Literary and Linguistic Theories in Eighteenth-Century France: From Nuances to Impertinence
"Linguistic" theories in the eighteenth-century are also theories of literature and art, and it is probably better, therefore, to think of them as "aesthetic" theories. As such, they are answers to the age-old question "what is beauty?," but formulated, also, to respond to contemporary concerns. Edward Nye considers a wide range of authors from these two perspectives and draws the following conclusions: etymology is a theory of poetry, dictionaries of synonymy, prosody and metaphor are...
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"Linguistic" theories in the eighteenth-century are also theories of literature and art, and it is probably better, therefore, to think of them as "aesthetic" theories. As such, they are answers to the age-old question "what is beauty?," but formulated, also, to respond to contemporary concerns. Edward Nye considers a wide range of authors from these two perspectives and draws the following conclusions: etymology is a theory of poetry, dictionaries of synonymy, prosody and metaphor are theories of preciosity, and Sensualism is a theory of artistic representation.
List of FiguresIntroduction11The History of 'Nuances': Imitation in the Eighteenth Century71.1The 'querelle du coloris'111.2Le Blon's invention of colour engraving161.3Castel's colour harpsichord and colour weaving191.4Girard and synonymy271.5Condillac's Art d'ecrire301.6Bievre's 'calembours'321.7Diderot's article 'Beau'351.8D'Alembert, Court de Gebelin, and encyclopaedias371.9The theory of genres412Preciosity and its Discontents492.1Marivaux and two kinds of 'clarte'512.2Houdar de La Motte's idea of poetry and prose552.3Criticism of preciosity652.4Fenelon's compromise702.5Girard's compromise: Synonymes francois732.6Dumarsais's compromise: Traite des tropes762.7Olivet's compromise: Prosodie833Condillac's Idea of 'Nature'913.1Semiosis923.2Empathy in the origin of language953.3From 'nature' to 'second nature' in language983.4Diderot and composition in painting1033.5Empathy and gesture in the 'drame bourgeois'1043.6Rousseau and the figurative origins of language1123.7Buffon's universal style1214Linguistic and Poetic Sound Symbolism1294.1De Brosses's theory of phonomimetism1304.2Court de Gebelin's theory of phonomimetism1404.3Sound symbolism in poetry1464.4Diderot's hieroglyph1534.5The perfect language1574.6De Piis and sound symbolism in poetry1604.7'Etymologie' as a theory of poetry1715The Dissolution of Language1795.1The linguistic philosophy of 'ideologie'1815.2Universal language schemes: Locke, Delormel, and Maimieux1885.3L'Epee's sign language1995.4Sicard's sign language2035.5Condillac's algebraic language2055.6The literary aesthetics of 'impertinence'2095.7Mercier's literary aesthetics2155.8Mercier and necrophilia2185.9Mercier's Tableau de Paris224Conclusion228AppLa Motte, OEdipe, tragedie, Act III, scene vi, extractAppLa Motte, OEdipe, tragedie en prose, Act III, scene v, extractBibliographyIndex
