Reading the Cosmos and Reading the Poem in Early Modern English Poetry, 1579-1674 explores the relationship between early modern cosmology and poetry in England, arguing that the way the heavens are treated in poetry relates to the way the process of reading is understood in that poetry. By considering a range of poetic works across a period of about a century, the dissertation demonstrates an early modern poetic connection between ideas about astronomy and about reading. The multiple viewpoints in astronomy and cosmology in this period form a part of a larger history of uncertainty about the heavens that offers the means for poetic exploration of ideas about perception, self-definition, and world-creation. The first chapter considers the related concerns with the human microcosm and linguistic indeterminacy in works by Spenser and Donne. The second chapter deals with the astronomical imagery for reading the gendered other in the lyric sequences of the Sidney family. The third chapter addresses Milton’s attitude toward cosmology as an analogue for his process of interpreting the Bible, the natural world, and the poem. The fourth chapter considers Cavendish’s presentation of the plurality of worlds in the context of her natural philosophy and her poetics. Taken together, these works reveal strong ties between cosmology and the concepts of writing and reading poetry, the self, and the world in early modern English poetry. This dissertation, then, adds to the body of knowledge about early modern reading and perception by connecting the early modern experiences of perceiving the written word and the physical world. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 22, 2016. / astronomy, cosmology, early modern, English, Milton, poetry / Includes bibliographical references. / A. E. B. Coldiron, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Bruce Boehrer, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Svetla Slaveva-Griffin, University Representative; Elizabeth Spiller, Committee Member; Gary Taylor, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_366442 |
| Contributors | Hause, Marie (authoraut), Coldiron, A. E. B. (Anne Elizabeth Banks) (professor co-directing dissertation), Boehrer, Bruce Thomas (professor co-directing dissertation), Slaveva-Griffin, Svetla (university representative), Spiller, Elizabeth (committee member), Taylor, Gary, 1963- (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of English (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (304 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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