanny into the 19th century and rightly make much of its continuing power. This chapter, therefore, takes the form of an archaeology of the haunting sense of the 18th-century past in the 19th-century present. Haunting is both a reality and a metaphor in Vernon Lee, and the 18th century was an important factor in this experience of haunting, as it was also to prove to be for M. R. James.Less
This chapter strengthens the important claim made by the literary critic Terry Castle, who has argued for the need for modern scholars properly to appreciate a vitally important ‘spectral’ dimension in what she describes as Leslie Stephen's otherwise all too rational 18th century. Even though she respects the impetus behind W. E. H. Lecky's progressively rationalizing thesis in his History of the Rise and Progress of Rationalism in Europe (1865), she has offered her own richly suggestive series of discrete genealogies that account for the survival of the uncanny into the 19th century and rightly make much of its continuing power. This chapter, therefore, takes the form of an archaeology of the haunting sense of the 18th-century past in the 19th-century present. Haunting is both a reality and a metaphor in Vernon Lee, and the 18th century was an important factor in this experience of haunting, as it was also to prove to be for M. R. James.
W. M. Jacob
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199213009
- eISBN:
- 9780191707179
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213009.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This book focuses upon the clergy of the established Church in England and Wales as a professional group, and investigates their role in their parishes and society during the ‘long 18th century’ ...
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This book focuses upon the clergy of the established Church in England and Wales as a professional group, and investigates their role in their parishes and society during the ‘long 18th century’ between 1680 and 1840. It concentrates on the ‘lower clergy’, that is parish clergy, and their role within the broader social context of later Stuart and Georgian society. It considers the nature of professions during the period, and examines the social backgrounds; recruitment and selection; education, at school and university or otherwise; career development; and finances of the clergy. It also investigates what they actually did in their parishes in terms of conducting worship, exercising pastoral care, and providing education in the Christian faith, and their relations with the people amongst whom they lived and worked. It takes account of changing expectations during the period, especially the pressure for, and steps towards, ‘reform’ from the 1780s onwards, and, where possible, offers comparisons with people in other professions, especially doctors, lawyers, and ministers of dissenting churches. It also considers the evidence of the accountability and acceptability of the clergy to their congregations, and the extent of anticlericalism, and the means by which they were supervised by bishops and their officers. The clergy emerge as the most carefully recruited and educated of the ‘learned professions’ with a strong supervisory role exercised by bishops, in relation to a generally responsive but not uncritical or subservient laity. The book effectively challenges the received view that the majority of the clergy were inappropriately educated, poverty-stricken, and inattentive to their canonical duties.Less
This book focuses upon the clergy of the established Church in England and Wales as a professional group, and investigates their role in their parishes and society during the ‘long 18th century’ between 1680 and 1840. It concentrates on the ‘lower clergy’, that is parish clergy, and their role within the broader social context of later Stuart and Georgian society. It considers the nature of professions during the period, and examines the social backgrounds; recruitment and selection; education, at school and university or otherwise; career development; and finances of the clergy. It also investigates what they actually did in their parishes in terms of conducting worship, exercising pastoral care, and providing education in the Christian faith, and their relations with the people amongst whom they lived and worked. It takes account of changing expectations during the period, especially the pressure for, and steps towards, ‘reform’ from the 1780s onwards, and, where possible, offers comparisons with people in other professions, especially doctors, lawyers, and ministers of dissenting churches. It also considers the evidence of the accountability and acceptability of the clergy to their congregations, and the extent of anticlericalism, and the means by which they were supervised by bishops and their officers. The clergy emerge as the most carefully recruited and educated of the ‘learned professions’ with a strong supervisory role exercised by bishops, in relation to a generally responsive but not uncritical or subservient laity. The book effectively challenges the received view that the majority of the clergy were inappropriately educated, poverty-stricken, and inattentive to their canonical duties.
Keith Hitchins
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205913
- eISBN:
- 9780191676857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205913.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This introductory chapter discusses the Romanians and the history of Romania during the 18th century. Although this period was not marked by any epic battles or sudden breaks with the past, it still ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the Romanians and the history of Romania during the 18th century. Although this period was not marked by any epic battles or sudden breaks with the past, it still marked the arrival of fundamental changes in the international status and the internal political and social structure of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the Romanians and the history of Romania during the 18th century. Although this period was not marked by any epic battles or sudden breaks with the past, it still marked the arrival of fundamental changes in the international status and the internal political and social structure of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia.
