On Sublimity of The Scarlet Letter

【Abstract】The ancient Greek rhetorician Longinus On the Sublime， an important literary and artistic theory， shows the sources of sublimity， which plays a great role in the western classic literary criticism. Based on his critical theory， it can be concluded that Nathaniel Hawthorne s masterpiece The Scarlet Letter embodies Longinus five principal sources of elevation： one is the authors elevated ideas and passion permeating in the novel； the other is his artistic skills that well convey his profound theme. “Sublimity is the echo of a great soul” and “our soul is uplifted by the true sublime”. The Scarlet Letter is a great work that purifies peoples soul and nurtures noble humanity.

【Key words】Longinus； five sources of sublimity； The Scarlet Letter； greatness

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】徐近（1993- ），女，漢族，河北邢臺(tái)人，中國(guó)人民大學(xué)，碩士研究生，英美文學(xué)方向。

In the western literary and artistic history， the renowned Greek rhetorician Longius On the Sublime was a masterpiece that exerted a far-reaching influence on the literary and artistic criticism. Longinus in this work proposed five principal sources of sublimity. The well-known masterpiece The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is analyzed from these five perspectives and the research leads to the conclusion that the novel embodies Longinus five sources of elevation. The profound theme of The Scarlet Letter is undoubtedly of eternal significance around the world.

1. Longinus five principal sources of sublimity

Longinus declares， “sublimity is the echo of a great soul” and “Sublimity flashing forth at the right moment scatters everything before it like a thunderbolt， and at once displays the power of the orator in all its plenitude.” And sublimity only originates from elevated soul and minds. The real sublime works must be able to exert the effect—“For， as if instinctively， our soul is uplifted by the true sublime； it takes a proud flight and is filled with joy and vaunting， as though it had itself produced that it has heard.” The great writings bear a repeated examination and are difficult to withstand its charm. They can stand the test of readers and audiences of different eras.

Longinus proposes five principal sources to achieve sublimity. The first and most important is the power of forming great conceptions； the second is vehement and inspired passion. These two are for the most part innate. The following three elements are the product of art： the due formation of figures； noble diction； the fitting conclusion of all that have preceded it. Minds and passion are innate and inward， so authors need apply the means of artistic skills. The two parts will complement each other to achieve the goal of sublimity.

First， as to lofty minds， Longinus emphasizes that it holds the foremost rank among them all. It is the gift of a writer or an orator. Although it is inherent， they must nurture their soul so as to create the works of sublimity. That is， sublimity is the reflection of a great mind.

Second， sublimity also relies on vehement and inspired passion for elevation. Authors must have great passion and bring it to the creation. In this way， the works can arouse human beings resonance. Longinus suggests that the strong thoughts can stimulate the poets rich imagination and through images， they are able to describe the elevated conception. Because ideas and passion are something abstract implied in authors mind， the use of images is a way to visualize them to the readers.

Third， for the artistic skills： the figures， noble diction and the fitting conclusion， Longinus reveals that figures is a good way to arouse audiences great passion. The sublimity of content is the determinant element whereas all the figures serve for the goal of sublimity. Then， the choice of proper and striking words gives the works of vitality， attracts and enthralls the hearers. Finally， sublimity requires an unity of content and form based on the above elements. As is in the structure of the human body， the sublime is the collocation of members. All united together makes a complete and perfect one. In short， Longinus On the Sublime emphasizes that sublimity of creation originates from two aspects， one is from the authors elevated mind and inspired passion and the other from the artistic skills.

2. Sublimity Embodied in The Scarlet Letter

The prominent American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter is universally praised as a great work. When it came out in 1850， it has achieved a big success. Over 150 years or so， it has been ranking the leading position in the world literary field， which is attributed to its elevated and ever-lasting theme and the perfect use of artistic technique—symbolism， diction and well-recognized structure that well express the authors idea and bringing people spiritual purification.

