Date of Award
1990
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Abstract
In his poetry, Thomas Hardy creates his own theory of the sublime based on the theories expounded in the eighteenth century. By questioning the miracles, mysteries, and purpose of nature, hardy creates the terror of unknowing that produces the sublime. Hardy's theory of the duality of nature, of its grandeur and its sorriness, is also a characteristic of his sublime. By uncovering the grandeur and latent beauty in disaster, death, the little things, and the ordinary, Hardy generates the pleasure needed to give sublimity to the negative. His descriptions of the sorriness of the destructive powers of winter, time, and war create terror at the realization of the destruction of grandeur, and transform the simply beautiful into the sublime.
Extent
81 p.
Recommended Citation
Barron, Susan Lynn, "Mystery, grandeur, and sorriness: The sublime in Thomas Hardy's poetry" (1990). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 1990 - 1999. 81.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_4/81
Identifier
FADT14621
Comments
FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Adviser: Howard Pearce.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1990.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection