Alone Together: Poetics of the Passions in Late Medieval Iberia

The fifteenth century in Iberia witnessed a surge of literature that explored the political, ethical, and poetic dimensions of sentiment, highlighting the unifying potential of shared emotion in an ethical rehabilitation. This study examines lyric poetry, sentimental prose, and treatises in multiple languages, drawing on Stoic and early monastic thought to explore the ethical and political implications of shared emotion.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 336 pages
\n Publication date: 05 July 2021
\n Publisher: University of Toronto Press
\n

The fifteenth century witnessed a remarkable literary explosion across Iberia, transcending mere sentimentality and delving into the profound realm of emotion. This transformative phenomenon, one of the most significant shifts in intellectual and literary culture within the crowns of Portugal, Castile, and Aragon, is explored in depth in Alone Together. Through meticulous analysis of lyric poetry, sentimental prose, and extensive treatises written in various languages, the study highlights the intricate web of connections between these genres and linguistic and cultural traditions. Drawing inspiration from Stoic and early monastic thought, authors like the Marqués de Santillana, Ausiàs March, and Alfonso de Madrigal delved into the ethical potential of shared emotion, advocating for friendly conversation, civic communication, and collective poetic composition. In his interpretations of these authors, Henry Berlin incorporates recent research on lyric theory and the history and theory of emotion, spanning from classical antiquity to the modern era. Alone Together offers a captivating exploration of the political and poetic dimensions of shared emotion, shedding light on how a heuristic focus on passion illuminates broader ongoing discussions about the nature of emotion, the lyric, and subjectivity.

\n Weight: 684g\n
Dimension: 161 x 236 x 30 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781487509675\n \n