First， the profound and elevated thoughts the work conveys make great contribution to its everlasting greatness. As Longinus said， “sublimity is the echo of the great mind.” Nathaniel Hawthorne， the American novelist， is the typical representative of the 19th century American romanticism. His creation presents the enduring value for different periods. Due to his social and family backgrounds and life experience， Nathaniel Hawthorne was deeply affected by the Puritanism and therefore his works always attached great importance to morality， humanity， salvation and the purification of souls. Herman Melville ever made a comment on him that Hawthorne s great achievement was to the description of darkness—the darkness hidden in human deep heart. Deeply influenced by puritanism， Hawthorne believed that human beings were born with sin. In The Scarlet Letter， he began the story with the prison. Hester Prynnes sin came to light while Arthur Dimmesdale sin and Roger Chillingworths sin were hidden. Painfully puzzled by inner sin and driven by the strong passion for human salvation， Hawthorne does his utmost to find the way to cleanse the sin and get salvation in morality and humanity. After Hester was punished， she could have left New England to start a new life， but she continued to live there to do good deeds for cleansing her sin， where she succeeded in leading a new life. Although humans are born with sin， people can show their sincere love， elevated morality and humanity to purify the soul and demonstrate human noble dignity. The Scarlet Letter presents Hawthorne s profound idea that by the means of sincere love and human noble dignity， human sin can be cleansed and they can get purified for the soul. Hawthorne s thoughts and strong passion for purifying human sins are fully embodied in this novel and give readers significant life guidance， which contributes to its big success till now.

Second， driven by great ideas and strong passion， the authors imagination will naturally come out to convey his thoughts. Longinus argues that the strong thought and emotion will stimulate the poets rich imagination； imagination is an important way to visualize poets minds and feelings. As the typical representative of American Romanticism， Hawthorne applies a large number of images and the artistic techniques—symbolism to present his ideal world and humans.

The Scarlet Letter fully presents the strong romantic air. In the novel， Hawthorne s rich imagination makes the plots mysterious and attractive and his use of literary techniques well show the characters mental process. On the one hand， Hawthorne employs many figures of speech. In the beginning of the novel， Hawthorne uses the metaphor to describe the dark social atmosphere： “...in the soil that had so early borne the black flower of civilized society， a prison.”（Melville 3）The author compares the dark prison as the black flower of civilized society. It is the shackle imprisoning humanity. The author also uses irony and simile to disclose Chillingworths evil humanity. “So Rogar Chillingworth—the man of skill，the kind and friendly physician-strove to go deep into his patients bosom， delving among his principles， prying into his recollections， and probing everything with a cautious touch， like a treasure-seeker in a dark cavern.” （Melville 152） Hawthorne s selected words “kind” and “friendly” strongly satirize his hideous inner world. Hawthorne employs the technique of repetition to vividly show Dimmesdales intense inner struggle and the painfully psychological suffering.“More than once， Dimmesdale had gone into the pulpit， with a purpose never to come down its steps until he should have spoken words like the above. More than once， he had cleared his throat... More than once-nay， more than a hundred times-he had actually spoken！ Spoken！” （Melville 175）

On the other hand， there are many images implying rich symbolic meaning. For instance， “She had dark and abundant hair， so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam... ”（Melville P73） “Her attire...seemed to express the attitude of her spirit， the desperate recklessness of her mood， by its wild and picturesque peculiarity.” （Melville 74） The authors description on Hesters appearance reveals the heroines shining humanity and morality. When Hester suffers prosecution， she is covered by shadows and she is “a woman of marble coldness”（Melville 198） while when she resists against it， she is bathed in the bright sunshine and “her sex， her youth， and the whole richness of her beauty came back from what men call the irrevocable past...”（Melville 243） Moreover， the scarlet A running through the whole novel is full of symbolic meanings. In the beginning， it means adultery Hester and Dimmesdale commit and then as the plots develop， Hester gains their respect through her sincere love for the people around. At that time， the scarlet A Hester wears caries the meaning of “angle”. At last， the image of Pearl symbolizes love and hope.

As is advocated by Longinus， “ It must be， therefore， that we shall find one source of the sublime in the systematic selection of the most important elements， and the power of forming， by their mutual combination， what may be called one body.” As a whole， through various artistic techniques， Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter well organizes the plots and successfully shows a fitting unity expressing the provoking idea that although human beings have sins， by the means of sincere love， they can cleanse them to purify their soul and develop their noble humanity.

3. The conclusion

Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter embodies Longinus five principal sources of sublimity. Due to his family background， he has the lofty thoughts on purifying human soul and nurturing noble humanity. Driven by the strong passion， he brings this masterpiece to the world. This is what Longinus declares—“Sublimity is the echo of a great soul.” Besides， Hawthorne s skillful use of the artistic techniques， such as symbolism， figures of speech， diction and well-organized structure contribute to show his sublime theme. Thus， since The Scarlet Letter was published， it has been gaining universal praise and its charm of sublimity has the strong， electrifying and unresistant effects to elevate peoples spiritual state and bring them enlightenment and inspiration.

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