The Sublime (according to Me, Shelby, and Wikipedia)

According to Wikipedia the sublime is the quality of greatness or vast magnitude, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness with which nothing else can be compared and which is beyond all possibility of calculation... According to Shelby the sublime is all of that, but with an extra element of profundity, the sublime's origin. In her presentation she spoke of Caliban's speech in Act 3 Scene 2 of The Tempest,

Be not afeard: the isle is full of noises,

Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.

Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments

Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices

That, if I then had waked after long sleep,

Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming,

The clouds methought would open and show riches

Ready to drop upon me, that, when I waked,

I cried to dream again. (The Tempest, 3.2.134-142)

The hideous Caliban produces one of the most eloquent and beautiful speeches in the history of written language. This is what Shelby argues is the core of sublimity. To quote this intelligent young lady, "From the union of these dual qualities of repulsion and attraction, the sublime is achieved."

I argue that sublimity does not have to originate from the base or mundane. There are places in the world that are so magnificent one can hardly believe they exist. For me, one of these places is Zion National Park in southern Utah.

The Subway - Zion National Park

More Zion...

Sublime am I right?? "Of course I am" (Dr. Sexson, 2011)

Now to circle back in support of Shelby's theory, I post the infamous plastic bag scene from American Beauty... Is it ridiculous, or is it truly sublime? One could make an argument for both, but in the context of the film, this scene truly reaches an element of sublimity. And what is this object, but nothing more than a discarded plastic bag, dancing in a parking lot.

The principle in this scene is the same as in Caliban's speech. The sublime can be derived from the most beautiful of things to the most base. I suppose it is the element of surprise from Caliban's speech and the plastic bag scene that resonate with us on a level of such depth.