British Romanticism and the Science of the Mind (Cambridge Studies in Romanticism)

Inthisprovocativeandoriginalstudy,AlanRichardsonexaminesanentirerangeofintellectual,cultural,andideologicalpointsofcontactbetweenBritishRomanticliterarywritingandthepioneeringbrainscienceofthetime.Richardsonbreaksnewgroundintwofields,revealingasignificantandundervaluedfacetofBritishRomanticismwhiledemonstratingthe'Romantic'characterofearlyneuroscience.Crucialnotionsliketheactivemind,organicism,theunconscious,thefragmentedsubject,instinctandintuition,arisingsimultaneouslywithintheliteratureandpsychologyoftheera,takeonunsuspectedvalencesthattransformconventionalaccountsofRomanticculturalhistory.Neglectedissueslikethecorporealityofmind,theroleofnon-linguisticcommunication,andthepeculiarlyRomanticunderstandingofculturaluniversalsarereopenedindiscussionsthatbringnewlighttobearonlong-standingcriticalpuzzles,fromColeridge'ssuppressionof'KublaKhan',toWordsworth'sperplexingtheoryofpoeticlanguage,toAusten'sinterestinheadinjury.