Interpretations of Poetry and Religion by George Santayana

Read now or download (free!)

Choose how to read this book Url Size
Read online (web) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48563.html.images 443 kB
EPUB3 (E-readers incl. Send-to-Kindle) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48563.epub3.images 240 kB
EPUB (older E-readers) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48563.epub.images 246 kB
EPUB (no images, older E-readers) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48563.epub.noimages 236 kB
Kindle https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48563.kf8.images 460 kB
older Kindles https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48563.kindle.images 444 kB
Plain Text UTF-8 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48563.txt.utf-8 421 kB
Download HTML (zip) https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/48563/pg48563-h.zip 238 kB
There may be more files related to this item.

About this eBook

Author Santayana, George, 1863-1952
LoC No. 00001648
Title Interpretations of Poetry and Religion
Note Reading ease score: 50.5 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.
Contents Understanding, imagination, and mysticism -- The Homeric hymns -- The dissolution of paganism -- The poetry of Christian dogma -- Platonic love in some Italian poets -- The absence of religion in Shakespeare -- The poetry of barbarism -- Emerson -- A religion of disillusion -- The elements and function of poetry.
Credits Produced by Marc D'Hooghe (Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.)
Summary "Interpretations of Poetry and Religion" by George Santayana is a philosophical work written in the late 19th century. The text examines the intrinsic connections between poetry and religion, arguing that both express ideals rather than empirical truths. Santayana proposes that poetry and religion serve similar purposes in human life, but only when religion transcends mere dogma to embrace its poetic essence do they harmoniously intersect. At the start of the book, the author sets the stage by discussing the various papers compiled within, each contributing to the overarching idea that religion and poetry are fundamentally identical but differentiated by their practical applications. He examines the nature of the human mind in relation to reality, highlighting the interplay between understanding, imagination, and mysticism. Santayana critiques the prevailing attitudes toward religion, suggesting that it should focus on ideals rather than factual claims, thus maintaining its nobility and coherence. The opening lays a philosophical foundation for further exploration of seminal topics, including the nature of poetic expression, the collapsing boundaries between myth and morality, and the significance of imagination as a crucial human faculty through which we interpret and engage with the world. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Language English
LoC Class PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections
Subject Religion
Subject Poetry
Subject Literature -- History and criticism
Subject Aesthetics
Category Text
EBook-No. 48563
Release Date
Most Recently Updated Apr 4, 2024
Copyright Status Public domain in the USA.
Downloads 114 downloads in the last 30 days.
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!