The Ecstatic Poetic Tradition : A Critical Study From the Ancients Through Rumi, Wordsworth, Whitman, Dickinson and Tagore

Ecstatic beginnings -- The overture -- Ecstatic states of consciousness -- Historical outline -- The ancient poetics and aesthetics of ecstasy -- Autochthonous and modern ecstatic poetry -- Critical studies -- The whirling dervish : Rumi -- The power of imagination : William Wordsworth -- The body ecstatic : Walt Whitman -- The cracked mind : Emily Dickinson -- The wise man of the East : Rabindranath Tagore -- Critical implications -- Extra-literary implications -- Literary implications : a problematic rapture -- Ecstasy the Eudaimonic turn.;"This work is a critical study in four parts: a general inquiry into ecstatic states; an historical outline of the ecstatic poetic tradition; an intensive study of the five representative poets; and a discussion of critical implications, especially those bearing on psychology, sociology, and religion, as well as an analysis of ecstatic poetics and aesthetics in literary studies"-- Cover 1 Table of Contents 8 Preface 10 Part One: Ecstatic Beginnings 12 1. The Overture 12 2. Ecstatic States of Consciousness 23 Part Two: Historical Outline 38 3. The Ancient Poetics and Aesthetics of Ecstasy 38 4. Autochthonous, Non-Western and Modern Ecstatic Poetry 64 Part Three: Critical Studies 78 5. The Whirling Dervish: Rumi 78 6. The Power of Imagination: William Wordsworth 96 7. The Body Ecstatic: Walt Whitman 113 8. The Cracked Mind: Emily Dickinson 140 9. The Wise Man of the East: Rabindranath Tagore 156 Part Four: Critical Implications 176 10. Extra-literary Implications 176 11. Literary Implications: A Problematic Rapture 203 12. Ecstasy and the Eudaimonic Turn 223 Chapter Notes 230 Bibliography 244 Index 254 This work is not only a general inquiry into ecstatic states of consciousness and an historical outline of the ecstatic poetic tradition but also an intensive study of five representative poets--Rumi, Wordsworth, Whitman, Dickinson, and Tagore. In a refreshingly original, wide-ranging engagement with concepts in psychology, religion, philosophy, aesthetics, sociology and history, this book demonstrates that the poetics and aesthetics of ecstasy represent an ancient, ubiquitous theory of poetry that continues to influence writers in the current century. "This work is a critical study in four parts: a general inquiry into ecstatic states; an historical outline of the ecstatic poetic tradition; an intensive study of the five representative poets; and a discussion of critical implications, especially those bearing on psychology, sociology, and religion, as well as an analysis of ecstatic poetics and aesthetics in literary studies"-- Provided by publisher