Consolation of Boethius As Poetic Liturgy

This book shows that Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy aims to affect the listener through the designs of its rhythmic sound. Blackwood explains how these metres are arranged as aural patterns with a therapeutic and even liturgical purpose.

List of contents

• Notes to Reader


• Introduction


• Part I: The Metres of Book One


• 1: Imprisoned by Rhythm


• 2: Rhythmic Intervention


• Conclusion to Part I


• Part II: Repeated Metres


• 3: The First Four


• 4: The Final Two


• Conclusion to Part II


• Part III: Repetition and Recollection: a System of Rhythmic Sound


• 5: Formal Structure


• 6: Functional Purpose


• 7: Analogies


• Conclusion to Part III


• Part IV: A Meditation on Book Five


• 8: Repetition, Narration, and the Meditative Ascent


• 9: Freedom, Providence, and Prayer


• Conclusion to Part IV


• Conclusion


• Appendix A, The Poems of Book 1


• Appendix B, Figures


• List of Figures


• Bibliography

About the author

Stephen J. Blackwood is President of Ralston College.

Summary

This book shows that Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy aims to affect the listener through the designs of its rhythmic sound. Blackwood explains how these metres are arranged as aural patterns with a therapeutic and even liturgical purpose.

Additional text

valuable not only to the student of Boethius himself, but also to historians of music, those interested in aurality, orality, developments of literacy, the senses and memory, Neoplatonism, epistemology, and the intersection of philosophy and literature, to name only a few areas.

Product details

• Authors: Stephen Blackwood, Stephen (President Blackwood, Blackwood Stephen
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.01.2022
• EAN: 9780192864024
• ISBN: 978-0-19-286402-4
• No. of pages: 368
• Series: Oxford Early Christian Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; PHILOSOPHY / Religious, LITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical, PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, RELIGION / Philosophy, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Philosophy of religion, Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500