Forthcoming Fall 2025

These passages from works written over the past two millennia by more than sixty authors from Aristotle to Auden afford hundreds of illuminating and often startling insights into the nature and primacy of artistic form and of its power to provide extraordinary aesthetic delight.

They reject subordination of works of art to non-aesthetic purposes, arguing instead that in itself, exquisite composition is the primary element and source of the value of all great works of art.

Moreover, they show that this emphasis on formal design is not merely a minority view or an exclusively modern sentiment: rather, these passages demonstrate that for more than 2,000 years, aesthetic form has served – and in our day ideally still should serve – as our primary concern in the reception and valuation of artistic works.

This Philosophical Lexicon is an analytical glossary of terms whose understanding is indispensable for the serious study of literature and of literary traditions. As such, it leaves aside consideration of terms associated only with discrete historical periods or with merely conventional literary practices. Instead, it focuses on key terms that pertain to the fundamental features that are shared by all literary traditions, no matter when or where they may be found.

Further, rather than seeking to conform its explanation of these universally relevant terms to a predetermined schema, this Lexicon roots its definitions in the practical experience attentive readers have of literary works themselves. Thereby, it aims to show readers how to attain the deepest possible penetration of any individual work of art, helping them better apprehend its uniqueness as well as its value as a delightful object of beauty.

Forthcoming Winter 2025