32 pages • 1 hour read
LonginusOn the Sublime
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 100A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
On the Sublime by Longinus, is an epistolary treatise addressed to Postumius Terentianus that offers advice on achieving greatness in writing. Longinus argues that greatness, or the sublime, overwhelms and moves readers and is achieved through great thoughts, strong emotions, noble diction, effective word arrangement, and figures of speech. He illustrates his points with examples from writers like Homer and Plato and discusses the role of innate genius and moral excellence in great writing. The treatise highlights that freedom in society is essential for literary greatness.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
On the Sublime by Longinus is celebrated for its insightful analysis of great literature and rhetoric, offering timeless principles of sublimity that resonate even today. However, some critics find its fragmented structure challenging and its historical context obscure. Overall, the work is highly regarded for its profound influence on literary criticism.
Who Should Read On the Sublime?
A reader who enjoys On the Sublime by Longinus likely appreciates classical literature, rhetoric, and literary criticism. They are similar to readers of Aristotle's Poetics and Horace's Ars Poetica, valuing insights into the power of elevated language and its impact on emotions and persuasion.