The cultivation of the Eye in Ruskin's early writings with special reference to his early reading and to his methods of exposition in Modern Painters Volumes I and II

Abstract

Ruskin felt he had been born with a special power of vision, and he was to find in his early reading many different ways of considering this faculty. This thesis attempts to explore the literary background to his early writings, broadly interpreted, as befits a man of such varied interests, to include works of theology, philosophy, popular science and travel. The first half considers favourite authors of his childhood, reflecting his parents' Scottish origins, religious beliefs, contemporary literary taste and educational ideas, pastimes and travel abroad. In the second and third parts consideration is given to the influence of Wordsworth, Carlyle, the Bible, and Ruskin's reading as an undergraduate, on his decision not to become a clergyman, but to devote himself with an equally strong sense of dedication to writing on nature and art. His developing ideas are traced on the central importance of the cultivation of the individual's powers of vision not only in appreciating natural beauty and painting, but as a measure of his entire moral well-being. Attention is also drawn throughout the thesis to Ruskin's parallel development as a writer in verse and prose, and to the reflection of his reading in his juvenilia. A final chapter considers his emerging powers as a prose writer, with particular reference to Modern Painters Volume I, and indicates the special ways in which his style reflects his beliefs concerning the importance of sight.