Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Tbh, I probably wouldn't bother engaging at all with this stuff if there weren't other similarly ignorant but curious people to chat to about it, which is why I love dissensus.
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
no home to go back to
ive found and am enjoying an essay about jhp ive not read before. i thought id read all of them
 

sus

Moderator
Let's see if we can break it down.

Apophatic theology, also known as negative theology,[1] is a form of theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God.[web 1] It forms a pair together with cataphatic theology, which approaches God or the Divine by affirmations or positive statements about what God is.[web 2]


In that prof Michael Sugrue lecture I just listened to, he warns that Heidegger is in danger of falling into nihilism.
Ok that helps a tiny bit but what is e.g. unennhalte because literally this essay is the only time that word has ever been indexed by google
 

sus

Moderator
In this context, the theorist seems to suggest an approach to poetry influenced by Heidegger's ideas, where the focus is on what cannot be expressed or defined, pushing the limits of language itself.
 

sus

Moderator
Unennhalte: This seems like a misspelling or conceptual variation of the German word "Unenthaltbar," which can mean "unsustainable" or "untenable." It might also refer to "das Ungehaltene" (the unrestrained) or "das Unhaltbare" (the indefinable or uncontainable).
The phrase likely gestures toward an attempt to engage with something inherently elusive, indefinable, or unsustainable—possibly the very limits of language or meaning within the poem
 

sus

Moderator
Turner’s claim that "no one had any business to like the picture" points to modern art's autonomy. Art is not created to elicit shared experience or endorsement but instead reflects subjective intensity and its independence from collective validation.

Paradox of Representation: The uniqueness of personal experience (what happens to me, not you) paradoxically allows art to capture the broader historical condition of “unsociable togetherness.” Art bridges individuality and collectivity by representing isolation within a shared human condition.
 

sus

Moderator
"Whole Otherness": Prynne’s poem gestures toward an indefinable moment of transcendence (“no name & place”), challenging the reader to recognize and engage with an elusive, unspeakable otherness. This moment reflects the tension between historical foreclosures (knowledge shaped by the past) and the possibility of genuine ethical or transformative change.
 

sus

Moderator
And sprang with that double twist into the

Middle world and thence took flight over the

Scythian hordes and to the Hyperborean,

Touch of the north wind

carrying with him Apollo
"Scythian hordes": The Scythians were a nomadic people of the Eurasian steppes, often depicted in classical sources as fierce and uncivilized. They might symbolize a wild, untamed frontier, both geographically and metaphorically.
"Hyperborean": In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans were a mythical people who lived in a utopian land far to the north, untouched by the struggles of ordinary life. This evokes an idealized, unreachable space, possibly contrasting with the harshness of the Scythian steppe.
"Touch of the north wind": The north wind (Boreas in Greek mythology) carries connotations of cold, power, and transformation. It also connects to the Hyperborean myth, as their land is often associated with northern winds and divine influences.
 

sus

Moderator
  • "Carrying with him Apollo": Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, music, prophecy, and healing, is a figure of light, order, and clarity. His inclusion suggests a guiding force or a pursuit of enlightenment amid the chaotic and untamed imagery (Scythians, the north wind).
Apollo’s symbolic presence could also reflect a tension between civilization (light, reason) and wildness (the north wind, Scythians). The act of “carrying” Apollo might imply a human or heroic endeavor to bring order or beauty to the untamed spaces of the middle world.
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
"Scythian hordes": The Scythians were a nomadic people of the Eurasian steppes, often depicted in classical sources as fierce and uncivilized. They might symbolize a wild, untamed frontier, both geographically and metaphorically.
"Hyperborean": In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans were a mythical people who lived in a utopian land far to the north, untouched by the struggles of ordinary life. This evokes an idealized, unreachable space, possibly contrasting with the harshness of the Scythian steppe.
"Touch of the north wind": The north wind (Boreas in Greek mythology) carries connotations of cold, power, and transformation. It also connects to the Hyperborean myth, as their land is often associated with northern winds and divine influences.
You should read aristea!
 
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