Wordsworth and the Enlightenment Idea of Pleasure (Cambridge Studies in Romanticism, Series Number 95)

"Ancient questions about the causes and nature of pleasure were revived in the eighteenth century with a new consideration of its ethical and political significance. Rowan Boyson reminds us that philosophers of the Enlightenment, unlike modern thinkers, often represented pleasure as shared rather than selfish, and she focuses particularly on this approach to the philosophy and theory of pleasure. Through close reading of Enlightenment and Romantic texts, in particular the poetry and prose of William Wordsworth, Boyson elaborates on this central theme. Covering a wide range of texts by philosophers, theorists and creative writers from over the centuries, she presents a strong defence of the Enlightenment ideal of pleasure, drawing out its rich political, as well as intellectual and aesthetic, implications"-- Provided by publisher Cover WORDSWORTH AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT IDEA OF PLEASURE Series Page Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Introduction KEYWORDS Pleasure Joy Self-interest and self-love Epicureanism and hedonism Happiness Utility and utilitarianism Bliss, comfort, delight Contentment, complacency CRITICAL CONTEXT OUTLINE OF THE BOOK PART I: Pleasure philosophy CHAPTER 1 Aesthetics of pleasure: Shaftesbury, Kant and the sensus communis SHAFTESBURY AND THE HISTORY OF THE 'SENSUS COMMUNIS' CRITICISMS OF SHAFTESBURIAN PLEASURE KANT ON SHARED PLEASURE READING PLEASURE THROUGH KANT'S 'ANTHROPOLOGY' COMMON PLEASURE IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY CONCLUSION CHAPTER 2 Powers of pleasure: Rousseau and Wollstonecraft 'JULIE', PLEASURE AND COMMUNITY 'EMILE' AND 'AMOUR DE SOI' PLEASURE, GENDER AND THE IMAGINATION WOLLSTONECRAFT AND SOCIAL ENJOYMENT CONCLUSION: ROUSSEAU'S 'REVERIES' AND ROMANTICISM PART II: Wordsworth’s common pleasure CHAPTER 3 Poetics of pleasure in Lyrical Ballads 'LINES WRITTEN IN EARLY SPRING' - A READING THE 'PREFACES' TO THE 'LYRICAL BALLADS' THE 1800 'PREFACE' THE 1802 'PREFACE' CONCLUSION: PLEASURE, HABIT AND THE 'CLINAMEN' CHAPTER 4 Economies of affect in The Prelude and Home at Grasmere THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLEASURES IN 'THE PRELUDE' TWO REGISTERS OF PLEASURE IN 'HOME AT GRASMERE' BOUNDED OR 'BOURGEOIS' PLEASURE? CONCLUSION: THE CIRCULARITY OF PLEASURE CHAPTER 5 The politics of happiness in The Excursion THE HAPPINESS OF THE HAPPY WARRIOR 'THE EXCURSION' CONCLUSION Conclusion Notes INTRODUCTION 1 AESTHETICS OF PLEASURE: SHAFTESBURY, KANT AND THE SENSUS COMMUNIS 2 POWERS OF PLEASURE: ROUSSEAU AND WOLLSTONECRAFT 3 POETICS OF PLEASURE IN LYRICAL BALLADS 4 ECONOMIES OF AFFECT IN THE PRELUDE AND HOME AT GRASMERE 5 THE POLITICS OF HAPPINESS IN THE EXCURSION CONCLUSION Bibliography Index "Ancient questions about the causes and nature of pleasure were revived in the eighteenth century with a new consideration of its ethical and political significance. Rowan Boyson reminds us that philosophers of the Enlightenment, unlike modern thinkers, often represented pleasure as shared rather than selfish, and she focuses particularly on this approach to the philosophy and theory of pleasure. Through close reading of Enlightenment and Romantic texts, in particular the poetry and prose of William Wordsworth, Boyson elaborates on this central theme. Covering a wide range of texts by philosophers, theorists and creative writers from over the centuries, she presents a strong defence of the Enlightenment ideal of pleasure, drawing out its rich political, as well as intellectual and aesthetic, implications"-- Résumé de l'éditeur Machine generated contents note: Introduction; Part I. Pleasure Philosophy: 1. Shaftesbury, Kant and the sensus communis; 2. Rousseau, Wollstonecraft and pleasure as power; Part II. Wordsworth's Common Pleasure: 3. Poetics of pleasure in the Lyrical Ballads; 4. Economies of affect in The Prelude and Home at Grasmere; 5. The politics of happiness in The Excursion; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index. The ancient conundrum of pleasure came alive in the eighteenth century with a new consideration of its ethical and political significance. This book takes a new critical approach to the philosophy and theory of pleasure and offers an extended reading of this central theme in Wordsworth's poetry and prose.