D. H. Lawrence's Language of Sacred Experience: The Transfiguration of the Reader

by C. Burack

Overview

This book demonstrates how D.H. Lawrence's prophetic ambitions impelled him to create novels that would radically transform the consciousness of his readers. Charles Burack argues that Lawrence's major novels, beginning with The Rainbow , are structured as religious initiation rites that attempt to break down the reader's normative mindset and to evoke new, numinous experiences of self and world. Through careful analysis of narrative structure, literary technique, and sacred discourses, Burack shows that Lawrence tries to initiate the reader into his own version of religious vitalism. Unlike most initiations that conclude with powerful affirmations, Lawrence's novels generally end with an attempt to subvert the formation of new religious dogmas and to encourage sacred-erotic exploration.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403968456
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	11/15/2005
Edition description:	2005
Pages:	206
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

CHARLES BURACK is on the faculty of Naropa University, USA, where he specializes in integrative approaches to literature, writing, religion and psychology. He also teaches at UC Berkeley, St. Mary's College, John F. Kennedy University and California Institute of Integral Studies, USA. A widely published scholar, writer and poet, Burack received the biennial New Scholar Award 2000-2001 (first recipient) of the D.H. Lawrence Society of North America. He is on the Editorial Board of Tikkun magazine and is a reviewer for Mosaic journal and the D.H. Lawrence Review.

Table of Contents

Introduction The Destructive Phase of Lady Chatterley's Lover The Sacralization Phase of Lady Chatterley's Lover Transformative Uses of Kabbalistic Concepts and Terms in The Rainbow Mechanistic and Yoga Discourses in Women in Love The Implosion of the Transformative Pattern in The Plumed Serpent Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

"This is the sort of book which makes one glad to be an academic, which is to say it is a pleasure to read and demonstrates the added value that original scholarship can bring to works of literature. Charles Burack s book is well-written and persuasively argued." - Consciousness, Literature and the Arts"While most critics have emphasized his psychological insights or uncanny evocations of place, Charles Burack's fresh study focuses on the novelist's prophetic aspirations. As this commentator plows new ground, the reader reaps new perspectives." - Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment

From the Publisher