Limit search to available items
Book Cover
E-book
Author Maughan-Brown, Frances, 1987- author.

Title The lily's tongue : figure and authority in Kierkegaard's Lily discourses / Frances Maughan-Brown
Published Albany : State University of New York Press, [2019]

Copies

Description 1 online resource
Series SUNY Series, Literature ... in Theory Ser
SUNY Series, Literature ... in Theory Ser
Contents Preface : gravity in the question of authority -- Glass birds -- Paper flowers -- The child -- Golden leaves -- The cordate tongue
Summary "The Lily's Tongue offers a nuanced, sustained reading of what Maughan-Brown calls the "Lily Discourses"--Four discourses that Kierkegaard wrote about the instruction in the Gospel of Matthew to "consider the lilies." Kierkegaard suggests that the lilies are "authoritative" rather than merely "figural" or "metaphorical." The aim of this book is to explore what exactly Kierkegaard means by asking, How do texts speak with authority? In Maughan-Brown's reading, Kierkegaard argues that the key to a text's authority is in the act of reading itself. No text can have authority unless the reader grants it that authority. That is because, paradoxically, no text can avoid or escape the use of figural language. If the lilies speak authoritatively it is precisely because they are also figural. Texts do not speak directly; their tongue is always the lily's tongue. Drawing on the work of Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Benjamin, and Derrida, The Lily's Tongue situates Kierkegaard's reading of Matthew at the intersection of theological, philosophical, political, and literary investigations of figural language. It uniquely contributes to the ongoing discussion of Kierkegaard's theory and practice of "indirect communication" by introducing four pivotal signed discourses into this debate. In so doing, Maughan-Brown reveals a groundbreaking theory of figure--one that ultimately requires a renewed reading of the major pseudonymous works"-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813-1855.
Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813-1855 -- Religion
SUBJECT Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813-1855 fast
Bible. Matthew, VI, 24-34 -- Criticism, interpretation, etc
Bible. Matthew, VI, 24-34 fast
Subject Authority in literature.
Figures of speech.
Language and languages -- Philosophy.
Language and languages -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.
Authority in literature
Figures of speech
Language and languages -- Philosophy
Language and languages -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
Religion
Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781438476353
1438476353