Philosophy and Literature

Abstract:

George Berkeley’s writings are usually read straightforwardly as works of idealist philosophy, but it is remarkable how frequently critics also label his prose “poetic” or “lyrical.” I argue that we can begin to account for this intangible “poetic” quality in Berkeley’s writing by paying attention to his prose rhythm. Moving beyond George Saintsbury’s 1912 attempt at a metrical scansion of Berkeley’s prose, I closely read Berkeley’s writing alongside contemporary understandings of prose rhythm, thus reinstating a sense of him as a skilled literary writer, one who thought about the sounds as well as the senses of words.