Aesthetic Poetry

Name: Aesthetic Poetry
Author: Walter Pater

By Walter Pater

Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

Essays, Letters & Speeches Poetry

About This Book

A series of essays argues that aesthetic poetry fashions an artificial, transfigured world distinct from classical, medieval, or simply modern forms, refining earlier ideals into a faint, spectral paradise. The writer traces literary shifts from classicism through Romantic reaction to renewed medieval and Hellenic impulses, and isolates features such as mystic religion, courtly Provencal love, and feudal vassalage. Attention is given to how monastic devotion and frustrated desire produce reverie, illusion, and delirium, and how nature, ritual song-forms like serenades and aubades, and intensified colour and sensation create a fragile, highly sensuous lyricism in later verse.

About the Author

Walter Pater

Walter Pater was an English essayist, critic, and novelist, known for his influential works on aesthetics and art criticism. His writing often explored the relationship between art and life, emphasizing the importance of beauty and sensory experience. Pater's notable works include "Marius the Epicurean," a philosophical novel that delves into themes of pleasure and the pursuit of a meaningful existence. He also contributed significantly to literary criticism with essays such as those found in "Appreciations, with an Essay on Style," where he examined the styles of various authors. Pater's ideas played a crucial role in the development of the Aesthetic Movement in the late 19th century.