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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/69468
Description
Title
Example and Rule in Donne
Author(s)
Masselink, Noralyn Jean
Issue Date
1987
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Stein, Arnold,
Department of Study
English
Discipline
English
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Literature, English
Abstract
Several twentieth-century critics have argued that John Donne appeals to memory instead of trying to teach the "perverse reason." These critics, citing an Augustinian influence, have emphasized Donne's role as a reminder--prompting his listeners to recall what the inner teacher (Christ) has revealed directly to their understanding. I suggest that Donne works primarily in a more Aristotelian tradition (particularly as represented in the works of Thomas Aquinas), appealing to memory not instead of reason, but rather because memory is a necessary prerequisite for the operation of reason. Working from a sense-oriented epistemology, Donne attempts to bring his listeners to an understanding of "absent and remote" universal truths (Rule) by means of concrete, visual images (Examples) chosen for their appeal to memory.
I also explore Donne's non-epistemological reasons for relying on the example-rule correspondence in sermons and look briefly at how example and rule are manifested in the poetry.
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