let's consider longinus and his thoughts by eguriase s. m. okaka

LET’s CONSIDER LONGINUS AND HIS THOUGHTs

BY Eguriase S. M. Okaka Longinus was an unknown writer. Nobody knows how he died. He wrote an article which was later referred to as Longinus or sublime. His article was very lenghty that was why it was called Longinus as its implies. Plato wrote an article in his book named ‘The Republic’. Aristotle wrote ‘The Poetics’. Horace wrote a book titled ‘Arts Poetical’ and here is this notable write up by an unknown writer referred to as Longinus. Longinus was notable for writing about sublimity. Let’s consider his thoughts: Sublimity means a state of perfection or excellence. Sublimity refers to something that has attained the highest level of excellence. Longinus believes that every writer should hit the sublime e.g., Writers should write towards excellent at least once in a lifetime. The state of the sublime is very high. It is not what a writer can hit always. But every writer should aim at perfection or sublimity. The great writer William Shakespeare, not all his works hit the sublime. Writers should at least aim at hitting the sublime once in a lifetime. Aiming at the sublime makes writers to be serious and shows their awareness in their written works. Sublimity takes time. He said, if you write a play don’t publish it, keep it don’t show it to anybody but keep it somewhere for at least ten years and see whether it is still relevant after ten years or not. Longinus believed that the desire for sublimity is in-born but it must be developed by careful study especially the study and emulation of other writers who have attained sublimity. For a work of art to hit the sublime it must meet the following criteria: • Grandeur of Thought (i.e.) the ability to think of great things or ability for grand conception. It has to do with the nobility of the soul of a character. It’s also result to the right choice of and arrangement of the most stricken circumstances or events. • Nobility of the soul of the character: Ability to think of great things (grand conception). • Vehement and inspired passion (A desire to be the best and create the best). • Effective and Stylistic use of rhetorical figures. (A figure is best used when nobody thinks of it). A figure is best used when nobody dealt with it. It looks real. • Dignified and elevated composition. • Noble diction and phrasing. This is the use of language and how the words are phrased. Longinus hit the nail on the head on his thoughts on drama. Every writer should aim at hitting the sublime in his or her writings as we know that writing is an art. When a writer knows this the better it is for him. Hitting the sublime can bring relevance to a write up and the writer in particular. We can still refer to William Shakespeare today because of his excellent works. If you wish to be remembered long after your demise it is the write-up that you made today that would speak for you thereafter. This made it very necessary to put up a good literary piece that would hit sublimity. by Eguriase S. M. Okaka