This thesis explores conceptions of the cosmic, the human, and the divine in two poetic works: the <i>Sepmaine </i>(1578), a natural philosophical and religious poem, and the <i>Délie </i>(1544), a collection of love lyric. It examines in particular notions of the relationships of similarity, difference and causality between the cosmic, the human, and the divine. Secondly, the thesis also investigates one aspect of the relationship between ‘literary’ texts and philosophical thinking: the specificities of <i>imagistic </i>poetry in representations of the cosmos. The thesis argues that images – which imply a <i>similarity </i>between, for example, the cosmic and the human – are of crucial importance for a sixteenth-century mentality which considers that the <i>similarities </i>between the human, the cosmic, and the divine may be <i>real. </i>Such similarities can be ‘thought through’ in images: images explore the extent to which two domains are similar or different, as well as the nature and implications of these similarities. Common sixteenth-century images thus represent part of the ‘thinking tools’ of a particular mentality. The <i>Délie </i>and the <i>Sepmaine </i>employ two very pronounced poetic styles which present such images in unusual ways; this thesis argues that, as a result, cosmic conceptions fundamental to a certain mentality can be configured differently. In order to discern the specificities of imagistic poetry in relation to the cosmos, the <i>Délie </i>and the <i>Sepmaine </i>are compared with other, non-poetic, texts including Neoplatonist prose discourses on love, Calvin’s depictions of man and his relation to the divine, and various representations of the body politic. Close readings serve to analyse the ways in which images present dominant cosmic notions. The thesis focuses on two images which were omnipresent in many sixteenth-century discourses: firstly, the interactions of the four elements depicted as human love and hatred; secondly, the effects of the beloved lady upon the lover depicted as the effects of the sun or the divine upon the earth.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:596334 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Banks, Kathryn Elizabeth |
| Publisher | University of Cambridge |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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