{"title":"Decay, Intimacy, and the Lyric Metaphor in John Donne","authors":"Eileen Sperry","doi":"10.1353/SEL.2019.0002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:I argue that John Donne uses descriptions of bodily decay to explore the potential for intimacy between lovers and the role lyric plays in its creation. As the physical boundaries that delimit individual bodies dissolve, Donne envisions a moment when lovers might materially blend and fuse to a degree that would otherwise be impossible. The effects of this conceit are twofold: first, focusing on decay allows Donne to emphasize the role of corporeality and reject a Neo-Platonic hierarchy of being. And second, Donne uses this conceit to develop a theory of the lyric that emphasizes its ability to transcend material reality in order to create and maintain a hyperbolic vision of intimacy in the face of separation.","PeriodicalId":45835,"journal":{"name":"STUDIES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 1500-1900","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2000,"publicationDate":"2019-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"STUDIES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 1500-1900","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1353/SEL.2019.0002","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Arts and Humanities","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Abstract:I argue that John Donne uses descriptions of bodily decay to explore the potential for intimacy between lovers and the role lyric plays in its creation. As the physical boundaries that delimit individual bodies dissolve, Donne envisions a moment when lovers might materially blend and fuse to a degree that would otherwise be impossible. The effects of this conceit are twofold: first, focusing on decay allows Donne to emphasize the role of corporeality and reject a Neo-Platonic hierarchy of being. And second, Donne uses this conceit to develop a theory of the lyric that emphasizes its ability to transcend material reality in order to create and maintain a hyperbolic vision of intimacy in the face of separation.
期刊介绍：
SEL focuses on four fields of British literature in rotating, quarterly issues: English Renaissance, Tudor and Stuart Drama, Restoration and Eighteenth Century, and Nineteenth Century. The editors select learned, readable papers that contribute significantly to the understanding of British literature from 1500 to 1900. SEL is well known for thecommissioned omnibus review of recent studies in the field that is included in each issue. In a single volume, readers might find an argument for attributing a previously unknown work to Shakespeare or de-attributing a famous work from Milton, a study ofthe connections between class and genre in the Restoration Theater.
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