Concept in Definition ABC

That which is excellent, brilliant, perfect, admirable and elevated in relation to the genre or context to which it belongs

The term sublime is used when you want to give an account of what is considered excellent, brilliant, perfect, admirable, beautiful, very great and very high in terms of and in relation to gender or context to which it belongs. For example, “the presentation of the Philharmonic was a truly sublime event ”.

Association with art and literature

It is a concept especially associated with art and literature and that is why it is used extensively in both contexts to indicate precisely the excellence of a theatrical piece, a written work, a plastic work, among other alternatives.

Origin of the term

Meanwhile, the origin of the term dates back many years, it is believed between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, attributing it to the Greek writer and rhetoric professor Longinus, who mentioned this category maximum aesthetic in his work called On the Sublime to qualify those artistic creations that are capable of conquering and causing maximum delight in readers or viewers

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Keys to achieve a sublime work

In that work, Longinus, proposed five different ways through which to reach or reach the sublime, through important thoughts, emotions strong words, correct diction, coherent arrangement of words and making use of certain figures, both speech and thought. But it also gives a special value and importance to the talent and passion of the artist or author, since without These two innate qualities are certainly very difficult to achieve the degree of sublime in a creation.

This treatise knew how to be during its time and long afterwards, because it remained a text influential in other times, a great teaching about those who in literature or art can be classified as sublime.

As mentioned above, the concept describes that extreme beauty plausible to generate in whoever contemplates the sublime fact a fascination that of course goes far beyond any rationality.

Meanwhile, for many years, even centuries, that concept that was developed by Longinus remained practically hidden and unknown to most human beings, until approximately the sixteenth century in which some authors such as Francesco Rebortello popularized again through the reissue of Longinus's classic work, then, little by little it was imposed and it can be said that It was rediscovered at the time of the stage known as Renaissance.

Although, it is worth noting that his maximum use and popularity would be achieved some time later at the request of the Baroque and Romantic movements.

Things that cause delight and high enjoyment

Now, we must emphasize that although, as we said, the concept was born associated with art and literature to express the greatness that they were able to achieve Some works, with the passing of time and its fantastic diffusion, the term sublime has been transferred to other fields and activities and that is why it is also used to refer to those things that cause delight and high enjoyment, also to people who perform some work or performance in their chores extraordinary.

So the concept is applied to indicate the perfection of a pictorial work and a theatrical work but also the exquisite cake that they make in a cafeteria where we usually go: “the chocolate cake they make in the confectionery on the corner of my house is sublime". "The tennis player's performance during his last game was sublime, the best we have seen him do in his career."

Themes in Sublime