The Aesthetic Philosophy of D.h. Lawrence: "The Shimmer, Not the Shape of Things"

In D. H. Lawrence''s ''Women in Love'' Rupert Birkin tells Ursula Brangwen that the children drawingpictures of catkins need to use their crayons to fillin the colors of the flowers, instead of pencilingtheir hard shapes and outlines. ?I?d chalk them inplain, chalk in nothing else, merely the red and theyellow," he declares. This book examines Lawrence''scomplex philosophy of art and life, revealing hissteady commitment to the experience of the beautifulas a foundation of morality. The core idea is thataesthetic morality is not abstract but immediate, even visceral, and potential in all of us. It followsthis fundamental insight through his many forms ofwriting - letters, novels, and essays - to provide anew intellectual biography of Lawrence, reminding thereader of the ways in which particular events of hislife influenced his thinking and writing. By invitingattention to the enduring importance of aestheticexperience in Lawrence''s work, this book enrichesLawrence studies and contributes to the ongoingrevival of interest in aesthetics among contemporaryliterary critics and theorists like Elaine Scarry andRichard Rorty.