On Heroes, Hero Worship, and the Heroic in History

Based on a series of lectures delivered in 1840, Thomas Carlyle'sOn Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in Historyconsiders the creation of heroes and the ways they exert heroic leadership. From the divine and prophetic (Odin and Muhammad) to the poetic (Dante and Shakespeare) to the religious...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Thomas Carlyle, David R Sorensen, Brent E. Kinser
Format eBook
LanguageEnglish
Published New Haven Yale University Press 2013
Edition1
SeriesRethinking the Western tradition
Subjects
Hero worship
Heroes
History
PHILOSOPHY
Religion
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Summary:Based on a series of lectures delivered in 1840, Thomas Carlyle'sOn Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in Historyconsiders the creation of heroes and the ways they exert heroic leadership. From the divine and prophetic (Odin and Muhammad) to the poetic (Dante and Shakespeare) to the religious (Luther and Knox) to the political (Cromwell and Napoleon), Carlyle investigates the mysterious qualities that elevate humans to cultural significance.By situating the text in the context of six essays by distinguished scholars that reevaluate both Carlyle's work and his ideas, David Sorensen and Brent Kinser argue that Carlyle's concept of heroism stresses the hero's spiritual dimension. In Carlyle's engagement with various heroic personalities, he dislodges religiosity from religion, myth from history, and truth from "quackery" as he describes the wondrous ways in which these "flowing light-fountains" unlock the heroic potential of ordinary human beings.
ISBN:0300148607
9780300148602
0300148623
9780300148626