English 650 Responses to Longinus's On the Sublime (circa 100 A.D.)
Prof. Ramirez

Deena Baker
Chapter 1:  Prompted by their critical discussion on Caecilius' treatise of the Sublime, Postumius Teretianus urges Longinus to write his own essay on the Sublime.  In doing so, Longinus argues that sublimity is like a powerful, prevailing spell whose effect upon an audience "is not persuasion but transport," and irresistible to the hearer.
Chapter 2:  Many critical thinkers believe the sublime to be limited to nature and not an art, however, Longinus argues that just as nature has its systems and seasons that govern it, so does the appropriate use of the sublime in art.  Nature and art have an important relationship--through the lofty elements of artistic expression we can better appreciate and express the sublime moments in nature.

Tiffany Brook
Section 5
Longinus addresses the issue of novelty in writing and claims that novelty
can be both a source of virtue and vice in composition.  He instructs the
writer to use novel ides with moderation.  In this paradigm a successful use
of the novel would be a corresponding accompaniment of its believability or
appropriateness in relation to the rest of the work.

Section 6
Longinus prepares to explicate the elements of writing that contribute to
the overall sublimity of a text.

Fiona Harris-Ramsby
Chapter 9 of Longinus's "On the Sublime" is devoted to an exploration - utilizing guidelines and examples - of the most vital condition
needed to attain sublimity; the elevation of the mind.

Furthermore, by quoting Sappho and Homer in Chapter 10, Longinus suggests a careful selection process in the organization of written
material which encompasses only the most passionate elements of an emotional experience or event.

Jessica Hayes
Section 11
Longinus argues that amplification is a rhetorical device used to intensify an argument through a series of "elevated expressions." He also differentiates amplification from sublimity by arguing that amplification alone is incomplete except when used to elicit pity.

Section 12
Longinus argues that to use amplification is to examine a particular subject from every aspect. He also argues that while amplification can be used in many types of literature, there is a proper place within the discourse to apply this technique; it should be placed where the audience should be ?utterly enthralled? and ?flooded with words? (Longinus 89).

George Henson
Sections 13 and 14
Longinus begins section thirteen with Plato’s comparison of those who
do not find a sublime vision of enlightenment in their lives with
cattle, which are destined to exist in an aimless search for food
while finding little pleasure in their lives of meager earthly
subsistence.  However, Longinus illustrates that without other “great
poets and writers” who blazed the path to an elevated thought process
before him, Plato would never have obtained his highest level of
understanding.

Continuing his instruction for reaching the sublime in section
fourteen, Longinus encourages his audience to build upon the works of
previous great writers without fear of succumbing to the dreaded act
of plagiarism.  Longinus promotes the idea of deriving inspiration
from previous great writers, and supports the practice of reflecting
upon how they would have judged our writings if those influential
writers of the past could be our audience today.

Jan Hudson
Section 15
Longinus argues that while both poets and orators use the power of the imagination, they each use different methods. Both seek an emotional response with poets attempting to enthrall and orators seeking to persuade.

Section 16
Longinus argues that figurative language alone cannot produce the sublime.  It is the context that produces sublimity.

Jennifer Johnston
Section 17
A thing is only sublime when it becomes that way on its own. It has to be in itself sublime with no outside help or influence.
Section 18
A more effective way to present an argument is to first ask the questions and then give the answers.

Linda Kudrik
Section 19
Longinus argues that writers can produce a desired effect by controlling the rhythm of their sentences. He gives examples of sentences written by Xenophon and Homer, in which, he says, the lines have a tense, impatient, passionate feeling produced by the absence of “connecting links” or conjunctions.

Section 20
Longinus explains that writers should use a variety of unified “figures” to convey their meaning and contribute to the elegance of their work. His example from Against Meidias shows how Demosthenes uses asyndeton to create a passionate rhythm by omitting the conjunctions from a series of prepositional phrases at the end of a sentence; then he changes the rhythm to avoid lulling the reader into “tranquility” by using anaphora, repeating the words “when he” at the beginnings of a series of dependent clauses; and finally, he uses detailed description, diatyposis, along with “Repetitions” and “Asyndeta” to help the reader imagine and feel the fight that he’s describing.