B. W. Young
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199256228
- eISBN:
- 9780191719660
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256228.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter explores Thomas Carlyle's fascination with the 18th century. It argues that Carlyle demonstrates a consistent response concerning the 18th century: a deep suspicion of its lack of ...
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This chapter explores Thomas Carlyle's fascination with the 18th century. It argues that Carlyle demonstrates a consistent response concerning the 18th century: a deep suspicion of its lack of heroism, either religious or political; its place as a historical rupture between the heroic age of the Reformation and the hollowness of modernity; the starkly contrasting roles played by France, Germany, and Britain in these developments; and the need for the prophet-historian to undo the secularizing worldliness of 18th-century philosophy if the soul of the 19th century were to be saved from this compromised inheritance. These themes are examined in relation to the monumental works he devoted early and late in his career to what he called the sceptical 18th century: The French Revolution and his History of Friedrich II of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great (1858-65).Less
This chapter explores Thomas Carlyle's fascination with the 18th century. It argues that Carlyle demonstrates a consistent response concerning the 18th century: a deep suspicion of its lack of heroism, either religious or political; its place as a historical rupture between the heroic age of the Reformation and the hollowness of modernity; the starkly contrasting roles played by France, Germany, and Britain in these developments; and the need for the prophet-historian to undo the secularizing worldliness of 18th-century philosophy if the soul of the 19th century were to be saved from this compromised inheritance. These themes are examined in relation to the monumental works he devoted early and late in his career to what he called the sceptical 18th century: The French Revolution and his History of Friedrich II of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great (1858-65).
B. W. Young
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199256228
- eISBN:
- 9780191719660
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256228.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter explores Thomas Carlyle's portrayal of Frederick the Great. It is argued that Carlyle's heroic portrait of Frederick the Great allowed him to construct and indulge a nostalgic politics ...
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This chapter explores Thomas Carlyle's portrayal of Frederick the Great. It is argued that Carlyle's heroic portrait of Frederick the Great allowed him to construct and indulge a nostalgic politics from afar. Whereas The French Revolution acquired a mass of readers and devotees, the work on Frederick was never to achieve anything like the same popularity; readers had grown tired of Carlyle's explorations of the 18th century.Less
This chapter explores Thomas Carlyle's portrayal of Frederick the Great. It is argued that Carlyle's heroic portrait of Frederick the Great allowed him to construct and indulge a nostalgic politics from afar. Whereas The French Revolution acquired a mass of readers and devotees, the work on Frederick was never to achieve anything like the same popularity; readers had grown tired of Carlyle's explorations of the 18th century.
Nicholas V. Riasanovsky
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195156508
- eISBN:
- 9780199868230
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156508.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter describes 18th-century Russia after the death of Peter the Great as representing a distinct period in the history of Russian culture. It explains that this period marked a decisive break ...
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This chapter describes 18th-century Russia after the death of Peter the Great as representing a distinct period in the history of Russian culture. It explains that this period marked a decisive break with the Muscovite past—although that break had been foreshadowed and assisted by earlier influences and trends. It adds that 18th-century Russia was an age of apprenticeship and imitation par excellence. It discusses that the death of Peter the Great was followed by a certain relaxation and reaction against his rule: the schools established by Peter could find no students, while intrigue and corruption ran rampant in government and administration. It explains that the Enlightenment image of Peter the great dominated 18th-century Russian thought and literature. The chapter also evaluates Catherine the Great's beliefs and principles, as well as her leadership.Less
This chapter describes 18th-century Russia after the death of Peter the Great as representing a distinct period in the history of Russian culture. It explains that this period marked a decisive break with the Muscovite past—although that break had been foreshadowed and assisted by earlier influences and trends. It adds that 18th-century Russia was an age of apprenticeship and imitation par excellence. It discusses that the death of Peter the Great was followed by a certain relaxation and reaction against his rule: the schools established by Peter could find no students, while intrigue and corruption ran rampant in government and administration. It explains that the Enlightenment image of Peter the great dominated 18th-century Russian thought and literature. The chapter also evaluates Catherine the Great's beliefs and principles, as well as her leadership.
L. G. Mitchell
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198201045
- eISBN:
- 9780191674815
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198201045.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
Charles James Fox was one of the most colourful figures in 18th-century politics. Notorious for the excesses of his private life, he was at the same time one of the leading politicians of his ...
