Language Evolution, Literary Craft, and Aesthetic Mysticism in Robert Louis Stevenson's Theory of Style.
Robert Louis Stevenson's essays on literary style construct a complex theory of creative practice in which deliberate, calculated authorial choices intermingle with mysterious intuitions and unconscious compulsions. The article argues that this theory resisted efforts in late Victorian culture and e...
| Publicado en: | 19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century no. 37; pp. 1 - 21 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Open Library of Humanities
2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=187411328&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 187411328 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 17551560 ATMS jtl: 19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century issn: 17551560 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2025 iid: 37 pid: 15576 pub: Open Library of Humanities artinfo: ui: 187411328 10.16995/ntn.11120 ppf: 1 ppct: 20 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 502KB tig: atl: Language Evolution, Literary Craft, and Aesthetic Mysticism in Robert Louis Stevenson's Theory of Style. aug: au: Abberley, Will su: Literary style Patternmaking Consciousness Evolutionary models Writing education sug: subj: Literary style Patternmaking Consciousness Evolutionary models Writing education ab: Robert Louis Stevenson's essays on literary style construct a complex theory of creative practice in which deliberate, calculated authorial choices intermingle with mysterious intuitions and unconscious compulsions. The article argues that this theory resisted efforts in late Victorian culture and education to methodize writing as an instrumental skill reducible to fixed, objective rules. Drawing on evolutionary models of language and aesthetics, which problematized the conventional opposition between thought and discourse, inspiration and production, Stevenson appealed to an expansive concept of craft in which practitioners simultaneously used their tools and were shaped and guided by them. However, he envisaged intellect and tact existing in composition less as a balance than as a tension so that the former managed the instinctive pleasures of pattern-making with increasing self-consciousness as humanity advanced. His theory of style thus engaged with a wider discourse of optimistic evolutionary aestheticism which envisioned humanity progressing towards perfection through the transcendental developments of art and literature. It also resonates suggestively with contemporary theories of 'craft consciousness' and linguistic-aesthetic enchantment as sources of resistance and ideological disruption. Stevenson's phenomenology of literary style further offers a historical analogue to ecocritical concepts of language as a means of connecting to the wider universe. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of 19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century is the property of Open Library of Humanities and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: 19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century holder: Open Library of Humanities dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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