Things Merely Are: Philosophy in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens

by Simon Critchley

On This Page

Description

This book is an invitation to read poetry. Simon Critchley argues that poetry enlarges life with a range of observation, power of expression and attention to language that eclipses any other medium. In a rich engagement with the poetry of Wallace Stevens, Critchley reveals that poetry also contains deep and important philosophical insight. Above all, he agues for a 'poetic epistemology' that enables us to think afresh the philosophical problem of the relation between mind and world, and show more ultimately to cast the problem away. Drawing astutely on Kant, the German and English Romantics and Heidegger, Critchley argues that through its descriptions of particular things and their stubborn plainness - whether water, guitars, trees, or cats - poetry evokes the 'mereness' of things. It is this experience, he shows, that provokes the mood of calm and releases the imaginative insight we need to press back against the pressure of reality. Critchley also argues that this calm defines the cinematic eye of Terrence Malick, whose work is discussed at the end of the book. show less

Tags

Recommendations

Member Reviews

1 review
One of the first books that helped me 'get' Wallace Stevens. Breaks down 19th and 20th c. philosophy in relatively easy to understand language and provides the necessary background to understand the influences of one of the masters.

Members

Recently Added By

Lists

Author Information

Picture of author.
68+ Works 3,463 Members
English philosopher Simon Critchley was born on February 27, 1960. He earned his BA (1985) and PhD (1988) from the University of Essex in England. Critchley received his M.Phil. from France's University of Nice in 1987. Critchley has held university fellow, lecturer, reader, and professor positions and was the Director of the Centre for show more Theoretical Studies at the University of Essex. Additionally, Critchley was President of the British Society for Phenomenology from 1994-1999, he held a Humboldt Research Fellowship in Philosophy at the University of Frankfurt, and was Programme Director of the Collège International de Philosophie. Since 2004 Critchley has taught philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York. Critchley's publications include "The Ethics of Deconstruction: Derrida and Levinas," the collection of essays "Ethics-Politics-Subjectivity," "Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction," "On Humour," "Things Merely Are," "Infinitely Demanding," and the New York Times bestseller "The Book of Dead Philosophers". (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Common Knowledge

People/Characters
Wallace Stevens

Classifications

Genres
Literature Studies and Criticism, Fiction and Literature, Poetry
DDC/MDS
811.52Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican poetry20th Century1900-1945
LCC
PS3537 .T4753 .Z6244Language and LiteratureAmerican literatureAmerican literatureIndividual authors1900-1960
BISAC

Statistics

Members
48
Popularity
627,103
Reviews
1
Rating
(4.00)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
4