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Charles James Fox was one of the most colourful figures in 18th-century politics. Notorious for the excesses of his private life, he was at the same time one of the leading politicians of his generation, dominating the Whig party and polite society. As the political rival of Pitt the Younger and the intellectual rival of Edmund Burke, his views on the major issues of the day — the American War of Independence, the French Revolution, parliamentary reform — formed the character of Whiggery in his own time and for years to come. Fox's historical reputation has been hotly disputed. Some have hailed him as one of the founding fathers of Radicalism, others have dismissed him as an irritating and irresponsible impediment to the statesmanship of Pitt. This book shows that in many ways Fox was a politician through circumstance, not inclination. The book analyses the ties of kinship and friendship which to an astonishing degree dictated Fox's politics, and offers striking new assessments of Whiggery and its most potent personality.Less
Charles James Fox was one of the most colourful figures in 18th-century politics. Notorious for the excesses of his private life, he was at the same time one of the leading politicians of his generation, dominating the Whig party and polite society. As the political rival of Pitt the Younger and the intellectual rival of Edmund Burke, his views on the major issues of the day — the American War of Independence, the French Revolution, parliamentary reform — formed the character of Whiggery in his own time and for years to come. Fox's historical reputation has been hotly disputed. Some have hailed him as one of the founding fathers of Radicalism, others have dismissed him as an irritating and irresponsible impediment to the statesmanship of Pitt. This book shows that in many ways Fox was a politician through circumstance, not inclination. The book analyses the ties of kinship and friendship which to an astonishing degree dictated Fox's politics, and offers striking new assessments of Whiggery and its most potent personality.
Daniel R. Melamed
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195169331
- eISBN:
- 9780199865376
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195169331.003.08
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Does any of this matter? Bach's passion repertory was sung, played, and thought about very differently in his own time. Our ways of performing, listening, and understanding are unlike those of the ...
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Does any of this matter? Bach's passion repertory was sung, played, and thought about very differently in his own time. Our ways of performing, listening, and understanding are unlike those of the 18th century—hardly surprising given the distance in culture and time. This suggests that Bach's passion music, able to engage listeners even in radically different circumstances, is compelling at some fundamental level that transcends performance practices and contexts.Less
Does any of this matter? Bach's passion repertory was sung, played, and thought about very differently in his own time. Our ways of performing, listening, and understanding are unlike those of the 18th century—hardly surprising given the distance in culture and time. This suggests that Bach's passion music, able to engage listeners even in radically different circumstances, is compelling at some fundamental level that transcends performance practices and contexts.
Clive Brown
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198161653
- eISBN:
- 9780191716263
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198161653.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This introductory chapter discusses the book's intention, namely to investigate key issues relevant to understanding the intentions, expectations or assumptions of late 18th-century and 19th-century ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the book's intention, namely to investigate key issues relevant to understanding the intentions, expectations or assumptions of late 18th-century and 19th-century composers, and the conventions that informed the practice of musicians in general. The book focuses on the relationship between notation and performance, drawing upon written evidence and early recordings. It seeks to show how knowledge of historical practice can inform and enrich modern performance, broadening the performer's range of options and encouraging a more adventurous approach to the interpretation of Classical and Romantic repertoire. It argues that the late 20th century's rather strict adherence to the literal meaning of the notation is often unfaithful to the composer's expectations and invites a freer, more creative approach to the performance of this repertoire.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the book's intention, namely to investigate key issues relevant to understanding the intentions, expectations or assumptions of late 18th-century and 19th-century composers, and the conventions that informed the practice of musicians in general. The book focuses on the relationship between notation and performance, drawing upon written evidence and early recordings. It seeks to show how knowledge of historical practice can inform and enrich modern performance, broadening the performer's range of options and encouraging a more adventurous approach to the interpretation of Classical and Romantic repertoire. It argues that the late 20th century's rather strict adherence to the literal meaning of the notation is often unfaithful to the composer's expectations and invites a freer, more creative approach to the performance of this repertoire.
T. C. W. BLANNING
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198227458
- eISBN:
- 9780191678707
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198227458.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History, Cultural History
This chapter discusses the great Händel Commemoration and how it exemplified the consolidation of a national culture of great power and durability. This posthumous apotheosis reveals a good deal ...
