ENGLISH RENAISSANCE LITERATURE AND CONTEMPORARY THEORY: SUBLIME OBJECTS OF THEOLOGY

ENGLISH RENAISSANCE LITERATURE AND CONTEMPORARY THEORY: SUBLIME OBJECTS OF THEOLOGY

By PAUL CEFALU

Book Description

This scholarly exploration bridges centuries of spiritual inquiry by examining how seventeenth-century English devotional poets grappled with the ineffable nature of divine encounter. Paul Cefalu reveals how poets like John Donne, Thomas Traherne, Richard Crashaw, and John Milton confronted a profound theological challenge: how to express the inexpressible when attempting to capture humanity's relationship with the divine.

Drawing on contemporary philosophical frameworks, Cefalu demonstrates how these Early Modern writers encountered what he terms the "sublime aspects of God" - those mysterious dimensions of the divine that seem to exist beyond ordinary comprehension. Some poets, he shows, chose to acknowledge this divine mystery as an empty space or void, while others filled this unknowable realm with representations of divine abundance and excess.

The book illuminates how different poets responded to this spiritual dilemma. While some writers turned away from these overwhelming aspects of divine presence, others embraced the challenge of representing the intimate yet alien nature of both human consciousness and divine being. Through this analysis, readers gain fresh insights into how spiritual seekers across time have wrestled with fundamental questions about the nature of religious experience and the limits of human understanding.

This work offers valuable perspectives for anyone interested in how literature can serve as a vehicle for exploring the deepest questions of spiritual life and divine encounter.

Who Is This For?

📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~6 hours)

📄 Length: 217 pages

What You'll Discover

  • ✓ Explore Religion
  • ✓ Explore English Poets
  • ✓ Explore Christian poetry, history and criticism
  • ✓ Explore timeless philosophical wisdom
  • ✓ Explore English literature
  • ✓ Explore Philosophy, modern
  • ✓ Explore Donne, john, 1572-1631
  • ✓ Explore English literature, history and criticism, early modern, 1500-1700

Topics Covered

Religion English Poets Christian poetry, history and criticism Modern Philosophy English literature Philosophy, modern Donne, john, 1572-1631 English literature, history and criticism, early modern, 1500-1700 English Christian poetry Ontology in literature Theology in literature Crashaw, richard, 1613?-1649 History and criticism Milton, john, 1608-1674, religion and ethics Philosophy Traherne, thomas, -1674

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