Thinking Poetry : Philosophical Approaches to Nineteenth-Century French Poetry

Why have poets played such an important role for contemporary philosophers? How can poetry link philosophy and political theory? How do formal considerations intersect with philosophical approaches? These essays seek to establish a dialogue between poetry and philosophy. Each essay contributes to our understanding of the relationships between theory and lived experience while providing new insight into important poets such as Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, Victor Hugo, and others. The broad range of metaphysical, phenomenological, aesthetic, and ethical approaches announce important new paths for a reinvigorated study of lyric poetry in the decades to come. Cover 1 Thinking Poetry: Philosophical Approaches to Nineteenth-Century French Poetry 4 Contents 6 Introduction 8 Works Cited 15 CHAPTER 1: Baudelaire through Kierkegaard:Art, Fallibility, and Faith 16 The Existential Presupposition 18 Conversion to the Ethical 20 Poems in Prose 24 Standing Before God 25 Fellowship of Sorrow 28 Works Cited 29 Notes 30 CHAPTER 2: Passages through Baudelaire: From Poetry to Thought and Back 32 System 32 Experience 35 Passages: Nekyia—Katabasis 44 Works Cited 46 Notes 47 CHAPTER 3: Otherwise than Being: Levinassian Ethics in Victor Hugo’s “La Force des Choses” 50 Works Cited 62 Notes 64 CHAPTER 4: “Je est un autre”: Identity, Alterity, and Drug Use in Baudelaire and De Quincey 66 Works Cited 77 Notes 77 CHAPTER 5: “Poésie-boucherie”: Baudelaire’s Aesthetics and Ethics of Execution 82 Bloody Aesthetics 83 Baudelaire, Self-Critic 96 Conclusion 100 Works Cited 101 Notes 101 CHAPTER 6: Absolutely Absolute: Mallarmé, Blanchot, and the Absence de livre 104 Works Cited 114 Notes 115 CHAPTER 7: Blank Phenomenality 120 Works Cited 135 Notes 136 CHAPTER 8: Mallarmé’s Tragico-Poetic Modernism 138 Introduction 138 Toward a Tragico-Poetic Modernism 143 Conclusion: History of Form, Form as History 149 Works Cited 151 Notes 153 CHAPTER 9: Mallarmé and the Ontologization of the Poem 156 Works Cited 170 Notes 171 CHAPTER 10: Poetic Form and the Crisis of Community: Revisiting Rancière’s Aesthetics 174 “No One Mentioned Verse”: Poetry and the Aesthetic Regime 177 “There Is No Prose”: Mallarmé and the Poetics of Crisis 179 “The Territory to Live”: Poetic Form and Collective Life 184 Works Cited 188 Notes 190 CHAPTER 11: Baudelaire with Badiou: Event and Subjectivity in “L’ Héautontimorouménos” 192 Works Cited 207 Notes 208 CHAPTER 12: “Mesure parfaite et réinventée”: Édouard Glissant Reinvents Nineteenth-Century French Poetry 210 Rimbaud: The “Voyant” Struck Down 212 Mallarmé: The Constant “Clairvoyant” 215 Poetics of Relation: “Mesure parfaite et réinventée” (“Perfect, Reinvented Measure”) 220 Works Cited 225 Notes 226 Contributors 228 Index 232 This Volume Of Essays Seeks To Establish A Dialogue Between Poetry And Philosophy Where Each Could Be Said To Read The Other And Announces Important New Paths For A Reinvigorated Study Of Lyric Poetry In The Decades To Come. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1.baudelaire Through Kierkegaard: Art, Fallibility, And Faith / Edward K. Kaplan -- 2.passages Through Baudelaire: From Poetry To Thought And Back / Catherine Witt -- 3.otherwise Than Being: Levinassian Ethics In Victor Hugo's La Force Des Choses / Bradley Stephens -- 4.je Est Un Autre: Identity, Alterity, And Drug Use In Baudelaire And De Quincey / Alain Toumayan -- 5.poesie-boucherie: Baudelaire's Aesthetics And Ethics Of Execution / Eve Morisi -- 6.absolutely Absolute: Mallarme, Blanchot, And The Absence De Livre / John Mckeane -- 7.blank Phenomenality / Claire Chi-ah Lyu -- 8.mallarme's Tragico-poetic Modernism / Emile Fromet De Rosnay -- 9.mallarme And The Ontologization Of The Poem / David Nowell Smith -- 10.poetic Form And The Crisis Of Community: Revisiting Ranciere's Aesthetics / Alison James -- 11.baudelaire With Badiou: Event And Subjectivity In L'heautontimoroumenos / Joseph Acquisto -- 12.mesure Parfaite Et Reinventee: Edouard Glissant Reinvents Nineteenth-century French Poetry / Hugues Azerad. Edited By Joseph Acquisto. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Why have poets played such an important role for contemporary philosophers? How can poetry link philosophy and political theory? How do formal considerations intersect with philosophical approaches? These essays seek to establish a dialogue between poetry and philosophy. Each essay contributes to our understanding of the relationships between theory and lived experience while providing new insight into important poets such as Charles Baudelaire, Stephane Mallarm̌, Victor Hugo, and others. The broad range of metaphysical, phenomenological, aesthetic, and ethical approaches announce important new paths for a reinvigorated study of lyric poetry in the decades to come"--Provided by publisher