A provocative examination of the concept of the sublime from the eighteenth century to its reappearance within contemporary aesthetics and postmodern theory. It delivers a detailed account that traces the concept from the work of Edward Burke and his contemporaries through the Romantics and Kant to its reemergence in the writings of Lyotard and other postmodern thinkers. Although numerous authors have written books theorizing the sublime, this text stands alone as the only historical overview. Consequently, it fills an important gap in the current literature which has seen a recent explosion...

Sublimity addresses the nature of the sublime experience itself, and the function that experience has played, and continues to play, within aesthetic discourse. The book both updates and revises existing treatments of the sublime in the eighteenth century, examines its neglected role in the nineteenth century aesthetics, and analyzes the significance of the modifications the concept has undergone in order to serve the interests of contemporary aesthetics. The book thus offers the most comprehensive coverage of the history of the sublime available.