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This chapter discusses the great Händel Commemoration and how it exemplified the consolidation of a national culture of great power and durability. This posthumous apotheosis reveals a good deal about the development of British culture in the 18th century. In addition, it explains that the Protestant Reformation greatly intensified nationalism. Religious independence was then underpinned by a surge of cultural nationalism. Under Queen Elizabeth, resolutely Protestant and impeccably English, cultural achievement was married to political success to form a powerful source of legitimation. This chapter examines the sources of England’s wealth, particularly the advance of commerce which made the strongest and most widespread impression. Next, it discusses the country’s fourth national asset — liberty. It then explores the life of King George III.Less
This chapter discusses the great Händel Commemoration and how it exemplified the consolidation of a national culture of great power and durability. This posthumous apotheosis reveals a good deal about the development of British culture in the 18th century. In addition, it explains that the Protestant Reformation greatly intensified nationalism. Religious independence was then underpinned by a surge of cultural nationalism. Under Queen Elizabeth, resolutely Protestant and impeccably English, cultural achievement was married to political success to form a powerful source of legitimation. This chapter examines the sources of England’s wealth, particularly the advance of commerce which made the strongest and most widespread impression. Next, it discusses the country’s fourth national asset — liberty. It then explores the life of King George III.
Paul Langford
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205340
- eISBN:
- 9780191676574
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205340.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter focuses on how property influenced many aspects of life of the British population during the 18th century. It expounds the views of property which were entertained by ordinary Britons, ...
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This chapter focuses on how property influenced many aspects of life of the British population during the 18th century. It expounds the views of property which were entertained by ordinary Britons, often in a homely setting and with little regard for logic or consistency. The emphasis is on the ways in which commercial development complicated definitions of property and the political priorities which were supposed to flow from respect for property. A world without property was almost inconceivable to 18th-century Englishmen. The respect which attended property was a striking feature of the mental landscape of the 18th century. Liberty was a timeless human value supposedly subjected to the hegemony of property. Expansive definitions of property were deeply entrenched. The acquisition of wealth was the route to social acceptance and political power at all levels of society.Less
This chapter focuses on how property influenced many aspects of life of the British population during the 18th century. It expounds the views of property which were entertained by ordinary Britons, often in a homely setting and with little regard for logic or consistency. The emphasis is on the ways in which commercial development complicated definitions of property and the political priorities which were supposed to flow from respect for property. A world without property was almost inconceivable to 18th-century Englishmen. The respect which attended property was a striking feature of the mental landscape of the 18th century. Liberty was a timeless human value supposedly subjected to the hegemony of property. Expansive definitions of property were deeply entrenched. The acquisition of wealth was the route to social acceptance and political power at all levels of society.
Yuriko Saito
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199278350
- eISBN:
- 9780191707001
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278350.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This chapter analyzes a familiar aesthetic experience in our everyday life: appreciation of the distinctive characteristics of objects, environments, and temporal contexts. It ranges from the ...
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This chapter analyzes a familiar aesthetic experience in our everyday life: appreciation of the distinctive characteristics of objects, environments, and temporal contexts. It ranges from the quintessential attributes of a natural object, the ambience created by harmoniously-united diverse elements, sense of place, and seasonableness, illustrated by a number of examples from 18th century British aesthetics, Japanese culture, including literature, gardening, the tea ceremony, food, and packaging, and the Arts and Crafts movement. This aesthetic sensibility nurtures a moral sensibility by promoting an open-minded and respectful attitude toward what the objects offer, an attitude underlying today's ecological design premised upon designing with nature. At the same time, certain limits to this kind of aesthetic sensibility also need to be observed for moral, social, and political reasons in order to avoid aestheticization of suffering and misery, as well as guarding against denying minority taste in favor of preserving a sense of place.Less
This chapter analyzes a familiar aesthetic experience in our everyday life: appreciation of the distinctive characteristics of objects, environments, and temporal contexts. It ranges from the quintessential attributes of a natural object, the ambience created by harmoniously-united diverse elements, sense of place, and seasonableness, illustrated by a number of examples from 18th century British aesthetics, Japanese culture, including literature, gardening, the tea ceremony, food, and packaging, and the Arts and Crafts movement. This aesthetic sensibility nurtures a moral sensibility by promoting an open-minded and respectful attitude toward what the objects offer, an attitude underlying today's ecological design premised upon designing with nature. At the same time, certain limits to this kind of aesthetic sensibility also need to be observed for moral, social, and political reasons in order to avoid aestheticization of suffering and misery, as well as guarding against denying minority taste in favor of preserving a sense of place.
