32 pages • 1 hour read
LonginusOn the Sublime
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 100A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
On the Sublime makes prescriptions for great writing. Based on his criteria, does Longinus’s own writing in the treatise qualify as great? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to support your conclusion.
Identify a passage from the treatise in which Longinus’s writing style illustrates the same literary quality he is discussing. Choose three to five instances where he uses that literary device, and describe its effect on his message.
Write a brief, simple, facts-only paragraph about a person or place you know well. Alternatively, select a short paragraph from an ad, website, or news article. Then choose three of the literary devices Longinus describes. Rewrite your paragraph, using the literary devices you’ve selected to elaborate on and enhance your original text. Finally, explain how you used each literary device, and why you chose it.
Longinus states that one way to become a great writer is to study and imitate great writers of the past. Choose 1-5 pages from a book you admire. Use Longinus’s guidance to identify its literary devices and features. Be sure to consider elements like pacing, figurative language, and how the style and the content relate to each other. Now, write a page of your own in the style of your chosen book. Conclude with a reflection on what you’ve written: Did imitation contribute to greatness in this exercise?
Imagine you are writing a modern update to Longinus’s treatise on what makes writing great. Which key points of his will you reiterate, and which points will you change? Select three to focus on. You might consider his comments on nature, freedom, and imitation, but are free to choose others.
Longinus writes that great geniuses are entitled to occasional flaws in their pursuit of literary excellence. Do you agree? Why or why not?
What does Longinus mean by “vulgarisms” and why does he recommend using them? Do you believe his argument holds true today? Why or why not? Use contemporary examples of vulgarism to support your answer.
In Chapters 6-10, Longinus lists the five sources of great writing. Choose one of these sources of greatness, and a work of literature you know that demonstrates this quality. Providing examples from that text, explain how each contributes to the source of greatness you have chosen.
For Longinus, what roles does passion play in writing? Choose and describe two to three effects of passion.
In Longinus’s culture, reading was most often done orally, which is reflected in his use of the word “hearer” instead of “reader.” In your opinion, does reading silently lessen the impact of the literary excerpts Longinus discusses? Choose two or three excerpts to explore in depth.
