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Miscellaneous Studies
The volume of Greek Studies, issued early in the present year, dealt with Mr. Pater's contributions to the study of Greek art, mythology, and poetry. The present volume has no such unifying principle. Some of the papers would naturally find their place alongside of those collected in Imaginary Portraits, or in Appreciations, or in the Studies in the Renaissance. And there is no doubt, in the case of several of them, that Mr. Pater, if he had lived, would have subjected them to careful revision before allowing them to reappear in a permanent form. The task, which he left unexecuted, cannot now be taken up by any other hand. But it is hoped that students of his writings will be glad to possess, in a collected shape, what has hitherto only been accessible in the scattered volumes of magazines. It is with some hesitation that the paper on Diaphaneit�, the last in this volume, has been added, as the only specimen known to [2] be preserved of those early essays of Mr. Pater's, by which his literary gifts were first made known to the small circle of his Oxford friends. Subjoined is a brief chronological list of his published writings. It will be observed how considerable a period, 1880 to 1885, was given up to the composition of Marius the Epicurean, the most highly finished of all his works, and the expression of his deepest thought.
- GenresEssays
222 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1895
About the author
Walter Pater
245 books109 followersPeople know British writer Walter Horatio Pater for his volumes of aesthetic criticism, including
Appreciations
(1889).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 4, 2021
This is difficult to review. Compiled shortly after Pater’s death, Miscellaneous Studies has no central theme or genre. It merely brings together the essays which the editor, Charles Shadwell, could not categorise easily; the tricky ones which he felt that Pater would have revised had he wanted them to appear ‘in a more permanent form’ in new editions of The Renaissance or Imaginary Portraits. The first six are art historical essays, while the next three are ‘imaginary portraits’. These latter ones are the highlights of the book, and some of the greatest pieces Pater ever wrote.
‘Apollo in Picardy’ is a chillingly dark and unnerving examination of a roughly-hewn pagan spirit still alive in the French countryside, while ‘The Child in the House’ and ‘Emerald Uthwart’ are beautiful reflections on childhood and youth, with many details clearly drawn from Pater’s own life. To add Pater’s early essay ‘Diaphanéité’ to the end of the book is a rather moving choice for Shadwell to have made. The essay, which concerns sensitive souls of a ‘clear crystal nature’, was inspired by Shadwell. Taken in this order, then, the final three pieces are a kind of chronology of Pater’s life, with ‘Diaphanéité’ redressing the sad death of Emerald Uthwart — a reflection of Pater in his youth — at the tender age of 27. By placing this essay at the end, Shadwell is highlighting Pater's life and the joy which Pater gave to him and so many others.
‘Apollo in Picardy’ is a chillingly dark and unnerving examination of a roughly-hewn pagan spirit still alive in the French countryside, while ‘The Child in the House’ and ‘Emerald Uthwart’ are beautiful reflections on childhood and youth, with many details clearly drawn from Pater’s own life. To add Pater’s early essay ‘Diaphanéité’ to the end of the book is a rather moving choice for Shadwell to have made. The essay, which concerns sensitive souls of a ‘clear crystal nature’, was inspired by Shadwell. Taken in this order, then, the final three pieces are a kind of chronology of Pater’s life, with ‘Diaphanéité’ redressing the sad death of Emerald Uthwart — a reflection of Pater in his youth — at the tender age of 27. By placing this essay at the end, Shadwell is highlighting Pater's life and the joy which Pater gave to him and so many others.
Displaying 1 of 1 review