The poetics of authorship in the later Middle Ages: The emergence of the modern literary persona [PhD thesis]

394 Pages·1991·15.34 MB·English

by  Burt Joseph Kimmelman

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The poetics of authorship in the later Middle Ages: The
emergence of the modern literary persona
Kimmelman, Burt Joseph, Ph.D.
City University of New York, 1991
Copyright ©1991 by Kimmelman, Burt Joseph. All rights reserved.
VI
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THE POETICS OF AUTHORSHIP IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES:
THE EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN LITERARY PERSONA
by
BURT KIMMELMAN
A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in
English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University
of New York.
1991
Copyright 1991
BURT JOSEPH KIMMELMAN
All Rights Reserved
iii
This manuscript has been read and accepted for the
Graduate Faculty in English in satisfaction of the
dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy.
Supervisory Committee
The City University of New York
Abstract
THE POETICS OF AUTHORSHIP IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES:
THE EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN LITERARY PERSONA
by
Burt Kimmelman
Adviser: Professor Allen Mandelbaum
Literary individualism manifested itself in the twelfth
century both trivially and profoundly. Word puzzles
and overt self-naming within a literary work, and
discussions of the nature of poetry and the role of the
poet in the world, increasingly considered the purpose
and efficacy of writing and ultimately of language per
se. Poets asserted themselves in their works not so
much for the sake of self-promotion, in a modern sense,
but to address and modulate contemporary intellectual
and spiritual issues. Speculative grammar, nominalism
and realism, often provided the material for poets such
as Guillem IX, Marcabru, Dante, Chaucer and Langland.
As literacy and Aristotelian logic became widespread,
these poets contributed to a distinction being made
between history and fiction; they employed contemporary
ideas about language and its relationship to experience
as both metaphor and theme. They elaborated a Western
sensibility that had been articulated at least as
early as Plato, Paul, and especially Augustine who
essentially viewed the world as a text. This basic
metaphor ultimately formed the later medieval outlook;
text, and language and/or discourse maintained fluid
interrelationships. Moreover, Anselm had set aside
Augustine's criterion of intentionality as the most
important factor when determining falsehoods. Anselm
recognized the separateness of language; statements
could have a natural integrity despite their lack of
objective reference. This autonomy of language formed
the ground for individual poetic identity. In the face
of a hierarchical authority inherited from the past,
poets insisted upon their presence as individuals by
aligning themselves with their texts. Marcabru writes
about his difficulties in forging an eloquent text that
will always be at a remove from him. Dante undertakes
this theme through a fictional persona, who resembles
himself and discourses with Virgil about the
possibility of enunciating truth. Langland, finally,
aligns author and persona with poetic theme in the name
Will. In measuring dream and allegory against actual
experience, Langland discusses the individual writer's
will and his hope for salvation.
vi
Acknowledgements
Profound thanks, first of all, to my adviser and
readers, Allen Mandelbaum, Robert 0. Payne and
Frederick Goldin.
"0 de li altri poeti onore e lume,
vagliami '1 lungo studio e '1 grande amore
che ra'ha fatto cercar lo tuo volume"
And to Henry Weinfield, whose steady encouragement, and
close reading of a draft of this study, were crucial.
I also owe a great debt to the many members of my
family, for never allowing me to tire; their constant
support was and is all that anyone might want. And I
am thankful to many others--some of whom will now,
unfortunately, escape my memory — for their
intelligence, warmth, vigor, knowledge: William
Coleman, George Economou, Norbert Elliot, William
Elton, Alan Holder, Lynn Kadison, Sherry Kearns,
Martin Stevens, Paul Spillenger, and Joseph Wittreich.