The Disruptive Muse: Poetic Inspiration and Its Counterdiscourses in Early Modern Literature
Abstract
This dissertation examines the ambivalent attitudes surrounding poetic inspiration in early modern literature. These anxieties form a counterdiscourse to Platonic and Neoplatonic doctrines of poetic furor and the broader tradition of social, spiritual, and cosmic harmony associated with this idealist tradition and the classical muses. My project takes the muse’s immateriality as a focal point for examining the conflicts of authority and agency that emerge between characters and their respective muses. The type of disruptive poetics that emerges from this discord reveals early modern authors’ concern about the spiritually corruptive potential of inspired creativity. Attending to texts across various genres, this study demonstrates the ways in which the disruptive creativity expressed and experienced by characters and speakers help us understand the formation of their fictional worlds.
Subject Area
Modern literature
Recommended Citation
Breedlove, John E, "The Disruptive Muse: Poetic Inspiration and Its Counterdiscourses in Early Modern Literature" (2022). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI28962364.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI28962364
