{"product_id":"creating-states-angela-esterhammer-9781442614949","title":"Creating States: Studies in the Performative Language of John Milton and William Blake","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough the concept of the performative has influenced literary theory in numerous ways, this book represents one of the first full-length studies of performative language in literary texts. \u003cem\u003eCreating States\u003c\/em\u003e examines the visionary poetry of John Milton and William Blake, using a critical approach based on principles of speech-act theory as articulated by J.L. Austin, John Searle, and Emile Benveniste. Angela Esterhammer proposes a new way of understanding the relationship between these two poets, while at the same time evaluating the role of speech-act philosophy in the reading of visionary poetry and Romantic literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eEsterhammer distinguishes between the 'sociopolitical performative, ' the speech act which is defined by a societal context and derives power from institutional authority, and the  phenomenological performative, ' language which is invested with the power to posit or create because of the individual will and consciousness of the speaker. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnalysing texts such as \u003cem\u003eThe Reason of Church-Government\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Marriage of Heaven and Hell\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eJerusalem\u003c\/em\u003e, Esterhammer traces the parallel evolution of Milton and Blake from writers of political and anti-prelatical tracts to poets who, having failed in their attempts to alter historical circumstances through a direct address to their contemporaries, reaffirm their faith in individual visionary consciousness and the creative word - while continuing to use the forms of a socially or politically performative language.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Angela Esterhammer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1442614943\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781442614949\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Toronto Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/15\/1994\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 245\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.86lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.60d\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Angela Esterhammer","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44123660288255,"sku":"9781442614949","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_234193f4-074e-458e-8ca1-1fb665c93b5e.jpg?v=1687432124","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/creating-states-angela-esterhammer-9781442614949","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}