Elaine Chalus
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199280100
- eISBN:
- 9780191707087
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280100.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This introductory chapter begins with the author's description of the beginnings of her interest in 18th-century elite women and politics. The author's approach to women's political involvement and ...
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This introductory chapter begins with the author's description of the beginnings of her interest in 18th-century elite women and politics. The author's approach to women's political involvement and research is then discussed. An overview of the chapters included in this volume is presented.Less
This introductory chapter begins with the author's description of the beginnings of her interest in 18th-century elite women and politics. The author's approach to women's political involvement and research is then discussed. An overview of the chapters included in this volume is presented.
P. J. Marshall
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205630
- eISBN:
- 9780191676710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205630.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History, British and Irish Modern History
For this book the 18th century has been extended at both ends. Although strict uniformity has not been imposed on all chapters, this volume is for the most part set between two dates traditionally ...
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For this book the 18th century has been extended at both ends. Although strict uniformity has not been imposed on all chapters, this volume is for the most part set between two dates traditionally taken as marking eras in British history: 1689, the year of the Glorious Revolution, an event seen by most English people as a time which ensured their liberties, and 1815, the year of Waterloo, the last battle in wars between Britain and France that had begun in 1689. During the first half of this century, occasional British ships defied Spanish claims to a monopoly of the navigation of the Pacific. In the second half, voyages of exploration were despatched to the Pacific, most notably those of James Cook. The British Empire of the first half of the 18th century was essentially an Atlantic one, peopled by inhabitants of British origin, and held together by economic and cultural ties with Britain, as much as by the exertion of authority. By the end of the 18th century, British economic interests were certainly becoming increasingly ‘global’, in the sense that they were spreading beyond the limits of the Empire.Less
For this book the 18th century has been extended at both ends. Although strict uniformity has not been imposed on all chapters, this volume is for the most part set between two dates traditionally taken as marking eras in British history: 1689, the year of the Glorious Revolution, an event seen by most English people as a time which ensured their liberties, and 1815, the year of Waterloo, the last battle in wars between Britain and France that had begun in 1689. During the first half of this century, occasional British ships defied Spanish claims to a monopoly of the navigation of the Pacific. In the second half, voyages of exploration were despatched to the Pacific, most notably those of James Cook. The British Empire of the first half of the 18th century was essentially an Atlantic one, peopled by inhabitants of British origin, and held together by economic and cultural ties with Britain, as much as by the exertion of authority. By the end of the 18th century, British economic interests were certainly becoming increasingly ‘global’, in the sense that they were spreading beyond the limits of the Empire.
Nigel Leask
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199572618
- eISBN:
- 9780191722974
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572618.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry, 18th-century Literature
This chapter argues that Burns's poetic self-fashioning was a successful attempt to achieve sentimental and cultural credit in the face of the practical financial difficulties that he faces as an ...
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This chapter argues that Burns's poetic self-fashioning was a successful attempt to achieve sentimental and cultural credit in the face of the practical financial difficulties that he faces as an Ayrshire farmer. Like others of his class, he was inculcated with the ideology of improvement but found it impossible to make practical headway due to undercapitalization and high rentals. Burns's alternative vocation as a poet is discussed in relation to his Commonplace Book, the Verse Epistles in the Kilmarnock Volume, and his most ambitious poem, ‘The Vision’. The chapter also analyses his relationship to patronage and his creation of a virtual community of upper class Ayrshire patrons, with reference to the social geography and the 18th-century cartography of Ayrshire.Less
This chapter argues that Burns's poetic self-fashioning was a successful attempt to achieve sentimental and cultural credit in the face of the practical financial difficulties that he faces as an Ayrshire farmer. Like others of his class, he was inculcated with the ideology of improvement but found it impossible to make practical headway due to undercapitalization and high rentals. Burns's alternative vocation as a poet is discussed in relation to his Commonplace Book, the Verse Epistles in the Kilmarnock Volume, and his most ambitious poem, ‘The Vision’. The chapter also analyses his relationship to patronage and his creation of a virtual community of upper class Ayrshire patrons, with reference to the social geography and the 18th-century cartography of Ayrshire.
