After reading through Burke’s enquiry on the sublime and the
beautiful several times and I began to enjoy his philosophy more and more.
The ideas
of obscure darkness and clear light were present throughout these passages,
connecting them all together. This is what
I got about obscurity and light –
Obscurity makes us think. Obscurity
causes part of the idea or object to be in the dark, but that leaves room for
imagination or our own thoughts. And it is in this way that obscurity/darkness
evokes more emotion than say an idea that is clear and understandable. His talk
of a physical image vs. description helped me to see this clearly.
This was one of my favorite quotes
from the passages - “the proper manner
of conveying the affections of the mind from one to another, is by words; there
is a great insufficiency in al other method of communication;” This particular
paragraph reminds me of the phrase, a
picture is worth a thousand words because you can look at an image and get
details, or you can hear a description from someone who has been there or
experienced it and you will get so much more than just the basics.
Darkness also is associated with
fear, while light is the opposite – I’m not too sure if it’s security, the
ability to understand, or whatever. Darkness causes us to feel, be it pain or
terror. Darkness, much like obscurity, causes our mind to wander and think.
Light, to me, is the basic
knowledge of life, like things we know from the day that we are born. Things
that are meant to be enjoyed and not comprehended or questioned, I guess. The
beautiful is light. They are small. They are refined and delicate and smooth.
The beautiful are things we realize and come to know and admire. There is nothing
to figure out. Beauty is just as it is. Let it be. It affects us little.
The sublime is then darkness and
obscurity. And darkness, in my blog, has more of the focus because it was, at
least to me, more obscure. Burke says that the obscure idea, when properly
conveyed, should be more affecting than the clear. And I’d have to say I agree.
The obscure idea, to me at least, is like a puzzle that can’t be solved. It’s
something that takes a lot of thinking, in order to uncover what is being
obscured, what is in the darkness. It causes us to reflect and think, there for
affecting us in ways that beauty does.
I agree that Burke's intent when writing this piece was to show us that the obscure, though it may sometimes seem overwhelming or undesirable, makes us think, because it elicits a stress response in us, because it is uncomfortable. This is because the obscure forces us to think outside of the box, because it's something we are unfamiliar with. People tend to shy away from anything that is not easily recognized; sometimes, this is for good reason--the unknown may be better left unknown--but other times, when you follow the unknown path through to the darkness, you discover something great, something unexpected. And because it is unexpected, it is all the more rewarding and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Burke's intent when writing this piece was to show us that the obscure, though it may sometimes seem overwhelming or undesirable, makes us think, because it elicits a stress response in us, because it is uncomfortable. This is because the obscure forces us to think outside of the box, because it's something we are unfamiliar with. People tend to shy away from anything that is not easily recognized; sometimes, this is for good reason--the unknown may be better left unknown--but other times, when you follow the unknown path through to the darkness, you discover something great, something unexpected. And because it is unexpected, it is all the more rewarding and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote from this piece is: "The ideas of eternity, and infinity, are among the most affecting we have, and yet perhaps there is nothing of which we really understand so little, as of infinity and eternity." Through this piece, Burke juxtaposes our human reactions and perceptions to things that cause us to react. Sublimity is the awe inspiring, fear filled tremor that takes a hold of us. It is darkness, but allows us to understand that we are inferior to something, which I suppose instills us with appropriate reactions to life and art. Beauty, on the other hand, is lightness. We feel pleasure and understand ourselves as superior in the time that we experience it. They are both crucial in how we perceive, but they are fundamentally opposed on the reactions they inspire. "If black, and white blend, soften, and unite,/A thousand ways, are there no black and white?"
ReplyDeleteI think Burke says it best when describing the need for obscurity, “to make anything very terrible, obscurity seems in general to be necessary.” Fear and terrible circumstances tend to lead you into the unknown. If everything was black and white, what would there be to worry about. You would know what was exactly coming, as stated, “when we can accustom our eyes to it, a great deal of apprehension vanishes.” Through the piece Burke makes the obscure seem essential, it makes people think of the worst. Sublimity and obscurity for this reason go hand in hand. Without obscurity there would be less fear and terror, and as Burke states terror is, “the ruling principle of the sublime.” For this reason obscurity is crucial for the darkness that are in life.
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