The Sublime in Bakhtin

In class we came to the conclusion that sublimity is predominantly characterized by the intense impact an author’s words have upon the reader. Longinus illustrates this phenomenon by saying, “Sublimity… produced at the right moment, tears everything up like a whirlwind, and exhibits the orator’s whole power at a single blow” (Longinus 347). In the introduction, the authors explain, “Longinus sees [sublimity] as a quality that has a powerful emotional impact on its audience or, more specifically, an impact that awakens the audience members to their ‘higher natures’” (Longinus 345). I’m sure that, especially as lovers of literature, we can all recall a moment or many moments when we were deeply moved or affected in some intense way by literature. That is the reason why I am studying literature and plan to teach it in the future.

This is where I see Longinus and Bakhtin coincide. One way that Bakhtin addresses sublimity is in his discussion about the role of the listener. “The fact is that when the listener perceives and understands the meaning (the language meaning) of speech, he simultaneously takes an active, responsive attitude toward it… Any understanding is imbued with response and necessarily elicits it in one form or another: the listener becomes the speaker” (Bakhtin 68). An instance of the sublime could encourage a listener to become the speaker. He or she might talk or write about the interaction with the sublime. Encountering the sublime seems like it would be so awe-inspiring that a listener couldn’t help but acknowledge it verbally, in text or at least in his or her head. The sublime elicits a reaction in the listener.