Description
Book SynopsisHow have our conceptions of truth been shaped by romantic literature? This question lies at the heart of this examination of the concept of truth both in romantic writing and in modern criticism. The romantic idea of truth has long been depicted as aesthetic, imaginative and ideal. Tim Milnes challenges this picture, demonstrating a pragmatic strain in the writing of Keats, Shelley and Coleridge in particular, that bears a close resemblance to the theories of modern pragmatist thinkers such as Donald Davidson and JÃrgen Habermas. Romantic pragmatism, Milnes argues, was in turn influenced by recent developments within linguistic empiricism. This book will be of interest to readers of romantic literature, but also to philosophers, literary theorists, and intellectual historians.
Trade Review"This very original, timely and deftly-written study joins a conspicuous body of critical work on British romantic literature and pragmatics....an engaging and fascinating reading of three major poets of British Romanticism." -Annalisa Volpone, NBOL 19
"“Clearly written, with a stimulating breadth of research and depth of scholarship, Milnes' work provides an important link between modern linguistic/pragmatic philosophy and romantic/empiricist poetics. Recognizing precedent study in “the discourse of communicative rationality,” Milnes cites often and judiciously Kathleen Wheeler, Paul Hamilton, and Angela Esterhammer as central to the “the pragmatic, future-directed accent of romantic literature” -William C. Horrell,Wordsworth Circle
"This very original, timely and deftly-written study joins a conspicuous body of critical work on British romantic literature and pragmatics….Milnes' book offers an engaging and fascinating reading of three major poets of British Romanticism.” -Annalisa Volpone,NBOL-19
Table of ContentsIntroduction: the pragmatics of romantic idealism; 1. Romanticising pragmatism: dialogue and critical method; 2. Pragmatising romanticism: radical empiricism from Reid to Rorty; 3. This living Keats: truth, deixis, and correspondence; 4. An unremitting interchange: Shelley, elenchus, and the education of error; 5. The embodiment of reason: Coleridge on language, logic, and ethics; Conclusion.
