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Heinz Tschachler
Heinz Tschachler
Institution: English and American Studies at the Heinz Tschachler University of Klagenfurt
Email: heinz.tschachler@aau.at
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Doi: https://doi.org/10.47060/jaaas.v2i2.85
2022-05-10When in the early summer of 1805 Meriwether Lewis for the first time sights the great mountains of the American West, he merely reports "an august spectacle." The word "august" was not then an aesthetic category, nor did it usually describe visual contact with landscape. Categories used for these purposes were the picturesque and the sublime. Whereas there are numerous examples of the picturesque in the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the sublime draws a blank. In my contribution, I will be offering several reasons for the absence of description in the sublime mode: (1) Like their contemporaries, Lewis and Clark held nature up to the yardstick of utility, calculating the agricultural potential of the land or the navigability of a river. (2) The Lewis and Clark expedition was a military expedition, sent out by President Jefferson not to stand in awe at sublime grandeur but to document a useful landscape. (3) Seeing mountains as sublime was essentially a matter of an individual imagination. The Corps of Discovery was a group, whose success depended on cooperation. Hence, the individual imagination must take a back seat. (4) The actual experience of hardship and adversity during the crossing of the Rockies would have obviated any description in the "grand style." (5) Finally, the Corps of Discovery was not even prepared to encounter the great mountains of the West, expecting instead gentle rolling hills that would enable an easy portage to the Columbia River and, if anything, call for picturesque description.
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2024 June | 48 | 48 |
2024 May | 65 | 65 |
2024 April | 77 | 77 |
2024 March | 76 | 76 |
2024 February | 50 | 50 |
2024 January | 54 | 54 |
2023 December | 49 | 49 |
2023 November | 66 | 66 |
2023 October | 35 | 35 |
2023 September | 26 | 26 |
2023 August | 17 | 17 |
2023 July | 34 | 34 |
2023 June | 26 | 26 |
2023 May | 41 | 41 |
2023 April | 42 | 42 |
2023 March | 41 | 41 |
2023 February | 2 | 2 |
2023 January | 2 | 2 |
2022 December | 20 | 20 |
2022 November | 49 | 49 |
2022 October | 32 | 32 |
2022 September | 27 | 27 |
2022 August | 55 | 55 |
2022 July | 47 | 47 |
2022 June | 96 | 96 |
2022 May | 42 | 42 |
Total | 1239 | 1239 |
Show by month | Manuscript | Video Summary |
---|---|---|
2024 September | 3 | 3 |
2024 August | 59 | 59 |
2024 July | 58 | 58 |
2024 June | 48 | 48 |
2024 May | 65 | 65 |
2024 April | 77 | 77 |
2024 March | 76 | 76 |
2024 February | 50 | 50 |
2024 January | 54 | 54 |
2023 December | 49 | 49 |
2023 November | 66 | 66 |
2023 October | 35 | 35 |
2023 September | 26 | 26 |
2023 August | 17 | 17 |
2023 July | 34 | 34 |
2023 June | 26 | 26 |
2023 May | 41 | 41 |
2023 April | 42 | 42 |
2023 March | 41 | 41 |
2023 February | 2 | 2 |
2023 January | 2 | 2 |
2022 December | 20 | 20 |
2022 November | 49 | 49 |
2022 October | 32 | 32 |
2022 September | 27 | 27 |
2022 August | 55 | 55 |
2022 July | 47 | 47 |
2022 June | 96 | 96 |
2022 May | 42 | 42 |
Total | 1239 | 1239 |