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The 'Hermeneutic Imperative' and Victorian Word Portraits

Authors :
Andrea Selleri
Source :
Victorian Periodicals Review. 50:384-397
Publication Year :
2017
Publisher :
Project MUSE, 2017.

Abstract

This article introduces the "word portrait," a subgenre of life writing often focused on depicting famous writers. These portraits emphasized visuality through a "hermeneutical" insistence on connecting visible bodily features with authors' creative productions. This subgenre frequently appeared in middlebrow periodicals of the mid-and late Victorian period. I argue that we can nuance our understanding of the relationship between highbrow intellectual tendencies and less culturally authorised critical practices by taking stock of the word portrait's operations and logic.

Details

ISSN :
1712526X
Volume :
50
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Victorian Periodicals Review
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........7bf6b49dab4bb97a26167bf2195d7175
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1353/vpr.2017.0027