On Heroes, Hero Worship, and the Heroic in History (Rethinking the Western Tradition)

Based on a series of lectures delivered in 1840, Thomas Carlyle’s __On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History__ considers the creation of heroes and the ways they exert heroic leadership. From the divine and prophetic (Odin and Muhammad) to the poetic (Dante and Shakespeare) to the religious (Luther and Knox) to the political (Cromwell and Napoleon), Carlyle investigates the mysterious qualities that elevate humans to cultural significance. By situating the text in the context of six essays by distinguished scholars that reevaluate both Carlyle’s work and his ideas, David Sorensen and Brent Kinser argue that Carlyle's concept of heroism stresses the hero’s spiritual dimension. In Carlyle’s engagement with various heroic personalities, he dislodges religiosity from religion, myth from history, and truth from “quackery” as he describes the wondrous ways in which these “flowing light-fountains” unlock the heroic potential of ordinary human beings. Based on a series of lectures delivered in 1840, Thomas Carlyle’s On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History considers the creation of heroes and the ways they exert heroic leadership. From the divine and prophetic (Odin and Muhammad) to the poetic (Dante and Shakespeare) to the religious (Luther and Knox) to the political (Cromwell and Napoleon), Carlyle investigates the mysterious qualities that elevate humans to cultural significance.

By situating the text in the context of six essays by distinguished scholars that reevaluate both Carlyle’s work and his ideas, David Sorensen and Brent Kinser argue that Carlyle's concept of heroism stresses the hero’s spiritual dimension. In Carlyle’s engagement with various heroic personalities, he dislodges religiosity from religion, myth from history, and truth from “quackery” as he describes the wondrous ways in which these “flowing light-fountains” unlock the heroic potential of ordinary human beings. "Based on a series of lectures delivered in 1840, Thomas Carlyle's On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History considers the creation of heroes and the ways they exert heroic leadership. From the divine and prophetic (Odin and Muhammad) to the poetic (Dante and Shakespeare) to the religious (Luther and Knox) to the political (Cromwell and Napoleon), Carlyle investigates the mysterious qualities that elevate humans to cultural significance. By situating the text in the context of six essays by distinguished scholars that reevaluate both Carlyle's work and his ideas, David Sorensen and Brent Kinser argue that Carlyle's concept of heroism stresses the hero's spiritual dimension. In Carlyle's engagement with various heroic personalities, he dislodges religiosity from religion, myth from history, and truth from "quackery" as he describes the wondrous ways in which these "flowing light-fountains" unlock the heroic potential of ordinary human beings."-- Provided by publisher Contents 7 Introduction 9 A Note on the Text 25 On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History 29 Lecture 1. The Hero as Divinity 29 Lecture 2. The Hero as Prophet 59 Lecture 3. The Hero as Poet 85 Lecture 4. The Hero as Priest 112 Lecture 5. The Hero as Man of Letters 140 Lecture 6. The Hero as King 170 Essays 207 ‘‘The Tone of the Preacher’’ 207 In Defense of ‘‘Religiosity’’ 217 ‘‘The First of the Moderns’’ 230 Carlyle, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and the Hero as Victorian Poet 243 ‘‘Leading human souls to what is best’’ 255 ‘‘Wild Annandale Grapeshot’’ 268 Thomas Carlyle, Social Media, and the Digital Age of Revolution 280 Glossary 291 Works Cited 329 Contributors 339 Index 341